Finger Lickin' Fun

The 9 fall food fests no respectable Dallas gourmand would miss

Let's talk food events. In Dallas, you can find one practically any day of the week. This fall, however, a healthy crop of fantastic events are planned that go above and beyond your typical foodie festival. From barbecue to veggies and everything in between, here are the top nine food events of fall happening in Dallas.

Touchdown Tailgate Tasting, September 13
At this first-time event benefiting Cafe Momentum, local chefs battle it out in the kitchen to put their spin on traditional tailgate food. Participating chefs include Anastacia Quinones (Kitchen LTO), Danyele McPherson (Remedy), Jacob Williamson (Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck), Nathan Tate (Rapscallion), and Patton Robertson (Sissy’s Southern Kitchen). Local TV personality Dawn Neufeld and CultureMap editor in chief Jennifer Chininis are among those on the judge's panel, but attendees can vote for their favorites too. Leprechaun Premium Hard Cider and Reilly’s Whiskey are providing specialty cocktails. The event starts at 1 pm, and tickets are $50.

Harvest at Dallas Farmers Market, September 18
Event chair Blake Stephenson joins forces with honorary chairs Anne and Steve Stodghill to host this second annual event at The Shed located at the Dallas Farmers Market. Chef chair Sharon Hage recruits some of Dallas’ top chefs, resulting in delicious food along with specialty cocktails, entertainment by DJ Lucy Wrubel, and silent and live auctions. All proceeds benefit the senior and child programs of the North Texas Food Bank. Tickets are $200 and the event starts at 7 pm.

Park and Palate at Klyde Warren Park, September 25-26
This inaugural, two-day event starts with the Down to the Roots event, where 12 chefs create comfort food with a modern twist. Attendees get to taste all the creations that are paired with beer, wine, and cocktails while listening to the Paul Thorn Band. The event culminates with the Grand Tasting on Saturday, with 30 chefs and 30 wineries offering tastings, cooking demos, and book signings with DJ Lucy Wrubel (she's busy!) spinning background jams. All proceeds go directly back to Klyde Warren Park. Tickets start at $150 and the fun kicks off Friday at 7:30 pm.

Burgers & Burgundy at Home of Bill and Karen Seanor, October 2
Event chairs Olivia Zokai and Terri Provencal assure that this is the swankiest backyard barbecue you will ever attend. Happening at the stunning home of Karen and Bill Seanor, Chef John Tesar and his celebrity chef buds are cooking up burgers of all kinds and the burgundy wine flows nonstop. All proceeds benefit DIFFA Dallas, which raises funds for organizations fighting HIV/AIDS. Tickets begin at $85 and the event starts at 6:30 pm.

Smoked at Main Street Garden, October 3
Chefs from all over the country are making their way to Dallas to show off their unique barbecue chops. Another impressive aspect of this event is the live music, with performances by Asleep At The Wheel, The Suffers, Bobby Patterson, Pleasant Grove, The Vandoliers, Dean Fearing’s Lost Coyote, and Quaker City Nighthawks. Tickets start at $22 and the event starts at 1 pm.

Texas Veggie Fair at Reverchon Park, October 17
This free, dog-friendly event is wildly popular in Dallas. So much so that 10,000 people showed up last year to celebrate a healthier, kinder, more sustainable way of eating. This is the largest veggie festival in Texas, and this year's speakers include eco-lifestyle expert Ashlee Piper and Paul Shapiro of the The Humane Society of the United States. There are chef demos, live music, and vendors galore.

March of Dimes Signature Chefs Auction at Omni Dallas, October 22
The always charitable Chef Kent Rathbun draws a large crowd to this signature event benefiting the March of Dimes. Rathbun and his chef buddies prepare their signature dishes in celebration of stronger, healthier babies. Event chairs Sunie Solomon and Amy Turner, along with Nancy and Richard Rogers of Mary Kay, promise a special evening of delicious food, wine, coveted auction items, and comradery with fellow March of Dimes supporters. Tickets start at $500 and the event starts at 6 pm.

Chefs for Farmers at Lee Park, October 25
This event is special because it involves chefs and farmers coming together for an incredible foodie feast at a picturesque location. Drink local brews from the beer garden, then butter your biscuit at the biscuit bar before switching to champagne and oysters. Over 120 local food vendors set up shop to mingle among industry friends while guests enjoy their goods on the lawn amidst DJs and live entertainment. Trust us, it's as blissful as it sounds. Tickets are $75 and the event starts at 2 pm.

Meat Fight at Trinity Groves, November 15
Four teams of Dallas chefs compete for a trophy that has gotten pretty darn prestigious in the world of meat. Chefs duke it out in four categories: brisket, pulled pork, sausage, and a wild card. Judges are always pretty impressive too, bringing in Aaron Franklin, Daniel Vaughn, Brian C. Luscher, and many more. Meat Fight proceeds go to the National MS Society and the Meat Bike program. Tickets are $95 and the event starts at 2 pm for VIPs, 3 pm for general admission.

Chef Danyele McPherson will be at the Touchdown Tailgate Tasting on September 13.

Photo courtesy of Remedy

Chef Danyele McPherson will be at the Touchdown Tailgate Tasting on September 13.

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Fair Everywhere

Dallas restaurants get into State Fair spirit with fun and funky fare

Photo is courtesy of Rodeo Goat.

Rodeo Goat's Big Tex Burger is one of of myriad State Fair-style plates found around town in October.

The State Fair of Texas this year introduced the Butter-Dipped Toffee Crunch Nutty Bar, Deep Fried Bourbon Banana Bread, and nearly 40 other wild foods, and plenty of its 2 million-plus visitors will gleefully gobble them up.

Inspired by the annual extravaganza, which runs September 25-October 18, restaurants across Dallas are getting in on the action, offering their own State Fair-themed dishes and specials, from Frito Chili Soufflé and Hot Cheeto elote to funnel cake fries and deep fried churros.

Check out these Dallas restaurants offering State Fair-inspired specials, all of which are available during the run of the fair:

Crown Block
The two-time Michelin recommended restaurant atop Reunion Tower is celebrating The State Fair with a seasonal menu featuring Elote Wagyu Dogs — that’s an ultra-tender beef hot dog fried in Fletcher’s signature batter beneath firm cotija cheese, corn, and cilantro. Crown Block State Fair specials also include the sweet Crown Fair, a dessert made from cotton candy, cinnamon churros, caramel sauce, and deep-fried Oreos topped with powdered sugar, and chocolate sauce. The Cotton Candy Cowboy craft cocktail features Texas whiskey, blackberry, citrus, and, obviously, cotton candy, which you can sip on some 560 feet above the fair, which is about four miles southeast of the dining room.

Lochland's Irish Pub
Irish pub in northeast Dallas is going all out with a list of fair-inspired fare that includes Shepherd’s Balls — Lochland’s signature shepherd's pie rolled into balls and fried — plus foot-long corn dogs, smoked turkey legs, breakfast dogs (breakfast sausage dipped in pancake batter), funnel cake fries, and deep fried churros.

Rodeo Goat
The Texas-born burger chain is bringing back its oversized BIG TEX Burger throughout the fair, featuring an all-beef patty topped with a chicken-fried mashed potato cake, crispy bacon, a fried onion ring, and chorizo gravy for $13.99. It’s going head-to-head with the Honey Bacon Blue burger, an all-beef patty stuffed with blue cheese butter and topped with honey bacon bits, fried kale, and curry mayo. There’s also a seasonal Pumpkin Spice Goat Balls dessert: deep-fried, cheesecake-filled bites coated in pumpkin spice and served with mascarpone dip. Rodeo Goat has 10 locations across Dallas-Fort Worth.

Lucky’s
As one of Oak Lawn's longest-lasting diners, Lucky’s tips its cowboy hat to the Big Tex Award winners of the world, but claims a closer kinship to enduring classics. And the State Fair’s arguably most enduring classic has to be the Corny Dog. Thus the restaurant will offer two State Fair Corn Dogs with fries for $10.99, along with Funnel Cake Ale from Community Brewing for $5.50. Specials run throughout the fair days.

Maple Leaf Diner
North Dallas’ Canadian-themed diner is leaning into the fried-food spirit with a lineup of State Fair-inspired specials. Options include a Buffalo fried cheese curd five-cheese grilled cheese, fried pickles, fried Oreos, and the Carnival Burger — a beef burger topped with a fried block of cheddar and a corn dog skewer. Cotton Candy Mimosa, Churros and Cream Soda, and the returning Maple Bacon Iced Latte round out the cocktail and beverage menu.

Rise No. 1
Of course it's a soufflé. Anything else would be silly here at Dallas’ favorite French restaurant. And Rise's Frito Chili Soufflé is serious, with Texas chili, crunchy Fritos, cheddar, and fresh toppings baked into Rise’s signature airy soufflé. Viva this France and Texas collab. The seasonal special is a returning fair-time favorite.

Flying Fish
This North Texas seafood staple's State Fair-inspired specials include Grits-on-a-Stick and Gumbo — grits deep-fried on skewers and served with seafood gumbo — plus fried alligator nuggets with Papous Comeback Sauce and a Nashville Hot Catfish Sandwich topped with sweet-heat sauce, coleslaw, and pickles.

Bluebonnet and Thyme
After her Wagyu Bacon Cheeseburger Deviled Egg Sliders won Most Creative at last year's State Fair of Texas Big Tex Awards, Chef Kendall Williams opened her own Victory Park restaurant. The award-winning dish is on the menu along with charcuterie nachos, Cajun cream pastas, and more crave-worthy, if heartburn-inducing, dishes. The restaurant, which only opened in August, is in the former Dirty Bones space across from American Airlines Center.

The Stix Icehouse
The sprawling indoor-outdoor entertainment venue in McKinney tends to go Big in the name of Tex, turning its 14-acre property into a mini State Fair, September 25-October 18. Festivities include live entertainment, family activities, and a full menu of fair-inspired food — deep-fried footlong corny dog with queso and BBQ sauce, Frito pie, Hot Cheeto elote, a mac stack burger topped with a fried mac-and-cheese ball, deep-fried Oreos, and funnel cake fries with chocolate and caramel syrup. Bartenders will serve Texas cherry limeade, a cotton candy margarita, and a zero-proof cotton candy lemonade. The month-long celebration culminates October 18 with the fifth annual Good Ol’ Days Fest, featuring pony rides, a petting zoo, pumpkin patch, vendor market, field-day games, and a celebrity dunk tank for a cause.

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