This Week in Gluttony

A bevy of wine dinners top booziest food and drink events in Dallas

We sure hope you enjoy wine. After weeks of beer dinners, wine has decided that it’s tired of playing second fiddle and has returned with a strong lineup, including a four-course dinner at Pappas Bros. featuring Château Angélus from Saint-Émilion as well as a wine dinner at Nosh featuring selections from Oak Cliff Wine Cellars.

If those are a bit too extravagant for your tastes, Max’s Wine Dive is doing a cork board craft night complete with wine tastings, and Wine Poste is offering samples to go with Chef TJ’s wood-fired pizzas. Just drink some wine, already.

Wednesday, January 22

Oak Cliff Wine Cellars Wine Dinner at Nosh
Oak Cliff Wine Cellars teams up with Nosh Euro Bistro for a four-course wine dinner beginning with a reception at 6:30 pm. Pairings include seared diver scallop on Israeli couscous and pesto with 2011 Sonoma Chardonnay (Unoaked) as well as braised lamb shank and grilled Texas quail on fingerling potatoes and winter vegetables with 2009 “Lovers Lane” Petite Sirah and 2010 “Wild Diamond” Syrah. Reservations are $99 per person and can be made at 214-528-9400.

Max’s Wine Dive Wine and Cork Night
Max’s Wine Dive hosts a cork crafting event complete with wine tastings and appetizers beginning at 7 pm. Guests can sample three wines and snack on small bites while they make either a heart-shaped cork board for Valentine’s Day or cork coasters perfect for the Super Bowl. Reservations are $35 and can be made at 214-559-3483.

Friday, January 24

Pappas Bros. Château Angélus Wine Dinner
Pappas Bros. hosts a four-course wine dinner featuring five different vintages of Château Angélus wine beginning at 7 pm. Pairings include medallions of veal and sweetbread with Oregon black truffle risotto and wild mushrooms with the 2007 vintage, as well as a slow-roasted strip loin with cauliflower puree, crispy duck prosciutto, Hudson Valley foie gras, Ohio baby arugula and natural jus with the 2005 and 2009 vintages.

Wine and Pizza with Chef TJ’s Wood Fired Pizza at Wine Poste
Wine Poste teams up with Chef TJ for a night of personal pies and wine tasting beginning at 6:30 pm. Chef TJ prepares personal pizzas for everyone in attendance, and guests can sample four different wines, including 2010 Zaccagnini Montepulciano d'Abruzzo from Italy and 2009 Cune Vina Real Crianza Rioja from Spain. Tickets are $30 and can be purchased at 214-272-3221 or by emailing james@wineposte.com.

Sunday, January 26

Seafood Cooking Class at Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill
Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill hosts a seafood cooking class beginning at 3 pm. Guests learn how to create three or four seafood recipes, and they get to taste their creations with wine pairings. Reservations are $40 and can be made at 972-473-2722.

Pappas Bros. hosts a four-course wine dinner featuring Château Angélus on January 24.

Château Angélus Facebook

Pappas Bros. hosts a four-course wine dinner featuring Château Angélus on January 24.

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Pizza News

Donatos Pizza totes its unique crust to new location in Flower Mound

dallas.culturemap.com

Donatos

A pizza chain with a quirky obsession on its crusts is coming to Flower Mound: Donatos Pizza, the franchise famous for spreading its toppings to the very edge of the pizza, will open a location at 1400 Long Prairie Rd. #160.

According to a release, it'll open on December 17.

Donatos Pizza was founded by Jim Grote in Ohio in 1963 from a single stand, and remains family-owned. Their signature is to place the toppings on their pizzas "edge to edge" — for clueless diners who do not like plain crust edges. (Come on, the crust is the best part.)

Their menu features more than a dozen varieties of pizza such as veggie, four cheese, and pepperoni with hot honey. Their signature crust is a thin-crust but they also offer thicker alternatives as well as a cauliflower crust. Pizzas come in a 7-inch individual and go all the way up to a 14-inch large. Prices range from $15 to $25.

Fans appreciate their better-than-average ingredients and describe it as more flavorful compared to other corporate pizza chains, with a crisp thin crust and generous toppings.

In addition to pizza, Donatos' menu includes oven-baked wings, sub sandwiches, including meatball and Italian cold cuts, plus appetizers and salads.

The Flower Mound location will be a family affair, owned by Lynne and Ralph Pence, whose son Travis will oversee day-to-day operations. The Pence family has deep connections to Donatos including the fact that Lynne's sister used to work for the company, while her brother-in-law still does.

"We're from Columbus, Ohio — it is where our kids grew up and where our family is—it also happens to be the hometown and birthplace of Donatos Pizza," Lynne says. "Our daughter in Oklahoma found out Donatos was coming to Edmond, where she lives, and called us. She was so excited that Donatos was finally coming down south and we wanted to be a part of it."

This is the second Donatos in the Dallas area: a location opened in Frisco in November — the first in Texas.

There are currently 470-plus locations in 28 states. That includes 175 stores plus nearly 300 non-traditional locations nationwide, including select Red Robin restaurants, sports, and entertainment venues.

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