This week in gluttony

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

Sample bites from The Rustic and other Uptown restaurants at a big event this week.

Photo courtesy of The Rustic

It’s a week of elegant experiences, with several upscale events on the list, including a truffle dinner, high-end dessert tasting, Chartreuse liqueur tasting, and a fine Italian wine dinner featuring a guest sommelier from a tony Colorado restaurant. Save room by week’s end for a soul food festival featuring comfort cuisine favorites.

Tuesday, October 19

Frasca Takeover – Fruili Food & Wine Dinner at Meridian
Sommelier and restaurateur Bobby Stuckey of Boulder, Colorado Italian restaurant Frasca Food and Wine, will visit Meridian for one-night takeover. Stuckey will collaborate with Meridian chef Junior Borges on a six-course dinner with wine pairings. Menu highlights include roasted scallops on the shell, polenta with burgundy truffle, and short ribs with apples and horseradish. The dinner is $225 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and includes a signed copy of Stuckey’s new cookbook, Fruili Food and Wine: Frasca Cooking from Northern Italy’s Mountains, Vineyards and Seaside.

Thursday, October 21

Spooky Omakase at Make Your Life Sweeter
The high-end dessert boutique at the Galleria Dallas is offering a sweet and spooky dessert experience. Taste 13 different Halloween-themed desserts during this one-hour tasting. (Have your iPhones ready for lots of Insta-worthy shots.) Reservations are $65 per person and the tasting will be offered through October 31.

Wine Dinner with Pinea at The Crescent Club
Located at the Hotel Crescent Court, The Crescent Club will host a three-course wine dinner featuring Pinea Wines. Guests will partake in seared yellowtail tuna, filet mignon, and chocolate gateaux. Reservations are $110 per person and a welcome reception begins at 5:30 pm, with dinner to follow at 6 pm.

Trolley Taste of Uptown
To be held at the Marriot Dallas Uptown (and not on an actual trolley), this tasting event features bites from restaurants located along the M-Line Trolley route. More than a dozen participants include Sixty Vines, Meso Maya, and The Rustic. The fundraising event will include live music and silent and live auctions, too. Tickets are $100 per person and the event will run from 6-10 pm.

Truffle Dinner at The Adolphus Hotel
It’s white truffle season and we’re here for it. Lap in a little luxury at this five-course dinner in The French Room inside The Adolphus Hotel. The progressive experience will begin in the Salon for canapes, proceed to the dining room for dinner, and commence in the bar with a digestif. Reservations are $185 per person, plus $85 for optional wine pairings (plus tax and gratuity). Valet parking is included and the dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, October 23

Wine 101: Zinfandel at Neighborhood Cellar
The Bishop Arts wine bar and bottle shop will host a class all about Zinfandel (which spans beyond Beringer of the 1990s). Participants will try four types along with snacks from Fount Board & Table. Class is $35 per person and will run from 12-1 pm.

Sunday, October 24

Soul Food Festival
Taste comfort cuisine from 20 different Texas caterers who’ll set up to sell dishes like pork chops, oxtail, candied yams, collard greens, fried chicken, barbecue, turkey legs, tacos, and more during this all-day dining event. Located at Lofty Spaces in Dallas, the festival will run from 12-7 pm. Reserve your ticket by Wednesday and admission is free. After that, the entry free is $5 per person.

Monday, October 25

Supper Club at The French Room with Chartreuse
A centuries-old herbal liqueur, Chartreuse is finding new life in the modern bartender’s repertoire. Try it in cocktails and straight pours during this tapas-style supper club event at The French Room inside The Adolphus Hotel. Reservations are $95 plus tax and gratuity. Valet parking is included and the event begins at 7 pm.

uptown desserts festivals news-you-can-eat wine

Hummus News

Revered family-owned Mediterranean restaurant debuts in North Dallas

Samantha Marie Photography

Zon Zon food spread

An upscale Mediterranean restaurant is coming to North Dallas from a trusted name: Called Zon Zon, it'll open at 5455 Belt Line Rd. #130, in the Work/Shop center, and it's from hospitality group Yela Concepts, led by Yaser Khalaf (Darna, Baboush), together with his son Mak Khalef in their first collaboration.

According to a release, it'll open on December 22.

Named for Mak's sister Zaina (“Zon Zon”), the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner with a refined take on Mediterranean dining, rooted in tradition but with modern influences.

"We tried to merge what embodies Mediterranean cuisine with dishes that people in Dallas love," Mak says. "A lot of the dishes we have on menu are Mediterranean but have American and Texan influences."

Mezze favorites include hummus topped with green shatta and extra-virgin olive oil; baba ghanoush with charred eggplant, tahini, dukka, and pomegranate; crispy cauliflower with saffron labneh; tuna neya with tahini, mixed pickles, and Aleppo pepper; and kibbeh with ground lamb, onions, pine nuts, and dill labneh.

Salads include seared tuna salad with freekeh and golden beets; Tahini Caesar with tahini–Caesar dressing and za’atar croutons; and roasted beets with burrata, oranges, and pistachios.

Entrées include roasted chicken with garlic-batata and pomegranate jus; chicken shish kebab over saffron rice with almonds and raisins; hanger steak shawarma frites — a clever twist on steak frites with hand-cut fries; ZZ’s Wagyu cheeseburger with smoked provolone and house pickles; Prime ribeye with za’atar chimichurri and heirloom carrots; and apricot lamb couscous.

The beverage program complements the menu with a Mediterranean-focused wine list and creative cocktails such as the coffee-kissed Midnight Istanbul and ZZ’s Margarita, with burnt pineapple and ras el hanout.

Designed in collaboration with Dallas-based Coeval Studios, the restaurant features a 2,130-square-foot interior with an expansive 735-square-foot patio that seats 76, for a total occupancy near 100.

The restaurant boasts an open kitchen, while decorative finishes include modern woodwork, rich textures, and Middle Eastern-inspired details — stylish yet inviting, with a setting that feels like home.

“The inspiration behind Zon Zon came from wanting to create the kind of place we’ve always wished existed — a neighborhood Mediterranean spot that feels both familiar and exciting," says Yaser in a statement. "We wanted to create a comfortable space where guests can meet up with friends or neighbors on a regular basis."

Mak went to college to study biomedical engineering, but says he couldn't resist the lure of the restaurant world in which he grew up.

"Zon Zon is a reflection of everything we love about food," Mak says. "What makes this especially meaningful is building it with my dad — bringing our family’s story and passion to the table."

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