This Week In Gluttony

Barbecue and blues fest tops best food and drink events in Dallas-Fort Worth

Labor Day weekend is fast approaching, and there are plenty of food and drink events to get you in the holiday spirit. From a fantasy football draft at Rahr & Sons Brewing Company to a weekend-long blues and BBQ festival, you won’t even need to fire up your own grill.

Tuesday, August 26

Rahr & Sons Brewing Company presents Fantasy Football Draft
Rahr & Sons is gearing up for football season with a fantasy football draft party. Throughout football season, the brewery hosts several special tour and tasting events, featuring tailgate fare from a variety of local food trucks, including TX Ballpark Express, 360 Catering, Tail Feathers Wing Wagon, Gepetto’s Pizza Truck and Wayne’s Flame. Teams can register for $25 per person, and that includes snacks, drinks and Wi-Fi access. Fun starts at 6:30 pm.

August Wine Dinner at Sevy’s Grill
Kevin Henry from Palm Bay International joins Sevy’s for a dinner featuring Argentinean wines. Courses include charred tomato, ricotta and olives on grilled bread; griddled sea bass; lamb with summer vegetables; whole roasted rib-eye with chimichurri; and dulce de leche panqueque. Reception starts at 6:30 pm. Price is $75 per person. Call 214-265-7389 for reservations.

Buns, Balls and Wieners at Samson’s Gourmet Hot Dogs
Celebrate Samson’s one-year anniversary with $5 dogs, $4 tapioca boba balls from Bobaddiction, and a billboard-viewing party in honor of the billboard outside the restaurant (just because). The first 50 guests receive a free teenie weenie. A portion of proceeds benefits Texas Scottish Rite Hospital For Children. The fun lasts from 7 to 10 pm.

Thursday, August 28

Rahr & Sons Beer Dinner at Del Frisco’s Grille in Fort Worth
In its second appearance on This Week in Gluttony, Rahr & Sons teams up with Del Frisco’s Grille for a dinner featuring ale, IPA, Doppelbock and lager. Dishes include pan-seared bay scallops, beer-battered grouper tacos, lollipop lamb chops, and Nutella and peanut butter bread pudding. Price is $69 a person, and dinner starts at 6:30 pm. Call 817-887-9900 for reservations.

Friday, August 29

Bedford Blues & BBQ Festival
Enjoy three days of barbecue competitions at this popular annual festival. Blues music is as important as the ’cue, and performers include Petty Theft, Old Gray Mule and Cookie McGee. General admissions tickets start at $7; you can buy them online. The event takes place on the the grounds across the street from City Hall. Festivities run 6-10 pm on Friday and 2-10 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Sunday, August 31

Labor Day Lobster Boil at Driftwood
Enjoy whole Maine lobster and sides of New England-style corn and potatoes for just $28 a person, as well as shucked oysters at a custom raw bar inside the restaurant. There are also special prices on cocktails, wine and beer. A DJ provides the soundtrack. Call 214-942-2530 for reservations. Fun starts at 2 pm.

Celebrate Labor Day a day early at the Driftwood lobster boil on August 31.

Photo courtesy of Driftwood

Celebrate Labor Day a day early at the Driftwood lobster boil on August 31.

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Spicy Food News

New restaurant Dallas Spicy Chinese Cuisine does it for real in Plano

Dallas Spicy

Fried rice and chicken at Dallas Spicy Chinese Cuisine

An authentic Chinese mom-and-pop restaurant has debuted in Plano: Called Dallas Spicy Chinese Cuisine, it opened in late 2025 at 4140 Legacy Dr. #310, at Coit Road, in the same center as Sprouts, taking over a space previously occupied by 369 Chinese BBQ, a long-timer that closed in 2025 after more than a decade.

Dallas Spicy Chinese Cuisine stands apart in the Chinese restaurant field thanks to a trio of elements:

Unusual dishes
They offer an array of Sichuan, Shanghai, and Taiwanese dishes, some not commonly found in DFW, such as:

Hot & Spicy Crayfish
Cumin Beef
Sweet & Sour Pork Ribs
Sauteed Bullfrog with Pickled Peppers

Dishes like their humongous Braised Lion’s Head Meatballs, a Huaiyang-style dish from Eastern China featuring pork meatballs simmered with Napa cabbage, and their Spicy Stinky Tofu — a Chinese tofu dish often sold as a snack at roadside stands — are earning raves for their home-cooked authenticity.

The menu has a big assortment of vegetable dishes, mostly stir-fries such as stir-fried shredded cabbage and stir-fried green beans with garlic, which has emerged as a major crowd-pleaser.

There are rice and noodle dishes such as chow mein, beef noodle soup, and dan dan noodles, a Sichuan classic with noodles, minced pork, scallions, and peanuts. An "American Chinese" category on the menu offers familiar staples such as honey walnut shrimp, orange chicken, and broccoli & beef.

Set price
A second distinction at Dallas Spicy is their "set price" dinner, like a Chinese version of omakase, featuring 10 dishes for about $150. It can be ordered in spicy or non-spicy versions.

The pandas
Dallas Spicy is obsessed with pandas: They've made pandas their decorative them, putting them everywhere: panda wall stickers, panda condiment shakers, and a massive installation featuring dozens of stuffed panda toys tacked to the wall in a heart shape.

The owners are hard to reach; they rarely answer the phone. But they'll provide attentive service if you dine in. They vow to be more than just a restaurant. According to their manifesto, they're a place "where stories are told through taste."

Dallas Spicy decor Pandas rule the decor at Dallas Spicy Chinese.Yelp

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