This Week in Gluttony

Chicks mix drinks for charity and more top food and booze events in Dallas

This is a unique week, with not one but two events dedicated to cocktail creation and the kickoff of an annual dinner series at FT33. If you like to learn, Urban Acres can help sharpen your knife skills.

Save us a seat.

Tuesday, January 13

Death & Co Book Party at Midnight Rambler
Celebrate the new Death & Co book, Death & Co: Modern Classic Cocktails, which pays homage to the contemporary cocktail movement sweeping the country. Tickets cost $55 and include admission, a copy of the book ($40 value) and free Death & Co cocktails poured by their crew. Since its opening in New York City in 2006, Death & Co has been a must-visit destination for serious drinkers and cocktail enthusiasts to enjoy some of the modern era’s most iconic drinks. The event lasts from 6-9 pm. Buy tickets online.

Three-Year Anniversary “Kale & Ale” Celebration at Sundown at Granada
The Lower Greenville restaurant celebrates its third anniversary with $2 bottled beer and half-price salads from open until close through Thursday, January 15. In addition to “Kale & Ale,” there are weekly specials such as half-price draft beer on Tuesday, half-price whiskey on Wednesday and half-price bottles of wine on Thursday. On Saturday and Sunday, celebrate the occasion with $2 mimosas.

Wednesday, January 14

Speed Rack Dallas at Life in Deep Ellum
Texas’ top female bartenders pour straight and fast in Deep Ellum in Dallas’ first-ever Speed Rack competition — a global all-female speed-bartending tournament that raises money for breast cancer charities. Bartenders compete in timed heats to complete rounds of cocktails from a list of 50 classic recipes, and they are judged on their speed and accuracy. The winner is crowned Miss Speed Rack Dallas and invited to compete in the national finals in New York in June. North Texas competitors include Simone Elizabeth Springer, Haydee Hernandez and Kiyoko Kinoshita from Midnight Rambler; Alexis Rolon from The Rustic; Nicole Marie DeGroot and Jenna De Long from Whiskey Cake in Plano. The event starts at 6 pm; tickets are $20 in advance and $25 at the door.

Healthy Kosher Tour and Tasting at Whole Foods Preston Forest
Join healthy eating specialist Lacey Baxter for a special store tour, discussion and tasting focused on kosher foods. At this event, discover products that are both kosher certified and good for your heart and health, based on four pillars of healthy eating: plant strong, healthy fats, whole foods and nutrient dense. The class is free, but space is limited, so you must RSVP.

Thursday, January 15

Deep Ellum Wine Walk
Pick up a passport when you purchase a glass for $5 (or mug for $8), and embark on a sip-and-shop tour of Deep Ellum. Get stamps on your passport at any five of the 16 participating locations, and enter the drawing for gift certificates from neighborhood merchants. Wine Walk venues include Akola Project, B4, Dallas PinUp, Dallas School of Burlesque, Deep Ellum Trading Company and many more. Check in at 2650-B Main at 5 pm.

Basic Knife Skills Class at Urban Acres Farmstead
Do you love to cook but wish you could slice, dice and chop with ease? Now’s your chance to learn. Urban Acres CEO Joe Chou shows you how to safely master basic knife skills in the kitchen. This class is hands-on, so students need to bring their own knives and cutting boards to chop and dice produce such as carrots, onions, garlic and potatoes. Students also learn how to choose the best knife for their cooking needs and receive resources for maintaining knives. 18 and up only. Cost is $55. Buy tickets online.

Friday, January 16

Exotic Mushroom Dinner at Grace
Executive Chef Blaine Staniford is ushering in 2015 with an exotic mushroom dinner. Diners are graced with Hon Shimeji, Trumpet Royale, Hen of the Woods and many other mushrooms during this six-course dinner which includes wine pairings. A vegetarian and vegan menu is also available. The cost for dinner is $125. There is a reception which starts at 6:30 pm and dinner starts at 7 pm. Call 817-877-3388 for reservations.

Monday, January 19

Guest Chef Ed Lee at FT33
The FT33 guest chef series has returned. Matt McCallister welcomes some of the nation’s most progressive chefs into his kitchen for a night dedicated to innovation and collaboration. First up is Ed Lee of 610 Magnolia and Milkwood in Louisville, Kentucky. Cost is $105 per person for eight courses; add $55 for wine pairings. Reservations are required, so call 214-741-2629.

Speed Rack Dallas is going down at Life in Deep Ellum on January 14.

Speed Rack Facebook

Speed Rack Dallas is going down at Life in Deep Ellum on January 14.

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Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

restaurants bars peruvian flavors west dallas oak cliff kent rathbun