This week in gluttony

These are the 6 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Learn all the brisket secrets.

Photo by Robert Jacob Lerma

Spring has officially arrived and events this week reflect the flavors of the season. There’s a brisket 101 class just in time for backyard barbecuing, a whiskey bottle release party with a baseball theme (and major league special guest), and a wine class featuring an Italian region well-suited for a spring vacation. Also experience a taste of Nigeria during a special pop-up dinner, and celebrate a beloved brewery’s 10th birthday by the weekend. Also, we're just over a week away from this year's Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival, and tickets are going fast; find out more here.

Wednesday, March 22

Wine Dinner and Communal Gathering at FnG Eats
Chefs Carlos Arevalo and Bob Stephenson of FnG Eats in Keller will gather together with customers during this four-course wine pairing dinner. Comfort food favorites on the menu include iron skillet cornbread, Wagyu meatloaf, and bourbon cherry chocolate bread pudding. Wines will be served with courses one through three, and a specialty sparkling cocktail will come with dessert. Dinner is $75 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and will begin at 7 pm.

Thursday, March 23

Italian Wine Education Series at WineHaus
The neighborhood wine bar will kick off an education series focusing on Italian wines, and the first region to be covered will be Piedmont. A guest speaker will guide participants through a tasting of six wines during the informative event. Wines to be sipped include millesimato brut, barbera d’asti, barbera d’alba, dolcetto, barbaresco, and barolo. Tickets are $40, including gratuity, and the class will run from 6-7:30 pm.

Nigerian Pop-Up Dinner with Chef Franson at Chef Point
Chef Point Café owner and chef Franson Nwaeze will share the bold flavors of West Africa during this five-course dinner. Menu highlights include suya skewers, pepper soup, goat stew with jollof rice, and fluffy fried dough balls dusted with cinnamon sugar. The dinner is $71 per person and includes tax and gratuity. Drinks are extra and suggested pairings are the Nigerian Chapman cocktail, a bold South African cab, or simply a cold beer. Dinner will start at 6:30 pm.

Friday, March 24

TX Whiskey’s Limited-Edition Baseball Bottle Release Party
Spring means baseball season is on the horizon, and Whiskey Ranch will celebrate with a special bottle release party. Visit to buy a bottle of TX Whiskey sealed with a specialized cap made from a baseball, with complimentary bottle engraving. The distillery will also screen the baseball classic A League of Their Own and welcome former Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland as a special guest. The $10 admission includes your first cocktail. The event will run from 6-9 pm.

Saturday, March 25

Martin House Brewing Company 10-Year Anniversary
The Riverside brewery will celebrate a decade in business with a party. There’ll be two new taproom-exclusive beer drops, more than 30 kegs from the cellar, live music, food vendors, hula dancers, and more. New beer launches are Rum Ham, an imperial sour infused with cherries, pineapple and honey ham, and Triple Texan, a triple red tripled IPA. The $25 ticket will cover one souvenir pint glass and four pours. The family-friendly event will run from 12-6 pm.

Sunday, March 26

Brisket 101 at Panther Island Brewing
Pitmaster Dayne Weaver of Dayne’s Craft Barbecue will walk participants step-by-step through his process of smoking tender, flavorful brisket. Attendees will be treated to a feast of barbecue along with three Panther Island brews and a souvenir glass. The class is $175 per person, plus tax and a service fee, and will run from 11 am-3 pm.

Brisket 101 Martin House Anniversary Wine Dinner news-you-can-eat

Closure News

Tropic Lady restaurant-bar on Fort Worth's Race Street says aloha

Tropic Lady

The dip trio at Tropic Lady.

A chill restaurant and bar in Fort Worth's River East district has closed: Tropic Lady, which opened in the former Fuzzy's Taco space at 2719 Race St. in 2023, has closed.

The restaurant, which closed in mid-December, was a sibling to Bearded Lady, the popular gastropub in Near Southside; their last Facebook post was on December 10. Their phone number is not working, and their website is no longer active. Owner Shannon Osbakken was unavailable for comment, but a Bearded Lady employee confirmed the closure.

Tropic Lady was a tropical-themed gastropub opened by a trio of friends: Bearded Lady owner Shannon Osbakken, her business partner Sarah Allen, and general manager Amanda Yunger. It offered a similar menu as Bearded lady but with more tropical-inspired fare, including shrimp tacos, bacon-wrapped grilled pineapple bites, and guacamole dotted with mango.

For a gastropub, they did interesting food with dishes like watermelon salad with feta and cucumber; or their Dip Trio, with mango guacamole, tomatillo salsa, and queso blanco served with house-made tortilla chips. Definitely not run-of-the-mill. They also had great lunch specials like a smashburger with curly fries for $10.

Food did not seem to be the problem.

Decor featured artwork and murals created by local artists. A beautifully landscaped patio wrapped around the building’s facade. So the setting did not seem to be a factor.

It's tempting to point the finger at its location on Race Street, which has witnessed a round of closings in the past two years including buzzy birria taqueria Caliscience, which closed in February 2024; as well as The Post at River East, a restaurant and live music venue that shut down the same month.

In 2023, three other restaurants on Race Street closed: Tributary Cafe, the Bon Appetit-lauded La Onda, and vegan burger spot Zonk Burger. But separate reasons can also be found for each of those closures, whether that be inexperience or lease issues.

For years, the city and neighborhood advocates have been trying to turn Race Street into a trendy hotspot. As part of the city’s Urban Villages program, the city of Fort Worth invested $5.6 million in revitalizing the area, making improvements to traffic flow, sidewalks, landscaping, and outdoor lighting.

When Osbakken opened the bar, she said she loved the area, stating "it reminds me of Magnolia when were first were on it 10 years ago in our old location. It's a great community and the neighbors have been friendly and reaching out."

And there are still restaurants along the street, including a popular Mexican restaurant called Tesoro, the Dough’d Up doughnut shop, and Kingyo Sushi & Ramen House, as well as a coffee shop, Race Street Coffee.

The Bearded Lady continues to flourish. Osbakken originally opened the popular gastropub on Magnolia Avenue in 2013. Six years later, she moved it to the South Main, where it’s still going strong.

closings