This Week in Gluttony

These are the sweetest food and drink events in Dallas this week

We already provided your Valentine’s Day cheat sheet, but there are more holiday-themed activities prior to February 14. And one cannot forget about the ever-important Fat Tuesday. Dig in.

Fat Tuesday, February 9

Bread Winners
Although king cake orders had to be made 24 hours in advance, get your favorite Fat Tuesday sweet treats while they last. Other festive foods include iced sugar cookies, cupcakes, and cake balls.

CiboDivino Marketplace
Chefs Daniele Puleo and Ryan Olmos roast a whole Heritage Berkshire pig from Black Hills Ranch and compete to see who can create the best dish. Each chef is creating two to three dishes using the entire pig for the party. Enjoy music by DJ Menace, and taste the dishes made by each chef along with a buffet of Cajun-inspired sides. Two glasses of specially paired wine are included. Tickets are $60, with proceeds benefiting the Taino Institute. The fun stars at 5 pm.

Dubliner
Expect Cajun food and drink specials all day with Rose & Her Buds performing live at 8 pm. There is no cover.

Flying Saucer on the Lake
Celebrate by the lake with $3 Abita Purple Haze, $5 Abita Andygator, and jambalaya. The event also includes raffles, giveaways, and lots of beads. The party starts at 5 pm; trivia kicks off at 7:30 pm.

Flying Saucer Addison
What better time than Fat Tuesday to throw an Abita release party? The release includes three drafts, one firkin, and bottle releases. Clown Shoes Evil Crawfish is also set to be released. Aside from the booze, the bar is also serving up crawfish po’boys and red beans and rice.

Henderson Tap House
This bar hopes to turn Henderson Avenue into Bourbon Street for the day with its huge crawfish boil offering fish bowls, grenades, hurricanes, and beads. From 10 pm to close there is a live karaoke band.

Max’s Wine Dive Fort Worth
From 4-11 pm, enjoy mudbugs seasoned with chef’s special boil and Abita Mardi Gras Bock to cool the heat.

Standard Pour
Celebrate Mardis Gras with $5 Sazeracs and hurricanes, plus food specials. If you participate in the king cake contest, you could win a $50 tab. Call 214-935-1370 for more details.

Thursday, February 11

Valentine’s Cocktail Class at People’s Last Stand
For those curious about how their favorite cocktails are concocted, join the People’s Last Stand for a fun cocktail class. Guests go over the tools of the trade, the best spirits to use, and learn some secret recipes. Tickets are $53.74 and include light appetizers, cocktail demonstrations, and three cocktails. Space is limited to 25 guests.

Friday, February 12

Valentine’s Pop-Up Bakery at The Joule
Get sweets for your sweetie at this hotel lobby pop-up shop featuring a selection of tasty treats baked in-house by the hotel’s executive pastry chef, Ruben Torano. Choose from a selection of bite-sized cookies, truffles, and macarons or shareable tarts, bars, and breads. This special event is going on from 10 am to 2 pm on both Friday, February 12, and Saturday, February 13.

Saturday, February 13

Valentine Chocolate Temptations Tour
Make a sweet escape to some of Dallas’ most delectable chocolate shops, including Kate Weiser Chocolate, Isabelly’s Chocolate and Sweet Treats, and Dude, Sweet Chocolate on this fun tour. Tickets are $30 and include transportation in a private bus, dessert samples, and beverages. The tour starts at Alamo Drafthouse Richardson and lasts from 1-4:15 pm.

Enjoy Fat Tuesday crawfish boils at both Max's Wine Dive Fort Worth and Henderson Tap House on February 9.

Hank's Crawfish mudbugs corn potatoes March 2015

Hank's Crawfish/Facebook

Enjoy Fat Tuesday crawfish boils at both Max's Wine Dive Fort Worth and Henderson Tap House on February 9.

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Best Happy Hours

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 special happy hours for September

Malai Kitchen

This is a most distinguished edition of Where to Drink, CultureMap's monthly column bringing news of the best happy hours around. Distinguished, because these aren't just the cheapest deals. These happy hours are all a little extra, whether it's gourmet chef-driven food, unique location, or a special Korean twist.

Here are the best happy hour destinations for September 2026:

Cipher Lounge
Unique new entertainment venue and lounge in downtown McKinney is an escape room-plus-restaurant and bar, combining food, cocktails, and escape-room experiences under one roof. The Cipher Lounge is not your typical bar or escape room. The lounge boasts a sophisticated atmosphere with craft cocktails and upscale bites. You can stop in before or after the escape room, but you can also just come in for food and drink. And fortunately, they do a happy hour Wednesday-Friday from 2-6 pm with $3 off flatbreads & dips, $3 off well cocktails, $2 off domestic beers, and $1 off import and craft beers.

Malai Kitchen
Small local chain specializing in southeast Asian cuisine is a perennial, with four locations including the original at West Village in Uptown Dallas. They recently expanded their already generous happy hour with more to eat and more to drink, still with the same scratch-made kitchen behind all of it. Signature cocktails are $4 off. Their celebrated house-brewed beer is $6, and their happy hour wines are a cut above: Aveleda Vinho Verde white from Portugal, and Vina Eguia Tempranillo red from Spain, $8 per glass. Bites are $8 or two for $15 including Vietnamese meatballs, cucumber salad, shishito peppers, grilled satay, fried imperial rolls, spicy edamame, Thai chicken wings, and potstickers. Hours are Monday-Friday 3-6 pm, and all day Sunday.

Nuri Steakhouse
Korean steakhouse in Uptown recently launched "Geonbae Hour," its elevated take on happy hour, inspired by the Korean tradition of “Geonbae,” meaning cheers. Featured bites include oysters, bulgogi beef tacos, steak tartare cigar, and truffle popcorn, $7 to $9, plus a Wagyu burger with kimchi-glazed bacon and white cheddar for $20. Drinks include their unique renditions of classic drinks like an old-fashioned, margarita, and negroni for $10; plus beer, wine, and soju, the Korean spirit. It's offered Monday-Thursday 4- 6 pm and all day Sunday.

Two Hands
Australian-style all-day cafe founded in New York, which opened a location at The Quad in 2025, has what it calls a "snacky hour," which is short and to the point: a smashburger for $10, plus $10 cocktails, $3 off glasses of wine (including red, white, and sparkling), and $5 draft beer. Cocktails include martinis (dry or dirty), espresso martini, margarita, aperol spritz, old-fashioned, Negroni, and bloody Mary. Snacky hour is offered every day from 4-6 pm.

Written By the Seasons
Chef-driven concept has two locations in Dallas: Bishop Arts and The Quad. Both host an admirable happy hour 3:30-5 pm Monday-Saturday, with half-off on bottles of wine and significant snacks, including some of their signature dishes. There are smoked Texas pecans, cheese & charcuterie board, boquerones with arugula & crostini, mutabal (the middle-Eastern eggplant dip) with olives and crispy flatbread, and their acclaimed kimchi pancakes, priced from $5 to $12. There's also a burger with American cheese, and a veggie sandwich with cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts, and shaved carrots on wheat — both $18.

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