The third annual Fort Worth Food and Wine Festival went off without a hitch, allowing fans and food lovers the chance to get up close and personal with those that shape the Fort Worth culinary scene. Six events were attended by some 6,000 ticket-holders, and the weather was superb.
The theme for this year’s Festival was Taste the New Texas. A mix of celebrity judges and texted votes by Festival-goers chose a few winners.
• At the Barbeque Showdown, 18th & Vine took top honors.
• Desserts after Dark gave kudos for best dessert to the Worthington Hotel and best drink to Reata.
• The Judge’s favorite at Burgers, Brews and Blues was Fred’s Texas Café, while the Fan favorite went to Little Red Wasp.
Here are a few of my personal favorites from the Festival:
Barbeque
Meet U Anywhere Barbeque did not just let festival-goers try one of their best…it was a sampler plate to explore. Cheddar cheese sausage, one tender rib, smoky brisket, and jalapeno penne mac and cheese were all loaded on one tiny Styrofoam plate.
Main Event
Which came first, the rabbit or the carrot puree? Jon Bonnell put them both on the same delicious small plate. The freshest carrots were whipped with olive oil and water to make the fluffy, naturally sweet carrot puree base. Then two rabbit loin medallions were garnished with micro greens and pan jus.
Desserts After Dark
Sweet Lucy’s Pies had the perfect bite size Lemon Meringue bites and Cherry Berry Bourbon on display at their booth. Both were as pretty as they were delicious. The Cherry Berry Bourbon with its golden-brown top crust, featured a dose of the event’s secret ingredient – Firestone and Robertson TX whiskey.
Rise and Dine
Black Rooster Bakery made a Texas favorite with an unexpected French twist. Their creation was a kolache made out of out of croissant dough, rather than the classic yeast roll. The flaky pastry was set off by a ruby red dollop of glistening raspberry jam in the middle.
Burgers Brews and Blues
Little Red Wasp held their burger together with a lovely grilled bun. The burger got a little heat from split sausage and a grilled serrano pepper sauce. One more grilled serrano was skewered through the burger for good measure.
http://fortworthfoodandwinefestival.com/