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    Tastemaker Awards 2018

    Dallas-Fort Worth food fans toast to local culinary stars at Tastemaker Awards

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Apr 20, 2018 | 7:20 pm
    Dallas-Fort Worth food fans toast to local culinary stars at Tastemaker Awards
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    It was wall-to-wall food and drink at the 2018 Tastemaker Awards, CultureMap's celebration of the top restaurants, bars, and culinary masters, held at Dallas event space Sixty Five Hundred on April 19.

    More than 30 bars and restaurants dished out their best in a hedonistic feast, serving spectacular tastes ranging from meatball sliders to hamachi crudo to Texas quail. The fifth year of the annual event, presented by Woodford Reserve and benefiting Bonton Farms, it drew a sold-out crowd of more than 750 attendees and proved to be the most assured and polished yet.

    Lines formed quickly for small plates and samples from some of Dallas-Fort Worth's most popular and influential eateries. Buzzy dishes included warm and spicy elote-style corn at Trompo; tenderloin slider at Bob's Steak & Chop House topped with a witty pickled carrot; red snapper ceviche at Cedars Social; Texas quail at Tillman's Roadhouse; fava bean veloute from The French Room; mini-biscuits with sausage gravy from Norma's Cafe; pulled pork on a Hawaiian roll from Ferris Wheelers; and the massively popular breakfast-at-dinner cinnamon-pecan bread pudding French toast from Crossroads Diner.

    A bartenders showcase sponsored by Woodford Reserve featured Bartender of the Year nominees Trevor Landry, Jonathan Garcia, and Austin Millspaugh, mixing up signature Woodford cocktails.

    Landry's drink, called the Second Wind, combined Woodford Reserve with cacao-infused Flor de Cana rum, Braulio amaro, Disaronno Amaretto, and mole bitters. Garcia's "3:10 to Iwo Jima" combined Woodford Reserve with strawberry shoshito, lemon juice, and ginger beer. Millspaugh's "In the Summer of '62" featured Woodford Reserve with Chartreuse and Averna liqueurs, golden syrup, and chocolate bitters, topped with a head of whipped cream. This one contained a decadent surprise: a chocolate mousse cake ball with a crunchy coating floating inside.

    At the Tastemaker Hall of Fame corner, Charlie "Pap" Papaceno, 2017 Bartender of the Year, created a jalaeño-topped "Barbed Wire Fence" cocktail alongside a dish of braised pork and cabbage from Josh Sutcliff, 2017 Rising Star Chef of the Year winner.

    The Woodford Reserve main bar poured potent Old Fashioneds, TexaTucky Tea, margaritas, and more. Korbel offered garnished bubbly at the Bubbly Bar; wines by Sonoma-Cutrer and beers from Deep Ellum Brewing, Alaskan Brewing, and Community Beer Co. were served; and guests paced themselves at the Topo Chico Hydration Station.

    Desserts got their very own dedicated Compass Sweet Suite, where pastry chef nominees Eric Cobb, Katrina Kent, Keith Cedotal, and Erika Lucio turned out an array of gorgeous sweets such as Orelys "blond chocolate" panna cotta with banana and passion fruit, and a toasted marshmallow and chocolate layered verrine with chocolate-chip cookie butter and chocolate "crack."

    But this party wasn't just a feeding frenzy; we had some awards to present. CultureMap senior editor Teresa Gubbins welcomed the crowd and introduced celebrity emcee Jane McGarry​, who announced the winners from restaurants and bars across Dallas-Fort Worth. They were selected by judges Charlie Papaceno, Dan Murry, Jeffery Hobbs, Jesus Garcia, John McCaa, Josh Sutcliff, Kevin Martinez, Malcolm Mayhew, Nancy Nichols, Nico Sanchez, Rich Hicks, Rodney Haas, Sandra Bussey, Sarah Green, Stephen Rogers, and Gubbins.

    One of the biggest awards of the night was for Best New Restaurant, voted on by the CultureMap readers and sponsored by Whole Foods Market. The winners were Ferris Wheelers in Dallas and B&B Butchers in Fort Worth. They were greeted with some of the loudest applause and cheers of the night.

    Winners went home with major bragging rights, a trophy, and a gift from Seasoned, one of the event's generous sponsors.

    Between feasting and celebrating, guests stopped to snap Insta-worthy photos at the SmileBooth and bought raffle tickets benefiting Bonton Farms, an urban farm in South Dallas. DJ Blake Ward kept the music lively all night.

    Spotted in the crowd were Dallas dining VIPs and influencers including Monica Greene, Brad Woy, Tim McIneny, Jose Meza, David Denney, Victor Rojas, David Gow, Sander Wolf, Jon Alexis, LeAnn Berry, Phil Schanbaum, Brian McCullough, Christian Armando, Brandon Baker, Rachel Pinn, Susie Oszustowicz, Junior Borges, Tammany Stern, JaLisa E. Vaughn, and Alyssa Harker.

    Now go read about all the winners, and we'll see you next year.

    Rob Morley, Heather Lawhon, Julie Campbell, Brian McCullough

    Dallas Tastemaker Awards 2018, Rob Morley, Heather Lawhon, Julie Campbell, Brian McCullough
      
    Photo by WJNPHOTO
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    Celebrity wedding

    Dallas Cowboys cheerleader ties the knot in dreamy wedding in Tuscany

    Stephanie Allmon Merry
    Jun 16, 2025 | 4:24 pm
    Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Marissa Phillips, Braden Leschber wedding, Tuscany
    Photo by Kseniya Palchi via Facebook/Marissa Phillips and People magazine.
    Marissa Phillips and Braden Leschber wed on June 3, 2025 in Italy.

    Dallas Cowboys cheerleader Marissa Phillips married her college sweetheart, Braden Leschber, in a picture-perfect wedding under the Tuscan sun of Italy on June 3, 2025.

    People magazine got the exclusive on all the wedding details and gorgeous photos by Milan-based photographer Kseniya Palchik.

    Phillips just completed her third year with the Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders and reportedly cut the Italian wedding trip short to return to Dallas and "buckle down" for the next season's auditions. She appeared in Season 1 of Netflix's hit series America's Sweethearts: Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders. Season 2 begins streaming Wednesday, June 18.

    Dallas Cowboys Cheerleader Marissa Phillips, Braden Leschber wedding, Tuscany
      

    Photo by Kseniya Palchi via Facebook/Marissa Phillips and People magazine.

    Marissa Phillips and Braden Leschber wed on June 3, 2025 in Italy.

    Phillips, a Round Rock native, began dating Leschber in 2017 when they were college students: she, at Texas A&M University and he, at Texas Lutheran University in Seguin. They got engaged, fittingly, on the field of AT&T Stadium in Arlington - home of the Cowboys - on August 10, 2023.

    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Braden Leschber (@braden_leschber)

    According to People, the couple chose to marry in Italy for two reasons: because of Phillips' proud Italian family heritage and because it was (somehow!) cheaper than a big, traditional Texas wedding. So, they and 75 friends and loved ones jetted off to romantic Tuscany for a destination wedding extravaganza that lasted several days.

    "We wanted to make this celebration as special as it could be and stray away from the typical wedding scene whenever we could," Phillips told the magazine. "We also don’t get a lot of time to slow down and enjoy the company of our friends and family, so we really loved the idea of a destination wedding, where everyone could unplug and spend time together."

    Festivities started Monday, June 2 with a welcome party that included Italy's two most important food groups: pizza and gelato.

    The wedding was held the next day at Borgo Stomennano, a historic estate in the Chianti Classico region, near Florence and Siena. According to the website, the estate's villa and farmhouses are surrounded by woods, vineyards, and olive groves in a tiny village built on ancient Roman and Etruscan ruins that are still visible.

    For the ceremony, People says, the bride wore Katherine Tash's elegant "Luna" wedding dress, featuring a wide-scooped neckline and hand-draped bodice and skirt, from Dallas bridal shop a&bé bridal. To complete her bridal look, she rented diamond stud earrings and a tennis bracelet from Verstolo and wore shoes from Bella Belle Shoes. Her hair and makeup were done by The Styling Stewardess. Bridesmaids wore black dresses from Birdy Grey and Kendra Scott jewelry.

    View this post on Instagram
    A post shared by Marissa Phillips (@marissaphillips__)

    Phillips walked down the aisle to an instrumental version of Lana Del Rey's "Video Games" and Phillips' brother-in-law officiated the Christian ceremony, in which bride and groom exchanged traditional vows.

    "[Marriage] means we are stuck with each other for life, through the good times and the bad, tied together as one under God and what God has joined together, let no man separate," Phillips told the magazine.

    At the reception, guests dined on a three-course plated dinner of Italian favorites, including trofie pasta with arugula and walnut pesto; fagottino (filled pasta) with bufala ricotta and artichokes and pecorino cheese sauce; and pork chops lacquered with honey and chopped pistachios. Dessert was traditional Italian wedding cake, which the couple "made" in front of guests. (A photo shows them sifting powdered sugar on top.)

    Phillips told People that she and Leschber took the food so seriously, they traveled to Italy a year before their wedding for a tasting with their caterer, Il Sorriso Ricevimenti.

    The bride changed into a custom party dress designed by her best friend and bridesmaid, Kathryn Emily of Belvedere Couture, made of fabric, lace and pearls from Phillips' mother's preserved wedding dress. The newlyweds and their guests then danced the night away to the live music of BritPops.

    Marissa Phillips, Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders wedding.The bride and fellow Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders performed "Thunderstruck" at the reception.Photo by Kseniya Palchik via People magazine.

    And, in keeping with Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders tradition, members of the squad performed their iconic routine "Thunderstruck."

    Before heading home, the couple and their guests gathered the next day for a "La Dolce Vita"-themed pool party. The new Mr. and Mrs. then slipped away to Lake Como for a quick "mini moon." (They'll take a longer honeymoon at the end of the next Cowboys season, they say.)

    Back home in Dallas, Phillips is not only a Dallas Cowboys cheerleader, but also an administrative assistant at an accounting firm and co-owner (with her sister) of the online Joey Lynn Boutique. She's also involved in the Alzheimer's Association in honor of her father, who died of Lewy Body Dementia in 2021.

    She's also a social media influencer. She went viral in December 2024 for gifting each of the 40 Dallas Cowboys Cheerleaders members a Dyson Airwrap hairstyling tool, valued at $600 each.

    “Huge thank you to @dysonbeauty and @dysonusa for helping me pull off the biggest surprise to the girls who deserve it most! All the love,” she wrote in the Instagram caption of a video of the women opening the $24,000 Christmas haul.

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