This Week in Gluttony

Charitable pastry pop-up shop tops best food and drink events in DFW

If you didn't get reservations last week, you still have time to experience DFW Restaurant Week. If you've moved on, there are plenty of satisfying events in the next few days, from a downtown sausage fest to a pop-up pastry sale for a good cause.

Dig in.

Wednesday, August 20

Craft Beer Dinner at Chill Bar Grapevine
Sip on brews from Grapevine Craft Brewery while noshing on dishes such as lettuce leaf topped with hummus and grilled shrimp, craft beer BBQ brisket sliders with fried onion shoestrings, marinated steak stuffed with sausage served on a bed of wild rice, and a Sir Williams Brown Ale float. Tickets cost $35, which includes food, beer and live music. Reserve your spot by calling 817-310-6610 or emailing julia@chillgrapevine.com. The event starts at 6:30 pm.

Greek Night at Urban Acres Farmstead
In this demonstration class, chef Nicole Gossling teaches students how to make a classic Greek salad, chicken souvlaki gyros with fresh tzatziki sauce, and halva (a traditional Mediterranean semolina dessert). All recipes are included in a take-home packet. The event runs from 6:30-9 pm and costs $65 per person. Reserve your seats online.

Friday, August 22

"Show Us Your Wiener" at Samson's Gourmet Hot Dogs
Get your mind out of the gutter, dirty birds. This party kicks off the "Show Us Your Wiener" contest. For $5, attendees can build and name their own dogs and take pictures of them, to be posted on the Samson's Facebook page for a week. The photo with the most likes will be added to the menu, and the winner gets a free dog a month for a year. Even if you don't want to participate in the contest, there are still sangria, beer and wine specials. The fun starts at 7 pm.

National Wine Release Dinner at III Forks
III Forks presents an exclusive wine dinner featuring special guest Agustin Francisco Huneeus of Quintessa. The menu includes seared diver scallops, rabbit confit pot pie, grilled USDA Prime strip loin and death by chocolate dessert. Happy hour starts at 6:30 pm; dinner starts at 7. Seats are $145 a pop. Call 972- 267-1776 for reservations.

Saturday, August 23

Sausage Fest at Main Street Garden
Head to Main Street Garden to get your sausage fix. In addition to eating more meat than you ever thought imaginable, there is an endless supply of cold adult frosties, the obligatory hot-bod bikini contest and sausage games for prizes. Sausage Fest also features music from DJ Melissa Richey, Guns for Roses, Sam Lao and Rhymin-n-Stealin. Tickets are $15 and can be purchased online.

Pop-Up Pastry Bake Sale at Empire Baking Company
This pastry chef showcase gives the public a chance to meet the people behind the desserts. This pop-up features CultureMap Tastemaker Award nominee Laurel Wimberg from AF+B. One hundred percent of the proceeds go to the beneficiary selected by the chef, and Wimberg's charity of choice is Duck Team 6. The event lasts from 10 am-2 pm.

Seared scallops are on the menu during a special dinner at III Forks on August 22.

III Forks, scallops, asparagus, October 2012

III Forks Houston Facebook

Seared scallops are on the menu during a special dinner at III Forks on August 22.

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Pizza News

Global Italian pizza chain 400 Gradi will close down Dallas locations

400 Gradi

400 Gradi pizza

A pizza concept from Australia is shutting down its presence in Dallas: Called 400 Gradi, it's a Neapolitan-style pizzeria that opened two locations in the DFW area — the original in downtown Dallas at 2000 Ross Ave., which is still open but will close in early 2025; and a second location in McKinney, which closed on December 31.

400 Gradi was founded by Johnny Di Francesco, a native of Australia and a regular on Australian TV shows such as MasterChef Australia, The Mentor, and Everyday Gourmet, who opened his first location in his hometown Melbourne in 2008. "400 Gradi" refers to the high temperature at which a thin-crust traditional Neapolitan pizza is cooked in a wood-fired oven.

The concept was brought to DFW by franchisee Igor Stevovic who opened the Dallas location in 2019 in what was then a seemingly up-and-coming building in downtown Dallas at a time when Neapolitan-style pizza was on an upswing.

That building still houses a location of the buzzy California-based sandwich restaurant Mendocino Farms, but it's now open weekdays only. Meanwhile, the building has added casual, low-priced tenants such as Shawarma Press and Firebirds Burrito.

Having a restaurant in downtown Dallas is not easy, and the pandemic has not helped that fact.

400 Gradi adhered to the guidelines of the Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana. They used Neapolitan-style ingredients to make authentic pizzas, with San Marzano tomatoes, mozzarella, olive oil, flour imported from Italy, and a special water from a company called Artisan H2O that replicated the water found in Naples.

They served a traditional menu of Italian dishes, ranging from fried calamari and arancini (fried risotto balls) to pizzas topped with prosciutto and spicy salami. Plus larger entrees such as risotto, char-grilled steaks, and lamb shoulder.

In 2021, Stevovic also opened Zero Gradi, a decadent gelato and dessert shop next to 400 Gradi in downtown Dallas. He opened the second location of 400 Gradi in McKinney in 2023, along with a second location of Zero Gradi.

Stevovic, who has many years of franchising experience, says it was time to part ways.

"I regret to say that we're phasing out 400 Gradi in Dallas," he says. "I think that the corporate strategy versus where we wanted to go were not overlapping."

For now, Zero Gradi will still be open, so you can still get their croissants, supremes, pastries, and gelato. And for those who loved 400 Gradi's food, there's at least a few weeks at the Dallas location to run down there like a maniac and get it before it goes.

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