This Week in Gluttony

Dinner in the Field tops best food and drink events in Dallas

Oh, man. This Saturday might be the most aggressively “autumn” food events day we've ever had. There’s a pumpkin party, then a street festival on Lamar for the South Side building’s 100-year anniversary. If you’re still mobile after all that, the Trinity River Audubon Center is hosting a fundraiser with top chefs.

Of course, if that’s not enough to satisfy your Central Market-going self, there’s a Texas Veggie Fair on Sunday. It’s all devoted to nature, which, apparently, some people like. And that’s all without mentioning the Dinner in the Field, which is, well, you know. Strange times we’re living in.

Thursday, October 17

Dinner in the Field
Chefs Katie and George Brown host the inaugural Dinner in the Field at their ranch in Lucas, Texas, beginning at 6:30 pm. The four-course dinner is a concept provided by Experimental Table, a new farm-to-fork catering program by the Browns. The BYOB dinner also features a tour of the farm, live music by Brad Good and a reception with canapés. Reservations are $100 and can be made by emailing Kristine with Experimental Table at km@experimentaltable.com.

Saturday, October 19

Turtle Creek Association presents Pumpkins in the Park
Grab a pumpkin for carving, painting or pie making at the second annual event at Robert E. Lee Park from 11 am to 2 pm. The kid-friendly event features face painting, air brush tattoos and balloon artists. Or you can explore the pumpkin patch for the Great Pumpkin. The event is free, with food and beverages available for purchase.

Lamar Street Festival
The Lamar Street Festival celebrates the 100-year anniversary of the historic South Side on Lamar building with live music, food and drinks, and art from noon to 10 pm. Local food trucks and South Side restaurants like Full Circle Tavern, Opening Bell Coffee, Cedars Social, Off the Bone, Spiral Diner and the NYLO Dallas South Side provide food and beverages for the event. Live music includes Erykah Badu and Carolyn Wonderland. Tickets are $5; children under 12 are free.

A Feathered Affair Benefiting the Trinity River Audubon Center
Local chefs including Jeff Harris, Graham Dodds and Chad Houser team up with the Gay and Lesbian Fund for Dallas for “A Feathered Affair” beginning at 7 pm. The event benefits the Trinity River Audubon Society and features a silent auction, live music and a moonlit campfire overlooking the center grounds. Tickets are $75 and can be purchased online at www.glfd.org.

Sunday, October 20

Fourth Annual Texas Veggie Fair
The fourth annual Texas Veggie Fair descends on Reverchon Park, where you can sample food, enjoy live music, and learn about eco- and animal-friendly lifestyles. The family-friendly and leashed-dog appropriate event features two new attractions this year: a local farmers market and a local beers pub. Entrance to the fair is free, but a $5 donation at the door is appreciated.

Dinner in the Field October 17 is Katie and George Brown's inaugural iteration of their farm-to-fork four-course dinner series.

Experimental Table Facebook

Dinner in the Field October 17 is Katie and George Brown's inaugural iteration of their farm-to-fork four-course dinner series.

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Ice Cream News

Kwality Ice Cream shop to bring creamy exotic desserts to Frisco

Kwality

Kwality Ice Cream

An ice cream chain with an Indian flair is dipping into Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Kwality Ice Cream, it's a concept founded in New Jersey that specializes in traditional Indian ice cream and cold drinks, and it's opening a location in Frisco, at 13089 Main St. #500, in a new shopping center.

According to franchisee Raju Vikey, the shop will open sometime in 2025. It joins two DFW locations already open: Irving at 8600 N. Macarthur Blvd., and Euless, at 1060 N. Main St. at Harwood Crossing shopping center, which opened in April.

Kwality Ice Cream was founded by food scientist Dr. Kanti Parekh and his son Anand, in New Jersey in 2003. It has expanded with 38 locations in 14 states including Pennsylvania, Florida, and Texas, where there are three locations in Houston and one in Austin.

“The idea was to create a South Asian-specific ice cream, which is more known for fruits and nuts,” Anand says. “As a Ph.D. in food and nutrition, my father’s background and expertise were in flavor. He used that to create very unique flavors and top notes to give a really good mouth feel and experience.”

They have close to 50 ice cream flavors with classics like cookies & cream, chocolate supreme, and butter pecan; but South Asian and Indian flavors dominate the menu with exotic options like green guava, lychee, and Nuttie Tuttie Fruitee, a berry-flavored ice cream with nuts and candied fruit.

There is also kulfi, a frozen dessert that's like ice cream but with less added air so it has a stiffer, creamier texture. It's served in slices and comes in popular Indian flavors like pistachio, mango, and rose.

Other novel frozen treats include cassata, an ice cream cake with three flavors of ice cream layered over sponge cake.

As with many Asian desserts, they're often less sweet than American-style confections. Wild inventions include the mawa rabdi cup, with ice cream, rice noodles, basil seeds, and rose syrup, topped with nuts and candied fruit; and Thandai ice cream, a staple at Indian festivals, consisting of almonds, fennel seeds, poppy seeds, watermelon seeds, rose petals, pepper, cardamom, saffron, milk, and sugar.

Rabdi is like a pudding, believed to have originated during the 1600s. Kwality makes it following the traditional method of slow-cooking milk until it thickens and reduces, enhancing its sweetness and creaminess, then adding ingredients like cardamom, saffron, and pistachios.

Pints of ice cream and frozen desserts range from $8-$11, and cassata ice cream cake slices are $7.

ice cream openings desserts