All On The Same Team

CultureMap Dallas' winning Tailgate bash unites sports fans + foodies

CultureMap fans know how to party, especially when they're cheering on their favorite sports teams with a taco in one hand and a beverage in the other.

That was precisely the vibe on Sunday, October 5, at The Empire Room, where fan assembled to celebrate all things sporty at The Tailgate.

Decked out in plenty of blue and silver, in honor of the Dallas Cowboys taking on the New York Jets that afternoon, guests arrived at the indoor-outdoor venue ready to score an afternoon to remember.

Dallas Tailgate 2025 Grace Tudor, Tanner Agar, Dee Lincoln, Bella Dinardo.Photo by ASHGPHOTO

A strut across the football field-inspired "green carpet" brought hungry attendees inside, where their taste buds were not disappointed. No tailgate is complete without killer eats, and this year’s restaurant roster was championship caliber. Attendees indulged in a dizzying spread of creative, tailgate-inspired bites, including:

Assorted po'boys from Antone's Famous Po' Boys
Chicken and tofu lettuce wraps from Feng Shui
Roast beef sandwiches on Heritage wheat bread from Empire Baking
Pastalaya: penne pasta with shrimp, andouille sausage, chicken, and Creole cream sauce from Dee's Table
Football-shaped Jamaican jerk pork tostadas from Loro
Fried chicken sandwich with gochujang, caramelized onion, mayo, and pickles from Kona Grill
JOA Grill's bulgogi ssam and akaushi sausage kimbap
Five spice slow-braised pork bao from Komodo
McRae's American Bistro & Cocktails' cherry BBQ short rib sliders with feta cheese and apple-cabbage slaw
Harissa-glazed chicken wings with black garlic ranch and scallions from Fearing Restaurant Group
Taqueria La Ventana's bistek and al pastor tacos
The All American, Kevin Bacon, and The Western burgers from Twisted Root Burger Co.
Slow-cooked pork carnitas tacos from Señor Oink
Lil' BRGs from STK Steakhouse
Corn Holes (petite deep-fried Better Balance vegan hot dogs dipped in a cornmeal-infused beignet batter on a stick, and drizzled with a spicy bourbon mustard) from Richardson International Food Festival (RIFF)
Scout at the Statler's pineapple char siu pulled pork sliders
Spiced apple crisp cups from Ruby Baking Co.

To wash it all down and keep spirits high well past the fourth quarter, there were Patron Silver margaritas and ranch waters, Reyka Vodka's Midfield Mule, The Ryes of Texas and the Bourbon Peach Buzz from Still Austin Whiskey, water from Saratoga, and an array of beers from Yuengling.

Dallas Tailgate 2025 Loro brought football-shaped Jamaican jerk pork tostadas.Photo by ASHGPHOTO

Following last year’s fan-favorite Ultimate Wing Showdown, this year’s competition turned up the heat with the Top Taco Tournament. After weeks of online voting, the champion was revealed live at The Tailgate: Taqueria La Ventana.

Kona Grill's spicy, savory chicken sandwich scored big as attendees' official favorite dish of the day.

In between nibbles, guests could browse Mizzen+Main's collection of high-performance and collegiate shirts, explore holiday party options at Puttshack, and learn about crowd-funded college football from Sportsmo.

Those ready to get a jump on holiday shopping — or eager to complete their own collections — bid on sports and pop-culture memorabilia in the silent auction.

Dallas Tailgate 2025 Crystal Hardman, Michelle Vo.Photo by ASHGPHOTO

Photo by ASHGPHOTO

Brittany Roberts, Crystal Gray

Guests who arrived early scored big with an appearance from former Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland, who greeted fans, signed autographs, and snapped photos for the first hour. Holland, who famously helped pitch the Rangers to their 2011 World Series run, was all smiles as fans lined up to meet him.

As the cherry on top, the Cowboys trounced the Jets as Tailgate fans whooped and celebrated — no need for overtime here.

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The Tailgate was sponsored by FLIGHT by Yuengling, Sportsmo, Puttshack, Mizzen+Main, Antone's Famous Po' Boys, NXL LVL Events, Patron, and Still Austin Whiskey.

dallas cowboys derek holland sports tacos taqueria la ventana the empire room the tailgate

Movie Review

Tom Cruise mines for Oscar gold in dark satire Digger

Photo courtesy of Warner Bros. Pictures

Tom Cruise in Digger.

For most of the 21st century, and especially the last 15 years, Tom Cruise has been a “movie star” rather than an “actor.” That’s not to say he’s a bad actor, but rather that his focus has been on making blockbuster movies where his unique ability to go all-in on action supersedes any need for introspection. Now perhaps past his action movie days, he’s giving full-on acting another try in Digger.

Cruise plays Digger Rockwell, an eccentric oil baron whose current project is drilling for oil in Greenland. Turns out that’s a bad idea in multiple ways, most significantly when an explosion at the site manages to calve an ice shelf five times the size of Boston. That humongous piece of ice then starts on an inevitable collision course with mainland Europe, where it is predicted that there will be hundreds of thousands of deaths and uncountable property damage from the ensuing tsunami.

That sounds bleak, and it is, but the film plays the scenario for laughs thanks to over-the-top characters like Digger, his sister Emma (Sandra Hüller), U.S. President Compson (John Goodman), and the unnamed Vice President (Michael Stuhlbarg). As those people and others try to spin the disaster of epic proportions, others like the scientist Ganesh (Riz Ahmed) try to get the leaders to see reason or to take responsibility for their actions.

Written and directed by Alejandro Iñárritu and co-written by three others, the film has more than a few surprises in store, including one big one that will go unspoiled here. Suffice it to say that for anyone who might be put off by how Cruise (who seems to be channeling his Les Grossman character from Tropic Thunder) and others are acting in the trailers for the film may change their minds about the performances after actually having seen the complete product.

What can be said is that the film is a wild, wacky, and occasionally disorienting experience that also doubles as a cogent critique of the governments and corporations responsible for climate change and unchecked capitalism. Digger is a motormouth who often cuts off people with relevant information to impart, having already determined that he knows all he needs to know about a certain topic. He’s stuck in his ways in many respects, including trying to keep alive a 20-year-old cat that clearly wants to die.

Once the full scope of the story is revealed, it becomes easier to understand what Iñárritu and Cruise are trying to accomplish with the film. It has some similarities to Stanley Kubrick’s dark satire Dr. Strangelove, but it also tries to stay grounded in certain ways. The push-and-pull between those who only seem to be out for themselves and those who want to get to the truth of the matter is played out on different fronts throughout the film. Not all of it lands, but enough does to not make the film seem completely unhinged.

Cruise has been nominated for three Oscars, and it’s clear he’s aiming for a fourth nod with this performance. He does his best to sell every quirk and aspect of the character, epitomized by a gonzo speech that utilizes every mental and physical skill he can muster. The supporting actors are hit-and-miss, but Ahmed comes off the best as a person serving as Digger’s moral conscience. He’s an antidote to Cruise’s mania, but then turns it up to 11 when needed.

Not everything is as it seems in Digger, and the out-there approach by Iñárritu and his team falls into the love-it-or-hate-it dichotomy that applies to many of his films. The very fact that everyone involved was willing to dedicate their whole selves to such an off-the-wall concept makes it deserving of attention, even if not everything is a success.

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Digger opens in theaters on October 2.

movies film