This Week in Gluttony

These are the 8 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

The Greek Food Festival of Dallas will take place at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church on September 21-23.

This week is all about fancy dinners and fun festivals. In one weekend, you can don your lederhosen for the big Addison Oktoberfest and say, "Opa!" at the annual Dallas Greek Food Festival. There will still be time for special events featuring premium wine, beer, and whiskey.

Wednesday, September 19

Justin Wine Dinner at Jasper's Plano
New executive chef Joseph Healy creates a special menu featuring items that will pair perfectly with assorted wines from Justin Winery winemakers Fred Holloway and Scott Shirley. Courses include hearth roasted Maple Leaf Farms duck breast, A Bar n Ranch pepper crusted striploin, and pineapple upside down cake. Tickets are $75 and dinner starts at 6:30 pm. Contact Shannon Tinsley at 972-673-0823 for reservations.

Thursday, September 20

Addison Oktoberfest at Addison Circle Park
This festival features four days of food and family-oriented entertainment. Think German entertainers in authentic costumes performing traditional Bavarian folk dances, schuhplatten, oompah music, sing-a-longs, yodels, and more. A special “Oktoberfest” Paulaner Bier is served along with several types of German sausage, sauerkraut, strudel, and giant pretzels. Guests can even register to dine at the Chamberlain’s Brau Haus for a full-service dining experience featuring an exclusive menu. Tickets start at just $10 and begins at 6 pm on Thursday and Friday and 12 pm on Saturday and Sunday.

Friday, September 21

Greek Food Festival of Dallas at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
Celebrate the magic of Greece with delicious cuisine, pastries made with love, spirited live music and dance, fun attractions for kids, and a marketplace brimming with imports and activity. New this year is karpouzaki, a wedge of watermelon that gets its Greek accent from crumbled feta, fresh mint, and a balsamic glaze. There are lamb chops seasoned and grilled to perfection and many other meat and veggie options. The annual festival is three days and runs through the weekend with doors opening at 11 am each day. Tickets start at $7.

Celebrating Texas Blood at Texas Ale Project
Texas Ale Project is celebrating the latest R&D Series release at the brewery — Texas Blood. Explore the taste of this juicy, blood orange IPA, with a clean, crisp finish. The event will also feature live music by Rob Redwine. Admission is free and the fun starts at 4 pm.

WhistlePig Whiskey Dinner at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse
Enjoy a four-course menu by chef Teli Trikilis that pairs perfectly with fine-aged whiskey cocktails from WhistlePig. Courses include passed appetizers, duck leg confit, Texas Rosewood Wagyu, and chocolate ganache-orange marmalade tarte. Tickets are $195 and the dinner starts at 7 pm.

Taco Cabana Anniversary Party
Celebrate 40 years of Taco Cabana, home of late-night bean-and-cheese burritos and the cheapest margaritas in town. The San Antonio-based Mex chain is holding patio parties at two of its best known restaurants: one on Lower Greenville at 1827 Greenville Ave., and the other in Hurst at 1241 Precinct Line Rd. They'll be doing all-day happy hour, but the official party runs from 4-9 pm, with mariachi music and other festivities.

Sunday, September 23

Bolsa 10-Year Anniversary Party
Pioneer of Dallas' farm-to-table food and craft cocktail movement marks its 10th anniversary with a mega-party welcoming back former chefs and bartenders. Current executive chef Matt Balke will be joined by former chefs Graham Dodds, Jeffrey Harris, Andrew Bell, Eric Wolf, Joel Harrington, and "Chuy" (longtime line cook who worked with every Bolsa exec chef) to create the food. Behind the bar, previous head bartenders Jason Kosmos, Eddy "Lucky" Campbell, "Dub" Davis, Kyle Hilla, Joni Long, and Spencer Shelton will craft special cocktails. Tickets are $10 and the event starts at 6 pm.

Monday, September 24

Avery Brewing Beer Dinner at Meddlesome Moth
In celebration of Avery Brewing Company’s 25th anniversary, Meddlesome Moth is hosting Adam Avery for a six-course beer pairing experience showcasing 25 years of Avery Brewing Company history. Each course will be paired with an Avery sour, as well as an Avery barrel-aged beer, following a White Rascal welcome beer. Courses include crispy pork belly, braised octopus, Texas Wagyu and foie gras terrine, and more. Tickets are $100 and the event starts at 6:30 pm.

news-you-can-eat dinner festivals wine

Opening News

New restaurant The Gibson fills needs of its North Dallas neighborhood

The Gibson

A swanky new restaurant has debuted in North Dallas after overcoming some major obstacles: Called The Gibson, it opened in November at 17552 North Dallas Pkwy., in the space previously occupied by Maguire's Bistro & Bar, after three years in the making.

Husband-and-wife Carl and Carrie Britton first purchased the building in 2022, intending to open a spinoff of The Funky Door, their fine-dining restaurant in Lubbock.

Carrie is a big wine buff who's certified by the Court of Master Sommeliers and is also a French Wine Scholar. She opened The Funky Door in 2010 — a rare fine-dining haven in Lubbock at the time. More recently, she's turned her attention to the Dallas area, opening a French restaurant called Vieux Carre in Flower Mound in 2023 (which is currently closed temporarily).

The Gibson was slated to open sooner, but in mid-construction, they were dealt a serious blow.

"In 2023, The Gibson was devastated by thieves," Carrie says. "They destroyed the building, doubling the remodeling budget in damage by stripping copper from the walls, stealing all the electrical wiring and components, stealing equipment, and destroying everything from the AC to the floors."

To make it worse, insurance wouldn’t cover the loss because it was theft.

"It was a blow that left me truly shaken, and for a long time I couldn’t even look at the pictures of the damage," she says. "Emotionally and financially, I had to really pray about whether I was going to get this done or not. But I really felt like it was something that I needed to do. I want to be victorious. I'm not going to be a victim."

She regained her passion, returning to the vision she had for the space.

“The building had its own personality — I felt like a kind of Hollywood glamor with a new Dallas edge would be perfect," she says.

The GibsonThe Gibson

The facade and decor have an Art Deco flavor with chandeliers, a color scheme with polished black surfaces and bronze accents, and a swooping bar in the center. They've added a patio, helping to make the space right off the Tollway feel more friendly and approachable.

The menu is American with steakhouse touches. There's a tomahawk for two, ribeye, filet, and NY Strip. Plus short ribs, salmon, a burger, vegetarian risotto, and sea bass with an unexpected white chocolate strawberry buerre blanc.

There are deviled eggs, crab cakes, shrimp cocktail, and fried pickles. Entree prices start at $20 and top out at $59 for the sea bass.

Cocktails include a pear martini and a Gibson with gin and dry vermouth, garnished with an onion. A large wine list includes what Carrie describes as “unicorns” — bottles that are hard to find, including a 1982 Lafitte.

"There are very rare wines, but we also have everything, starting from $40 a bottle," she says.

They're currently open for dinner with plans to add lunch, and there's definitely an audience. Maguire's had a big following and when The Gibson got vandalized, the neighbors came out in support.

"The neighborhood has been really awesome," Carrie says. "They would alert me when things were going on, and they were really great to help watch over it. That was a big motivation."

openings

This Week in Gluttony

These are the 8 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Opening News

New restaurant The Gibson fills needs of its North Dallas neighborhood

Ambitious Indian restaurant Jashan opens at Plano's Legacy North

Rodeo Dallas bar takes party to Uptown Dallas at new location

Colorful Mexican chain bringing tacos to McKinney leads week's top stories