This week in gluttony

Fall festivals top 6 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Take the Oktoberfest train ride on the Grapevine Vintage Railroad.

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The Fort Worth 'burbs are showing out in this week's list of tasty happenings. Grapevine is offering multiple fall-focused events, from an Oktoberfest-themed train ride to a spooky Halloween pop-up, and Euless is hosting an annual Greek food festival. There's also a fall wine festival in Burleson complete with pumpkins and apple cider sangria, and a German festival at a longtime downtown Fort Worth draught emporium.

Thursday, October 1

Nightmare on Main Street at Third Rail
The Grapevine bar located inside Harvest Hall (connected to Hotel Vin) launches its annual Halloween pop-up with a ghoulish ambiance and bewitching menu of fall cocktails on Thursday. Try the Cozy Chaos made with blanco tequila, blood orange puree, and cinnamon spices; or the Autumn in Grapevine made with Still Austin Gin, ginger liquor, cranberry juice, and honey syrup. The pop-up will run until October 31.

Winetoberfest at Messina Hof Winery
Celebrate Oktoberfest wine country style during this pairing experience at Messina Hof Winery in downtown Grapevine. The tasting includes four chef-crafted Oktoberfest-inspired small plates served with four wines. Tickets are $60 and the tasting runs from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Friday, October 2

Mid-Cities Greek FoodFest
The 34th annual three-day Greek food and music festival kicks off Friday at St. John the Baptist Greek Orthodox Church in Euless. Go hungry for spanakopita, flaming Greek cheese, moussaka (ground beef casserole with eggplant, potatoes and a rich cream sauce), and a smorgasbord of Greek sweets along with Greek beer and wine. The festival runs 11 am-10 pm Friday-Saturday 11 am-3 pm Sunday. Admission is free.

Oktoberfest Craft Brew Train
Hop aboard the Grapevine Vintage Railroad and raise a stein during this train ride tasting featuring German-themed beers from Texas breweries. The $90 ticket includes a bench seat for two passengers, along with two craft brews, a souvenir cup, and German bites. (Additional beer available for purchase.) Boarding time is 7:40 pm and the event is for those 21 and older.

Saturday, October 3

Oktoberfest Party at Flying Saucer
The longtime downtown Fort Worth draught emporium hosts its day-long celebration of German culture and cuisine, featuring specials like schnitzel, bratwurst in pretzel buns, and cinnamon and sugar pretzels. Oktoberfest brews from around the world will be on tap. Patrons can listen to live music all day on the 8.0 stage and participate in contests for best dressed and stein hoisting. Even more, fans of the time-honored Rahr Brewing Company Oktoberfest 5K will be happy to note the race has moved to the Flying Saucer while the brewery looks for a new home. It all starts at the early hour of 8:30 am.

Sunday, October 4

Fall Fest & Market in the Vines at Lost Oak Winery
Burleson’s Lost Oak Winery, which just celebrated its 20th anniversary, will host a local artisan market during its fall festival, featuring barbecue vendor Argentum BBQ and a limited-edition white apple cider sangria – available only during the event. Bring the entire family for free face painting and a pumpkin patch for purchases and photo ops. The event will run from 2-5 pm.

oktoberfest wine food events

Sushi News

Picazo Sushi near TCU Fort Worth does innovative Asian-Mexican fusion

A new sushi restaurant has opened in Fort Worth with a special spice: Called Picazo Sushi, it's a mom-and-pop spot at 3113 University Dr., doing classic sushi plus a one-of-a-kind hybrid of Asian with a Mexican touch.

The restaurant is spinoff of Picazo Sushi in Dallas, opened by husband-and-wife Octavio and Renee Barriga in 2022 as a food stand inside a food hall, with a menu of sushi rolls, ramen, build-your-own poke bowls, and boba tea.

Fort Worth is their first brick and mortar, located on the ground floor of the Campus Office Tower at the corner of West Berry Street, in a space that was previously Megu French Japanese Cuisine, which closed in July after two years.

"It's a big step for us, but we're excited to be in Fort Worth," Renee says. "A friend told us that the previous owners were looking to pass it on, and we felt like it was the perfect neighborhood for what we do."

That neighborhood includes students from nearby TCU, who can appreciate Picazo's cool and unique fusion of Asian, Mexican, and American cuisines, with dishes such as:

sushi burritos, a clever cross between a burrito and a sushi roll — like a giant handroll filled with rice, crab, cucumber, corn, carrot, and choice of salmon or tuna
sushi tacos, an inventive creation with shells made from tempura fried rice, filled with choice of seafood such as crab, tuna, or salmon
sushi burgers, featuring crispy rice "buns" made two breaded flattened crispy rice patties, sandwiching a filling of spicy crab and avocado — all the ingredients you'd find in a sushi roll

One of their top foodie favorites is their mango tajin sushi roll, filled with avocado and topped with salmon, mango, and tajin, the ultra-trendy Mexican seasoning made from chili and lime. They've also become known for their sushi boat, a sprawling sampler with half a dozen rolls served in a boat-shaped wooden platter.

Other menu items include poke bowls, with a make-your-own where you assemble options such as rice, salmon, tuna, tofu, cucumber, ginger, sriracha, and more. Prices range from $8 to $20.

They've applied for a liquor license but have not yet started serving alcohol, which is just fine for now, as they are still in their soft opening phase.

Octavio, who serves as head sushi chef, brings more than 15 years of experience from working at sushi restaurants such as Kona Grill, Oishii, Blue Sushi, and Sushi Sushi in San Antonio. Renee worked at a taqueria where she gained insight on how to run a business. She also helped steer them onto their ground-breaking path.

"We originally started with traditional sushi, but it wasn't long before we expanded that into adding Mexican flavors," she says. "I always loved the creative sushi we had when we'd go to Oaxaca, and suggested we recreate that kind of fusion here."

openings tex-mex sushi