This Week in Gluttony

DIFFA Burgers & Burgundy with John Tesar tops best food and drink events in Dallas

This Week in Gluttony is front-loaded with wine dinners. Four-course wine dinners to be exact, because it’s important to have three square meals a day, and the number four is a perfect square and the square root of a perfect square and there are four sides to a square. Wake up, sheeple, the answer is right under your noses.

There’s also the Greek Food Festival, a lesson on how to make raw cheesecake (on purpose), and John Tesar and company creating burgers for DIFFA. For $20 extra, Tesar will yell at you after dessert.

Wednesday, September 25

Asador’s Fall Harvest Dinner
Chefs Dean James Max and Brad Phillips host a four-course dinner at Asador beginning at 6:30 pm. Dishes include scallop ceviche with tostones, and house-smoked spare ribs with Kimchi barbecue sauce and grilled Texas peach. Wine and cocktail pairings are featured. Reservations are $50 and can be made at 214-267-4815.

Thursday, September 26

Clayhouse Vineyard Wine Dinner at the Landmark
The Landmark Restaurant at the Warwick Melrose hotel invites Clayhouse Vineyard for a four-course wine dinner beginning with a reception at 6:30 pm. Pairings include seared ahi tuna with arugula, lychee vinaigrette and kiwi with 2011 Clayhouse Adobe White, and veal osso buco with red wine reduction, smashed potatoes and green beans with 2010 Clayhouse Syrah. Reservations are $85 and can be made at 214-224-3152.

Joseph Phelps Vineyards Wine Dinner at Pappas Bros.
Bill Phelps of Joseph Phelps Vineyards hosts a four-course wine dinner at Pappas Bros. beginning at 7 pm. Pairings include warm duck terrine with foie gras, salad of wild mushrooms and vinaigrette with 2010 Joseph Phelps Pastorale Vineyard Pinot Noir and 2010 Joseph Phelps Quarter Moon Vineyard Pinot Noir. The main pairing is roasted dry-aged Prime strip loin with sauce zingara, mousseline potatoes and broccolini with 2005 Joseph Phelps Napa Valley Insignia and 2001 Joseph Phelps Backus Vineyard Oakville Cabernet Sauvignon. Reservations are $195 and can be made at 214-366-2000.

Friday, September 27

2013 Greek Food Festival of Dallas
The Greek Food Festival of Dallas, hosted by the Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church, lets you enjoy all your favorite Greek foods, discover new ones and take part in a number of other Greek traditions. There are no imposters here — food comes directly from the festival kitchen, supported by live music, dance, a kids area and a marketplace with a wide range of Greek wares. You can also tour the church and visit the Greek Cultural Center and church bookstore. Tickets are $6 for 13 and up.

Sunday, September 29

Be Raw Food Cheesecake Class
Be Raw Food and Juice hosts a Raw Food 101 class highlighting cheesecake from 5 to 7 pm. The class features discussion on science and benefits of a raw food lifestyle plus demonstrations for Be Raw’s chocolate and berry cheesecakes. Spots are $50 and include cheesecake tastings. RSVP at paula@BeRawFoodandJuice.com.

DIFFA/Dallas presents Burgers & Burgundy with John Tesar
Join chef John Tesar and his celebrity chefs at the home of Bill and Karen Seanor at 4 pm for the fifth annual Burgers & Burgundy event benefiting the Dallas Chapter of DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS). Each chef has been tasked with the challenge to serve up the best burger sliders and complement them with a Burgundy. Tickets are $100 or $150 for VIP, which includes a private bar, butler service and an exclusive seating area.

Be Raw Food and Juice teaches you how to create raw cheesecake on September 29.

Raw chocolate cheesecake at Be Raw Food & Juice in Dallas

Photo by Melisa Ambers

Be Raw Food and Juice teaches you how to create raw cheesecake on September 29.

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Wine News

New Vinifera Wine Lounge and Bistro debuts on Flower Mound’s Riverwalk

Vinifera

Vinifera Wine Lounge & Bistro

A new wine bar and bistro has opened in Flower Mound. Called Vinifera Wine Lounge & Bistro, it's at 4120 River Walk Dr., in a space formerly occupied by a short-lived pizzeria, joining a string of bars overlooking the Riverwalk.

Vinifera is from Jamie Creevy, a British native who moved to Dallas in 2007, and who has worked at concepts such as Henderson Tap House and Peppersmash Concepts. At Vinifera, he's partnered with Chris Kummer, a former US Marine with experience in nightclubs and restaurants, including Chill in Grapevine.

Running the kitchen is executive chef Justin Samsill, who has worked at a wide range of high-end places including Knife, Town Hearth, The Mitchell, Smoke, and Hide. The menu has a big selection of seafood such as mussels, shrimp cocktail, squid pasta, and scallops, as well as steak au poivre, pasta bolognese, and trendy items such as steak frites and a smash burger, with entrees ranging from $19 to $35.

Vegetarian options include an unusual rendition of ratatouille, in which vegetables such as eggplant and tomato are cut into slices and arranged like a pinwheel. There are also salads and harissa carrots with Greek yogurt.

They describe the wine list as being "from all over the world", with 38 offerings by the glass. There are also cocktails.

Between the indoor dining room and outdoor space, the restaurant seats about 130 people. It shares a private event room with next door neighbor Whiskey & Smoke.

Riverwalk is the 158-acre mixed used development developed in 2017 and designed as a destination resembling the Riverwalk in San Antonio, with live music, events, and a range of eatery options including Whiskey & Smoke, Pennywise Pub, and Underdogs Burgers & Brews.

“We are looking to be creative and pivot to keep the area fresh," Creevy says. “People are looking for live music, value, free events, we want to entertain the residents and the community at an inexpensive rate."

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