bon appetit

Get a sneak peek at what's on the menu at Fort Worth Tastemaker Awards

Better come hungry to the 2026 Tastemaker Awards.

Photo by Ashley Gongora

The most delicious event of the year is almost here: CultureMap's annual Tastemaker Awards.

Our signature tasting event and awards ceremony is happening Thursday, April 30 at Social Space, bringing with it a whole buffet of chef-driven bites and perfectly paired sips that celebrate Fort Worth's unique culinary scene.

Attendees get one delicious evening to sample to their hearts' content, with offerings prepared by the nominees for Restaurant of the Year, Chef of the Year, Rising Star Chef , Bar of the Year , Dessert Program of the Year, Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year, Coffee Shop of the Year, and more.

You'll want to come hungry, considering this sneak peek at what's on the menu:

Smoked chicken lollipops from BBQ on the Brazos
Beef bulgogi fried rice from Brooklyn's
Wagyu tataki with tobiko caviar from Cattlemen's Steak House
Cheese and charcuterie and an espresso martini to sip from Crystal Springs Hideaway
Tostada de atún from Dos Mares
Assorted sushi from Japanese Palace
Chicken curry puffs, Mok Ubon with premium jumbo lump crab, and grilled naem from Ko Thai
42 Rolls, Tribeca Rolls, and Royce Rolls from Oishii Sushi & Pan Asian
Mini Wagyu chicken fried steak from Rex's Bar & Grill
Braised beef and manchego sliders from Tarrant Area Food Bank
Baked potato culurgiones (stuffed pasta) from The Blue Room
The Meat Board Flight, smoked turkey bacon pinwheels, and Billionaire's Bacon from The Meat Board
The Duck (black garlic duck, slow roasted leg, smoked breast) from The Mont
The Jaybird (buffalo mozzarella, sopressata, grilled prosciutto, peppers) on Italian herb focaccia from Weinberger's Deli

Of course there will be plenty of sweet treats, as well as coffee-centered pick-me-ups from our Coffee Shop and Dessert Program of the Year nominees:

Chocolate pecan mud pie with your choice of toppings from Bricks and Horses
Housemade honeysuckle latte from Brewed
Drip coffee from Crude Craft Coffee Bar
Mini donuts and donut holes from FunkyTown Donuts & Drafts
Cowtown coffee toffee sundae from Melt

To help wet your whistle, there will be Lone Star Beer and craft cocktails from our sponsor, Maker's Mark Bourbon.

Limited VIP passes remain, and it's obvious why they're such a hot ticket: Gain entry to the event a full hour early and get exclusive access to the VIP bar. General admission tickets are also available but are selling fast, so act now to secure your spot at Fort Worth's most delicious night. We'll see you April 30!

FW Tastemaker Awards See you at the big event! Photo by Ashley Gongora

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The CultureMap Tastemaker Awards ceremony is sponsored in Fort Worth by Maker's Mark, Lone Star Beer, H-E-B, Saratoga Water, NXT LVL Event, and more to be announced. A portion of the proceeds benefit our nonprofit partner, the Fort Worth Food and Wine Foundation.

restaurants bars tastemaker awards events cocktails spirits snacks tasting tastemakers

Grocery haul

New H-E-B Mid-Cities store opens in Euless' Glade Parks development

H-E-B

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It's official: H-E-B has an H-E-B. The Texas-based grocer opened the doors to its Hurst-Euless-Bedford "Mid-Cities" location at 6 am Wednesday, May 20.

For Google Maps purposes, the address is 2105 Rio Grande Blvd., Euless. Those who've been watching it go up for the past year-and-a-half know it's in the bustling Glade Parks development at the northwest corner of Cheek-Sparger Road and Rio Grande Boulevard (on the border near Bedford, Colleyville, and Grapevine). You can't miss it.

First announced in late 2024, the Mid-Cities store joins other recent openings in Tarrant County: H-E-B Alliance, which opened in April 2024, and H-E-B Mansfield, which opened the following June. H-E-B also operates Central Market locations in Fort Worth and Southlake.

The store went on a hiring spree earlier this year to employ top talent.

The massive Mid-Cities location faces SH121 and includes an H-E-B Fuel station and car wash, plus a True Texas BBQ restaurant within the store, a dedicated drive-thru, a pharmacy drive-thru, and an expanded grocery pick-up area.

The store opened with some fanfare, which featured company executives along with city officials, community leaders, cheerleaders, mascots, and area nonprofits to celebrate the occasion.

According to the Facebook page Grapevine Edit, a woman from Arlington was first through the door, having arrived at 6:20 pm Tuesday and camped out overnight. They report that opening festivities will continue through the weekend, including free cinnamon rolls and coffee until 12 noon Wednesday, photos with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders until 10 am, free samples, prizes, giveaways, and more.

San Antonio-based H-E-B has been in rapid expansion mode across DFW in recent years; many stores, including Irving, Denton, and Carrollton, are in the works.

The regional supermarket chain is consistently rated among America's best grocers by industry and consumer reports.

With $49.6 billion in annual revenue, the H-E-B grocery chain appears at No. 11 on Forbes' inaugural list of America’s 100 largest family businesses.

Founded in 1905, H-E-B operates more than 450 grocery stores in the U.S. and Mexico. The company says its annual sales exceed $50 billion. The company employs over 175,000 Partners in Texas and Mexico, and serves millions of customers in more than 300 communities.

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