This Week in Gluttony

These are the 7 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

This week in gastronomy in and around Dallas features several early Valentine's Day celebrations, the welcoming of a new Chinese year, and a tasting of some ultra rare beer.

Tuesday, February 7

Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck presents Chinese New Year
Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck is hosting its annual Interactive Night Market, honoring the Year of the Rooster. Executive Chef Jacob Williamson creates a three-course menu to accompany the all-you-can-eat Chinese barbecue-themed night market with live action stations including dim sum, crispy suckling pig, Chinese hot pot, fried Chinese donuts, whole roasted rooster, and more.

Wednesday, February 8

Henry's Majestic presents Goose Island Bourbon County Stout Tasting
This tasting at Henry's Majestic features a vertical flight of four beer selections of different vintages of Goose Island Bourbon County Stout, ranging from 2014, 2015, 2015 Rye, and 2016. This particular beer is highly sought after, with a special limited release once a year on Black Friday. The flight is first come first serve, a very limited amount, and after all the flights are sold, Henry's Majestic will sell the remaining product separately in either a draft or package format.

Friday, February 10

The Joule presents Valentine’s Pop-Up Bakery
Get sweets for your sweetie at the Valentine’s Pop-Up Bakery, featuring a selection of tasty treats baked in-house by The Joule’s pastry chefs. Choose from a selection of sweet and sour gummies, heart-shaped cookie cake, devil’s food cake, hand-painted truffles, French macarons, sugar cookies, cherry pie, sticky buns, monkey bread, chocolate/caramel body paint, and more. The bakery is open on Friday and Valentine's Day.

Fearing's Restaurant presents Valentine's Dinner
Fearing’s Restaurant celebrates Valentine’s Day on five consecutive evenings, presenting a prix fixe romance menu every night Friday through Valentine's Day. Offered in addition to the restaurant’s regular à la carte dinner menu, the Fearing’s Valentine’s menu is highlighted by Fearing’s beef Wellington and a richly enticing dessert duo. For a complete list of Valentine's Day dinner options, click here.

Omni Dallas presents Artisan Dinner Series: Drinking Local
Omni Dallas Hotel presents the first of the monthly Artisan Dinner Series at Texas Spice, where guests enjoy flavorful dishes with cocktail pairings from local beverage companies. This month's dinner features drinks highlighting TX Whiskey, such as a TX Old Fashioned, a Boulevardier, and specially crafted drinks like a Witty Comeback. The four-course menu features an onion soup with rooftop honey, crisp braised pork belly and seared diver scallop, whole grain mustard whipped potatoes, and apricot sticky toffee pudding, among other items.

Fort Worth Zoo presents Valentine's Dinner
The Fort Worth Zoo's annual Valentine's Dinner, taking place in its Portraits of the Wild Art Gallery, offers romantics something a little different. In addition to the open bar, passed hors d’oeuvre, and a seated dinner, it includes a meet and greet with a Zoo outreach animal, photo ops, and interactive games. This event, taking place on Friday and Saturday, is only for those 21 and older.

Saturday, February 11

Dallas Observer presents the Morning After Brunch
The inaugural Morning After, presented by the Dallas Observer and Whole Foods Market, is a brunch sampling event at Dallas Farmers Market that features bites from local brunch hot spots, alongside drink samples and music. Participating restaurants include Bread Winners Cafe & Bakery, Dandelion Cheesecakes, Hypnotic Donuts, Knife Dallas, Mesa - Oak Cliff, TJ's Fresh Seafood Market & Grill, and more. Tickets are sold out online but may still be available at most area Whole Foods Market locations.

The Joule presents a Valentine’s Pop-Up Bakery on February 10 and February 14.

$The Joule presents Valentine\u2019s Pop-Up Bakery$

Photo courtesy of The Joule

The Joule presents a Valentine’s Pop-Up Bakery on February 10 and February 14.

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More Guy

Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is taping in Dallas this week

Guy Fieri/ Instagram

Guy Fieri at a previous DD&D taping.

Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is coming to Dallas this week as part of a meet-and-greet, in support of Santo Spirits, a liquor brand he does in partnership with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar.

But Fieri has not come alone: The Food Network star is also filming future episodes of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives.

According to a source that requested anonymity, the perennially popular TV show currently has two crews in town, who began recording segments at restaurants around Dallas on December 4. The taping will continue through December 6.

The restaurants — there are six — have all signed nondisclosure agreements, and the tapings themselves are buttoned down tight. And a spokesperson for Food Network said they have no news to share.

So no one is willing to go on the record about DD&D being in town.

However, that does not stop an observant diner from noting abrupt closures of their favorite restaurants — blamed on perfectly-reasonable-sounding excuses such as "plumbing issues" and/or "routine maintenance."

There have also been loose-lipped employees bursting with pride who've been unable to resist sharing the news.

So far, restaurants that have been observed enacting sudden closures such as this include at least two barbecue joints, one of which is a chain: Soulman's Bar-B-Que, founded in 1974 in in Pleasant Grove; and Slow Bone, the acclaimed barbecue restaurant from beloved chef Jeffery Hobbs.

Barbecue is one of the most popular cuisines featured on Diners Drive-ins, and Dives, along with restaurants that specialize in quirky over-the-top dishes. The show favors independently-owned restaurants that offer a good bargain, and that also have "legs" — places that have been open for a minimum of two years and display the ability to handle the business side of ownership, since the show does not want to recommend a place only to have it close.

“Triple-D” has been airing on The Food Network since 2006 and has spotlighted at least 1,000 kitchens in all 50 states. Getting featured on the show has an incomparably beneficial effect because the episodes go into reruns and bring restaurants subsequent waves of business.

A story about the behind-the-scenes reveals their selection process, including suggestions from restaurateurs who've appeared on the show previously. They avoid places that’ve already been on TV, and seek out places where the food is made from scratch.

Post-pandemic, DD&D has been on the rebound, with a renewed intensity in tapings in cities such as San Antonio, where sandwich shop Ro-Ho Pork & Bread will appear an episode on Friday, December 6.

About two dozen restaurants around DFW have been featured including Afrah, Avila's, Cane Rosso, Chef Point, CrushCraft Thai Street Eats, Fred's Texas Cafe, Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine, Louie's, Maple & Motor, Nora Restaurant and Bar, One90 Smoked Meats, Original Chop House Burger, Pecan Lodge, Pepe & Mito's, Prince Lebanese Grill, Tacos Mariachi, Taste of Europe, Tutta's Pizza, Twisted Root Burger, and Whistle Britches — nearly all still open.

Meanwhile, Guy is guaranteed to be found at Spec’s at 9500 N. Central Expressway #200, where he'll do his meet & greet and bottle-signing on Saturday, December 7 from 6:30-7:30 pm.

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