This week in gluttony

These are the 7 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

A Dallas gastropub pioneer will celebrate its 13th anniversary this week.

Raynor Brumfield

Two tasting events, three anniversary parties, and two entertaining dinners with shows make up this week’s list. The latter are both themed – one as a masquerade ball with a murder mystery to solve, and the other as a scene from Alice in Wonderland. Dress accordingly. Also, don't forget to snag your tickets for the CultureMap Tastemaker Awards, Thursday, May 4 at F.I.G. They're going fast!

Thursday, April 27

Meddlesome Moth 13^th Anniversary
The Dallas Design District gastropub will celebrate its 13^th anniversary with a weekend full of events. Visit on Thursday from 6 – 8:30 pm for new spring cocktails, complimentary light bites, and DJ music to commemorate the official opening of the Moth’s beer garden for the season. On Sunday at 6 pm, the founders of Celestial Beerworks will visit for a guided beer and food pairing. Five courses will be served with six Celestial beers. The cost is $90. There’ll be limited-edition beer releases all weekend long.

Murder Mystery Dinner at Bourbon & Banter
The eclectic speakeasy beneath The Statler hotel will host Midnight at the Masquerade, a murder mystery dinner themed as a swanky masquerade ball. The four-course dinner will feature beef marrow bone with roasted pepper and goat cheese mashed potatoes, sea bass with lemon herb risotto, and strawberry shortcake. Table prices range from $160 for two guests to $420 for six guests. A full bar will be available. Doors open at 6:30 pm and dinner and the show will start at 7 pm.

Friday, April 28

Harwood Food & Wine Festival
At this inaugural Harwood District tasting event, guests can enjoy food, wine and spirits from Harwood restaurants along with live music. Participants include Elephant East, Dolce Riviera, Saint Ann, Poco Fiasco, Harwood Arms, Happiest Hour, Te Deseo, Mercat Bistro and more.⁠ The event will take place at Marie Gabrielle Gardens. General admission is $125 with entry at 7pm, or pay $150 for VIP entry at 6 pm.

MadHatter Underground Dinner
Both the menu and location of this super secretive dinner event is under wraps. What we do know: there’ll be an Alice in Wonderland theme, six courses with Filipino flavors executed by Dallas chef Randall Braud, and this particular dinner is the first of six leading up to a charity event in October called Bikers In Wonderland that benefits Independence Gardens. Also known is the price and time: $125 and the dinner begins at 7:30 pm.

Saturday, April 29

Irving Taco & Margarita Festival
To be held at the Toyota Music Factory, this all-day tasting event will let guests sample premium tequila margaritas along with tacos, elote, paletas, and more. Tickets start at $27 for five sampling tickets (three drink tickets and two food tickets) with entry at 3 pm, or pay $38 for entry at noon and seven tickets (four drink and three food). The event will end at 6 pm. Plan for live DJ music, vendor shopping, and a beer garden, too.

TapFest Anniversary Party
Craft beer brewery Texas Ale Project celebrates its eighth anniversary at its Design District headquarters with live music, food from the Easy Slider foodtruck, and TAP merchandise for sale. There'll be more than 25 beers with a special focus on new releases including Wealth Over Riches Session Ale and Dank Cerveza. 2-6 pm. Tickets are $7.72 and can be purchased online.

Sunday, April 30

Parlor’s Ice Creams One-Year Anniversary
The locally-owned Lakewood ice cream shop will celebrate one-year as a brick-and-mortar venue with a birthday party. Launched by a husband-and-wife duo and SMU grads, Parlor’s previously popped up around town as a scoop cart before opening in Hillside Village last year. Visit all day for three limited-edition flavors (cake, Texas sheet cake, and strawberry shortcake) as well as raffle giveaways. The party will run from 12-9 pm.

news-you-can-eat

BBQ News

Dallas sauce guy opens Hump's BBQ restaurant in Arlington

Hump's BBQ

A Dallas sauce purveyor has opened a BBQ restaurant in Arlington: Called Hump’s BBQ, it’s at 2503 W. Pioneer Pkwy. in Pantego in a space that was previously home to Jambo's Barbecue Shack where it opened in early June.

Hump’s is from restaurateur and pitmaster Antionne Ivory, a former real estate and mortgage professional who began his barbecue journey in 2017, when he started making and selling his own BBQ sauces. He opened a vendor booth at the Dallas Farmers Market in 2019.

Ivory took the next step in 2022, when he opened the first Hump's BBQ, a takeout and drive-thru in Oak Cliff at 4367 S. Hampton Rd. It closed in April after a fire, though Ivory says they're working to rebuild it.

"I grew up cooking and watched my grandfather cook, who was a World War II military vet," Ivory says. "I named the sauce and restaurant after him."

The menu includes brisket, pulled pork, beef and lamb sausage, smoked turkey legs, and pork rib tips, sold by the half pound or pound, $11 to $30, or as a sandwich for $11-$13. They also serve whole chicken wings for $3.50 each. Meats can be paired with Ivory's sauces, which include original, spicy, and honey sweet.

There's also a whole Southern side to the menu, with fried catfish baskets, turkey legs stuffed with toppings such as mac & cheese or greens & rice, plus baked potatoes you can order with one meat for $18. On Wednesdays, they do a special: their signature chopped beef sandwich with a side and drink for $13.50.

Desserts includes peach cobbler bread pudding and banana pudding. They also serve alcohol, namely margaritas, but will be adding beer.

Ivory describes his barbecuing as Texas style, but says there's also some Cajun influences woven into dishes like the fredo sauce (an alfredo sauce with Cajun spices) on stuffed turkey legs.

The space had a perfect BBQ house feel to it, with a built-in smoker. The interior is small and homey, with a walk-up counter and wood everywhere, from the walls to the ceiling to the tables and floors. There's one TV on the wall for watching games.

"My previous place didn't have seats, but I needed seats," he says. "It's a family business and we want to create a nice family vibe and have fun doing it."

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