This Week in Gluttony

ZestFest heats up this week's best food and drink events in Dallas

A few weeks into January, and we're settling into our regular routine of eating and drinking our way around town. This week that means a wine dinner, a doughnut-fueled 5k, an anniversary for a local brewer and a zesty food fest. See you out there.

Tuesday, January 20

Odette Estate Wine Dinner at Shinsei
Be part of the exclusive reveal of the Odette Estate Cabernet Sauvignon with winemaker Jeff Owen. The five-course menu prepared by chef Kent Rathbun includes macadamia nut-crusted sea scallops, mushroom soy-glazed duck breast, cumin-scented lamb rib-eye and cherry chocolate bread budding. Price is $180 a person, including tax and gratuity, and dinner starts at 6:30 pm. Call 214-352-0005 for reservations.

Wednesday, January 21

Canning and Preserving: Fermenting at Urban Acres Farmstead
This class covers everything you need to know to begin fermenting, from preserving winter's harvest to health benefits. Learn how easy and fun it is to make sauerkraut in your own kitchen using local, seasonal and 100 percent organic produce. It's a hands-on class, and students take home a jar of sauerkraut and a reference guide for fermenting at home. The class starts at 6:30 and costs $65 a person.

Thursday, January 22

Nothin' But Cheddar Class at Scardello Artisan Cheese
Cheddar. Where does it come from? What is it? How is it made? Get answers to all of these vexing questions and taste the results. Scardello is pairing these great cheeses with craft beers from around the world. The class is $40 a person; you can reserve a spot online. If you want to sit with other attendees, please put their names in the special instructions section during checkout. If the event is sold out, call 214-219-1300 to get on the waiting list.

Friday, January 23

ZestFest at Irving Convention Center
ZestFest is one of the largest events in the country that showcases the zestiest products on the market. In addition to the plethora of hot products available for sampling, the festival offers an array of entertainment over three days, including celebrity cooking demos from chefs such as Jon Bonnell and Grady Spears, Wingstop’s Atomic wing-eating contest, and a jalapeño-eating contest. Fun starts at 1 pm on Friday and 10 am Saturday and Sunday. Tickets range from $11 to $14, and you can buy them online. Or pay a buck more at the door.

Saturday, January 24

Dallas Brew Bus Tour
On this tour of three local breweries — Cobra, Four Corners and Community — sample several beers and learn how they are made. Between stops, guides educate you on the North Texas craft beer scene and answer questions. You also get to enjoy grub from top food trucks parked at some of the breweries (not included in ticket price). Tickets are $60 each, and that gets you a seat on the bus, complimentary beer samples at each brewery, a snack from the culinary wizards at Luck and a commemorative snifter-style Brew Bus glass. Get to 1530 Inspiration Dr. no later than 11:15 am.

Third Annual Hypnotic Donut Dash at Fair Park
If ever there was an opportunity to eat doughnuts guilt-free, this is it. There are two options: a 5k and a 1-mile fun run. No matter which you choose, you will be rewarded with doughnut hole stops along the course. This year the Hypnotic Donut Dash is teaming up with Carry The Load, which provides an interactive way for Americans to remember, honor and celebrate Memorial Day. Registration is $35 for the 5k ($25 for kids under 12) or $25 for the 1-mile fun run. You can do that online.

Two-year Anniversary Party at Community Beer Company
Community celebrates two years in Dallas with 30 beers, 11 stations, food trucks, photo booth and more. Premier tickets are sold out, but $30 general admission tickets are still up for grabs and include commemorative glass, entry from 1:30-6 pm and drink card good for eight 6-ounce pours. You can also buy commemorative T-shirts.

ZestFest 2015 is on for January 23-25 at Irving Convention Center.

Photo via Zestfest.net

ZestFest 2015 is on for January 23-25 at Irving Convention Center.

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Fast-growing Mexican taqueria scales up with 2 new Dallas-area locations

The trompo tacos at El Arquito are a fan favorite.

Photo courtesy of El Arquito.

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A family-owned, authentic Mexican taqueria continues to expand across Dallas-Fort Worth, with the addition of two new locations: Taquería El Arquito is now open in Garland and Mesquite.

These represent locations number nine and 10 for the thriving business, adding to their existing restaurants in Irving, Preston Center and Deep Ellum, and their five gas station locations across Fort Worth, Dallas and Royce City.

Taqueria El Arquito is a true family effort by siblings Analí, Nancy, Martha, and Victor Hugo Reza, who work alongside chefs Juan Diego Gutierrez and José Angel Avila. Originally from Taxco, Mexico, the family honors their heritage through both the food and the décor; every store features arches and traditional pottery inspired by the colonial architecture of their hometown.

Their Garland shop opened last August at 13755 Lyndon B. Johnson Fwy. Ste. 7, in a new development called The Gatess.

“The opportunity presented itself and we took it,” says Nancy. “We liked the beautiful shopping center, the size of the space that fits who we are, and the location.”

Mesquite, located at 2130 N Belt Line Rd. Ste 200, is a bit more personal, as it is a few minutes away from their home in Sunnyvale. For the past five years during Halloween, they have cooked and offered free tacos on their yard to their neighbors, who were asking for a store nearby.

“We have lived here for a long time,” Analí says. “We know the area well and have a community that was waiting for us. It feels like home to us.”

According to the Reza sisters, what sets them apart in a city full of taco options is their consistent quality, focus on authenticity, pristine stores, and open-kitchen concept. Their menu and pricing remain the same across all locations.

El Arquito serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner, opening daily at 6 am and closing at 10 pm (with extended hours until midnight on Friday and Saturday).

The star of the menu is the $3 trompo taco, along with family platters starting at $20 for 10 tacos. They also serve quesadillas, gorditas, burritos, tortas cubanas, caldos, and tamales, all fairly priced between $5 and $13. For those seeking variety, the menu includes American favorites such as hamburgers, wings, and chicken nuggets.

For breakfast, they have chilaquiles, migas, and huevos Mexicanos and rancheros, for $13.

Desserts are $3 to $5 and include churros, pastelitos and flan, and they serve Mexican sodas, beer and wine, and frozen sangrías.

“We are blessed," Nancy says. "The opening went rally well. We hardly gave notice and people from Mesquite and Sunnyvale really showed up. That means a lot to us.”

openings tacos