This week in gluttony

These are the 9 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Celebrate Lunar New Year with a twist on afternoon tea.

The French Room

Lunar New Year lands on Sunday this week and there are tasty events to celebrate. One is a cooking class featuring iconic TV chef Martin Yan, but tickets are going fast. Another is an Asian-inspired afternoon tea service with multiple dates. Also makes plans for a whiskey dinner, beer dinner, and wine walk to sip and shop.

Wednesday, January 18

Tea at the Adolphus: Lunar New Year Celebration
The French Room at The Adolphus will celebrate the Lunar New Year with an Asian-inspired high tea menu. The menu will feature a dim sum savory course and traditional pastries infused with East Asian flavors. The $75 price ($35 for children under 12) includes a glass of champagne and two different teas. Reservations are available from 11 am-3 pm Wednesday through Sunday through January 29.

Wine Tasting at Tricky Fish
The Richardson outlet of the seafood chain will host a wine tasting that comes with lots of dishes to share. Guests will be greeted with a glass of prosecco followed by four tasting pours of different varietals. Class is $40 and will run from 6-7:30 pm.

Robert Burns Day Whisky Dinner at Knife Plano
Honoring the national day of Scottish poet Robert Burns, Knife Plano will host a four-course “Burns supper.” In traditional Burns supper fashion, whiskey will be served with each dish. Menu highlights include grilled quail and frisee salad, swordfish and rapini, 44 Farm New York strip au poivre, and whiskey bread pudding. Dinner is $125, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm.

Thursday, January 19

Deep Ellum Wine Walk: New Year’s Cheers
The Shops of Deep Ellum will host its first sip and shop of the New Year. Purchase a wine glass ($15 in advance, $20 the day of) and peruse the various stores while sampling wines at each. Check in at 2650 Main St. The walk will run from 6-9 pm.

Friday, January 20

Beef & Beer Dinner at Oak Highlands Brewery
The northeast Dallas brewery will partner with Designer Beef to host a four-course beer pairing dinner featuring prime cuts. The ticket price is $40 and each course comes paired with a different Oak Highlands beer. Dinner starts at 7 pm.

Sunday, January 22

Lunar New Year at Wok Star Chinese
Asian restaurant at The Hill hosts a performance by traditional Lion Dancers and the unveiling of a cocktail and appetizer available through February: Down the Rabbit Hole with tequila, passion fruit liqueur, lime, orange, and carrot juices, and red chili syrup; and Rice Pearl Meatballs with Sticky Rice, or zhēn zhū wán zi, originating in China’s Hunan/Hubei region, where they’re considered a holiday or special occasion dish that often appears at banquet dinners for Chinese New Year and birthdays. Festivities begin at 3 pm.

Campbell Fearing Donor Drive at Lovers Seafood and Market
Campbell Fearing is the son of top Dallas chef Dean Fearing and restaurateur Lynae Fearing, and was recently diagnosed with leukemia. He'll need bone marrow replacement to recover and the community is coming together for a donor drive, to add potential donors to the donor pool. Anyone in good health between the ages of 18 and 55 is a potential donor, and they're inviting people to come by and get a cheek swab from 11 am-4 pm.

Welcome the Year of the Rabbit with Martin Yan at Central Market
Iconic TV chef Martin Yan will host a cooking class in person at Central Market on Lovers Lane to celebrate Chinese New Year. Reservations are going fast for the multicourse demonstration, which includes roasted chicken salad, seafood in a “golden cup,” sweet and sour fish, and wok-tossed “longevity noodles.” Yan has hosted more than 3,500 cooking shows and authored more than 30 books. He launched his class Yan Can Cook TV series in 1978. Class is $90 and will run from 5 -7 pm.

Monday, January 23

Restaurant Week at Grandscape
From January 23-30, participating restaurants at Grandscape will offer special menus aimed at showcasing some of their most popular dishes. A few of the participating restaurants include Barley & Board, Heritage Pizza & Taproom, and Seven Doors Kitchen. Some spots are offering a discount off set menu items while others have curated multicourse dinners for a per-person price. See all menus here.

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Hummus News

Revered family-owned Mediterranean restaurant debuts in North Dallas

Samantha Marie Photography

Zon Zon food spread

An upscale Mediterranean restaurant is coming to North Dallas from a trusted name: Called Zon Zon, it'll open at 5455 Belt Line Rd. #130, in the Work/Shop center, and it's hospitality group Yela Concepts led by Yaser Khalaf (Darna, Baboush), together with his son Mak Khalef in their first collaboration.

According to a release, it'll open on December 22.

Named for Mak's sister Zaina (“Zon Zon”), the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner with a refined take on Mediterranean dining, rooted in tradition but with modern influences.

"We tried to merge what embodies Mediterranean cuisine with dishes that people in Dallas love," Mak says. "A lot of the dishes we have on menu are Mediterranean but have American and Texan influences."

Mezze favorites include hummus topped with green shatta and extra-virgin olive oil; baba ghanoush with charred eggplant, tahini, dukka, and pomegranate; crispy cauliflower with saffron labneh; tuna neya with tahini, mixed pickles, and Aleppo pepper; and kibbeh with ground lamb, onions, pine nuts, and dill labneh.

Salads include seared tuna salad with freekeh and golden beets; Tahini Caesar with tahini–Caesar dressing and za’atar croutons; and roasted beets with burrata, oranges, and pistachios.

Entrées include roasted chicken with garlic-batata and pomegranate jus; chicken shish kebab over saffron rice with almonds and raisins; hanger steak shawarma frites — a clever twist on steak frites with hand-cut fries; ZZ’s Wagyu cheeseburger with smoked provolone and house pickles; Prime ribeye with za’atar chimichurri and heirloom carrots; and apricot lamb couscous.

The beverage program complements the menu with a Mediterranean-focused wine list and creative cocktails such as the coffee-kissed Midnight Istanbul and ZZ’s Margarita, with burnt pineapple and ras el hanout.

Designed in collaboration with Dallas-based Coeval Studios, the restaurant features a 2,130-square-foot interior with an expansive 735-square-foot patio that seats 76, for a total occupancy near 100.

The restaurant boasts an open kitchen, while decorative finishes include modern woodwork, rich textures, and Middle Eastern-inspired details — stylish yet inviting, with a setting that feels like home.

“The inspiration behind Zon Zon came from wanting to create the kind of place we’ve always wished existed — a neighborhood Mediterranean spot that feels both familiar and exciting - we wanted to create a comfortable space where guests can meet up with friends or neighbors on a regular basis,” says Yaser in a statement.

Mak went to college to sudy biomedical engineering, but says he couldn't resist the lure of the restaurant world in which he grew up.

"Zon Zon is a reflection of everything we love about food," Mak says. "What makes this especially meaningful is building it with my dad — bringing our family’s story and passion to the table."

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