This Week in Gluttony

Doughnuts without the guilt and more top Dallas food events this week

It's the last week of January, so make it count with an assortment of wine dinners, a doughnut dash at Fair Park, and the zestiest festival of the year.

Tuesday, January 26

Community Beer Company Dinner at Greenville Bar and Grill
This fun dinner includes three courses paired with three Community beers. Tickets are $37.92 and must be purchased before the day of the event. Dinner kicks off at 7 pm.

Y Rousseau Wine Dinner at Stephan Pyles
Chef Stephan Pyles presents an unforgettable four-course dinner with pairings from Napa's Y Rousseau Wines. Dinner costs $100 per person and kicks off with a 6:30 pm reception. Call 214-580-7000 for reservations.

Thursday, January 28

Come-As-You-Are Pinot Noir Wine Dinner at The Grape
This laid-back dinner hosted by Ashley Durkin features a sampling of all Pinot Noirs from the Jackson Family Wines Portfolio. Chef Sarah Snow creates a three-course dinner to complement the three wines chosen for the evening. Dinner costs $55 a person, and reservations can be made from 5:30-9:30 pm by calling 214-828-1981.

Friday, January 29

Pinots Around the World Wine Dinner at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse
Chef James Johnson and guest chef Sharon Hage join forces for this special collaborative evening featuring five courses paired with wines selected by Master Sommelier Barbara Werley. This also includes a mystery wine presented during the second course. Dishes include pancetta-braised rabbit and a 21-day, dry-aged American rack of lamb. Dinner is $225 and starts at 7 pm. For reservations, call 214-366-2000.

Winter Wine Dinner at Cook Hall
Join Cook Hall for a night that celebrates the flavors of winter. Executive chef Vijay Sadhu prepares courses such as corn field soup, warm kale salad, seafood Pondicherry, and English countryside bread pudding, and they are paired with wines perfect for the winter season. Tickets are $95, and dinner starts at 7 pm.

ZestFest at Irving Convention Center at Las Colinas
At the festival, visitors sample the latest and greatest in “zesty” sauces, salsas, recipes, and remedies. The Dos Equis Celebrity Chef Stage features a Texas vs. Louisiana throwdown between Food Network personalities chef Sarah Penrod and chef Loreal Gavin. Other talents taking the stage for cooking demos during the weekend include Jon Bonnell, Eduardo Alvarez, Enam Chowdhury, and Eddie Deen. This festival lasts through January 31. Doors open at 1 pm on Friday and at 10 am on Saturday and Sunday. Tickets start at $11.

Saturday, January 30

Hypnotic Donut Dash at Fair Park
At this fourth annual event, you can curb the guilt of devouring doughnuts by running off the calories. Price starts at $25, and entry includes doughnuts, Noble Coyote coffee, one beer, and a T-shirt and finisher medal. The race starts at 8 am, and participants can register online. This year the Hypnotic Donut Dash has teamed up with Carry The Load, which provides an interactive way for Americans to remember, honor, and celebrate Memorial Day.

Sunday, January 31

Greater Dallas Restaurant Association Pop-up Dinner at 3015 at Trinity Groves
This first-ever dining experience brings together family and community with creative culinary delights from the city's top restaurants. The pop-up dinner includes live music, fantastic food, and daring drinks. Tickets are $125, and the event starts at 5:30 pm.

Community is doing a beer dinner at Greenville Bar and Grill on January 26.

Community Beer Company/Facebook

Community is doing a beer dinner at Greenville Bar and Grill on January 26.

wine event-planner dinner craft-beer

Sandwich News

Artisan vegan sandwich shop opens in unusual Lewisville setting

BTB

Sandwiches from Beyond the Bun

A new sandwich shop is opening in Lewisville that is not like the other sandwich shops: Called Beyond the Bun, it opened on January 15 at 1165 S. Stemmons Fwy. #128, inside an antique mall at the Lakeland Plaza Office Building where it's serving a lineup of classic artisanal sandwiches — roast beef, Buffalo chicken, a BLTA — but all plant-based.

The shop is from Danielle and Mason Strokes, an adorable young couple who are striking out as entrepreneurs and wanted to create a vegan-friendly destination with great sandwiches.

They are starting with a limited menu they plan to expand as they go. Current offerings include:

Italian Cuban with ham, provolone, Dijon, and dill pickles on focaccia bread
Buffalo Chicken with fried chicken, buffalo sauce, bleu cheese, and ranch on a sub-style brioche bun
Dill sandwich with turkey, ham, Swiss cheese, dill pickle aioli, lettuce, & tomato on white bread

Sides include a spicy Dijon potato salad and an unusual dill coleslaw. All of their breads are made in-house by Danielle’s sister Gabrielle Hernandez.

And one major selling point: They are using meats and cheese imported from The Herbivorous Butcher, the acclaimed vegan butcher shop based in Minneapolis.

“We experimented with the recipes for months to create our menu," Danielle says.

They're also offering a selection of desserts including chocolate chip cookies, white chocolate coconut cookies, and two cool "cake sandwiches" — to keep the sandwich theme — featuring slices of cake that sandwich a filling of icing, available in vanilla or chocolate.

They're open for lunch Monday-Friday 11 am-4 pm, and their set-up is also unique: It operates like a ghost kitchen where customers place their order at a self-serve kiosk. Customers get a text when the order is ready and can pick it up from one of eight cubbies. The side benefit of being in an antique mall is that you can look around and shop while the order is being prepared.

"When it comes to eating vegan, there is not really a niche option," Danielle says. "My hope is to give everyone a great plant-based choices."

vegan openings