by Jennifer Thomas
Tickets are now available for the 35th Annual Barrett Havran Memorial Big Taste of Fort Worth benefiting Big Brothers Big Sisters and presented by The Dorothea Leonhardt Fund of the Communities Foundation of Texas, Andrea Harkins, Donor Advisor. For the past several years, all tickets have been sold out well before the event date. The event, which combines fine dining with premium wine sampling all under one roof, will be held on Sunday, March 30, 2014 at the Omni Fort Worth. Please visit Big Taste or contact 888.887.BIGS for reservations. Big Brothers Big Sisters is pleased to announce that the Governor of Texas Rick Perry and First Lady Anita Perry will serve as the Honorary Chairs of this year’s premier food and wine event.
Past winners and participants in the food portion of the evening include Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House, Eddie V’s Prime Seafood, Bob’s Steak and Chop House, MICHAELS Restaurant and Ancho Chile Bar, and the 2013 Best of Big Taste winner Ruth’s Chris Steak House. All proceeds of the event benefit Big Brothers Big Sisters and the Barrett Martin Havran Little Steps Big Futures Program.
The impressive roster of participating restaurants is rivaled only by the wildly popular wine tasting portion of the evening. The VIP Wine Tasting presented by NovaCopy offers countless varieties of wines for sampling. The Main Tasting follows and offers a variety of petite menu selections from area restaurants ranging from prime beef tenderloin, smoked salmon, beer braised short ribs, hand-made tortellini, grilled fish tacos and much more. Dessert offerings are just as delectable with gourmet bundt cakes, bananas foster and more.
Winners of the event are selected by a panel of celebrity judges and by attendees. The “Best of Big Taste” award is the judges’ choice for best overall food at the event. The “People’s Choice Award” is determined by attendees who vote for their favorite restaurant via ballots. This year’s celebrity judges will be Fort Worth Police Chief Jeff Halstead and Kim Halstead; Amy Kushnir, TV host at The Broadcast and Foodie at MyTexasToday.com; Louise Lamensdorf, Executive Chef of Bistro Louise Catering; Bob Ortegle, Fox Sports Southwest Announcer and former Voice of the Dallas Mavericks (1988-2011); Lisa Taylor, Host of Wake Up with the Wolf Show on 99.5 FM the Wolf. VIP Wine Judges are Samuel Jason Huerta, Pappas Brothers Steakhouse; Richard O’Neill, Jeroboam Distribution; Renie Steves, Owner of Cuisine Concepts; Ryan Tedder, Advanced Sommelier for Graileys Fine Wines.
The event is at the Omni Fort Worth Hotel, 1300 Houston Street, Fort Worth, TX 76102. The Main Tasting portion of the evening begins at 6 p.m. and open seating tickets are $125 each. The VIP Wine Tasting is from 4:30 p.m-6 p.m. and that ticket price of $200 provides admission to both the VIP Wine Tasting and the Main Tasting. Musical entertainment will be provided by Trey and the Tritones, and the silent auction will feature unique and exclusive items. To make individual reservations, please visit Big Taste or contact 888.887.BIGS.
2014 Taste of Fort Worth Participants AF+B Billy Bob’s Texas Honkey Tonk Kitchen Blue Mesa Grill Bob’s Steak & Chop House Bravo Cucina Italiana Café Brazil Cast Iron at the Omni Forth Worth Chadra Mezza & Grill City Kitchen Catering Constellation Brands Craggy Range Winery Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House Del Frisco’s Grille Eddie V’s Prime Seafood Fireside Pies Grace Hacienda San Miguel Hahn Family Wines Hear, Hear! Distribution Huneeus Vinters Jonata La Cigale Wines LangeTwins Family Winery and Vineyards Le Grand Courtâge Let’s Eat Lioco Winery Little Red Wasp Kitchen + Bar Llano Estacado Winery Mark Ryan Winery Max’s Wine Dive Forth Worth MICHAELSCUISINE Restaurant & Bar Misa Imports Moonlight Cakes Nothing Bundt Cakes Red Caboose Winery Ridglea Country Club Ruth’s Chris Steak House The Capital Grille – Fort Worth The Grille at The Harbor on Possum Kingdom Lake The Wild Mushroom Steak House & Lounge The Winetroop Vision Cellars Wrath Wines Zodiac
