Texas diners in-the-know can sneak-peek new restaurants at Fort Worth Food + Wine Fest

The Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival is a great place for foodies to get a sneak peek of new or coming-soon restaurants.

In 2015, Travis and Emma Heim served bacon burnt ends at the FWFWF a month after they opened their barbecue trailer. Nearly a decade later, that trailer has spawned four Heim Barbecue restaurants, and the bacon burnt ends remain one of the company’s hallmark items.

Similarly, two years ago, the chefs behind modern Mexican restaurant Don Artemio dished out samples of cabrito al pastor at the FWFWF about a week after they opened on West 7th Street. Anybody who hadn’t been to Don Artemio yet still got a taste of what would eventually become one of Fort Worth’s most influential present-day restaurants.

This year, the owners of a Fort Worth bar called Tropic Lady will hand out samples of their plantain taco with mashed black beans, crispy plantains, pickled onion, pineapple slaw, cilantro and pineapple-jalapeño crema at the sold out Tacos + Tequila party on April 4, 2024. Tropic Lady opens two days later.

“From a marketing perspective, it’s really cool to showcase one of our featured items that will be a staple item,” said Amanda Yunger, director of marketing of Tropic Lady and The Bearded Lady.

“So many people who have been anticipating this opening. I think people are really excited to be a part of it,” she said.

Tropic Lady is a sibling restaurant to the Bearded Lady in Fort Worth’s Near Southside neighborhood. For several years, the Bearded Lady has been involved in the Fort Worth food fest, too. Yunger sees it as free advertising for the bar and a great way to talk face-to-face with potential customers.

What those customers will likely learn is that Tropic Lady is a laid-back spot that will sell healthy-ish food like bowls, salads and wraps. The tropical theme is incorporated in the design and on the menu. The burger will come with grilled pineapple tossed in bourbon-maple glaze and cayenne. Guacamole will be mixed with pickled jicama and topped with mango chutney and Tajin.

The bar will soft-open on April 6, 2024, in an attempt to ride a wave of consumer interest after the FWFWF.

Other new restaurants participating in the FWFWF:

• Chef Stephan Pyles, who has been cooking at some of Dallas’ finest restaurants for decades, is opening a new modern Texas restaurant called The Seeker in Stephenville. The restaurant is expected to open in summer 2024 in a luxury motel called the Interstate Inn. Pyles will appear at the FWFWF’s sold out Main Event on April 5, 2024. He’ll serve Ecuadorian potato cakes with Gulf Coast crab salad.
• Chefs from new Fort Worth restaurants Teddy Wong’s, a dumpling and wine shop, and Quince, a riverside patio spot, will participate in the festival for the first time. Their food will be served at the sold out Main Event.
• Chefs from souffle shop Rise will make an appearance at the Rise + Dine party on April 6, 2024. Plano residents might want to visit, because the newest Rise in Plano just opened over Easter weekend. The growing company has restaurants in Dallas, Fort Worth and The Woodlands, too.
• VBQ, a vegan barbecue joint in Fort Worth that closed in late March 2024, is honoring its FWFWF commitment and will serve vegan brisket birria tacos at the Tacos + Tequila event on April 4, 2024. It might be the last time consumers can eat VBQ’s food.

The Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival runs April 4-7, 2024. Some events are sold out; check the website first.

For more food news, follow Sarah Blaskovich on X (formerly Twitter) at @sblaskovich.