This Week in Gluttony

These are the 6 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

TACA Party on the Green is happening at Sammons Park at the AT&T Performing Arts Center on May 12 at 7:30 pm.

Photo by Sylvia Elzafon

With Mother's Day around the corner, this is a quiet food week. But don't despair, there's still a variety of tasty happenings for you to enjoy, including a festive party on the green and a chic scotch and cigar evening at a top steakhouse.

Tuesday, May 9

Taste Tuesdays at Addison Circle Park
The public is invited to experience a preview of Taste Addison, with a selection of participating restaurants handing out bites from their festival menu. Additionally, guests have a chance to win Taste Addison admission tickets and swag. Admission is free and the tasting preview starts at noon.

Wednesday, May 10

Texas Wine Talk & Tasting at Whole Foods Park Lane
The Texas Wine Journal presents this Texas vs. The World-themed road show that includes an interactive and educational tasting and talk followed by a mixer with Texas wine producers, the Journal, and other Lone Star wine lovers. Tickets are $25, and the tasting event starts at 7 pm.

Thursday, May 11

Scotch & Cigars at Dallas Chophouse
This event includes a three-course dinner finished off with a custom, hand-rolled cigar on the patio, all paired with an exclusive Chivas whiskey flight. Courses include hamachi crudo, sage and garlic-brined flat iron steak, and a grilled striploin. Tickets are $50, and the dinner starts at 6:30 pm.

Crafts & Crispers Flight Night
Chili’s is hosting an intro of its new menu items at Four Corners Brewery. Get free beer from Four Corners along with a preview of chicken "crispers" in five new flavors from Chili's. You'll also get a sneak peek of the new Four Corners Brewery space, which won't open to the public until the fall. So many exclusive previews, and attendance is limited. There's also music and prizes. Plus free. 5-9 pm. To RSVP, go to chil.is/crispers.

Friday, May 12

TACA Party on the Green at Sammons Park at AT&T Performing Arts Center
This signature social event (note new location) includes celebrity chef tastings, a wine-cork pull, silent auction packages, live music, and performances by TACA-supported arts organizations. Tickets start at $375, and the party starts at 7:30 pm.

Real Ale Brewing Co. Beer and Cheese Pairing at Craft Beer Cellar Dallas
Cheesemonger Andrew Asaff and Real Ale Brewing Co. team up for this event that features five beers and five cheeses. There are only 12 seats per time slot. Tickets are $35 and there is a 6 and 7:30 pm seating.

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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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