This week in gluttony

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

You'll have to earn this Mambo Taxi.

Kevin Marple

Gear up now because Sunday will be busy this week, with tasty events starting as early as 8 am. There’s a fun-run with a famous margarita for participants at the finish line, a French fête at a local food hall, a decadent chocolate tour, and an all-female cocktail competition. Pre-game for Sunday’s marathon of events with hand-cranked ice cream at a 1920s-themed evening social.

Saturday, July 10

1920s Ice Cream Social at Nash Farm
The historic Grapevine farmstead will transport guests to simpler times with a 1920s-era ice cream party. Along with old fashioned hand-cranked ice cream, sundaes, and root beer floats, there’ll be antique cars, vintage bicycles, and even tunes from records spinning on an antique phonograph. The Lone Star String Band will play traditional Texas-style prairie music, and kids can play lawn games like croquet and horseshoes. This evening event runs from 7 p.m. until dark. Admission is $5 per person and includes ice cream and refreshments.

Inu-san Onigiri Pop-up at Ding Tea in Richardson
Pop-up concept specializes in Japanese onigiri, AKA Japanese rice balls, and it pops up around Dallas frequently. You order online, then pick up at Ding Tea in Richardson from 4-6 pm. They'll have four options: Japanese plum with Japanese egg salad; tuna mayo & takuan, a pickled daikon radish; fried shrimp with Japanese spicy mayo; and smoked sausage with tamayo (egg omelet). They're $3.50 to $4.25 each for an order of two bites.

Sunday, July 11

Mambo Miles Race
Tex-Mex favorite Mi Cocina will celebrate its 30th anniversary with the inaugural Mambo Miles Race, a two-mile course in downtown Dallas that begins and ends in Klyde Warren Park, where Mi Cocina will open a new location later this year. Participants will receive a commemorative T-shirt and will be greeted at the finish line with a Mambo Miles medal, and more importantly, a cold Mambo Taxi in a souvenir glass. Stay for live music from Bidi Bidi Banda, food trucks, and family activities. The race is $40 ($30 for those under 21) and begins at 8 am.

Third Annual Bastille Day at Legacy Hall
Celebrate all things French at this food hall fête. Parisian chef Julien Eelsen of Whisk & Eggs will visit to prepare French specialties like sweet and savory crepes, croque monsieur, and charcuterie boards. Sip on Champagne cocktails like the French 75 or purchase a bottle of Perrier Jouët for $35. There’ll be live French-gypsy-jazz music, too. Admission is free, but reserved seating inside the hall’s new bar, Tonic, starts at $100 for four people and comes with cocktail service, a bottle of Champagne, and a charcuterie board. The event will run 1-4 pm.

Dallas by Chocolate Tour
Hop aboard a motorcoach for a mouthwatering tour of rich chocolate treats. Participants will visit five sweet stops for tastes of chocolate truffles, chocolate pastries, and more. There’ll be a history lesson in chocolate and trivia along the way. The tour is $53 ($48 for children 10 and under) and runs 1-4:30 pm. Non-alcoholic beverages will be provided, but participants may also BYOB.

The Shake Up Finals at The Clover Club
This all-female cocktail competition is down to its final round after four weeks of battling it out from behind the bar. Four winning teams that include female bartenders from all over Dallas will craft their finest concoctions for three judges, including Megan McClinton of Blackland Distilling, sommelier Christina Spadaro, and Armoury general manager Megan Christiansen. The event is free to attend and a portion of the evening’s sales will go to Genesis Women’s Shelter. The competition begins at 8 pm.

news-you-can-eat desserts cocktails

Bar News

Rodeo Dallas bar takes party to Uptown Dallas at new location

Rodeo

Rodeo bar is open in Uptown

A bar with Deep Ellum roots is expanding to Uptown Dallas: Called Rodeo Dallas, it'll open at 2922 N. Hall St. in the space previously occupied by Palms Bar. According to co-owner Joseph "JD" Ybanez, it'll open on November 28.

The first Rodeo location in Dallas opened in 2023 at 2724 Elm St. from Ybanez and partner Josh Reagan, a pair of hospitality veterans whose prior venues include Longshots in Dallas, plus two locations of Varsity Tavern, in Fort Worth and in Tempe.

Ybanez' first bar was Trophy Ranch in Fort Worth which had a mechanical bull. "That's where I learned how popular it was," he says. (He also became familiar with Fort Worth's bar scene and went on to open a Rodeo spinoff in 2024.)

In August 2025, the Deep Ellum location became the focal point of neighborhood concerns about crime and was closed via an order from the Dallas city attorney. Ybanez says the city is scapegoating Rodeo for other problems in the neighborhood, and that the Deep Ellum location isn't going anywhere.

“This is not a relocation,” he says. “We maintain an ongoing legal dispute with our landlord Asana Partners regarding the re-opening of our Deep Ellum establishment. The Uptown location represents an expansion of the brand.”

Prior to opening Rodeo in Deep Ellum, they opened a bar in Tempe in 2018 called Rodeo Ranch which served as a template for the concept, featuring an "adult playground" with mechanical bull, bottle service, girls in bikinis, DJs, dancing, and light show.

According to Ybanez, visitors to the Uptown location can expect to take these factors to the next level.

“The Uptown space offers an expansive back patio,” Ybanez says. “This area will feature a massive video wall, optimizing it for communal sports viewing. Furthermore, we have executed a comprehensive refinement of our food menu, which we are confident will elevate the guest experience."

The menu is rendered by Donde Los Tacos, the highly regarded Mexican taqueria in Oak Clifff, with $3 and $4 tacos, like trompo, barbacoa, and suadero. The Uptown location will also serve brunch with dishes such as chilaquiles.

"We have meticulously preserved the core of the Rodeo experience: the unparalleled atmosphere and vibes, our commitment to genuine hospitality, the homegrown character of the brand, and the inclusive spirit that welcomes every member of the community," Ybanez says.

uptown openings