Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas,

FWFWF: Burgers, Brews and Blues

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post however I did receive tickets to the event in return for the publication. As always, all opinions are my own. #FWFWF #BurgersBluesBlues #FortWorthTX

The perfect trifecta of things that belong at a festival – burgers, brews and blues. Joining forces to provide the most enjoyable evening at the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival in the most comfortable atmosphere. On top of it all, The Heart of the Ranch venue on Clearfork Main Street may now be my favorite outside venue in Fort Worth. Rustic, charming, calm and peaceful with the tunes from the live music in the foreground. Grab a chair or a rock and just be ready to soak it up.

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas,

The event that we most anticipated blew us away. We were immediately relaxed and taken to what felt like the middle of the Texas country, with overhanging lights, a cool brew in hand and the smell of burgers sizzling on the grill. Our feet moving and hips swaying to the beat of the live blues coming from the stage, we could’ve stayed all night. This was an event that you’ll want to spend the entire evening with the closest friends and family and come back year after year. We were already talking about coming back next year before the event was even over! To provide an interesting twist, voting tokens are provided for the best burger and best local brew. Your taste buds have an impact too!

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas, Revolver Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas, Fred's

With numerous restaurants participating from Fort Worth, there wasn’t a burger that didn’t get enjoyed. Man, these guys really get creative too. From a PB&J based burger (considering I despise PB&J it was phenomenal) to your typical burger, lettuce, tomato burger, we were pleased, surprised and well fed.

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas,

Far Out Peanut Butter Jammy Burger – Far Out Patty & Bun, American cheese, Far Out Strawberry Jalapeño jam, cream cheese, bacon, Far Out Peanut Butter sauce, arugula.

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas, Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas,

Every great burger must be complimented by an equally superior beer! Whether it is with a full bodied taste, a little light on the corners or even a spicy kick on the back end, it’s the ying to the burgers yang. Luckily for us, this event had a full supply. From our personal favorite, Revolver to new breweries that we’ve yet to discover, we were pretty excited.

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas, Four Corners Brewery

And what’s a good beer without some live music. With local artists James Hinkle, Chris Watson Band and the Michael Lee Clemmer Band – everyone was enjoying themselves to the fullest. I mean, how can you not, it’s blues!

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas,

What we found at the Burgers, Brews and Blues was the most entertaining, enticing and appetizing event of the FWFWF. When you are talking about coming back the following year before the event is even over, you know it’s got to be that good!

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas,

Until next year!

Burgers Brews and Blues, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fort Worth Texas,

A full recap of our experience at the Fort Wort Food and Wine Festival as well as links to the other events can be found, here.

Rise and Dine, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Brunch Dining, Fort Worth Texas,

FWFWF: Rise and Dine

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post however I did receive tickets to the event in return for the publication. As always, all opinions are my own. #FWFWF #RiseandDine #FortWorthTX

The weekend extravaganzas of the Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival begin with the Rise and Dine event. What better way to start Saturday morning than with brunch. The greatest meal of the day exploded into a wide array of traditional breakfast options, pastries, seafood, pasta and even items with a kick (the shrimp and grits blew our minds). Plus, it’s never to early to pair your first meal of the day with a local brew, wine or champagne. Am I right? We all need to start the day off on the right foot and this was definitely the way to go!

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Pastries are quick to be on the top of all of our lists, including mine. The only thing to pay attention to during this weekend of food and wine was where I can get these tasty options in the future. If there’s maple syrup involved, you’ve definitely caught my attention…

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French Toast – Pacific Table

 

All I saw was real maple syrup being poured and I was sold. Maple syrup in Texas can sometimes seem like a lost commodity but if you’ve got it, you’ve got me. This french toast option (above) brought a crispy crunch coating the the bite and the small piece of bacon on top was the perfect extra flavorful bite that quenched the taste. I’m not going to lie, I went back for seconds (I wouldn’t even share this one with Spencer because it was so good).

The best presentation goes to #CastIronOmni. Chicken and Waffles! #riseanddine #fwfwf #fortworthfoodie

A photo posted by Diana Bockus (@downhometraveler) on

The traditional Southern breakfast / brunch option was not amiss thank you to Cast Iron Omni. This was actually my first time trying chicken and waffles as well. Definitely one of the South.

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With all of the food, we were sure that we always had a beverage in hand. It gets really hard to pick with so many options. We decided to just try a little of everything. Knob Creek, Tito’s, a beer garden and endless varieties of wine and champagne. It’s a good thing that we were surrounded by so much delicious food. Which came first, the drink or the plate?

Then came our most favorite, beyond favorite item of the event. We can’t even describe this one because it was so good. Some would say a party in my mouth perhaps. Bringing together a bit of the South, the spring, Louisiana, a little spice and huge kick of flavor, Shrimp and Grits by Buttons. Holy Cow. If only I could spoon feed you this dish through the screen. Ah, I can’t even talk about it, I’m getting hungry. Make your way to Buttons and try it for yourself. Plentiful shrimp, creamy grits, slices of jalapenos. Oh Lordy…

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Here are a few other of our favorites…

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Tillman’s Roadhouse

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Steamed pork sandwich – Shinjuku Station

Have you ever had a steamed sandwich? A light bread, almost wet to the touch is light and fluffy. This was the first time I’ve ever had a steamed sandwich. Don’t go into it thinking it will taste like a real sandwich or even bread, it allows the flavors of the the filling to completely take over.

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Green Eggs and Ham

Let’s go read the Dr. Seuss book and check this one off. Delicious. Dr. Seuss was onto something…

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What is your favorite brunch location in Fort Worth?

A full recap of our experience at the Fort Wort Food and Wine Festival as well as links to the other events can be found, here.

Grand Tasting, Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival, Fine Dining, Fort Worth Texas,

FWFWF: Grand Tasting Event

Disclaimer: I was not paid for this post however I did receive tickets to the event in return for the publication. As always, all opinions are my own. #FWFWF #GrandTasting #FortWorthTX

Everything is bigger in Texas, including quality. Where no holds bar, the Grand Tasting showcased the the most exceptional items at this year’s Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival. Including presentations from some of the area’s most elite restaurants, local breweries and North Texas wines and spirits there was no limitation of the items that can be devoured. Lobster rolls, smoked salmon, bread pudding and jalapeño beer. (Yes, jalapeño beer and it was phenomenal.) This was the event to dress up a little and be ready for a evening of treating yourselves.

With as much wine as food (let’s be honest, I’m convinced there was definitely more wine), the first stop had to be a wine table. With wines companies from all over Texas and all over the world, we can all find something that we enjoy. A great sommelier always finds something that you would enjoy. Keeping up with the wine selection was something of a challenge for me, I prefer Malbecs but it was great to try some wines that were new to me and to expand my pallet.

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TX Whiskey and Tito’s were available with areas for themselves. Enjoy the Tito’s bar room with specialty mixed cocktails or swing over to TX Whiskey (our favorite) for their delicious TX Whiskey Grapefruit Honey Water. Talk about something to cool you off this summer on a scorching day! If you are unfamiliar with TX Whiskey, they have a pretty unique distinction. Every bottle has a different leather top. Collect a few, display them. It’s a great characteristic to add to their label.

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Then, I came across my favorite of the night. In fact, I’m just as surprised that I loved this beer as much as I did. Jalapeno beer by No Label Brewing Company. As soon as I had a sip, I couldn’t wait to be sitting outside with a beer in one hand and a great burger in the other!

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To the food!
The food was amazing! With some of the best restaurants in Fort Worth gathered in one room, you are bound to just wear pants that are a little loser or for the ladies, just go with a dress. You will want to try everything! It’s even better to run into friends while you are there (or make new ones) and hear about their favorites. Here are a few of the finds that we found along the way with some of our favorites for the night!

Our Favorites
Let’s be serious and ask where do we even start with this?
Bonnells Pork and Jalapeno, Cafe Modern Pork Sandwich and one table had a great cornbread (we lost track of who but I’ll try to figure it out – if you know please comment).
Plus the following…

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Pacific Table – Salmon

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Smoked Salmon

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Capital Grille – Lobster Roll

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Whiskey and Rye – Bread Pudding with Whiskey Ice Cream

Honorable Mentions and Other Dishes From the Evening:

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Seafood Tamale

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This event was really fantastic. It not only brought together the elite fine dining restaurants of Fort Worth but exposes you to previously unaware options. The hard part is it’s created a new bucket list of places to check out. SO many choices, so little time. It’s a good thing we like to run at the parks!

What was your favorite option at the Grand Tasting? What would you like the most?

A full recap of our experience at the Fort Wort Food and Wine Festival as well as links to the other events can be found, here.