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

Omakase News

Downtown Dallas restaurant Sauvage expands with new dining twist

Sauvage

A downtown Dallas restaurant famous for its multi-course tasting experience is letting its hair down: Sauvage, the high-end mom-and-pop restaurant near the Statler Dallas hotel, has a new dining option that gives a smaller, more casual taste.

The restaurant opened in September with a set menu featuring 16 to 18 courses — wild game, seafood, vegetables, and dessert — all cooked via grill and smoker.

While 16 courses might sound like a lot, the courses are mostly small bites. However, owners Casey and Amy LaRue received feedback from diners wanting a smaller option.

"We were getting a ton of messages from guests who want to stop by just to try one dish, a bite, or a specific pairing without committing to the full tasting — so we built something for exactly that," Casey says.

They've introduced a new three-course "Cocktails & Bites hour" featuring three dishes, each paired with its own cocktail, served from 5–6 pm on weekdays.

Last week’s menu consisted of:

dry-aged red snapper crudo with La Chinola Way, a cocktail featuring passionfruit, mezcal, lime, and ginger
foie gras & truffle on house-baked croissant with Pendennis Club, a gin sour with apricot liqueur bitters
jerk-spiced shrimp with Clarified Paper Plane, a bourbon cocktail with Aperol, Amaro Nonino, and lemon juice

The new offering continues their pattern of pairing courses with cocktails rather than wine — an approach they've embraced since opening. "Limiting pairings to wine can get boring — it so often ends up being one expensive red after another," Casey says.

You can make a reservation on Tock, or just walk in and grab a seat.

Caviar
They've also added a new version of their classic menu: no caviar.

"Some love having caviar integrated into the menu, but others prefer to skip it, whether for taste or dietary reasons, but still want the full value of the experience," Casey says. "With such a small counter, this put us in a strange position: do we give everyone caviar whether they want it or not, or do we remove it entirely and lose a core part of our menu?"

Thus, a new menu without caviar, priced at $195, with an optional caviar course available for those who want it for $245.

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