Tailgate party tops 9 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

CultureMap Dallas invites sports fans to The Tailgate this week.

Photo courtesy of CultureMap Dallas

CultureMap Dallas invites Dallas sports fans to the city's biggest tailgate party of the year, happening this week at The Empire Room and featuring bites from more than 20 restaurants and a big-name special guest sports star. But first, Oktoberfest events are still in full swing for more tastes of German culture and cuisine, a free class on beer styles that comes with tastings, and a tequila dinner purposely coinciding with the next full moon.

Thursday, October 2

Beer Styles 101 at Grrrowler's Tap Room & Beer Garden
The Colony destination for brews and pub grub will host its first-ever “beer school” offering an intro to beer styles. Explore lagers, ales, stouts, IPAs, and pilsners with a certified cicerone, and enjoy guided tastings along the way. The class is free and begins at 6:30 pm. Reservation required.

BubblyQ at The Ritz-Carlton Dallas
There are just a few tickets left for this 17th annual foodie fundraiser benefitting the American Cancer Society. Led by chef chair Dean Fearing, the tasting event features a dozen of Dallas’ top restaurants, including Shin Sei, SER Steak + Spirits, The Saint, and Beverley’s. Tickets are $175 and include craft cocktails, live music, and a silent auction. The event will run from 7–10 pm.

Friday, October 3

The Po'Boy Shop Grand Opening
Dallas’ new go-to for Louisiana-style po’boys will host its grand opening weekend with giveaways, photo ops, and the debut of a new menu item – chicken and andouille sausage gumbo. The Preston Center shop will give away golden tickets randomly placed inside orders Friday-Sunday, good for free po’boys for a year. Guests can also drop their business cards for a chance to win po’boy trays for the office. Grand opening festivities hours are Friday-Sunday 11 am-4 pm.

Fall Into Flavor Wine Dinner at Landon Winery
Downtown McKinney winery will host a fall pairing dinner featuring three courses. The menu includes smoked tomato bisque paired with pinot noir, Texas beef with Cajun creamed corn and wild herb chimmichuri paired with tempranillo and signature reserve blend, and Texas olive oil cake with grapefruit, brown butter glaze, and smoked pecans paired with Riesling or Texas tawny port. The dinner is $90 plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm.

Saturday, October 4

Oktoberfest at The Toyota Music Factory
This plaza celebration of German culture, in partnership with Hop & Sting Brewing Co., will feature live music, German food and drink from Jaxon, and festive competitions like stein hoisting, keg rolling, and more. Games will begin at 2 pm with the free concert to start at 7:30 pm.

Celebration Party at Coupes
Champagne bar in Oak Lawn Dallas is celebrating its recent achievement being listed as one of the “Top 10 Destinations for Champagne in the US” by the Bureau du Champagne USA with a party from 3-10 pm with 25 percent off any bottle of true Champagne.

Sunday, October 5

Laketoberfest at Flying Saucer Draught Emporium
Lake Ray Hubbard location of the brewpub chain will host its annual lakeside Oktoberfest celebration. Taste local, national, and international Oktoberfest brews from (512), Altstadt, Manhattan Project, Saint Arnold, Warsteiner, and more. Tasting cards can be purchased at the restaurant for $20 and include six flight-size pours. Bavarian food specials will include Jaeger schnitzel with German potato salad, Sheboygan sandwiches, pretzels, brats, and apple fritters. The fun begins at 11 am, with the annual stein hoisting competition set for 3 pm.

The Tailgate at The Empire Room
CultureMap welcomes fans of local sports and local food to this annual tailgate-themed party at The Empire Room featuring tailgate-inspired bites, premium cocktails, a silent auction of sports memorabilia, and special guest, former Texas Rangers pitcher Derek Holland. More than 20 participating restaurants include JOA Grill, STK Steakhouse, Dee’s Table, and Loro. There's still time to vote for your favorite taco in our Top Taco Tournament; the winner will be revealed at the event. Tickets are $50 and the party starts at 12 pm.

Monday, October 6

Harvest Moon Celebration at Kessaku
There’ll be a full moon for this five-course dining experience at the 50th floor Japanese restaurant, which will feature pairings by Mijenta Tequila. Juan Coronado, Mijenta’s co-founder and mixologist, will guide guests through their tequila journeys. The dinner is $150 plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 7:30 pm.

tailgate event-planner

Got the goat

Rodeo Goat fires up its crave-worthy burgers for new Allen development

Photo courtesy of Rodeo Goat

Rodeo Goat's 'Hatch Me if You Can burger,' offered during Hatch chile season.

Popular Fort Worth-born burger chain Rodeo Goat is joining the growing lineup of Allen's new Sloan Corners complex.

According to a release, the burger joint has signed a lease for a location in the mixed-use development from Billingsley Company at the southwest corner of SH-121 and US-75.

Opening date is still TBA.

Rodeo Goat is known for its creative house-ground burgers, hand-punched fries, craft beer, and casual, industrial-style atmosphere.

The menu includes more than 20 signature burger selections including the popular Bodacious Burger (American cheese, bacon, crispy onions, grilled jalapeños pickles, smoked jalapeño mayo, bodacious BBQ sauce); the Blue Jeans Burger (double smash patty, melted blue cheese, applewood smoked bacon, grilled jalapeños, crispy onions strings, whipped blue cheese, 501 steak sauce); and the Inspector Clouseau (double smash patties, Swiss cheese, caramelized onions, black peppercorn aioli and French onion pan sauce on an onion bun). The “Hatch Me if You Can” burger is a popular choice during Hatch chile season, which just concluded in August.

The extensive drink menu offers domestic and imported brews with a large selection of “mostly” Texas craft beers and a quirky cocktail menu featuring signature concoctions such as the B-L-TX, blackberry lemonade spiked with Texas whiskey, and the “Moontang” with Firefly Moonshine, Tang and “other things.”

A popular happy hour, AKA "Rodeo Time" offers drink and food specials - like $6 margaritas and 1/2 off queso - each Monday through Friday.

Rodeo Goat was founded by Dallas restaurateur Shannon Wynne and partners Keith Schlabs and Larry Richardson, with its first location opening in Fort Worth in 2012. A second location followed in Dallas’ Design District, where Rodeo Goat became part of the neighborhood’s restaurant resurgence.

The brand has since expanded across North Texas, with current locations in Dallas, Fort Worth, Frisco, Plano, Addison, Denton, Rockwall, and Cypress Waters. There's also one in Houston.

Wynne, the founder, has a close relationship with Billingsley Company, the release notes. He currently operates four restaurants at Billingsley’s Cypress Waters development: Rodeo Goat, Flying Fish, Flying Saucer, and Miriam Cocina Latina. The Allen location will be the group’s fifth restaurant in a Billingsley development.

Rendering of Sloan Corners' 121 retail corridor.Photo courtesy of Billingsley Company

The Allen restaurant will have prominent visibility from SH-121, an intersection that sees more than 300,000 vehicles a day, the release notes. It will be part of the development’s Bravo Park area, which is planned as a central gathering space with trails, green space, public art, dog parks, and pickleball courts.

“Rodeo Goat is exactly the kind of restaurant we want at Sloan Corners: local, fun, distinctive and already loved by people across DFW,” says Lucy Burns, partner at Billingsley Company, in the release. “We have a wonderful relationship with Shannon and his team at Cypress Waters, and we’re thrilled to grow that partnership at Sloan Corners. With the visibility along SH-121 and everything happening around Bravo Park, Rodeo Goat will be a fantastic addition.”

Rodeo Goat will join several other food and entertainment concepts planned for Bravo Park, including Mexican Bar Company, Flat Grounds Coffee, and City Futsal.

Sloan Corners is envisioned as a major mixed-use destination spanning Allen and Fairview, with office, residential, retail, dining, parks, trails, and other outdoor amenities. The first phases in Allen include more than 180,000 square feet of retail and restaurant space and nearly 4,000 multifamily residences, with future office development also planned.

“We place a lot of value on bringing authentic local favorites into our developments,” Burns says in the release. “Rodeo Goat brings that energy naturally.”

rodeo goat allen developments burgers