This Week in Gluttony

Truck Yard chili cookoff tops best Dallas-Fort Worth food events this week

Don't miss the Celebrity Chef Chili Cookoff at Truck Yard on October 11.

It's a relatively quiet week on the food events front. Maybe people are too busy eating everything at the State Fair of Texas, but things get busy again this weekend, so make sure you leave some room.

Thursday, October 8

Vegan Harvest Dinner at Whole Foods Colleyville
This inaugural vegan wine dinner features four courses, including grilled romaine with butternut squash salad, chili, lasagna served with roasted root vegetables, and raw cheesecake. Tickets are $25, and the fun starts at 6 pm.

Tesseron Cognac Dinner at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House
This special evening, led by Jacques Chastenet of Tesseron, features expertly paired cognac with a five-course menu. Menu items include five-melon gazpacho, Hawaiian pink sea salt duck confit, porcini garlic crusted Kurobuta pork chops, and dark chocolate five spice pot de creme. Tickets are $175, and the dinner starts at 7:30 pm. Call 972-490-9000 for reservations.

Friday, October 9

Blue Zone Wine Dinner at Grace
Join chef Blaine Staniford for a special six-course wine dinner based on the Blue Zone movement, which encourages changes in the community that lead to healthier options. The menu features dishes like roasted sunchoke soup; fall mushroom toast; and Texas olive oil cake with parsnip ice cream, poached pears, and Valrhona chocolate. Tickets are $95, and the night kicks off with a reception at 6:30 pm. Call 817-877-3388 for reservations.

Pinot Noir and Cheese class at Scardello Artisan Cheese
Join the experts at Scardello as they explore five Pinots from around the world paired with delicious cheeses. The staff attempts to explain that although Pinot Noir isn't easy to grow, it produces a versatile range of styles, making it one of the easier red wine grapes to pair with cheese. Tickets are $45, and the class starts at 8 pm.

Saturday, October 10

BeerFeast 2015 at Flying Saucer Drought Emporium
Join hundreds of beer lovers to sample highly sought-after, quality craft beers from more than 50 breweries. Ticket purchase includes admission to the festival, a BeerFeast tasting glass, and a tasting card good for 12 samples of any of the 80 festival beers. Tickets start at $35, and the event kicks off at 2 pm.

Sunday, October 11

Celebrity Chili Cookoff at Truck Yard
At this inaugural event, happening from 11 am to 4 pm, guests taste chili samples from some of Dallas' most talented chefs for just $25. Participating chefs include Jon Stevens of Stock & Barrel, Nathan Tate from Rapscallion, Graham Dodds from Hibiscus, and Randall Warder of Clark Food & Wine. Some proceeds benefit Angie's Friends, which is a local nonprofit animal welfare organization that is dedicated to helping neglected and abused dogs. Tickets are $25 and are available at the door.

where-to-eat

Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

downtown