This Week In Gluttony

Taste of Dallas tops this week's best food and drink events

Hopefully you have rebounded from your Fourth of July shenanigans, because it's time to gear up for another week of eating. Highlights include a clam bake in Fort Worth, a food fest in Fair Park and a couple of odes to Bastille Day.

Here we go:

Wednesday, July 9

Inaugural Komali Food and Art Event
This is the first in a series of art events hosted by Komali. Expect hors d'oeuvre, a Mestizo Mezcal tasting and a signature cocktail from the restaurant's mixologist. Featured artists include Brad Jensen, Sean McCune, Michael Mentler and Yelizaveta Nersesova. The fun runs from 6-8 pm, and it's free. Call 214-252-0200 to RSVP.

Friday, July 11

Summer Harvest Dinner at Asador
Asador kicks off summer with this five-course wine, beer and cocktail dinner. The meal is served family-style, with dishes such as seafood agnolotti, roasted tenderloin and antelope short ribs made using local ingredients from Hudspeth and Tassione Farms, Mozzarella Company, and Empire Bakery. Dinner starts at 6:30 pm and costs $60 a person. Call 214-267-4815 for reservations.

28th Annual Taste of Dallas at Fair Park
At this three-day showcase — the largest tasting event in Dallas-Fort Worth — foodies can get their fill from dozens of DFW restaurants, including Herrera's, Hedary's, Lockhart Smokehouse and Samson's Gourmet Hot Dogs. The event also includes music from The Spazmatics and Vanilla Ice, kids' activities, and shopping. Tickets cost $8-$12, which you can buy at participating Walgreens, and proceeds benefit the American Heart Association. Taste of Dallas runs Friday-Sunday.

Saturday, July 12

Asahi Beer Garden at Tei An
At this rooftop party, celebrate Asahi Brewery's Gold Award in the 2014 World Beer Cup. Enjoy award-winning brew, appetizers and a live DJ while taking in the downtown view. The cost is $25 for women and $35 for men; come with a yukata or kimono and get $5 off. RSVP is not required, but max capacity is 150. For more information, call George Kaiho at 214-220-2828.

Clam Bake at Grace
Grace presents its first-ever clam bake on the terrace at 6:30 pm. Chef Blaine Staniford's menu features a variety of seafood options, including raw and cooked oysters; New England clam chowder; and a selection of little neck, manila and chowder clams. Dinner costs $95 for food plus wine pairings or $75 for food plus beer pairings. For reservations, call 817-877-3388.

Monday, July 14

Bastille Day at Cadot Restaurant
Celebrate Bastille Day, the French national holiday that commemorates the storming of the Bastille, with French cancan dancers and an accordionist. The set menu costs $42 per person, and dinner starts at 6 pm. For reservations, call 972-267-5700.

Fifth Annual Bastille on Bishop in Bishop Arts District
The Bastille on Bishop festival honors Dallas' rich French history by promoting the art, culture, history and spirit of a nation that helped form Dallas' early identity. Expect chef creations, outdoor markets, wine tastings, music, dancing and more dispersed over three blocks of the Bishop Arts District. Tickets are $25, and you can buy them online.

Samson's Gourmet Hot Dogs is one of the participating restaurants at Taste of Dallas on July 11-13

Photo courtesy of Samson's Gourmet Hot Dogs

Samson's Gourmet Hot Dogs is one of the participating restaurants at Taste of Dallas on July 11-13

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RIP Mico

Restaurateur Mico Rodriguez, 'Godfather of Dallas Tex-Mex,' dies at 68

Courtesy photo

Mico

A Dallas restaurant legend has died: Michael "Mico" Rodriguez, dubbed the "Godfather of Dallas Tex-Mex," died on October 1; he was 68. According to a friend of the family, Rodriguez exhibited symptoms of a heart attack and died late Thursday night.

Rodriguez co-founded a number of successful Tex-Mex restaurant chains, most famously Mi Cocina, which debuted in 1991 at Preston Forest Village. Its combination of gringo-friendly Tex-Mex, as well as its signature Mambo Taxi frozen margarita-sangria swirl, was an instant hit.

But it was the buzzy celebrity-packed location at Highland Park Village, which opened in 1993, that sent the concept into the stratosphere, launching an entire chain. Under the M Crowd umbrella name, he helped launched a number of other concepts, including the pioneering Taco Diner chain.

Rodriguez was born on October 30, 1957 and entered the restaurant industry not long thereafter: busing tables when he was only 6 years old at El Chico, where his parents worked, until he went to work at Mia's Tex-Mex, the restaurant his mother opened in 1980.

He also experienced personal challenges, and was eventually ousted from Mi Cocina due to alleged financial improprieties.

Driven and ambitious, he went on to found other similar concepts, beginning in 2011 with Mr. Mesero (later shortened to Mesero), which he opened at 4444 McKinney Ave.

Mr. Mesero served as a template for the Mesero chain, which currently has seven locations across DFW and two outside Texas.

But in 2018, Rodriguez and Mesero Restaurant Group parted ways. He kept the original Mr. Mesero, now named Doce Mesas, and opened more locations before being ousted in 2025.

Most recently, he became involved in the Maple Street Food Hall, a food hall launched by entrepreneur Ray Quintanilla in 2022.

Rodriguez can be seen sharing some of his memories on a podcast with Jeff Crilley. He's survived by his daughter, Bianca, and his ex-wife, Caroline. Services have not been announced.

deaths highland park village mi cocina obituary tex-mex