Editor's note: A lot happened this week, so here's your chance to get caught up. Read on for the week's most popular headlines.
1. 16 best new restaurants in Dallas compete for coveted Tastemaker title. Probably the most popular part of CultureMap's Tastemaker Awards, our annual celebration of the best in Dallas food and drink, is the category of Best New Restaurant. It's the only category decided by you, via a bracket-style competition where 16 new restaurants go head to head. You can vote once a day for your favorite. To vote, click here. Don't delay: The first bracket ends on Monday, August 2.
2. 3 fun weekend events in Dallas-Fort Worth call it quits due to COVID-19. As COVID-19 rushes back for its great summer encore among (mainly) the unvaccinated in Dallas-Fort Worth, it's bringing with it the dreaded cancellation of fun things, which fans of fun things suffered through in 2020. Hopefully last weekend was not the start of an un-fun trend, but three event cancellations all citing the same reasons warranted a warning.
3. Ex-employee sues Dallas restaurant group for discriminatory practices. A Dallas restaurant group has been sued for discrimination by a former manager. A lawsuit was filed on July 19 against Vandelay Hospitality Group, which owns East Hampton Sandwich Company, Hudson House, Brentwood, and Drake's Hollywood, by Glenn Govias, a former manager at Drake's Hollywood, alleging widespread discriminatory practices.
4. Award-winning dumplings star at new dim sum restaurant in Addison. A new restaurant is bringing some juicy dumplings to town: It's called Bushi Bushi, and it's in Addison at 4930 Belt Line Rd. #100, in the former Cafe Brazil space, where it's doing a soft opening over the next few weeks.
5. Exciting new house of comedy vows to bring Vegas polish to Plano. There's something funny going on in Plano: Called The House of Comedy, it's a new venue opening at The Shops at Legacy, from two players with decades of experience in the business. It'll open in early fall at 7301 Lone Star Dr. in a space previously occupied by The Blue Martini.
Your mission: To try all of these 16 new restaurants.
Cowboys fans were out in full force.Photo by Ashley Gongora
Tailgating is all about the food.Photo by Ashley Gongora
An array of beverages ensured guests had fun all night.Photo by Ashley Gongora
Buffalo shrimp and blue cheese grits from McRae's American Bistro & Cocktails won the best dish of the night.Photo by Ashley Gongora
The silent auction inspired competitive bidding.Photo by Ashley Gongora