This Week in Gluttony

Drink booze and see a Food Network star at this week's best Dallas food events

It would take a mighty serious beer drinker to hit all of the events during North Texas Beer Week, but know it is in full swing. And Meat Fight is this weekend, if you were lucky enough to get tickets.

For the rest of you, highlights include the return of Dallas Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival and an appearance at the Majestic Theatre by Food Network star Giada de Laurentiis. Dig in.

Tuesday, November 10

Chappellet Wine Dinner at Knife
Chef John Tesar teams up with the Napa Valley Cabernet Sauvignon producer for a five-course wine dinner. Special hosts Cyril Chappellet and Trey Blankenship lead guests through each pairing and educate them on winemaking techniques and practices. Dinner costs $125, and it starts at 6 pm. For reservations, call 214-443-9339.

Wednesday, November 11

Champagne Taittinger Dinner at SER Steak + Spirits
Join special guest Clovis Taittinger, the eldest child of Pierre-Emmanuel Taittinger, who heads up the operation in Reims. Courses include sea scallops, Jidori chicken, Japanese mero, seared venison, and burrata with fruit chutney; all are paired with Champagne, including the prestigious 2006 Comtes de Champagne Blanc de Blancs. The reception starts at 6:30 pm; a seated dinner follows at 7. Seats are limited and cost $175 per person. Call 214-761-7479 for reservations.

Franconia Beer Dinner at Hickory
The Hickory team hosts Dennis Whermann of Franconia Brewery for this dinner, which includes courses such as German kielbasa sausage, salt roasted beet salad, hickory-smoked spare ribs, prime brisket, barbecue chicken, and roasted apple-pecan cobbler. The dinner costs $55 and starts at 6:30 pm. For reservations, call 972-712-7077.

Friday, November 13

An Evening with Giada de Laurentiis at Majestic Theatre
The Emmy Award-winning Food Network star — and author of seven New York Times bestselling books — talks about her newest, Happy Cooking. The program is followed by an audience Q&A. Tickets start at $45, and the show starts at 8 pm.

2015 Brewer’s Ball at Renaissance Dallas Hotel
North Texas Beer Week presents this signature event filled with the best in craft beer and bites from some of the area’s top beer-centric restaurants, including BrainDead, Meddlesome Moth, and Rodeo Goat. National and local breweries include Abita, New Belgium, Saint Arnold, Deep Ellum Brewing, Rahr & Sons, Revolver, and more. The Dallas Opera performs traditional opera and drinking songs from around the globe. Tickets are $125, and the fun kicks off at 7 pm.

International Wine Dinner at Cook Hall
Chef Vijay Sadhu crafts a four-course meal paired with wines from around the world. This dinner costs $75 and starts at 7 pm. Call 214-397-4100 for reservations.

Saturday, November 14

Dallas Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival at Addison Airport
Dress to impress for this Sin City 1960s themed event. Enjoy lavish libations and delightful bite while relishing the live entertainment, cigar lounge area, and a plethora of casino games to make you feel as if you are right on the strip. Tickets are $75; get $10 off by using promo code CULTUREMAP. Doors open at 6 pm.

Sunday, November 15

Homebrew Throwdown at Panther Island Pavilion - The Shack
A this inaugural event, local home brewers compete against each other, and a panel of celebrity judges crowns a winner. Entry gets you a 12-sample tasting card, and you can expect sips from Collective Brewing Project, Martin House, Panther Island Brewing, Rahr & Sons, Revolver, and Shannon Brewing. Also on tap: a Q&A session with local experts, food trucks, and live music from Shotgun Friday. Tickets start at $10, and the event begins at noon.

Sunday Cinema Series at Knife
This culinary-themed film program rolls on with a patio screening of Sideways. Chef John Tesar is serving up gourmet bites, while Four Corners Brewing Company provides the beverages. Tesar and Lee Papert, president and CEO of the Dallas Film Society, are speaking prior to the film about its impact on the culinary and restaurant industries. Tickets are $35, and $10 of each sale benefits the Dallas Film Society. Call Knife at 214-443-9339 to purchase.

Go to Dallas Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival on November 14.

Glasses of whiskey with ice on bar or table

Photo via Taopic.com

Go to Dallas Whiskey & Fine Spirits Festival on November 14.

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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.

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