This Week in Gluttony

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

UPDATE: Due to threat of rain, the main event for Chefs for Farmers is moving to Gilley’s. The story has been updated to reflect this change.

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Six food festivals over three days, plus three more food happenings. If you don’t attend at least one of these Dallas events, can you even call yourself a foodie?

Friday, September 23

Greek Food Festival of Dallas at Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church
This three-day festival is in its 60th year and features the usual array of all things Greek, including a variety of authentic foods and treats made with love by church volunteers, using recipes passed through the generations. Also expect entertainment from Thymios and the Holy Trinity Hellenic Dancers, a marketplace with Greek and Greek-American artists and artisans, and much more. Gates open Friday, Saturday, and Sunday at 11 am, and tickets are $6.

Saturday, September 24

Chefs for Farmers presents Street Food Night Market at Dallas Design District
The night before the main event, Chefs for Farmers is throwing an epic street food fair in the Dallas Design District, sponsored by CultureMap, where attendees can take a trip around the world in one magical night. Leave your passport at home, but bring your appetite, as chefs from Texas and the nation gather together to dish out street food favorites. Tickets are $75, and noshing begins at 7 pm.

Chocolate and Cheese Heaven Tour
Two of our favorite foods come together in this tantalizing tour, which begins at Krispy Kreme on Greenville Avenue at 1 pm. Enjoy decadent chocolate and cheese samples at many of the finest purveyors in Dallas, including Mozzarella Company and Oak Cliff’s Cheese & Chutney, featuring CocoAndre Chocolatier pairings. Tickets are $43, and that includes transportation via bus, samples, beverages, and a tour guide. Additional venues are announced post purchase via email.

Dallas’ Most Amazing Patios Tour
Discover the joy of dining al fresco on this tour, with stops at Ozona, an Asian streets eats haven, and the home of some nationally ranked chicken wings. Tickets are $59 and include private transportation via bus, samples, beverages on the bus, and a tour guide. Additional information on the vendors are announced post purchase via email. Meet at Krispy Kreme on Greenville Avenue at 2:30 pm.

Mornings and Mimosas Tour
This boozy breakfast-centric adventure starts at Krispy Kreme on Greenville Avenue at 10 am and includes stops at places such as Village Baking Company. Tickets are $56, and that includes transportation via bus, samples, beverages, and a tour guide. Additional venues are announced post purchase via email.

Smoked Dallas at Main Street Garden Park
Pitmasters from all over the state — including Fort Worth’s Heim Barbecue and Dallas’ Slow Bone — descend on downtown Dallas to show off their barbecue skills. There is also a stellar lineup of live music, with performances by the Toadies, Shinyribs, Dirty River Boys, the Roomsounds, and Dean Fearing’s Lost Coyote Band. Tickets start at $28, and general admission starts at 2:30 pm.

Taste of Firewheel at Firewheel Town Center
The all-day family food festival features delectable tastes, free live music, Kidgits Kid Zone, and shopping. Walk up and down the street as you sample fare from local restaurants such as Siciliano’s A Taste of Italy, Flying Fish, Panera, Ain’t No Mo Butta Cakes, and Steel City Pops. Score 10 tastes for $20, or 20 tastes for $35. Wristbands are available at guest services, and the event starts at 11 am.

Sunday, September 25

Chefs for Farmers
This annual event is all about chefs and farmers coming together to provide good food to passionate attendees. More than 120 food vendors from all over the country set up shop alongside DJs and other live entertainment. The venue has changed from Lee Park to Gilley’s. Tickets are $100, and the fun starts at 2 pm.

Sunday Funday Festival and Market at Light Farms
This quarterly event is free and open to residents of the master planned community in Celina, as well as the general public. It features local vendors from across North Texas and food trucks like Easy Slider Truck and Kona Ice. The festival also showcases live music by Vincent Neil Emerson & the Old Souls; fun, interactive activities for kids; and pet adoptions from Collin County Animal Service. The festival begins at 1 pm.

Smoked Dallas takes over Main Street Garden Park on September 24.

Photo courtesy of Smoked

Smoked Dallas takes over Main Street Garden Park on September 24.

event-planner festivals

Coffee News

East Dallas coffee shop Killer Joe crackles with sharp New York style

Killer Joe

Killer Joe Coffee

A hip new coffee shop is energizing a busy corner in East Dallas: Called Killer Joe, it's a new shop at 108 N. Fitzhugh Ave. right on the northeast corner of Columbia Avenue, next to (and in the same building as) Pupusas To Go.

Killer Joe is from Christine Sweet and Christian Napolitano, who moved from New York to Dallas in 2022 in search of entrepreneurial opportunity.

"We had been wanting to open up a business in New York for a long time," Christine says. “After the pandemic, it was really hard doing business there. We were looking for a good place to move that offered an opportunity to open our business."

Christine previously worked in travel/destination marketing, living in different places around the world. Christian was in hospitality, having worked in high-end restaurants in Manhattan, most recently at Bond Street Sushi in Soho.

Their goal: to bring a little New York culture to Dallas.

“We are more than a coffee shop — we're a place for foodies and musicophiles, we are really into music and rock & roll. Our shop is not a sleepy, quiet coffee shop," Christine says.

They serve notice of their intentions on the exterior with a quirky, personal mural by Anthony Z. Padilla, rendered in taxicab yellow, with elegant line drawings of the Statue of Liberty and highway-style signs that say "Now leaving New York" and "Welcome to Texas."

The interior is casual-chic, with pale wood furniture and an original cement floor that still sports intentional patches of old paint. The walls have a mix of B&W vintage photos and the occasional cowboy hat. The space was for many years a closed-in bar called Los Dos Reales; but now, the building boasts expansive windows that look out on Fitzhugh and create a bright and sunny space.

For their coffee program, they use organic espresso beans and make their drinks in an Italian Sanremo machine. They serve all the classics plus signature drinks such as French Toast Latte, Sea Salt Caramel de Leche, and Caliente Mocha with a hint of cayenne pepper.

Seasonal drinks include a pistachio caramel matcha latte — featuring toasted pistachios like a baklava, but balanced by the earthiness of the matcha. Other specialty drinks include rose water matcha, orange blossom matcha spritz, and cucumber lemonade.

Panini at Killer JoeKiller Joe

They also serve food, including breakfast all day: steak & eggs, avocado toast, and bagels with plain, scallion or vegan cream cheese. The "Spaghetti Western" is a twist on the traditional ham & cheese sandwich with spicy capicola, roasted tomato, Calabrian pepper sauce, and chimichurri on toasted ciabatta.

Bread is from Empire Baking Company and the bagels are from Shug's.

At lunch, they serve an umami tuna melt; a "K-Pop Cuban" with ham and cheese, plus kimchi pickles and wasabi mayo; and The Texican, with soyrizo spicy sausage, cheddar roasted poblano peppers, tomato, and avocado.

Reeves Family Farm in Princeton provides fruits and vegetables, and DiveDWN brings their microgreens. Pastries are baked in house and sauces such as black olive pesto and Killer chipotle sauce are made from scratch.

“We are trying to blend our edgy New York style with a Southern Texas flair," Christine says.

They're open daily from 7am-3 pm, with a late-hour program every second Saturday featuring live DJs; people gather inside and outside the shop for music, food, and drinks.

"This community is just so great, very eclectic, and has really embraced our style," Christine says. In fact, a few customers had a tattoo made at neighbor Franklins Tattoo and Supply with the coffee shop's skull logo.

"I had to follow and get one done too," she says.

coffee openings

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Coffee News

East Dallas coffee shop Killer Joe crackles with sharp New York style