This Week in Gluttony

Farm to Table Thursday tops best food and drink events in Dallas

This week started with a holiday, but now it's time to get serious and start filling up your calendar with food and drink events. First up is a fun debut at South Side on Lamar, followed by some wine-themed activities, a beer dinner with a local brewer and a pet-friendly happy hour on the patio.

Thursday, May 29

Banshee Wine Dinner at The Grape
Join chef de cuisine Jed Demler for an intimate three-course bistro menu that complements select wines from the Sonoma Valley winemakers. Special guest host is Jenny Davis of Pioneer Wine Company. Dinner starts at 5:30 pm and costs $48 per person. Reservations are recommended and can be made by calling 214-828-1981.

Farm to Table Thursday at South Side on Lamar
Want farm-fresh produce during the week but work during the day? Dallas Farmers Market and South Side on Lamar have a solution for urbanites. From 5 to 8 pm, shop fresh produce, artisan foods and art supplied by local farmers and food makers, ArtLoveMagic, and South Side creatives. Vendors include Good Earth Organic Farm, JuHa Ranch, Providence Ranch, Boom Juice and Brazos Valley Cheese. Also enjoy live music by DJ Frances Jaye and drink crafty libations from The Cedars Social is in charge of keeping the party going strong.

Wine Chat at Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek
Tastemaker Award nominee Michael Flynn leads this informal chat, during which he reveals what's new and notable in wine. Cost is $35 per person, and reservations aren't required. Flynn hosts these events every Thursday.

Wine Dinner With Chef Justin Box at Wine Poste
Dallas chef Justin Box invades the kitchen at Wine Poste to prepare a six-course dinner with wine pairings. Courses include Mexican street corn, coconut melon soup, T.G.H. Farms red oak salad, pan roasted squid, smoky venison loin, and blue cheese and pear tart. Dinner starts at 7 pm and costs $80 per person. You can buy them online.

Friday, May 30

Four Corners Brewing Co. Beer Dinner at Whole Foods
Whole Foods Highland Park welcomes Four Corners Brewing for a pairing dinner. Chef Ken Howell prepares four courses, including feta bruschetta; a trio of dips (jalapeño salsa, guacamole, black bean) with tortilla chips; ground beef topped with cheddar, bacon and grilled jalapeño with Cajun-dusted fries; and Mexican chocolate bread pudding. Dinner runs from 7-9 pm and costs $25 per person. Seats are limited, so reserve yours now.

Saturday, May 31

Sip -N- Slide Into Summer at Henderson Tap House
The crew at Henderson Tap House is grilling burgers and hot dogs on the patio from 2 to 6 pm. Two $6 signature cocktails are available: Wyatt Berry Fizz, with Bombay Sapphire Gin, fresh lemon and lime juices, and raspberry schnapps topped with a slash of soda, or Dixie Tea, with sweet tea vodka, peach schnapps, sour mix and a splash of Sprite. Additional drink specials include $5 calls, $4 wells and $4 domestic drafts. A burger or hot dog with a beer sets you back $6. Guests who RSVP are entered for a chance to win a patio party for 10.

Yappy Hour at Gin Mill
Gin Mill and Greyhound Adoption League of Texas (GALT) team up for an all-breed “Yappy Hour” from 3-5 pm. Bring your well-behaved, leashed pooches to the patio for an afternoon of libations and fun benefiting a good cause. Cost is $10 per person and includes your first brew of local draught rotators, $5 Greyhounds and happy hour prices. The full menu is available, and tickets can be purchased at the door.

Gin Mill and Greyhound Adoption League of Texas team up for a “Yappy Hour” on May 31.

Courtesy photo

Gin Mill and Greyhound Adoption League of Texas team up for a “Yappy Hour” on May 31.

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Market News

Small specialty grocer in Celina is a go-to for imported foods

Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet Market

There's a gourmet shop in downtown Celina offering imported European foods: Called Di Mantzio’s Greek and Italian Gourmet Market, it's a small grocery and cafe at 204 E. Pecan St., Ste. C, where it's bringing in goods you might not find elsewhere in town.

Owner Vasilios Mantzios is a native of Greece and former NATO military serviceman who moved to the U.S. in 2008. Missing the foods he'd enjoyed in Greece and Italy, he started a booth at the Frisco Fresh Market in 2015 selling olive oils, Balsamic dressing, olives, and Mediterranean salt. In late 2024, he made the move to open the storefront in Celina (coincidentally down Pecan Street from Mangiamo Italian Market & Deli, another highly personal deli and market, making pecan Street a fun destination for a foodie field trip).

Di Mantzio's carries olive oils, pizza, cheese, charcuterie boards, flour, refrigerated meals, and meatballs with a Greek red sauce, made from a family recipe from Mantzios' aunts and their grandmothers. He also imports marinated lamb and beef meatballs from Greece.

"I only have things that I would put on my table to personally eat — I pick out my items by the quality because I don't want people to have issues with the food," Mantzios says. "I have my mother test everything, so if you pass her, you're in the store."

While he does offer Greek foods such as a recent special with beef kebabs and pita bread, there's a big demand for Italian items. He has a big selection of cheese: parmigiano reggiano, feta, mozzarella, and cheese from Il Forteto. Dry goods include Molino Paolo Mariani Manitaly flour, Caputo gluten-free flour, and Hellenic Farms and Lia extra virgin olive oil.

Mantzios prioritizes small, family-owned businesses because they enjoy what they're providing to customers and value quality.

Di Mantzios Greek & Italian Gourmet MarketDi Mantzios

On the prepared food front, he does pizza using a wood-fired crust imported from Pizza Food Love in Italy, delivered to the shop every three weeks. The base can be topped with ingredients from Tuscany, Italy for a truly authentic experience. More prepared foods are one of the biggest requests he gets from customers, and it's a category he's continuing to expand, as well as adding wine and beer.

They also have cakes and desserts such as cannoli, baklava, Greek rice pudding, French macarons, and gelato from Gelatys.

The interior is neatly organized, with refrigerated foods as well as Greek and European decor such as pestle and mortar, a gladiator helmet, and Greek and Italian flags pinned to the walls.

Mantzios thrives from the personal contact he gets with customers, and they find him equally charming as well.

"The bulk of my customers come from Prosper and Celina, and Celina is the number one growing city with people coming from all around who can appreciate what we are doing," Mantzios says.

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