ATE DAY8 of the New Year

From cooking classes to walking tours, this week’s Top 8 food and booze events will help you learn new things for the new year. There will be much more to follow in our annual Alive & Kicking issue two weeks from now, but this will get you started. Happy New Year!

1.) As part of the event series Cook the Book, make dishes from Korean American: Food That Tastes Like Home by New York Times food writer Eric Kim at the cooking school at Central Market (4651 W Fwy, Fort Worth, 817-989-4700) 6:30pm Thu. You’ll create a chopped kimchi pancake topped with bacon and parsley and a dipping sauce; roast a chicken and make yangnyeom sauce to complement it; bake spinach with toasted sesame seeds; and make a simple dessert. Ages 18 and up are welcome to attend, and those over 21 will enjoy a glass of wine paired with the meal. Tickets are $85 per person and include all needed supplies and a copy of the book.

2.) Stretching from Chicago to Los Angeles with a midpoint in Texas, the legendary Route 66 has great food options all along the way. Learn about a few of them at the lecture Eating Up Route 66: Foodways on America’s Mother Road at the Fort Worth Public Library Southwest Regional Branch (4001 Library Ln, 817-392-5860) 10:30am Sat in person or via zoom. Author T. Lindsay Baker of the Center for Texas Studies will tell tales of the eateries and people along the route from his book of the same name. There is no cost to attend.

3.) Ease into a new fitness routine with cardio and cider at Pound & Pour at Atheneum Cider (1029 N Saginaw Blvd, Ste F3, Saginaw, 817-782-9012) 11am Sat. You see, Pound® is (according to them) the “world’s first cardio jam session inspired by the energizing, infectious, sweat-dripping fun of playing the drums.” No drumming experience necessary. Just bring an exercise mat and towel. Tickets are $20 on Eventbrite.com and include your first post-workout adult beverage.

4.) On Thursdays, Fridays, or Saturdays at 6pm thru Fri, Feb 9, you can enjoy the next Chef’s Table, a series of private dinner parties for 10, at Taste Community Restaurant (1200 S Main St, Fort Worth, TasteProject.org). For $1,500, you and your guests will enjoy a multi-course meal by the Taste sous chef apprentices, who will gain another enriching culinary experience. The new menu by Chef Mizhraim Pena III includes mofongo con churrasco y chimichurri (twice-cooked plantains with skirt steak); crema de platano (Colombian-style creamy plantain soup topped with cilantro); lubina chilena ceviche con parcha y leche de tigre (Peruvian-style sea bass ceviche marinated in spicy citrus and passion fruit juice); mojo porchetta (marinated porchetta with savory pigeon pea rice and pickled root vegetables); and Puerto Rican bread pudding with coquito sauce. Reserve your date on Eventbrite.com.

5.) If stepping up your grilling game is on your resolutions list for 2024, start with a course by the nationally renowned Backyard Pitmasters BBQ Classes organization. Keyworth Brewing Company (6428 Davis Blvd, Bldg 1, Ste 400, North Richland Hills, 817-393-3486) is hosting one of the Brisket U classes at noon on Sat, Jan 20, where you will learn the art of smoking, including choosing the proper cut of meat, trimming techniques, rubs and prep, wood selection, smoke profiles, managing a fire, timing, and slicing the end product. The cost is $89 per person at BrisketU.com.

6.) On Thursdays thru Jan 25, attend A Fresh Start to a Healthier You, a four-part adult nutrition series at the Haltom City Public Library (4809 Haltom Rd, 817-884-1297) from 6pm to 7pm. Every week, you will receive free samples and recipes, plus live cooking demonstrations. You will learn about creating safe and healthier meals this week, then balancing your day/meal planning on Thu, Jan 11, saving at the grocery store on Thu, Jan 18, and celebrating small bites on Thu, Jan 25. This program is sponsored by the Texas A&M AgriLife Extension of Tarrant County, so there is no cost to attend. Sign up at HCPL.TicketLeap.com.

7.) Join the Fort Worth Food + Wine Foundation for a cross-cultural dining experience called Beyond Borders at Whiskey Ranch (4250 Mitchell Blvd, Fort Worth, 817-840-9140) 6:30pm Sat, Jan 27. The multi-course meal will be followed by a panel discussion with the three chefs: Rodrigo Cardenas of Don Artemio Mexican Heritage, Michael Fojtasek of Olamaie, and Tom Perini of Perini Ranch Steakhouse. Tickets are $250 at FWFWF.org/Events/Beyond-Borders.

8.) On a daily basis, history buffs and foodies can unite in Dallas and take a JFK Food & Culture Tour. Food Tours of America is the host of this trip through Dallas’ historic West End and Dealey Plaza areas starting at the John F. Kennedy Memorial Plaza (646 Main St) from 9:30am to 12:30pm every day. Along with the JFK assassination spot, the tour features the Old Red Courthouse and Dallas founder John Neely Bryan’s original log cabin. Culinary stops include Y.O. Ranch Steakhouse (702 Ross Av, Dallas, 214-744-3287) and other West End Warehouse District eateries. Tickets are $85 on Eventbrite.com.