culinary all stars

Texas' best restaurants and bars celebrated at 2024 Tastemaker Awards

We've only barely recovered: CultureMap's statewide journey to honor the best chefs, restaurants, and more with 2024 Tastemaker Awards has finally come to an end.

The series kicked off March 27 with our sold-out Houston Tastemakers at Silver Street Studios, then we moved south to San Antonio for our third-ever fiesta at the Briscoe Museum on April 4.

We stuck around in Central Texas for the festivities at Distribution Hall in Austin on April 11, then headed north to Fort Worth for our biggest celebration there yet on May 2. The Texas culinary tour concluded with our North Texas neighbors in Dallas at the Fashion Industry Gallery on May 16.

The 2024 Tastemaker Awards celebrated Texas' most innovative culinary pioneers, as nominated chefs and restaurants showcased their talents for guests with delicious bites and treats before our emcees announced the winners during the live ceremony.

Guests dined on our venerated chefs’ specialty hors d'oeuvres, sipped on a variety of creative batched cocktails, and stayed hydrated with a chilled Topo Chico in hand. But nothing could take away the focus from our acclaimed nominees and winners, who are the main reason we bring these celebrations to life year after year.

Nominees are, as always, produced by a panel of previous Tastemaker winners and CultureMap staff. While our judges vote on most of the winners, the champion in the Best New Restaurant category is determined by our readers in an online, bracket-style tournament. New to the 2024 categories in each city was a competition for the best patio.

Without further ado, let’s meet our 2024 CultureMap Tastemaker Awards winners all across Texas, listed by city:

Fort Worth:

Restaurant of the Year: 61 Osteria
Chef of the Year: Preston Paine, Emilia's, The Blue Room
Bar of the Year: Thompson's Bookstore
Best New Restaurant: Plank Seafood Provisions
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Michael Rios, Pantry on Magnolia
Pastry Chef of the Year: Tareka Lofton, Loft22 Cakes
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Los Asaderos
Best Patio: Joe T. Garcia's

Houston:

Restaurant of the Year: Tatemó
Chef of the Year: Luis Mercardo and Paolo Justo, Neo
Bar of the Year: Refuge
Best New Restaurant: Andiron
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Lucas McKinney, Josephine’s Gulf Coast Tradition
Pastry Chef of the Year: Vanarin Kuch, Koffeteria
Bartender of the Year: Fabio Pontes, Bludorn
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Burger Bodega
Wine Program of the Year: March
Best Pop-Up/Startup: Jane Wild
Best Patio: Better Luck Tomorrow

San Antonio:

Restaurant of the Year: Leche de Tigre
Chef of the Year: Nicola Blaque, The Jerk Shack
Best New Restaurant: Thai Bird
Bar of the Year: Bar Loretta
Brewery of the Year: Weathered Souls Brewing Co.
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Clementine
Pastry Chef of the Year: Jenn Riesman, Rooster Crow Bakery
Best Patio: The Good Kind Southtown

Austin:

Restaurant of the Year: Canje
Chef of the Year: Tracy Malechek-Ezekiel, Birdie's
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Eli Rodriguez, Bufalina Due
Pastry Chef of the Year: Sarah McIntosh, Épicerie
Bar of the Year: Holiday
Bartender of the Year: Amanda Carto, Daydreamer
Best New Restaurant: Poeta
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Birdie's
Brewery of the Year: Jester King Brewery
Best Patio: Jester King Brewery

Dallas:

Restaurant of the Year: Petra & The Beast
Chef of the Year: Noah Hester, Hamm's Meat & Market
Bar of the Year: Whiskeys Dallas
Best New Restaurant: McRae's American Bistro
Rising Star Chef of the Year: Will Salisbury, Carbone
Pastry Chef of the Year: Tida Pichakron, Haute Sweets Patisserie
Bartender of the Year: Fernanda Rossano, Kaiyo
Neighborhood Restaurant of the Year: Terilli's
Wine Program of the Year: Sister
Best Patio: Taco Y Vino

scontent.cdninstagram.com

Dallas' Restaurant of the Year is Petra and the Beast.

restaurants bars tastemaker awards

Doughnut News

Luscious doughnut shop Duck Donuts makes Fort Worth debut

Photo courtesy of Visit Addison

undefined

A decadent new doughnut shop is coming to Fort Worth: Duck Donuts, a North Carolina-based chain known for serving doughnuts made to order, will open a shop at 6387 Camp Bowie Blvd. #A within the Ridglea Plaza Shopping Center in Fort Worth.

According to a release, the shop will open on Saturday December 21 at 7 am.

Duck Donuts opened its first locations in 2007 in the beach resort towns of Duck and Kitty Hawk, North Carolina with the intention to create an oasis for vacationers. They're now headquartered in Mechanicsburg, Pennsylvania, and began franchising in 2013, with more than 150 locally owned and operated shops across 26 states and international locations. There was previously a DFW location in Addison on Belt Line Road that opened in 2020 but it did not survive the pandemic.

The Fort Worth shop is owned and operated by husband-and-wife Justin and Morgan Thomas.

“We are delighted to be opening in Fort Worth,” Justin says in a statement. “The community has been patiently waiting for us to open our doors, and now we cannot wait to sprinkle happiness to all with our warm, delicious and made-to-order doubhnuts.”

The 1,035-square-foot shop reflects the franchise’s reimagined design which gives a modern twist on their iconic beach theme and family-friendly atmosphere. Upon entering the store, customers are greeted by the aroma of warm, light vanilla cake doughnuts.

Customers can create their own combination by choosing from coatings, toppings, and drizzles, including traditional favorites such as chocolate icing with sprinkles and more adventurous creations such as maple icing with bacon.

Key to their appeal is the viewing area where children and adults alike can watch their doughnuts being made.

Many of their flavors have a beachy theme such as the Beach, a cake doughnut with vanilla icing dusted with cinnamon sugar; the Sunrise with lemon icing and raspberry drizzle; and the Beach Ball with vanilla icing, rainbow sprinkles, and chocolate drizzle.

They rotate in seasonal offerings such as the current lineup of mint-flavored flavors including chocolate icing with mint buttercream. The doughnuts themselves are limited to vanilla and chocolate cake; the flavors come primarily from icing.

In addition to doughnuts, the Fort Worth location will serve coffee, doughnut breakfast sandwiches, doughnut sundaes — in which a doughnut is topped with ice cream and syrup — plus frozen beverages and milkshakes.

doughnuts openings