This week in gluttony

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

Learn from some expert pitmasters.

Photo courtesy of Crossbuck BBQ

Still hungover from the holiday madness? There’s a dinner to cure that this week at a local brewery. It’s also officially ski season, but if you can’t hit the slopes this winter, one local bar and restaurant is hosting its own ski-themed party with winter cocktails, pine trees, and real snow. Lastly, get ready for grilling season with a barbecue Q&A session that comes with dinner, drinks, and demos.

Monday, January 9

CFP National Championship watch party at Quarter Bar
If you're not in L.A. to cheer on the TCU Horned Frogs in person, head over to the French Quarter-inspired bar in Uptown Dallas in time for kickoff (6:30 pm). Throughout the game, fans can enjoy $2 PBR cans and $6 Jameson shots. Shared plates such as flatbread pizzas, Cajun fries, Buffalo chicken eggrolls, chicken tenders, and wings also will be offered at half-price.

Wednesday, January 11

Double D's Grand Opening Celebration
Design District bar is hosting a five-day grand opening from Wednesday, January 11-Sunday, January 15 with daily happy hour specials, bites from Gustos food truck, entertainment from local DJs, and interactive surprises. Nightly hours are 5 pm-2 am, with live music starting at 10 pm including House of Freqs, Rami, DJ Blake Ward, DJ Sober, Electrophunck, and Christy Ray.

Thursday, January 12

Holiday Hangover Beer Dinner at On Rotation
The Lemmon Avenue brewery will host a four-course beer pairing dinner featuring winter flavors for the New Year. Menu highlights include a Texas turnover made with smoked brisket, deep-fried Cornish game hen, and raspberry and white chocolate crème brulee. Tickets are $60 and dinner starts at 7 pm.

Friday, January 13

BBQ & A at Crossbuck BBQ & Smokehouse
Pitmasters Tim McLaughlin and Damian Avila of the Farmers Branch smokehouse will share their barbecue knowledge over dinner, drinks, and demos during this interactive Q&A event. The $85 ticket includes an adult beverage of choice and a barbecue dinner. The event starts at 6:30 pm.

Girl Scout Cookies Cocktails & Launch Party at Sweet Tooth Hotel
Sweet Tooth Hotel, the immersive art venue in downtown Dallas, has partnered with Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas to launch a Girl Scout cookie-themed cocktail and mocktail menu which will be served through March 3. They'll host a kickoff party on Friday at 7:30 pm with DJ Ursa Minor and a green carpet event. It's in the Calirosa Cocktail Lounge and is free to attend. Tickets to the art installation that night will be $30 and will be limited to 50 people. RSVP here.

Saturday, January 14

I See Dallas Brewery Tour
This four-stop brewery bus tour starts at White Rock Alehouse & Brewery, then proceeds to Four Corners Brewery, Manhattan Project, and finishes up at Peticolas Brewing. Each stop will offer tastes and background on the brewing process from the experts. Tickets are $40 and the tour will run from 1-6 pm.

Après Ski Party at Truck Yard in The Colony
Hit the slopes, Texas-style, at the Truck Yard’s annual ski-themed party, where there’ll be wintry cocktails and even a shot ski bar served on a custom Truck Yard ski. Sip on Fireball apple cider, liquid nitrogen cocktails, and spiked hot chocolate. Guests are encouraged to dress in their coolest ski gear and goggles for the post-slopes party, where they can wander through a pine tree forest outfitted with a snow machine and dog sled photo opps. The party will run from 2 pm to close.

Monday, January 16

Robert Mondavi Wine Dinner at Sea Breeze Fish Market & Grill
The Plano seafood destination will host a five-course dinner paired with several vintages from Robert Mondavi Winery. Guests will partake in tuna tartare, tempura lobster, porcini dusted monkfish, veal osso bucco, and cardamon flan with butterscotch caramel sauce. The dinner is $125, plus tax and gratuity. Cocktail hour begins at 6 pm before the 7 pm dinner.

barbecue news-you-can-eat dinner

Deep Ellum News

Mexican 'vibe' restaurant from California to open in Deep Ellum Dallas

Mama Por Dios

A buzzy concept from California is coming to Dallas: Mama Por Dios, a Mexican restaurant chain known for its vibe, will open its first location in Texas in Deep Ellum in the Epic development at 2525 Elm St., taking over the former La Neta space, which shuttered in May.

According to a spokesperson, the restaurant will open in early to mid-January.

Mama Por Dios was founded in Southern California in 2020 by chef Misael Guerrero, who famously got his start selling Mexican sushi out of his garage.

Since those early days, he's gone on to form a restaurant empire called Emme Group, with concepts that include Los Amores de Julia, El Rincon de Los Dolidos, and Culichi Town, a lower-priced chain known for Sinaloa-style Mexican sushi & seafood, which has a local presence: It opened a location in Mesquite in 2022.

Mama Por Dios — which translates to "Mother of God" — describes itself as modern Mexican, offering a unique blend of steakhouse, sushi bar, and seafood. The menu includes favorites like tacos and enchiladas, alongside luxe dishes like lobster with spaghetti, lobster enchiladas, and a showy surf & turf featuring a lobster tail balanced atop a skirt steak. Prices range from $18 for birria tacos to $48 for a bacon-wrapped filet mignon with mashed potatoes and asparagus.

But they also have a showy side that includes flamboyant presentations such as the bacon-wrapped shrimp which come strung on clothespins; or the trompito al pastor, served on a personal spit, as well as servers who walk around with shots while dancing with patrons.

There's a Gold Burger for $65 featuring Prime beef on a brioche bun garnished with 24k gold leaf, and a similarly gilded tomahawk steak for $400 that brings to mind the good old days of Salt Bae. Anticipate a serious brunch offering on weekends.

Cocktails such as the Al Agua Pato — served in a mini bathtub with a rubber ducky — are made for Instagram. They also offer margarita and mezcalita flights with flavors such as mango, tamarindo, and strawberry, and intriguing sips like Carajillo, a Spanish cocktail with Licor 43, espresso, and 43 different fruit, citrus, aromatic, and herbal ingredients.

There’s also a $20 per-person minimum spend, and the menu comes with a warning that everything is cooked to order — meaning some dishes may take 30 to 40 minutes. For many diners, waiting will surely be part of the experience.

deep-ellum tex-mex openings