This week in gluttony

These are the 9 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

A popular Dallas taco shop will host a pop-up ahead of its reopening.

Glimpses of fall appear on this week’s event list. There’s a “fall tasting series” that launches at a Dallas hotel restaurant, a restaurant special to celebrate National Red Wine Day, and one of the first big food and wine festivals of the season. But it’s still officially summer, which means warm weather flavors continue to dominate. A seafood and wine pairing dinner, taqueria pop-up, and a special on a famous frozen beverage round out the list.

Wednesday, August 24

Dallas Symphony Orchestra Wine and Food Festival
One of the first big foodie festivals of fall is presented at the Meyerson Symphony Center as a fundraiser for the DSO. Festival passes are $250, Weekender passes are $700, and individual tickets vary by event. The events include:

August 24: Hall VIP experience (intimate dinner at the home of wine purveyors Craig and Kathryn Hall at Hall Arts Residences, 6 pm)
August 25: Summer Wine Down Dinner (Chef-driven, multicourse meal at the Meyerson's Opus Restaurant, 7 pm
August 26: Whiskey Tasting and Mixology Seminar (6 pm), BBQ, Bourbon, and Beer Tasting (7 pm)
August 27: Riedel Wine Seminar (11 am), Symphony of Flavors Grand Tasting (12 pm), Chocolate Seminar (3 pm), La Stella Wine Dinner at La Stella Cucina Verace (5 pm), Musume Sake Dinner at Musume (6 pm)

Season’s Peak Wine Dinner at Carraba’s
The Houston-based Italian chain will share summer flavors at their peak during this four-course wine dinner. Menu highlights include fontina and prosciutto-stuffed chicken with basil lemon butter sauce and berries and butter cake with vanilla ice cream. Dinner is $55 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm, at participating locations. Reservations required.

Thursday, August 25

Fall Tasting Series at Hotel ZaZa
The glitzy Uptown hotel will kick off a monthly wine and spirits tasting series on Thursday at its restaurant Dragonfly, featuring a different theme each month. August’s theme is white wine, and four wines will be paired with accompanying hors d’oeuvres. Tickets are $75 per person, plus tax, and the tasting will run from 6-8 pm.

Trompo Homecoming
A popular Dallas taco shop will host a pop-up ahead of its reopening this fall. Trompo owner Luis Olvera has relocated his taqueria more than once in recent years, and says he feels like his upcoming new Oak Cliff location at 337 W. Jefferson Blvd. will be a great fit. Until then, satisfy your cravings this Thursday starting at 6 pm at 626 W. Davis St., where Olvera will serve tacos al carbon, fajita tacos, aguas frescas, and more.

Saturday, August 27

Bring Your Own Cup Day at 7-Eleven
If it fits in a cup, fill ‘er up. The convenience store chain is reprising Bring Your Own Cup Day by encouraging its rewards members to bring in any vessel to fill with their favorite Slurpee flavor for $1.99. From fishbowls to cookie jars, all creative containers are welcome. "We want customers to build the Slurpee drink of their dreams while having fun with their vessel of choice — and we can't wait to see some of the creative cups they come up with,” Dennis Phelps, 7-Eleven proprietary beverages senior product director, said in a statement. The special is valid at participating locations.

Fat Straws 20th Anniversary
The Dallas-based boba tea and mochi doughnut shop will celebrate 20 years in business with an all-day special at all five area locations. Visit any Fat Straws outlet for 20 percent off all doughnuts and drinks from 11 am-9 pm and enter for a chance to win a $200 gift card. Menu offerings include milk teas, smoothies, milkshakes, coffee, and Fat Straws’ signature mochi doughnuts — chewy pastries fried with mochi powder. Fat Straws has locations in Dallas, Plano, Richardson, and Arlington.

Sunday, August 28

National Red Wine Day at Cantina Laredo
Visit the Frisco or Addison locations of the Tex-Mex chain for half-price bottles of red wine all day to celebrate National Red Wine Day. But don’t forget that all glasses and bottles are always half-price every Wednesday from 4-7 pm in the bar.

Sunday, August 28

California Dreamin’ Wine Tasting at Zin Zen Wine Bistro
The McKinney wine bar and bistro invites guests to explore the different wine regions of California during this afternoon tasting. Guests will get to sample five wines paired with charcuterie. Tickets are $45 and the tasting begins at 3 pm.

Monday, August 29

Foley Wine Dinner at Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill
The Plano seafood destination will partner with the popular Santa Rosa, California wine brand for a five-course wine pairing dinner. Wines to be featured will come from the labels Banshee, Chalone, High Haven, and Chalk Hill. Menu highlights include seared tuna au poivre with Banshee “Ten of Cups” brut, sous vide crispy skin duck breast with Chalk Hill Estate red, and pinot noir-poached king salmon paired with High Haven pinot noir. Dinner is $125 per person, plus tax and gratuity. Arrive by 6 pm for cocktail hour before a 7 pm dinnertime start.

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Joie de vivre

New Bishop Arts bistro brings French elan to historic Oak Cliff home

Photo courtesy of Trapèze/Peter Novotny

Trapèze is serving French fare in a laid-back bohemian yet deeply thought-out atmosphere.

Transforming historic Oak Cliff homes into dining destinations is an art, and a duo known for their Deep Ellum hot spots has a new work on display: Trapèze, a French bohemian bar and bistro, that has quietly opened at 240 W. 8th St. in a repurposed bungalow on the west end of the Bishop Arts District.

Owners Peter Novotny and Dan Murry, who operate Ruins on Commerce and Armoury D.E. on Elm Street, told CultureMap in February that they envisioned Trapèze as “an old-fashioned bohemian artist’s enclave.”

Now in the soft opening phase eight months later, they say, by "drawing inspiration from the old French bohemian bars and cabarets,” they've accomplished their goal of creating "a place where people can enjoy a great meal and drinks, listen to some music, and just lose track of time a little.”

Trapèze has been welcoming guests discreetly the last couple weekends, as they complete a few finishing touches both to the building — they are excited about the near-complete patio — and to the food: “We have a limited but very solid menu available now, and should have the full menu, brunch and all, ready very soon,” Novotny says.

A grand opening date is still in the works.

Novotny has said that inspiration for Trapèze came from Oak Cliff’s historical French influence. Bishop Arts once was home to the French utopian community La Reunion, which settled in the mid 1800s. The neighborhood pays homage to these roots at its annual Bastille on Bishop celebration.

“We’re trying to do a tribute to the French history of Oak Cliff and Bishop Arts, and our goal is to capture the things we love about regional French cuisine and culture,” Novotny said earlier this year.

trapeze Designed by local artists at Decotron, the front-porch sign at Trapèze offers a taste of what's inside. Photo courtesy Trapèze/Peter Novotny

Novotny and Murry hired New York-bred chef Jeremy Spector to direct Trapèze’s culinary program. He’s worked in famous kitchens such as Balthazar and Gramercy Tavern and has owned and operated restaurants in NYC. The owners have told CultureMap that Spector's menu represents different regions of France, along with flavors inspired by France’s once-vast colonial empire, including Moroccan cuisine.

The bar menu is full of classic French and New Orleans-esque cocktails made with French spirits and liqueurs like absinthe and chartreuse; an extensive list of cognacs; French Caribbean-rooted Rhum Agricoles (or Agricole rums), and French and “French-adjacent” cider and beer.

The house that is now a restaurant underwent a massive revamp, which lasted months due in part to weather-related delays. To make matters more challenging, Trapeze is located in a conservation district, which means construction had to be done in a specific way that would preserve the home’s original look.

“It’s basically a complete renovation,” Novotny says. “They had to rebuild the entire structure. The whole exterior is all new.”

The new sign out front reads Bien Mangé, Bien Bu, which translates roughly to good food, good drink. Made by the sculptural artists at Decotron, an Elm Street-based signage fabrication company, it creates curb appeal and offers a preview of the attention to detail, whimsy, fine craftsmanship, and French flavor found inside.

Hours have been slightly fluid. At this time Trapèze is open 4 pm-"late" Wednesday-Thursday and 4 pm-2 am Friday-Sunday. Updated days and hours will be posted on Instagram along with information about live music performers, they say.

bar food drink craft cocktails french food live music bishop arts restaurants

This week in gluttony

These are the 9 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

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New Bishop Arts bistro brings French elan to historic Oak Cliff home

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