This week in gluttony

Beer dinners, food truck fests and pub crawls: The best food and booze events inDallas this week

The Gin Mill's December 5 winter beer dinner features pairings with StoneBrewing Co. and Franconia Brewery.

Gin Mill/Facebook
Get a Post Oak Red Hot from The Grape's Brian C. Luscher at the holiday-timeWhite Rock Local Market December 8.

Luscher's Post Oak Red Hots/Facebook
Reservations are preferred for the Gin Mill winter beer dinner December 5.

Photo courtesy of Gin Mill

We're now in December, and that means the holiday season is in full swing. We've got a Reindeer Games pub-crawl through Uptown, a giant meeting of food trucks in Deep Ellum and more to keep you occupied as you wonder how you're going to fit that many relatives into your house.

Wednesday, December 5

The Gin Mill Winter Beer Dinner
The Gin Mill is hosting a winter-themed beer dinner beginning at 7 pm, with brews from Stone Brewing Co. and local Franconia Brewery. For $35, diners get four pub-inspired courses paired with two beers from each brewery. Stone Brewing Co. is currently selling its Best By 12.21.12 IPA in local stores but will take it off the shelves on December 22 if the world hasn’t ended. The Gin Mill recommends a reservation for Thursday night. Reach them at 214-824-3343 or ginmilldallas.com.

Sigel’s Craft Distillery Tasting
Sigel’s on Greenville is hosting a craft distilling tasting festival from 6-8 pm, with 65 different spirits on sale and available for tasting. With such a wide range of artisan distilleries, it’s sure to be difficult to pick the 12 tastings that come at the free event. RSVP here to get a look and taste at liquors that include Ranger Creek Bourbon, Garrison Brother’s Texas Straight Bourbon and White Hat Texas Rum.

Saturday, December 8

Reindeer Games by Crawl for Kids
It’s the most wonderful time of the year: Christmas-themed pub crawls are back in style. The aptly named Crawl for Kids hosts pub crawls to raise money for children’s charities. The inaugural crawl is Reindeer Games on December 8, 2-7 pm, throughout Uptown. Bars like The Den, 6th Street, Primebar, Blackfriar, Kung Fu Saloon and Renfield’s Corner play host as teams of five go to five bars to consume Deep Ellum Brewing Co. pitchers and play bar games. It’s $200 per team, and funds go to Raise the Arts, a community initiative that provides underfunded schools with art supplies.

DFW Trucks for Tots
Apparently, Saturday is the day for helping out the kids by overindulging. If beer isn’t your speed, DFW Trucks for Tots is offering 25 food trucks in Deep Ellum for a Toys for Tots drive. Attendees are encouraged to bring a new, unwrapped toy to the corner of Elm Street and Gaston Avenue from 11 am-7 pm. United States Marines are taking toy donations. Participating food trucks include Rock & Roll Tacos, Easy Slider Truck, Gepetto’s Pizza and The Gastro Bomber.

White Rock Local Market Holiday Market
WRLM is hosting its fourth annual holiday market. Along with the usual local vendors — including Brian Luscher's Post Oak Red Hots — more than 50 artists bring their goods for some local, handmade holiday shopping. Also expect seminars on planting tulip bulbs from Northaven Gardens and kid-friendly science experiments courtesy of the Lab at Lakewood. 9 am-3 pm, and admission is free.

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Boots & Booze

New Deep Ellum venue vows to win hearts with food, fun, and wedding chapel

Photo by Kathy Tran

The Window at Boots & Booze will serve Deep Ellum early morning through late night.

A new all-day hangout will soon bring comfort food and cocktails, a dog-friendly courtyard, live music stage, and even a whimsical wedding chapel to Dallas' Deep Ellum. Boots & Booze, a new concept from Dallas-based Wush Hospitality Group, will debut its first phase on Friday, October 23 at 3014 Main St., across the street from Terry Black's Barbecue.

The first phase includes The Window, a walk-up kitchen; The Courtyard, an outdoor bar and gathering space; and its signature Shotgun Wedding Chapel.

“This is meant to be a place where you can grab breakfast or coffee before work, bring your dog for the afternoon, meet friends for a drink, catch live entertainment or celebrate something completely unexpected,” Sherry Hazrati, co-founder of Wush Hospitality Group, says in a release. “You don’t need a special occasion to come here. We want people to feel welcome the minute they walk in.”

The Window will serve coffee and breakfast starting at 6:30 am on weekdays, with brunch beginning at 11 am on weekends. The menu, developed by Hazrati and the group's culinary team, changes throughout the day.

Breakfast options include the Crispy Potato and Egg Sandwich and Quick Shift Meals. Lunch brings the Golden Honey Chicken Breast Sandwich, Double Onion Chopped Beef Sandwich, Main Street Philly, and Garlic Bread Grilled Cheese. Dinner offerings include Hearty Chicken, Crispy Potatoes, and After Hours Potatoes.

Weekend brunch features Hot Honey Chicken French Toast and shareable brunch boards, along with lighter and gluten-free options.

The beverage menu includes coffee drinks, sodas, cocktails, wine, and beer, including a gluten-free option. One signature drink is the Cold Fashioned, a frozen take on the Old Fashioned made with Still Austin Whiskey.

Guests can grab to-go meals or settle into The Courtyard, which has a bar, stage, and flexible seating for everything from game-day gatherings to live entertainment and community events.

The Shotgun Wedding Chapel is a "playful” element, says the press release, which is not to say it isn’t a functional wedding venue for couples eager to tie the knot. The team expects ceremonies and other pageantry year-round inside Shotgun.

Sherry Hazrati Boots & Booze Sherry Hazrati and her Wush Hospitality Group are behind Deep Ellum's new Boots & Booze venue.Photo by Kathy Tran

Hazrati says the goal is to make guests feel welcome and give them a reason to return.

“We want people to leave remembering how we made them feel and come back because they feel like they belong," she says.

The group plans to expand the concept with Boots & Booze Scratch Kitchen, a full-service restaurant led by executive chef José Luis Rodriguez Perez, former owner of Dallas restaurant Mixtitos Kitchen. Details and an opening date have not been announced.

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