This Week In Gluttony

These are the 6 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Cattleack Barbecue is one of the participants in the Cook Like a Texan event on December 4 at Klyde Warren Park.

Photo courtesy of TCA

Hopefully you have recovered from your Thanksgiving feasting, because this week is full of fun food events, from a cool dinner at Cafe Momentum to a pop-up Texan picnic at Klyde Warren Park.

Tuesday, November 29

White Truffle Dinner at Dolce Riviera
In collaboration with the finest Italian truffle hunters, enjoy a five-course menu featuring classic dishes made with picco tartufi — white truffles celebrated as the king of all truffle varieties. With the most authentic Italian wines complementing each course, this should be an unforgettable experience. Tickets are $250, and dinner seating is at 7:30 pm.

Wednesday, November 30

The Hero Effect Pop-Up Premiere Party at Cafe Momentum
To celebrate its inclusion in the new, inspirational docu-series The Hero Effect, Cafe Momentum is hosting a special four-course pop-up dinner. Show co-hosts Donald Driver and Emily Wilson join as guest chefs while also mingling with attendees. Following the dinner, guests are invited to stay for a complimentary screening of the special Cafe Momentum episode, which airs on December 10 at 9 am on the Oprah Winfrey Network. Tickets are $150, and the dinner begins at 6 pm. Call 214-303-1234 to reserve your spot.

Thursday, December 1

Cheesemongers Birthday Surprise Class at Scardello Artisan Cheese
Enjoy Rich Rogers' favorite cheese and wine at his cheesemonger birthday celebration. If the event is sold out, call 214-219-1300 to put your name on the waiting list. Tickets for this celebratory class are $40, and the fun starts at 7 pm.

Friday, December 2

Wassail Weekend at Downtown Denton Square
Enjoy downtown Denton as merchants stir up their favorite wassail recipe and serve it to tasters. The traditional Wassail Weekend tasting coincides with the annual Denton Holiday Lighting Festival. Tasting is free and open to all starting at 5:30 pm.

Saturday, December 3

Camp Gingerbread at NorthPark Center
Little ones can decorate gingerbread cookies with their favorite sugary delights, including frosting, nuts, dried fruit, candies, and sprinkles. Proceeds benefit Shared Housing, a nonprofit organization that facilitates affordable housing options for those in need. Tickets are $10, and the activities last from 10 am to 5 pm on Saturday, and 11 am to 4 pm on Sunday.

Sunday, December 4

Cook Like a Texan at Klyde Warren Park
This pop-up picnic brings the December issue of Texas Monthly to life. The issue is devoted to essential cooking techniques every Texan needs to know. Visitors can expect tastings, sips, demonstrations, and chef-prepared picnic baskets. A full list of participating chefs can be found here. Also expect an Infiniti lounge and photo booth, informal culinary demonstrations by HeartBrand Beef and Meiomi Wine, and Rustic Elegance lounge spaces for chic picnic-goers. Tickets start at $20, and the event lasts from noon-4 pm.

event-planner

Magazine lists

Only one Dallas eatery earns spot on Esquire best new restaurant list

Photo courtesy of Joey Stewart

Yakitori at Mabo Dallas

One Dallas restaurant has made a prominent annual list: It's the 2024 rendition of Esquire magazine's Best New Restaurants in America and the only Dallas entry on the list is Mābo, the Asian restaurant in Preston Center from acclaimed chef Masayuki Otaka.

The newly released list has 35 restaurants, with the majority of the entries in New York and California, including the top restaurant of the year: Four Kings, a Cantonese restaurant in San Francisco.

The list is dominated by Asian cuisine: Of the 35 restaurants, fully one third are Asian.

The authors are "Jeff Gordinier and The Esquire Editors," which includes Omar Mamoon, a San Francisco-based writer (who calls himself not a critic but a "curator" oh dear) who got dispatched to Dallas. In his writeup of Mabo, he waxes on about chicken being his favorite before hailing Mabo as the best place in America to eat chicken yakitori, a Japanese grilling technique.

"… When you consider the Japanese art of yakitori, in which skewered chicken parts grill over binchotan coals until they achieve maximum smokiness and juiciness—well, this is where the bird gets transcendent," he writes. "At Mābo, his eight-seat counter, chef Masayuki Otaka prepares a two-hour meal in which poultry is the star. He sources free-ranging heritage breeds from Pennsylvania, and he lets you order additional skewers—maybe you’re in the mood for more tail, or for the fatty triangular nub known as the pope’s nose—when the planned courses have reached their completion."

Otaka is the former chef/owner of Teppo on Greenville Avenue (which closed in 2022 and is now home to sushi restaurant Kaiyo) who opened Mabo in spring 2024. It's an omakase-style spot with a 14-course tasting experience, with two tastings per night at 5:30 and 8:30 pm, only eight guests per seating, for $200. Otaka has a devoted following, and his version of omakase is less about raw fish and more about the yakitori-style of cooking for which he was famous at Teppo, featuring grilled meats, mushrooms, and other bits on a skewer.

Despite its coastal focus, the list does not completely ignore Texas: Houston restaurant Late August also earns a spot on the list along with nods to Tavel Bristol-Joseph and Karla Espinosa, owners of Nicosi in San Antonio who are pronounced Pastry Chefs of the Year.
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Eric Sandler contributed to this story.

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