This week in gluttony

Soft-serve sips top 7 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Sorbet cocktails with savory paired bites are on the menu this week.

The Annex Fort Worth/Facebook

A downtown Fort Worth hotel will launch a new monthly cocktail series this week in its rooftop bar, and the first one showcases viral sorbet cocktails. But first, Cinco de Mayo patio and parking lot parties are on the list, along with a macaron and wine pairing, and blue corn tortilla workshop. End the week with pina coladas - without getting caught in the rain.

Friendly reminder: Mother's Day is this Sunday. Our list of best restaurants in Fort Worth to celebrate Mom can be found here.

Tuesday, May 5

Cinco de Mayo Party at The Bearded Lady
It’s “Cinco de Drink-O” all day at The Bearded Lady with specials including $4 tequila, $3 select Mexican lagers, $5 margs, and $15 margarita flights. Stay fueled with $5 chips and queso for live music by Roix La Croix on the patio. The specials will run all day and the music begins at 5 pm.

Cinco de Mayo Parking Lot Party at The Rabbit Hole Pub
Catch the tail-end of this three-day Cinco de Mayo parking lot party featuring a crawfish boil, Mexi-Cano food truck cuisine, DJ music, and an outdoor bar with $3 margs and more. The party will run from 2-10 pm.

Wednesday, May 6

Mother’s Day Macaron & Wine Pairing at Lost Oak Winery
Four artisanal French macarons will be paired with four of Lost Oak Winery’s signature estate-grown or Texas-sourced wines during this Mother’s Day-themed tasting available Wednesday through Sunday. The pairing is $20 and no reservation are required.

Maiz & Nixtamalization: A Hands-On Tortilla Workshop at Don Artemio
Learn how the James Beard-recognized eatery makes their blue corn tortillas fresh every day using heirloom ingredients and the centuries-old process of nixtamalization. The instructor will be Rafael Mier, founder and director of La Fundación Tortilla and author of Maíz: Origen, Cultura y Cocina. The hands-on class includes tacos with fresh-made tortillas and a margarita. Tickets are $150, plus tax and gratuity, and class begins at 6 pm.

Thursday, May 7

Annex After Dark at The Annex Fort Worth
Le Meridien Fort Worth Downtown hotel will introduce a new monthly series at the property’s rooftop bar Annex. Called Annex After Dark, the one-night event will showcase specialty cocktails paired with savory bites. This month will feature viral soft serve cocktails, with the lineup to include the Panther 75 with gin, lemon, and limoncello sorbet topped with prosecco; the Meridien Martini featuring vodka, espresso, and French vanilla gelato; the Sunset Spritz with Aperol, prosecco, and blood orange sorbet, and the Sweet Escape with tequila, citrus, and raspberry sorbet. The specials will be available from 7-9 pm.

Friday, May 8

Blooms & Beats at Fort Worth Botanic Garden
The Fort Worth Botanic Garden’s Blooms & Beats spring series ends this Friday with live music by Tom Sless in the Horseshoe Garden paired with bites and beverages. Food trucks on site with a cash bar and plenty of space to spread out with BYO lawn chairs and blankets. Admission is $15 ($10 for members) and $6 for kids 6-15 (free for children of members.) The event will run from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Saturday, May 9

Pina Colada Day at Martin House Brewing Company
If you like pina coladas…then you’ll love this day dedicated to the flavors of the coconut cocktail at Martin House Brewing Company. Enjoy pina colada beers, snow cones, live music, food truck fare, and a special kids vendor market. Featured beers include Pina Colada pineapple and coconut blonde, Oh Mandy pina colada shandy, and Pina Colada Cello imperial pina colada ale. Wristbands are $20 good for four pours in a 12-ounce souvenir pint glass. The event will run from 12-5 pm.

cinco de mayo cocktails food events

In A Pickle

DFW-based Smoothie King debuts puckery new pickle smoothie

Photo courtesy of Smoothie King

Pickle flavored smoothie from Smoothie King.

The ever upwardly trending pickle flavor is surfacing in the unlikeliest of places: Smoothie King, the DFW-based smoothie chain, is releasing a new limited-edition Pickle Smoothie — for those who love pickles so much they could drink them.

Smoothie King is partnering with Grillo's Pickles, a Boston-based pickle company, on a beverage that combines Grillo’s Pickles with bananas, kale, and coconut water for what they describe as a refreshingly tangy drink infused with electrolytes designed to support hydration.

The drink is $5.99 for a 20-ounce serving, and will be available through the summer. They'll be giving out free 4-ounce samples on May 16, while supplies last. A Today writer who ran out and tried it found that the banana and pickles both had an equally strong presence, and that it was "not bad." That's some reporting.

Grillo's Pickles was founded in 2008 by Travis Grillo, who launched the business as a small wooden pushcart in Boston Common, using his family's 100-year-old recipe. It has since grown into a nationwide brand, with their bottles topped with kelly-green lids sold in the refrigerator section of major grocery chains such as Walmart, Target, Whole Foods, Kroger, and Aldi.

Smoothie King is based in Dallas and is owned by Wan Kim, who opened the first Smoothie King franchise in Korea before eventually acquiring the national chain. He's also a major presence in Dallas-Fort Worth's restaurant scene, opening the acclaimed Asian-themed Nuri Steakhouse in Uptown Dallas in 2024, and more recently debuting a chicken tenders concept on Dallas' Greenville Avenue called Flock & Fresh on May 2.

Pickles have emerged in recent years as one of the buzziest flavors, including Fort Worth's own craft beer brewer Martin House Brewing Co., a pickle pioneer that has released a number of pickle-flavored beers. H-E-B just joined the pickle party with a new Pickle Chamoy Sherbet, and national boutique grocery chain Trader Joe's is about to reprise its annual Pickle Season onslaught of pickle-flavored products such as Dill Pickle Mustard and Pickle-Flavored Potato Chips.

Beyond their flavor, pickles are a fermented item which can offer nutritional/probiotic benefits, although Smoothie King VP of R&D and Product Marketing Lori Primavera focuses primarily on the hydration aspect.

"At Smoothie King, every recipe starts with delicious nutrition in mind," Primavera says in a statement. "Pickles are not only delicious and having a cultural moment, they also offer real nutritional benefits, especially known for their enhanced hydration. That combination gave us an opportunity to explore them in a new format and push our innovation into new territory, reimagining how a beloved flavor can deliver both function and taste."

Grillo's Pickles Chief Commercial Officer Mark Luker calls them "functional benefits."

"We love to do unhinged collabs at Grillo's," Luker says. "With that, we don't always get to talk about the functional benefits of pickles. When we partnered with Smoothie King for a hydration smoothie, we knew this was a great opportunity to do both. Those who are willing to try will be pleasantly surprised (and hydrated)."

And if pickles are not your thing, Smoothie King is also simultaneously unveiling five watermelon smoothies including fan-favorite Watermelon Hydration, Watermelon X-Treme, Gut Health, The Activator Recovery Watermelon, and Power Meal Slim Watermelon.

trends openings