This week in gluttony

BBQ and pickle festivals top the 8 best food events in Dallas this week

A cowboy hat margarita and barbecue at Legacy Hall's Boots & BBQ fest.

Photo courtesy of Legacy Hall

And just like that, the long Memorial Day weekend has arrived and so have barbecue and pickle festivals. It's also Dallas Tiki Week, which brings a landslide of island-inspired festivities throughout DFW. (Hop on a bus for a tiki tour come Thursday.) Save room for an intimate wine dinner on Memorial Day itself, which is also National Wine Day this year.

Monday, May 18

Dallas Tiki Week
The annual celebration of tiki drinks and tropical vibes offers a taste of island life without leaving landlocked Dallas. A weeklong roster of mostly free events ranges from a cocktail competition to happy hours with guest bartenders. Two notable (and ticketed) happenings include A ‘Tail of Two Coasts (Wednesday, May 20, 6 pm, $45) featuring rum cocktails from Florida and California bartenders and small bites at Fortune House on Greenville Ave., and a Tiki Bar Bus Tour (Thursday, May 21, 6 pm, $85) that starts and ends at La Reunion in Bishop Arts but includes stops at Arlington’s 4 Kahunas and Fort Worth’s Shipwreck and Tarantula Tiki Lounge.

Wednesday, May 20

Cakebread Wine Dinner at Princi Italia
The Royal Lane location of Princi Italia will host a four-course wine pairing dinner featuring Cakebread Cellars wines. The menu includes scallop fazzoletti with Sauvignon Blanc; eggplant caponata with Chardonnay, grilled beef tenderloin with both Cabernet Sauvignon and Merlot, and a Texas peach crostata for dessert. Reservations are $95, and the dinner begins at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, May 23

Gran Centenario Tequila Dinner at Cantina Laredo
The Addison outlet of Cantina Laredo will highlight Gran Centenario Tequila during this four-course pairing dinner. Guests will start with a tequila flight during a reception before partaking in dishes including roasted tomato and artichoke soup, choice of shrimp with lemon artichoke beurre blanc or pork tenderloin with mole, and berry cake. Dinner is $79.99, and begins at 7 pm.

Sunday, May 24

Dallas Pickle Festival
Pickle lovers will unite during this day-long festival featuring pickle-inspired food and drinks, pickle-eating and juice-drinking contests, pickle vendors, family-friendly entertainment, and more. Tickets are $10.38 for adults and $7.18 for kids 14 and under (including fees) and the event will take place at Lofty Spaces (816 Montgomery St.) from 12-6 pm.

7th Annual Boots & BBQ at Legacy Hall
The Plano food hall and entertainment venue will host its annual Memorial Day weekend barbecue festival with live country music all day. Ticket prices include a barbecue plate, such as the “Big as Texas” plate ($45) with sliced brisket, half chicken, jalapeño cheddar sausage, two Texas Tornadoes, potato salad, fried okra, bread, pickles, onions, and barbecue sauce; or the “Boots N BBQ” plate ($20) with chopped brisket, pulled chicken, sides and all the fixings. Live music performances include Garth Brooks tribute band Shameless, Alan Jackson tribute band Gone Country, Shania Twain tribute band Still The One, and DJ Kirbbae. There’ll also be a hat bar, local vendors, cocktails and craft beer. The party will run from 1-10 pm.

Meat Fight 1K
There’s no running involved in this playful-yet-delicious “1K” tasting event, but there is a finisher medal for those who partake in 10 or more tasting stations. More than 20 Dallas restaurants and bars will participate in the annual fundraiser, which started as a backyard barbecue competition that has since raised more than $4 million for the National MS Society. Restaurants include Meridien, Loro, Zoli’s, Whiskey Cake, and Fortunate Son. Tickets are $45 and the event will run from 2-4 pm at Dallas Youth Sports.

Monday, May 25

Memorial Day brunch. Many Dallas restaurants are welcoming diners for special Memorial Day brunches. Find that list here.

National Wine Day Dinner at The Mexican
The Design District hotspot will host a three-course prix fixe menu paired with boutique wines from Mexico to celebrate National Wine Day. Menu highlights include entrée choices of salmon piquin, filet mignon, suizas de pollo, and vegetarian enchiladas. Dinner is $125, and begins at 6:30 pm.

brunch dallas tiki week holidays food events

Pizza News

Famed pizzeria Slice House by Tony Gemignani closes Frisco location

Slice House

undefined

A celebrity-chef-owned pizzeria from California has closed its only location in Texas: Slice House by Tony Gemignani, the fast-casual pizza brand by world-renowned pizzaiolo Tony Gemignani, closed its first and only Texas location in Frisco at 5995 Preston Rd. #102.

A representative from the company's corporate headquarters confirmed that the restaurant closed in mid-October, and that the concept was for now kaput in DFW.

"The franchisee is no longer developing the DFW area," the representative said.

A second location that was penciled in for McKinney at 7851 El Dorado Pkwy. is marked as "coming soon," but a marketing spokesperson said that "at this time, we don’t have an update on the opening timeline of McKinney."

The DFW franchisee was Daniel Hawkins, who also owns Black Hawk Brewery in Prosper, originally planned to open up to 20 locations. Hawkins was unavailable for comment.

Gemignani is the 13-time World Pizza Champion who, inspired by a pizzeria in Naples, Italy, opened the first Slice House — a fast-casual concept — in 2010, then began franchising in 2023. There are now 37 locations open and nine more marked as "coming soon."

The concept was unique in that it featured four styles of crust under one roof: traditional New York, homestyle Grandma, rustic Sicilian, and Detroit-style, all available by the slice or in a whole pizza.

Following a company tradition of creating a pizza specific to each location, they devised a pizza for Frisco called the Texan with brisket, BBQ sauce, bacon, and onion.

While pizza was the menu staple, the menu also comprised pasta, wings, and salads. Plus craft beers, premium wines, non-alcoholic sodas, and juices.

According to the corporate rep, food was not the issue. The chain continues to expand, with recent openings in Idaho, Denver, Ventura, California, and Brentwood, Northern California.

Perhaps it was a bad omen that the Frisco location's debut occurred in the thick of an epically bad ice storm, first opening on January 23, then closing due to inclement weather before reopening on January 28.

"The Frisco location was never able to hit the ground running," the representative said. "Location was a big part of it. The restaurant was on the wrong side of the highway."

He said that the closure presented a good opportunity for someone to come in and purchase "lightly used assets for a fraction of the cost," and that the company was also in conversation with another operator who'd expressed interest in the concept.

chefs celebrity chefs celebrities pizza closings