This Week in Gluttony

These are the 13 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Celebrate Dia de los Muertos with cocktails and crown-making at Mexican Sugar.

Facebook/Mexican Sugar

Who says Halloween is just for kids? This week is packed with plenty of tricks and treats of the grownup variety, including Halloween and Dia de los Muertos events and specials, a murder mystery dinner, and two creepy craft-and-sip nights. Save room for Greek dishes and farm-focused fare by the weekend.

Tuesday, October 31

Hallowhisky Tasting at Uchiba Dallas
The Japanese dining destination will offer a special tasting menu featuring purposely peculiar dishes, like spider bao and sake with squid ink miso. The menu is $200 for two, plus tax and gratuity, and drinks pairings may be added for an additional charge. Reservations begin at 5 pm.

Cocktail Mixology & Flower Crown Master Class at Mexican Sugar
Spend Halloween evening pregaming for Dia de los Muertos by crafting a flower crown and mixing up Mexican Sugar’s signature La Catrina cocktail. Learn about the Mexican holiday’s significance as a tribute to departed loved ones. The class is $45 per person and begins at 6 pm at both the Las Colinas and the Plano locations. Then make plans to attend Mexican Sugar’s “community ofrendas” later in the week, featuring complimentary tequila and mezcal tastings, nitrogen margarita bars, selfies on Mex-Spresso martinis, DJ music, and more. Those will take place Wednesday in Las Colinas and Thursday in Uptown and Plano.

I Love the 80s…To Death: Murder Mystery Dinner at Bourbon & Banter
Tease your hair, find some blue eyeshadow, and put on some neon for this three-course dinner and murder mystery show set to take place at the Statler’s underground speakeasy. Menu items include roasted chicken and garlic cream sauce and spaghetti squash, char siu pork, and red wine poached pears with whipped mascarpone. The $85 per person price does not include tax, gratuity, or alcoholic beverages. Doors open at 6:30 pm and the show begins at 7 pm.

Trick or Treat Tacos at La Neta Cocina y Lounge
It’s the spooky taco Tuesday at this Vegas-based modern Mexican restaurant and bar, where costumes are encouraged for Halloween night specials. Patrons can take advantage of $20 endless tacos paired with $25 bottomless margaritas. There’ll also be blood orange watermelon shots. The deals will run from 7–11 pm.

Wednesday, November 1

Whistlepig Whiskey 5-Course Tasting Experience at Ellie’s
Learn about the popular whiskey brand while indulging in five accompanying courses. Whiskeys to be featured include the 6-year rye, 10-year flagship release rye, the 12-year Old World Cask Finish, 15-year Vermont White Oak finish, and at least one more limited release bottle. Tickets are $125 per person, plus tax, and the event begins at 6:30 pm.

Neal Family Vineyards Wine Dinner at Knife Plano
Neal Family Vineyards founder Mark Neal will be on-hand during this three-course wine pairing dinner to intermingle with guests and lead the pairing presentation. The lavish menu features spice-crusted yellowtail crudo, seared duck with beurre rouge, and 44 Farms New York strip. Reds will flourish with wines to include pinot noir and two cabs. (A vermentino will kick things off.) Dinner is $175 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm.

Thursday, November 2

Dia de los Muertos at Wild Salsa
Both the Dallas and Fairview locations of the Mexican food concept will celebrate Dia de los Muertos with live music, face painting, and $3 tacos (with a list that runs deep), $5 house margaritas, and $5 Herradura tequila shots. Those $3 tacos include al pastor, chicken tinga, carne asada, beef barbacoa, chipotle shrimp, and grilled mahi mahi. The deals will run from 5–9 pm.

Dia de Los Muertos at Taqueria La Ventana
Fast-casual Mexico City street food concept will celebrate Dia de los Muertos with all-day happy hour, DJs, face painters, and a Catrina contest – the “Queen of the Aztec underworld” depicted by a floral-accented female skull. The festivities will take place at the downtown, Addison, and Mansfield locations on Thursday November 2 from 8 am-11 pm, and the Farmers Market location on Friday.

Mercer Boardwalk Grand Opening
Massive new entertainment district in Farmers Branch will host a Dia de los Muertos-themed bash timed with the opening of three new dining destinations. Guests can get complimentary food and beverage samples from Barrel & Bones Craft Bar and Smokehouse, Black Agave Cocina y Cantina, and Dough Bro’s starting at 5:30 pm. Arrive early for a ribbon cutting with city officials at 5 pm, then stay until 10:30 pm for themed entertainment, live music, sugar skull stilt walkers, calavera face painter, and a strolling beer burro. Attendance is free, but an RSVP is requested.

Dia de lost Muertos Paint & Sip at Miriam Cocina Latina
Dallas Arts District Latin eatery invites guests to sip tequila and let their creative juices flow. Choose from a flight of El Jimador tequila (anejo, reposado, and blanco) or two El Jimador house margaritas, which come with a ceramic calavera skull and paint supplies. The price is $35 per person and the immersive experience is available from 6:30–9 pm.

Chefs' Night at LVI Statler
As a precursor to this weekend’s Chefs for Farmers Main Event on Saturday, five chefs will come together to create a multi-course meal at The Statler’s LVI restaurant. Chefs include Leo Morales (The Statler), Dino Gonzalez, Katsuji Tanabe (Top Chef), Leonard Botello (Truth BBQ), and John Tesar (Knife Steakhouse). The dinner is $195 and includes beverages, tax, and gratuity. Start time is 7 pm.

Friday, November 3

Greek Food Festival of Dallas
Enjoy authentic Greek dishes prepared by the families of The Holy Trinity Greek Orthodox Church during this three-day festival celebrating Greek culture. There’ll be dance performances and live music, kids’ attractions, and a marketplace, too. Admission is $10 for adults and free for kids 10 and under. Military personnel and first responders also get in free. The festival will run from 11 am–10 pm on Friday and Saturday and 11 am–5 pm on Sunday.

Sunday, November 5

Chefs for Farmers Main Event
Old City Park will host the annual tasting event, which celebrates local family farms and the chefs that use their crops. Dozens of chefs will participate, including Antonio Rendon (Nobu), Eric Dreyer (Monarch), and Jon Bonnell (Bonnell’s Fine Texas Cuisine). The $145 per person ticket includes unlimited food, wine, beer, and spirits, along with live entertainment. The event will run from 3–6 pm.

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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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