This Week in Gluttony

These are the 8 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Canadian Thanksgiving arrives this week.

Facebook/Maple Leaf Diner

Embark on a culinary tour around the world this week with food events influenced by Italy, Germany, and Canada. A taste of Texas is also on the menu thanks to a two-day barbecue festival at AT&T Stadium. Wrap up the weekend with a modern Mexican Sunday brunch inspired by the flavors of fall.

Tuesday, October 3

Bendt Distilling Rye Release Pairing Dinner at Whiskey Cake Plano
Local Bendt Distilling Co. will be featured during this five-course whiskey pairing dinner, which will come with a sneak peek tasting of Bendt’s new release, Unbendt Rye. The menu is big on fall flavors with items like apple and shaved fennel salad with duck fat croutons, “High Society Thanksgiving” with roasted duck and sage stuffing, and a bone marrow luge with smoked tomato preserves. The dinner is $100 per person, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 7 pm.

Thursday, October 5

Piroshky Piroshky Bakery Pop-up at Outfit Brewing
Bakery founded in Seattle will stop in Dallas on a Texas-wide tour, offering their signature Russian hand pies in delectable fillings such as beef & cheese, cabbage & onion, and vegan-friendly mushroom & potato. The full menu is online, and pre-ordering is required by October 3 at 4 pm. There's a minimum order of $50. Pickup at the brewery is 5-7 pm.

Saturday, October 7

Canadian Thanksgiving at Maple Leaf Diner
Canadian Thanksgiving is Monday and Maple Leaf Diner is celebrating all weekend long. Visit Saturday October 7 through Monday October 9 for holiday specials including a Thanksgiving plate with turkey, stuffing, cranberry sauce, mashed potatoes, gravy, acorn squash, carrots, green beans, a sweet potato tart, and a roll ($17.99), turkey poutine ($12.49), and Thanksgiving pumpkin pancake wrap ($11.99). Dine-in hours are 7 am-4 pm on Saturday and Sunday, and 7 am-2:30 pm on Monday, but the Thanksgiving plate and bakery items will be available for pick-up until 6 pm.

Q BBQ Fest at AT&T Stadium
Arlington will get a little smoky when more than 30,000 pounds of brisket, chicken, pulled pork and ribs are dished out over two days at AT&T Stadium. Hosted by the Dallas Cowboys and Miller Lite, Q BBQ Fest will feature pitmasters from across Texas and throughout the nation. AYCE tickets start at $69 (alcohol not included). Or go VIP ($129) and enjoy an open bar along with access to exclusive lounge areas and VIP-only pitmasters. Tickets are $35 for young adults ages 13-20, and children under 13 get in free. The event runs from 11 am-8 pm on Saturday and 10 am-2 pm on Sunday. Note that tickets are sold in three- and four-hour time blocks.

Frisco Oktoberfest at The Star in Frisco
Fourth annual Bavarian celebration features stein-hoisting competitors in the Biergarten, brat-eating contests, keg rolling races, stein relays, live entertainment from authentic German groups and local talent, plus Oktoberfest favorites such as pretzels, sauerkraut, funnel cakes, brats, Bavarian sausages, kaiser rolls, apple strudel, baklava, and German bee sting cake, as well as selections from The Star eateries La Parisienne, Pete’s Dueling Piano Bar, The Common Table, and more. Plus Oktoberfest biers. 11 am-9 pm.

DFW Italian Heritage & Food Festival
An inaugural celebration of Italian culture with food, wine tastings, and musical performances, this festival will take place in Las Colinas at 5220 N. O’Connor Blvd. from 12-10 pm. Food for purchase from local vendors will range from New York-style pizza, parmigiano fries, and meatball sandwiches to arancini, tiramisu, and gelato. Patrons can also sip on frozen bellinis and Aperol spritz cocktails. The event is hosted by DFW Italians, a non-profit whose mission is to promote, celebrate, and preserve the rich heritage and culture of Italy. Admission is $15 for adults, $5 for young adults 11-20, and children 10 and under get in free.

19th Annual Oktoberfest at The Sons of Hermann Hall
The historic German dance hall will host a 20-piece polka band to celebrate German culture with food, beer, and merriment. The $18 ticket price includes a traditional German brat dinner plate. The party will run from 5-10 pm.

Sunday, October 8

Basic B*#ch Brunch at La Neta Cocina y Lounge
The Las Vegas-based modern Mexican restaurant will dive deep into fall flavors with an autumn-themed activation featuring photo ops, fall décor, live music, and menu specials. Visit for pumpkin spice espresso pancakes with brûléed meringue, apple cinnamon French toast, and cocktails like apple cider mimosas, brown sugar espresso martinis, and pumpkin spice margaritas. Brunch will be served from 12-4 pm and reservations are recommended.

chefs event-planner

Pasta News

Downtown Dallas tasting restaurant embraces new Italian theme

Sauvage

Pasta at Sauvage Dallas

A chef-driven restaurant in downtown Dallas is shifting gears: Sauvage, the fine-dining concept near the Statler Dallas hotel known for its multicourse tasting experience, is diving into a more fluid approach by taking on a new identity each month.

Their new model will begin in February with an embrace of Italian food. Each ensuing month will usher in a new theme, driven primarily by cuisine.

According to chef Casey La Rue, it's just a fine-tuning of the seasonal approach that the restaurant already takes.

"Sauvage has always shifted with the seasons — ingredients come and go, dishes evolve, small changes happen constantly," he says. "The rotating theme lets us explore a cuisine, a perspective, and a set of flavors more deeply, while still staying grounded in the local farmers, ranchers, and producers we work with every day."

Casey opened Sauvage with his wife, Amy La Rue, in September 2025 at 1914 Commerce St. as a tasting-menu-style restaurant with just 12 seats and two seatings per night. The restaurant is a collaboration, with Casey serving as chef and Amy, who is a pastry chef, doing desserts and breads; the couple also owns La Rue Doughnuts, the massively popular artisan shop at Trinity Groves.

Their unique approach included cooking everything on a wood fire, eschewing traditional methods such as a deep fryer. They'll still make the wood fire the centerpiece, but with an embrace of Italian food. That means pastas made in-house, plus meats and seafood with Italian ingredients and techniques.

The starting menu includes dishes like gatto di patate — smoked potato with a savory custard and caviar, or couscous rustico with Wagyu beef cheek.

"We'll be making couscous in-house — it's 'rustico' because it's handmade and the couscous pearls won't be uniform in size or shape," Casey says.

There'll be smoked Wagyu beef rib, crusted not in the usual salt and pepper but with olives instead, and served with lion's mane mushrooms; and carne cruda with venison and crispy sunchoke which he describes as "an Italian tartare."

Other courses include Gulf prawn sausage with Swiss chard, boar belly with parsnip puree, and opening dishes such as focaccia with Gulf snapper baccala spread.

Desserts include spumoni, an eye-catching ice cream confection that originated in Naples and is hugely popular in the Northeast, featuring three distinct layers of cherry, pistachio, and chocolate ice cream; white coffee tiramisu, a decidedly chef's take with a coffee-cocoa gel and hazelnut sabayon; and zeppole — ricotta doughnuts, summoning the restaurant's doughnut-shop sibling.

"Part of our motivation is that we didn't want to be doing the same thing over and over," he says. "When customers come in, they invariably ask when the next menu change will take place. Changing to a new theme or identity every month also gives our staff a chance to get creative."

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This Week in Gluttony

These are the 8 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Pasta News

Downtown Dallas tasting restaurant embraces new Italian theme

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