FW Food Events, A List

These are the 7 best food and drink events in Fort Worth this week

Downtown Grapevine has a new wine bar.

OG Cellars Winery on Main/Facebook

Bourbon, beer, and wine are on the menu of food events in Fort Worth this week, as October officially arrives. Oktoberfest events are still happening, and there's a rare opportunity to snag tickets (hurry!) to a popular outdoor firepit cooking class.

Thursday, October 3

Wine and Jazz
Greater Keller Chamber of Commerce is hosting its first Wine and Jazz event, featuring food samplings from area restaurants including Outpost 36 BBQ, Horizon 76 grill, DeVivo Bros., Firebirds, FnG Eats, Cole's Custom Cheesecakes, Nothing Bundt Cakes, and wine from Two Brothers winery. Guests will enjoy a mix of music, whiskey auction, live auction, and wine pull. It takes place at Keller Town Hall, from 5:30-9 pm. Tickets are $85.

Friday, October 4

Bourbon & Bones Dinner at Cowboys Golf Club
To be held in the Ring of Honor Kitchen & Bar at Cowboys Golf Club in Grapevine, this five-course bourbon pairing dinner will feature Knob Creek spirits. Menu highlights include bone marrow with gremolata, Texas quail and hoppin’ John salad, and tomahawk ribeye with creamed shishito peppers. Each course will come with a different Knob Creek cocktail. Reservations are $99 plus tax and gratuity, and dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

'90s Party at Hoppin'
New pour-your-own beer spot in Fort Worth’s Foundry District is throwing it back '90s style with a '90s party featuring a DJ spinning '90s hits, '90s shows on the TVs, '90s-themed cocktails and shots, a '90s costume contest, '90s treats and party favors, and pizza from Maple Pizza. Hooray for the '90s! It'll take place from 9 pm-2 am. You can make a reservation here, but entry is free.

Saturday, October 5

Firepit Cooking Class at Log Cabin Village
Culinary classes at this outdoor living history museum always sell out. Snag tickets by October 3 (the deadline for registration) and learn the basics of firepit cooking, 19th century style. The hands-on class will let participants prepare a meal over fire to share with classmates. Tickets are $30 and the class will run from 9:30 am–12:30 pm. Kids 10 and older are welcome, but only two per paying adult.

OG Cellars Grapevine Grand Opening
The Sunset, Texas-based winery has opened a satellite wine bar at 909 S. Main St. in historic downtown Grapevine. Enjoy amazing, award-winning, 100 percent Texas wines produced grape-to-bottle at their winery: reds, whites, dry, and sweet. Texas singer/songwriter James Cook will play from 2-5pm, and A Crowd of Three will play from 7–10 pm. Doors open at 12 pm.

BTX Brewfest
Burleson’s annual beer festival will feature more than a dozen breweries including Revolver Brewing, Fort Brewery, Texas Ale Project, and Four Corners Brewing. Heim Barbecue will be among the food trucks on site, as well as Godley’s Del Norte Tacos. Tickets start at $25 for general admission with 12 beer tasting tickets ($10 admission for no tickets) and go up to $55 for VIP tickets, which includes admission one hour early plus swag bag, shirt, and festival glass. Prices go up by $5 on the day of the event, which will run from 3–9 pm (2 pm for VIP).

Oktoberfest at Rusty Nickel IceHouse
Expansive indoor-outdoor sports bar and music venue will host its annual Oktoberfest celebration that comes with special accommodations for large groups: Parties of 6 or 8 can book a table in advance for $30 per person, and each guest gets a German plate of brat, sauerkraut, and potato salad and a stein glass along with two beer buckets for the table with choice of Alstadt’s or Shiner. Activities include stein hoisting, dachshund races, and bratwurst eating contests. Festivities will run from 3–10 pm.

Closure News

Tropic Lady restaurant-bar on Fort Worth's Race Street says aloha

Tropic Lady

The dip trio at Tropic Lady.

A chill restaurant and bar in Fort Worth's River East district has closed: Tropic Lady, which opened in the former Fuzzy's Taco space at 2719 Race St. in 2023, has closed.

The restaurant, which closed in mid-December, was a sibling to Bearded Lady, the popular gastropub in Near Southside; their last Facebook post was on December 10. Their phone number is not working, and their website is no longer active. Owner Shannon Osbakken was unavailable for comment, but a Bearded Lady employee confirmed the closure.

Tropic Lady was a tropical-themed gastropub opened by a trio of friends: Bearded Lady owner Shannon Osbakken, her business partner Sarah Allen, and general manager Amanda Yunger. It offered a similar menu as Bearded lady but with more tropical-inspired fare, including shrimp tacos, bacon-wrapped grilled pineapple bites, and guacamole dotted with mango.

For a gastropub, they did interesting food with dishes like watermelon salad with feta and cucumber; or their Dip Trio, with mango guacamole, tomatillo salsa, and queso blanco served with house-made tortilla chips. Definitely not run-of-the-mill. They also had great lunch specials like a smashburger with curly fries for $10.

Food did not seem to be the problem.

Decor featured artwork and murals created by local artists. A beautifully landscaped patio wrapped around the building’s facade. So the setting did not seem to be a factor.

It's tempting to point the finger at its location on Race Street, which has witnessed a round of closings in the past two years including buzzy birria taqueria Caliscience, which closed in February 2024; as well as The Post at River East, a restaurant and live music venue that shut down the same month.

In 2023, three other restaurants on Race Street closed: Tributary Cafe, the Bon Appetit-lauded La Onda, and vegan burger spot Zonk Burger. But separate reasons can also be found for each of those closures, whether that be inexperience or lease issues.

For years, the city and neighborhood advocates have been trying to turn Race Street into a trendy hotspot. As part of the city’s Urban Villages program, the city of Fort Worth invested $5.6 million in revitalizing the area, making improvements to traffic flow, sidewalks, landscaping, and outdoor lighting.

When Osbakken opened the bar, she said she loved the area, stating "it reminds me of Magnolia when were first were on it 10 years ago in our old location. It's a great community and the neighbors have been friendly and reaching out."

And there are still restaurants along the street, including a popular Mexican restaurant called Tesoro, the Dough’d Up doughnut shop, and Kingyo Sushi & Ramen House, as well as a coffee shop, Race Street Coffee.

The Bearded Lady continues to flourish. Osbakken originally opened the popular gastropub on Magnolia Avenue in 2013. Six years later, she moved it to the South Main, where it’s still going strong.

closings

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