This Week in Gluttony

Load up on BBQ and crawfish during this week's best Dallas food events

Bring out the beer pong and let the birds sing, because it’s officially crawfish season. And, honestly, it’s always barbecue season in Texas. You can get your fix of both in a variety of ways this week, along with a beer dinner or two you shouldn't miss.

Wednesday, April 15

Tax Day Happy Hour and Crawfish Boil at Clay Pigeon
To give taxpayers a break, Clay Pigeon is doing crawfish and cocktails on the patio. All-you-can-eat crawfish sets you back only $15. The restaurant is teaming up with Caledonia Spirits, a Vermont-based company that uses raw honey in the distillation process, to offer three specialty cocktails at happy hour pricing. A portion of each cocktail sale benefits the Tarrant County Area Food Bank. The event runs from 5-8 pm.

Thursday, April 16

Cooking Your Farm Share at Urban Acres Farmstead
Ever at a loss for what to do with some of the produce in your farm share? In this hands-on class, chef Melissa Wagner takes an entire produce share and prepares every item in it. This is your opportunity to learn what to do with all that nutritious, organic produce so none of it goes to compost again. Cost is $60, and the class starts at 6:30 pm.

Pub-style Beer Dinner at Whole Foods Lakewood
This chef-prepared, pub-style dinner features six courses paired with Revolver, and it’s a steal at only $30 per person. Courses include bacon-wrapped beer brats, pear walnut salad, beer cheese soup, beer battered fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and chocolate lava cake. Dinner starts at 6 pm.

Saturday, April 18

Boil for the Brave at The Rustic
This Cajun crawfish boil brings together the DFW community and the veterans who reside within it. With funds raised at the boil, the Rosedale Group can renovate housing for disabled veterans. The event runs from 11:30 am-4:30 pm. Tickets cost $30.

Champagne and Crawfish MS Block Party at Standard Pour
Starting at noon, enjoy crawfish and champagne at one of the hottest bars in Uptown. This event offers unlimited crawfish for your ticket purchase of $20. All proceeds go to the MS Society and can be purchased by calling 214-935-1370.

Community Beer Dinner at Texas Spice
Omni Dallas’ Texas Spice serves a four-course menu of farm-to-table Southern favorites paired with Community beers. Dishes include pan-seared diver scallops, mixed green bundle with smoked squab, Sous Vide 44 Farms strip loin, and Legion Russian Imperial Stout caramel and chocolate tart. Reception starts at 6:30 pm; dinner is at 7. Call 214-979-4529 to reserve your spot.

TMBBQ Road Trip
For this Dallas tour, Texas Monthly hits up Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler and Dallas joints Slow Bone and Lockhart Smokehouse. Ticket price includes beverages on the bus and one meal and beverage at each stop. No outside alcohol, beverages or coolers allowed on the bus. Tickets are $150. Be ready to roll at 9 am; the tour starts near Lockhart.

Sunday, April 19

Barrett Havran Memorial Big Taste of Fort Worth at Omni Fort Worth
Tarrant County’s premier food and wine tasting event for the last 36 years, Big Taste benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters. Feast on gourmet cuisine from Tarrant County’s finest restaurants while benefiting the children of our community. Events start at 4:30 pm, and tickets cost $125.

Salute to King Creole Crawfish Festival at Chicken Scratch
Join chef Tim Byres in celebrating all things Louisiana. Guests enjoy all-you-can-eat Creole tastings, drinks and live entertainment. In addition to the Louisiana chow-down, local artist John Arseneau and Joe Haasch of Elm Street Tattoo are slingin’ ink. The event starts at 4:30 pm, and tickets cost $20.

Enjoy crawfish for a cause at Clay Pigeon (April 15) and Standard Pour (4 18).

crawfish with corn and mushrooms at Big Star Bar April 2014

Photo by Kimberly Park

Enjoy crawfish for a cause at Clay Pigeon (April 15) and Standard Pour (4 18).

unspecified

Back in Business

Garland restaurant from Bobby Flay winner to reopen in downtown Dallas

Photo courtesy of Pangea

Chef Kevin Ashade has found a new home for Pangea.

Pangea, the popular Garland restaurant which closed in January 2025, has found a new home. A new iteration of the restaurant will open in downtown Dallas, at 1910 Pacific Ave., Ste. 1400, in a location that was once vegan restaurant Belse.

According to restaurant personnel, it will open at 4 pm Friday, February 13.

Pangea is from chef and restaurateur Kevin Ashade, a graduate of the Culinary Institute of America who won Food Network's Beat Bobby Flay in 2016 with his signature coq au vin, which will be served at the new restaurant.

Ashade has a strong culinary background in Dallas, which includes Craft at the W Hotel, Nana at the Hilton Anatole, The Oceanaire Seafood Room, and his GourmEats catering business, before opening Pangea in January 2020.

In this new chapter of Pangea, which is defined by Ashade as “elevated and globally inspired," the menu will expand past the original restaurant's upscale Southern eats to include new flavors and fusions from Italian, Nigerian, Japanese, French, and Caribbean cuisine.

“The focus will be on a true definition of what Pangea is, with new dishes and a true cultural approach to food,” Ashade says.

The menu will feature about half of the dishes from the original location, including the popular jerk roasted lamb shank, stuffed salmon, and crab cakes. It will expand to include more fish options, like a branzino plate, and more cuts of steak, in addition to the New York strip, filet, and ribeye that were served in the Garland location. Entrees will range from $35 to $50, with more casual options such as burgers and sandwiches available as well.

The new restaurant will also feature a full raw and sushi bar, including an omakase option starting at $85. They will also be serving brunch on weekends, with options such as chicken and waffles, eggs Benedict, omelets, steak frites, pastry baskets, and a full coffee menu.

Pangea downtown Dallas The menu is globally inspired. Photo courtesy of Pangea

The 240-seat space is upscale with a lounge vibe, with warm lighting creating a sophisticated but welcoming look. It features a full bar, a private dining room, and an ample climate-controlled patio. It is centrally located, across the street from Pacific Plaza Park and on the same block as the Majestic Theatre.

“This relocation means a better spot for us, an opportunity to be part of the business district. We want to create a vacation feel, a place that makes you feel like you are traveling in Mykonos, Tulum, or Ibiza,” Ashade says.

Pangea will be open for dinner seven days a week, as well as offering lunch on Fridays and brunch on Saturdays and Sundays. The restaurant will stay open late — until 2 am — on weekends.

downtown dallas chefs food network openings