beefing up its presence

Longstanding Texas food charity grows presence with new Dallas chapter

Official Drink of Austin Food & Wine Alliance

The Texas Food & Wine Alliance will sponsor food events statewide.

Courtesy of Texas Food & Wine Alliance

The Austin Food & Wine Alliance is expanding across Texas. Best known for events like Wine & Swine and the Official Drink of Austin, the organization announced the formation of the Texas Food & Wine Alliance with corresponding chapters in Dallas, Houston, and San Antonio.

A 501(c)3, the nonprofit uses its events to raise money for grants that are distributed to chefs, farmers, artisan producers, wine-, beer- and spirit-makers, and food-focused nonprofits. To date, AFWA has issued grants totaling more than $330,000, including more than $14,000 this year for immediate aid and pandemic recovery.

"Now, more than ever, coming together is important," Houston chef Monica Pope said in a statement. "I’m thrilled to see Texas Food & Wine Alliance bring the culinary community together statewide. And I can’t wait to see the impact their unique grant program will have in growing Houston food."

Grant giving will begin in 2021. At a time when the coronavirus pandemic has forced restaurants, breweries, and other small businesses to close, the need for a statewide organization that provides financial support seems more urgent than ever.

"The pandemic has brought unprecedented challenges to the Texas hospitality industry, and it will take many years for full recovery,” AFWA executive director Mariam Parker added. “There is no greater time than now to fortify, to showcase, and to support the breadth of Texas talent, culinary businesses, and nonprofits.”

Dallas will have to wait a bit for a proper introduction to the TFWA and HFWA, as the organization will not hold any in-person events this year. Instead, it will launch the Alliance Academy, a series of online classes featuring some of the state's top chefs and beverage experts.

Instructors for season one, which starts September 17, include chef Edgar Rico and Sara Mardanbigi (Nixta Taqueria in Austin), chef Jackie Letelier (Casero in Austin), chef Tavel Bristol-Joseph (Emmer & Rye, Hestia, etc. in Austin), and chef Rico Torres (Mixtli in San Antonio). Each class will feature ingredients shipped directly to participants via Austin's Assembly Kitchen. Afterwards, attendees will participate in a live Q&A with their instructor.

"Food is such an amazing language and arguably one of the best ways to connect to other cultures," Pondicheri chef-owner and Alliance Academy instructor Anita Jaisinghani said. "I am excited for the cooking classes that Austin Food and Wine Alliance is launching in an effort to continue their good work in Houston by building more bridges in our community."

news-you-can-eat fundraisers charity

Bienvenido

Spanish fine-dining restaurant with Michelin cred to open in Uptown Dallas

Photo courtesy of Masia

Rendering of the bar and entry of Masia.

A Houston hospitality group behind a Michelin-starred restaurant is bringing a new Spanish fine-dining restaurant to Uptown Dallas: Masía, from Houston-based Arrels Hospitality Concepts, will open at 2530 Fairmount St. in winter 2026-2027, according to a release.

The restaurant comes from the team behind Houston's Michelin-starred BCN Taste & Tradition and the Madrid-inspired restaurant MAD. BCN was awarded a Michelin star in the inaugural Texas Guide in 2024.

The name "Masía" refers to a traditional Catalan farmhouse, and the restaurant is intended to reflect that style of home-grown hospitality and dining, the owners say.

Founder Ignacio "Nacho" Torras says the project is especially meaningful to him, and he looks forward to sharing their vision of Spanish food and hospitality with Dallas.

"We want to create a restaurant that feels refined, but also warm and intimate," he says in the release. "A place where guests can enjoy as we do in a countryside home in Spain."

The restaurant will occupy a 3,500-square-foot space with seating for 86 indoors and another 20 on a patio.

The kitchen will be led by Spanish chef Lenin Busquet, whose résumé includes Michelin-starred restaurants in Spain. He served as head chef at Annua, where he helped maintain the restaurant's two Michelin stars, and later led Ment, which earned its first Michelin star six months after opening. In 2022, he joined ABISS in Calpe, Spain, and received the Promising Chef of the Valencian Community award.

Though menu details are not available yet, Busquet says it will combine Spanish techniques with Texas ingredients.

"The culinary concept behind Masia is rooted in Spain's rich traditions while remaining deeply connected to the ingredients and community that surround us here in Texas," he says. "Our philosophy is built on a profound respect for exceptional local products, which we approach through the lens of Spanish culinary heritage.

"By combining the finest regional ingredients with classic recipes and techniques from our homeland, we aim to create a dining experience that reflects who we are, where we come from, and why Spain has one of the world's most celebrated gastronomic cultures."

The restaurant is being designed by Dallas-based Gensler Architects with natural wood, stone, and a neutral color palette inspired by a contemporary Spanish farmhouse. The space will also feature artwork from Torras' private collection.

"Masía will reflect the calm, generous spirit of a Spanish farmhouse through a contemporary lens," the owners say.

openings new restaurant openings uptown michelin uptown dallas