This Week in Gluttony

Load up on BBQ and crawfish during this week's best Dallas food events

Bring out the beer pong and let the birds sing, because it’s officially crawfish season. And, honestly, it’s always barbecue season in Texas. You can get your fix of both in a variety of ways this week, along with a beer dinner or two you shouldn't miss.

Wednesday, April 15

Tax Day Happy Hour and Crawfish Boil at Clay Pigeon
To give taxpayers a break, Clay Pigeon is doing crawfish and cocktails on the patio. All-you-can-eat crawfish sets you back only $15. The restaurant is teaming up with Caledonia Spirits, a Vermont-based company that uses raw honey in the distillation process, to offer three specialty cocktails at happy hour pricing. A portion of each cocktail sale benefits the Tarrant County Area Food Bank. The event runs from 5-8 pm.

Thursday, April 16

Cooking Your Farm Share at Urban Acres Farmstead
Ever at a loss for what to do with some of the produce in your farm share? In this hands-on class, chef Melissa Wagner takes an entire produce share and prepares every item in it. This is your opportunity to learn what to do with all that nutritious, organic produce so none of it goes to compost again. Cost is $60, and the class starts at 6:30 pm.

Pub-style Beer Dinner at Whole Foods Lakewood
This chef-prepared, pub-style dinner features six courses paired with Revolver, and it’s a steal at only $30 per person. Courses include bacon-wrapped beer brats, pear walnut salad, beer cheese soup, beer battered fish and chips, shepherd’s pie, and chocolate lava cake. Dinner starts at 6 pm.

Saturday, April 18

Boil for the Brave at The Rustic
This Cajun crawfish boil brings together the DFW community and the veterans who reside within it. With funds raised at the boil, the Rosedale Group can renovate housing for disabled veterans. The event runs from 11:30 am-4:30 pm. Tickets cost $30.

Champagne and Crawfish MS Block Party at Standard Pour
Starting at noon, enjoy crawfish and champagne at one of the hottest bars in Uptown. This event offers unlimited crawfish for your ticket purchase of $20. All proceeds go to the MS Society and can be purchased by calling 214-935-1370.

Community Beer Dinner at Texas Spice
Omni Dallas’ Texas Spice serves a four-course menu of farm-to-table Southern favorites paired with Community beers. Dishes include pan-seared diver scallops, mixed green bundle with smoked squab, Sous Vide 44 Farms strip loin, and Legion Russian Imperial Stout caramel and chocolate tart. Reception starts at 6:30 pm; dinner is at 7. Call 214-979-4529 to reserve your spot.

TMBBQ Road Trip
For this Dallas tour, Texas Monthly hits up Stanley’s Famous Pit Bar-B-Q in Tyler and Dallas joints Slow Bone and Lockhart Smokehouse. Ticket price includes beverages on the bus and one meal and beverage at each stop. No outside alcohol, beverages or coolers allowed on the bus. Tickets are $150. Be ready to roll at 9 am; the tour starts near Lockhart.

Sunday, April 19

Barrett Havran Memorial Big Taste of Fort Worth at Omni Fort Worth
Tarrant County’s premier food and wine tasting event for the last 36 years, Big Taste benefits Big Brothers Big Sisters. Feast on gourmet cuisine from Tarrant County’s finest restaurants while benefiting the children of our community. Events start at 4:30 pm, and tickets cost $125.

Salute to King Creole Crawfish Festival at Chicken Scratch
Join chef Tim Byres in celebrating all things Louisiana. Guests enjoy all-you-can-eat Creole tastings, drinks and live entertainment. In addition to the Louisiana chow-down, local artist John Arseneau and Joe Haasch of Elm Street Tattoo are slingin’ ink. The event starts at 4:30 pm, and tickets cost $20.

Lockhart Smokehouse is the starting point for the TMBBQ tour on April 18.

Lockhart Smokehouse Facebook

Lockhart Smokehouse is the starting point for the TMBBQ tour on April 18.

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Best Happy Hours

Where to drink in Dallas right now: 5 special happy hours for September

Malai Kitchen

This is a most distinguished edition of Where to Drink, CultureMap's monthly column bringing news of the best happy hours around. Distinguished, because these aren't just the cheapest deals. These happy hours are all a little extra, whether it's gourmet chef-driven food, unique location, or a special Korean twist.

Here are the best happy hour destinations for September 2026:

Cipher Lounge
Unique new entertainment venue and lounge in downtown McKinney is an escape room-plus-restaurant and bar, combining food, cocktails, and escape-room experiences under one roof. The Cipher Lounge is not your typical bar or escape room. The lounge boasts a sophisticated atmosphere with craft cocktails and upscale bites. You can stop in before or after the escape room, but you can also just come in for food and drink. And fortunately, they do a happy hour Wednesday-Friday from 2-6 pm with $3 off flatbreads & dips, $3 off well cocktails, $2 off domestic beers, and $1 off import and craft beers.

Malai Kitchen
Small local chain specializing in southeast Asian cuisine is a perennial, with four locations including the original at West Village in Uptown Dallas. They recently expanded their already generous happy hour with more to eat and more to drink, still with the same scratch-made kitchen behind all of it. Signature cocktails are $4 off. Their celebrated house-brewed beer is $6, and their happy hour wines are a cut above: Aveleda Vinho Verde white from Portugal, and Vina Eguia Tempranillo red from Spain, $8 per glass. Bites are $8 or two for $15 including Vietnamese meatballs, cucumber salad, shishito peppers, grilled satay, fried imperial rolls, spicy edamame, Thai chicken wings, and potstickers. Hours are Monday-Friday 3-6 pm, and all day Sunday.

Nuri Steakhouse
Korean steakhouse in Uptown recently launched "Geonbae Hour," its elevated take on happy hour, inspired by the Korean tradition of “Geonbae,” meaning cheers. Featured bites include oysters, bulgogi beef tacos, steak tartare cigar, and truffle popcorn, $7 to $9, plus a Wagyu burger with kimchi-glazed bacon and white cheddar for $20. Drinks include their unique renditions of classic drinks like an old-fashioned, margarita, and negroni for $10; plus beer, wine, and soju, the Korean spirit. It's offered Monday-Thursday 4- 6 pm and all day Sunday.

Two Hands
Australian-style all-day cafe founded in New York, which opened a location at The Quad in 2025, has what it calls a "snacky hour," which is short and to the point: a smashburger for $10, plus $10 cocktails, $3 off glasses of wine (including red, white, and sparkling), and $5 draft beer. Cocktails include martinis (dry or dirty), espresso martini, margarita, aperol spritz, old-fashioned, Negroni, and bloody Mary. Snacky hour is offered every day from 4-6 pm.

Written By the Seasons
Chef-driven concept has two locations in Dallas: Bishop Arts and The Quad. Both host an admirable happy hour 3:30-5 pm Monday-Saturday, with half-off on bottles of wine and significant snacks, including some of their signature dishes. There are smoked Texas pecans, cheese & charcuterie board, boquerones with arugula & crostini, mutabal (the middle-Eastern eggplant dip) with olives and crispy flatbread, and their acclaimed kimchi pancakes, priced from $5 to $12. There's also a burger with American cheese, and a veggie sandwich with cucumber, avocado, daikon sprouts, and shaved carrots on wheat — both $18.

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