Fort Worth Food and Wine includes kids-eat-free family event

Sure, a $50 ticket sounds pricey.

But it’s easy to spend that much on a family at a ballgame, or the State Fair.

The family-fun event of the Fort Worth Food + Wine Festival is Sunday, when kids eat free with a $50 adult admission for “Family Sunday Funday” at Panther Island.

The festival is the third annual celebration of Fort Worth dining and wine, featuring the city’s best, plus statewide guests, for a foodie event promoted as “Taste the New Texas.”

Events start Thursday with a $60 barbecue dinner featuring 15 of Texas’ and the region’s best pitmasters.

The Sunday event features catering chefs Dena Peterson of Bravo Catering & Events and Juan Rodriguez of Magdalena’s, plus a choice of 20 tacos, ice creams, ice pops, doughnuts and more.

Rodriguez will serve tortillas Españolas (mini omelets) with chorizo gravy or Meyer lemon aioli. (Hey, it’s not all doughnuts and popcorn.)

Peterson is debuting a new line of cotton candy — organic, with no artificial dyes.

Both Cultural District taco shops will be on hand, Salsa Limón with barbacoa tacos and Taco Heads with its new élote.

Pegaso Mexican Diner will serve enchilada bites, a sampler serving from its egg roll-like “fried enchiladas.”

Alchemy Pops and Lee’s Grilled Cheese are among the other restaurants,

Panther Island is at 395 Purcey St. downtown. For tickets to the Sunday Funday and other events, see fwfwf.com.

Tex-Mex takedown

The Alliance neighborhood’s Tex-Mex showdown has begun.

A Chuy’s Tex-Mex is open at 9700 North Freeway, the second in Fort Worth for the Austin-based chain.

The new Chuy’s is only a half-mile from the Alliance Town Center location of Dallas-based Mi Cocina. Across Interstate 35W, Dallas-based Uncle Julio’s is building a location.

Chuy’s is known for a lighthearted approach to Tex-Mex, and in particular for more salads and lunch specials than comparable restaurants; chuys.com.

(It’s not related to the small, local Chuy’s Mexican Restaurants owned by the Adame family.)

Alliance Town Center also has locations of Colorado-based Chipotle and Costa Vida.

Southlake Latin

A new Gloria’s Latin Cuisine is open in Southlake at 1121 E. Southlake Blvd. in Park Village.

Addison-based Gloria’s, expanding statewide, has become the first major restaurant to operate in both Southlake and Colleyville; gloriascuisine.com.

This story was originally published March 29, 2016 at 10:35 AM with the headline "Fort Worth Food and Wine includes kids-eat-free family event."