This week in gluttony

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

Learn to make the perfect espresso martini at Restaurant 506 inside The Sanford House in Arlington.

Courtesy photo

This weekend brings the unofficial end of summer (though fall doesn't truly begin until September 22), and there are opportunities to hold onto the season with festive foodie events. Take a Texas-themed staycation with live music, dinner, and breakfast at a local hotel. Learn how to make espresso martinis ahead of holiday gatherings. Finally, enjoy the epitome of a Texas summer night with festival food and drinks paired with an outdoor concert under the stars.

Monday, August 26

Pendleton Whisky Dinner at Cut & Bourbon in Live! by Loews
It’s not too late to get reservations for this whisky pairing dinner happening in conjunction with Live! by Loews' fifth anniversary. The Arlington hotel's steakhouse, Cut & Bourbon, will present five courses paired with Pendleton Whisky cocktails. Dinner is $125, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 5:30 pm with a cocktail reception.

Thursday, August 29

Meet the Maker at Toro Toro
Visit the bar at Toro Toro inside the Worthington Renaissance Hotel downtown and sip premium samples of Nosotros Tequila. Learn the history of the brand and enjoy special priced cocktails and food pairings. Valet is complimentary and the event will run from 5-7 pm.

Pick Your Poison: Making the Perfect Espresso Martini at Restaurant 506
Cocktail class series features expert-led lessons in mixology from Restaurant 506 inside The Sanford House in Arlington. This one will focus on the espresso martini. Light bites are included in the $35 ticket price. Class will run from 6-7 pm.

Friday, August 30

Ronald McDonald House Fundraiser at JARS by Fabio Viviani
The jarred dessert destination will partner with the Ronald McDonald Houses of Fort Worth and Dallas for a fundraising event in which 50 percent of all sales will benefit the charity in each respective city. JARS has locations in Fort Worth at 3000 South Hulen St. (11 am-10 pm) and Dallas at 3610 Greenville Ave. (12-10 pm).

Saturday, August 31

Bedford Beats and Eats Fest
Free festival will take place at Generations Park at Boys Ranch (2801 Forest Ridge Dr.) and feature 20 food vendors along with live music with Randy Rogers Band as the headliner. There’ll also be artisan vendors and a kid’s zone with family activities. The event will run from 2–11 pm.

Sunday, September 1

Cowtown Unplugged at Omni Fort Worth Hotel
The Omni Fort Worth Hotel will host its twice-yearly Cowtown Unplugged country concert event pairing music and a Texas-themed menu. This year features Sunny Sweeny and the Wonder Women of Country. A preshow dinner, reserved for VIP package holders, offers cherry barbecue braised beef bone-in short ribs, Texas spiced sous vide chicken, antipasto, salads, charcuterie, and sweet treats including Dr Pepper brownie bites. All packages include a Texas-themed breakfast buffet the next morning, starting at $299 for two.

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Scones News

Fort Worth baker pops up around town with fresh baked scones

Sunrise Scones

Scones from Sunrise Scones

Fort Worth has a pop-up baker dedicated entirely to the wonderful world of scones: Called Sunrise Scones, it's a mobile bakery that pops up twice a week, selling scones ready to eat or take home and bake.

Sunrise is from baker Gretchen Seegel, who has been baking and selling scones since 2021. Fans seek her out every Saturday at Clearfork Farmers Market at 4801 Edwards Ranch Rd. And during September, she's popping-up every Wednesday from 10 am-2 pm at Sweet Lucy’s Pies, inside Bluebonnet Circle Park at 3520 Blue Bonnet Cir.

Sunrise's signature item is the blueberry lemon scone, a golden-brown pastry featuring whole blueberries and lemon zest. Other scone flavors include double chocolate, vanilla cream, and s’mores topped with graham cracker crumbles and a chocolate square.

Seegel also does savory flavors such as parmesan pesto that almost resembles focaccia, with its topping of dusted herbs and melted cheese.

Single scones look like a pie-shaped wedge, a couple inches high. Most of her flavors come with icing or sprinkled toppings, which add to their visual appeal. A single scone is $5, although the more popular order is a four-pack for $20. Orders can be made during markets or through preorder on the site.

In addition to already baked, she also offers a take-and-bake — "so people can buy frozen scones, bring them home, and bake them when they want a fresh scone," she says.

Seegel began baking scones because she could never find ones she liked.

“I love bakeries but more often than not, I was disappointed in the scone,” Seegel says. “They were either overworked, over-mixed, or super sweet.”

Scones were a fun pivot for Seegel, a creative soul who previously designed and sewed children's clothes under her brand called Beatrice Tuley, which she closed when she launched her baking business.

The biggest challenges in the scones operation have been finding quality ingredients while keeping prices reasonable, but she loves the process of creating flavors, with an eye towards seasonality. She's already working on apples and pumpkin for the fall.

"I just think about what would pair well with other flavors and try to find some unique pairings," she says.