This Week in Gluttony

These are the 9 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Don't miss all the fun events that make up Savor Dallas, happening all over town April 6-9.

With March Madness officially coming to a close, it is time to forget the beer and wings and get back to the Dallas basics — wine and fancy finger foods. This week is packed with festivals (hello, Savor Dallas), fundraisers, and cocktail parties featuring all that and more. Here are this week's top events:

Wednesday, April 5

III Forks Steakhouse presents Sommelier for a Day
Each month, III Forks offers a Sommelier for a Day opportunity. Guests help choose wines for the coming month by sampling six wines selected by the wine director at III Forks, each paired with hand-passed hors d’oeuvre created by executive chef Chris Vogeli. This month the restaurant is sampling wines from across Italy and the tasting starts at 5 pm.

Return to Rivera Maya Cocktail Party at Stock & Barrel
Enjoy bites and wines and learn about Lone Star Series Food, Art, & Music Festival that is happening in Riviera Maya at El Dorado Royale this summer, featuring Daniele Puleo of CiboDivino Marketplace and Jon Stevens of Stock & Barrel. Jeroen Hanlo, VP of food and beverage operations at Karisma Hotels & Resorts, will be on hand to discuss the events happening this summer and answer any questions about the property. The event is free and starts at 6 pm.

Thursday, April 6

Savor Dallas Cue it Up! at Marie Gabrielle
The ultimate opening night kickoff to Savor Dallas puts a whole new spin on everyone’s favorite food — barbecue. Curated by the some of the leaders of local smoked flavors and featuring other culinary innovators, this party puts a fresh taste on all that smoke and fire. Plus, all the wine, spirits, and beer you could want. Tickets start at $55, and the event begins at 5:30 pm.

Friday, April 7

Eastwood's Bar One-Year Anniversary
This bar, known by some as the "living room of Uptown," is throwing a house party in celebration of making it a year in Dallas. Throughout the party, Eastwood’s is serving select complimentary drinks and appetizers; showcasing an ice luge sculpture; and offering a variety of drink specials, giveaways, and a free photo booth. There is also live music on the patio and a DJ spinning tunes late into the evening. Admission is free, and the fun starts at 7 pm.

Shaken + Stirred at Happiest Hour
This event features cocktails curated by the industry’s best bartenders and is considered Savor Dallas’ signature spirits and mixology-driven event. Plus, leading chefs curate the ultimate charcuterie experience, along with local vendors and additional tasting stations. Tickets are sold out, however, if you are dead set on being there, you can call 214-977-8152 to chat about getting in on a waitlist.

Saturday, April 8

Savor Dallas Reserve Tasting at Centennial Hall
Sample wines, spirits, and craft beer, along with gourmet fare from the area’s premier restaurants, while you listen to live music and chat with industry experts. Proceeds from a silent auction benefit a range of causes that support the hungry and homeless in North Texas. Tickets are $225, and the event starts at 6 pm. Want to wine and dine but not as concerned with limited editions and fancy pours? Tickets to the Grand Tasting are $125, and doors open at 7 pm.

No Tie Dinner & Dessert Party at Frontiers of Flights Museum
Enjoy desserts from Dallas’s finest eateries; cocktails; and entertainment including live painters, tunes by DJ Mr. Rid, and a performance by Hedda Layne, among other surprises. An annual shindig, the year's party is themed “An Artful Life," inspired by the 1960's pop art movement, and welcomes costumes and creativity. Tickets start at $75, and the event kicks off at 7 pm.

Sunday, April 9

Savor Dallas Community Brunch at Dallas Farmers Market
Guests get to experience a walk-around tasting of the freshest farm-to-plate fare that the farmers market has to offer. Chat with the chefs, artisans, and farmers market vendors first-hand about their seasonal products, plus sample remarkable brunch dishes. There is also bubbly, cocktails, mocktails, and fresh-pressed juices to enjoy along with live entertainment. Tickets are $55, and the event starts at 10:30 am.

Vino-Palooza Wine & Music Festival at Happiest Hour
Platinum recording artist Ryan Cabrera hosts this exciting event offering complimentary tastings from more than 20 boutique wineries, as well as samples of local craft beers, spirits and small bites, and intimate performances by major top 40 music artists benefiting Roof Angels. Tickets start at $50, and doors open at 1 pm.

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Ice Cream News

Brooklyn Italian ice & ice cream shop makes Texas debut in Dallas

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Uncle Louie G's

A small, artisan frozen dessert shop from Brooklyn has made its Texas debut: Called Uncle Louie G's Italian Ice & Ice Cream, it's now open by Richardson at 7522 Campbell Rd. #115 in Dallas, where it's scooping up Italian ice, ice cream, and related frozen desserts with a real authentic East Coast vibe.

Uncle Louie G's was founded by namesake Louie G. decades ago, then expanded by family members in the 2000s. It's now owned by Melissa and Ernie Aiello, and has 10 locations in the New York-New Jersey-Staten Island area. It's famous for its blue-striped awning, and flavors with tribute names like NYPD Blue, FDNY Cherry, Coney Island Cotton Candy, Holi Cannoli, and Soprano Spumoni.

DFW has always been big on shaved ice, but shaved ice differs from Italian ice both in texture and ingredients. Italian ice is smooth and creamy, like sorbet, and is made by churning ingredients — water, fruit, sugar — just as you churn ice cream. Shaved ice is a block of ice that's shaved, then flavored with syrup.

Italian ice also goes beyond the sugar and flavoring used by many shaved ice vendors; Uncle Louie G's, for example, uses with real fruit.

In addition to Italian ice, Uncle Louie G's also offers a premium ice cream with 14 percent butterfat (Haagen Dazs is 14 to 16 percent).

They have nearly 50 flavors of Italian ice and 34 flavors of ice cream, some with a Northeast slant like Spumoni, Maple Walnut, and Black Razzberry. Stores choose a smaller selection to feature daily.

Italian ice options include novel fruit flavors like banana, cantaloupe, watermelon, and passion fruit; decadent flavors like pistachio, creamsicle, and chocolate peanut-butter cup; and quirky flavors like blue bubble gum, cake batter, chocolate jelly ring, cotton candy, and sweetish fish.

Ice cream flavors range from rocky road to rum raisin to salted caramel to chocolate Nutella to butter pecan.

Milkshakes also have a Northeast vibe, with flavors such as blackout and old-fashioned black and white, featuring chocolate syrup with vanilla ice cream. There are also iced coffee drinks, sundaes, ice cream floats, old fashioned egg cream, and a frozen hot chocolate.

The Campbell Road location is a franchise from Zabi P., who moved to Dallas three years ago.

"We previously lived in Savannah, Georgia, and would go get Italian ice," Zabi says. "When we moved to Dallas, the Texas heat got to us, and we went looking for something sweet, light, and refreshing. But there were no Italian ice places here."

They loved Uncle Louie because of the quality and the fact that the menu offers something for everyone — from avowed ice cream fans to dairy-free.

They're located in a shopping center on the southwest corner of the busy intersection at Campbell and Coit Road, in a former tailor shop next door to Cindi's Deli. The space has 4 to 5 tables inside and an outside patio.

"We looked at many locations but we wanted to be part of a nice neighborhood with residents who would appreciate this kind of gourmet shop," Zabi says. "The university is nearby, the neighborhood is great, and the area does not have anything like it — capturing the essence of classic Italian frozen desserts with a modern twist."

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