This week in gluttony

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

women with mimosas celebrating Galentine's Day

Sisters before misters on Galentine's.

Danny Feld/NBC/NBCU Photo Bank

Love is in the air with Valentine’s Day just more than a week away, and some restaurants and bars are already ready to celebrate. On the list: two Valentine’s-themed sip-and-shop events, a Valentine’s cookie pairing with beer or hard seltzer, and a sparkling Galentine’s Day party that comes with bubbly and bites. (Looking for the best V-day dining options? That list is here.) The Super Bowl lands on Sunday, too, and there’s a watch party with a buffet for the occasion.

Tuesday, February 7

For the Love of Wine Dinner at Carrabba’s Italian Grill
All locations of the Italian chain will host a four-course wine dinner Tuesday night ahead of Valentine’s festivities next week. Courses include antipasti served with toasted sourdough bread; linguini pescatore; filet topped with goat cheese, sundried tomatoes, and lemon butter sauce; and a fudge brownie with chocolate mousse and strawberry cream. Wines will be paired with each course. The dinner is $70 per person and begins at 6:30 pm.

Wednesday, February 8

Valentine’s Sip & Stroll in The Start District
Sip and stroll through more than 15 participating shops and restaurants at The Start District in Frisco during this Valentine’s-themed tasting event. Guests will get a stroll map, tasting glass, and shopping tote. A few of the participating retailers include Dee Lincoln Prime, Flea Style, Monkee’s, Cane Rosso, Omni Frisco, and Cherry Blow Dry Bar. Tickets are $30, and the event will run from 6-9 pm.

Thursday, February 9

An Evening with Uncle Nearest at Elm & Good
Visit the Kimpton Pittman Hotel restaurant for a whiskey tasting for a good cause. Enjoy a complimentary sampling of Uncle Nearest Premium Whiskey from 6:30-8:30 pm while learning about the Uncle Nearest HBCU Old Fashioned Challenge – an effort to raise $1 million for historically Black colleges and universities. For every cocktail ordered that’s made with Uncle Nearest, Elm & Good will donate $1 to the cause through March 31. Also enjoy live music from 6-9 pm.

Saturday, February 11

Valentine’s Chocolate & Wine Walk in Historic Downtown McKinney
Take a chocolate- and wine-tasting journey throughout more than 20 boutiques and venues around Historic Downtown McKinney. There are two ticket options: general admission for $30 (plus tax) includes 12 wines, a Valentine’s chocolate tasting package, and one bonus taste at Lone Star Wine Cellars. Choose an arrival window of 12-2:30 pm or 2:30-5 pm. Or pay $45 (plus tax) and get 15 tastes, the chocolate package, bonus taste, a hands-free glass-holding lanyard, and flexible check-in all afternoon.

Valentine’s Cooking Pairing at Tupps Brewery
The downtown McKinney brewery has partnered with neighbor Mary’s Mountain Cookies for sweet pairing event. Choose beer or hard seltzer to be paired with Valentine’s cookies. Each pairing includes a flight of five beverages and five cookies. Tickets are $20 and the pairings will be available starting at 1 pm.

Texas Harvest Wine Tasting at the Dallas Farmers Market
More than 10 Texas wineries will share samples of 40-plus wines during this afternoon tasting event at The Shed at the Dallas Farmers Market. The $50 ticket includes 20 tastings, a commemorative glass, charcuterie, live music, and local shopping. The event will run from 1-5 pm.

Herradura Tequila Dinner at Cantina Laredo
The Addison outlet of the Mexican restaurant will host a four-course tequila pairing dinner that starts with a Herradura tequila flight. Menu highlights include ceviche, asparagus soup, choice of red snapper with Veracruz sauce or New York strip with wild mushroom sauce, and mixed berries with tequila cream for dessert. Each course will be paired with a different tequila cocktail. The dinner is $79.99 per person and the reception begins at 7 pm. Call 972-458-0962 for reservations.

Sunday, February 12

Super Punch Bowl Watch Party at Punch Bowl Social
The Deep Ellum bar, restaurant, bowling alley, and grown-up arcade is making game day easy with a VIP Super Bowl watch party buffet. The $50 ticket allows access to a VIP lounge with a projector screen, buffet, and two drink tickets. The festivities start at 4 pm.

Monday, February 13

Galentine’s Day at Apothecary
This Greenville Avenue cocktail lounge has a sparkling deal for a Galentine’s girls’ night out. Get a bottle of Lallier champagne plus a charcuterie board to share for $85. The deal comes with a prepaid table reservation in advance. For parties of more than four, pay $160 for double the deal. French onion soup-style baked oysters and other light bites will be available a la carte. Reservation slots begin at 5 pm.

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Dessert News

Acclaimed pastry shop Le Reve to open in Dallas' Mockingbird Station

Le Reve

Pastries at Le Reve look good and taste good, too.

A dessert shop with an avid following is opening at Dallas' buzzy Mockingbird Station: Le Rêve Gelato & Pâtisserie, a highly regarded shop in North Dallas' Preston Valley Shopping Center, is opening a location at 5321 E. Mockingbird Ln. #135, in the former Milk and Honey ice cream shop which closed in 2025.

Le Rêve is from Andy Pham, a baker and entrepreneur whose carefully crafted pastries and gelato have earned him much acclaim and made him a social media star.

He's hoping to open the shop sometime in late March or early April.

Pham started Le Reve as a cottage business before opening the first shop in 2022.

"I love French pastry and the European style of baking," Pham says. "I'm Vietnamese, but my grandparents had a French connection and I grew up with an exposure to French culture."

Whether macarons or pastries, his work is both tasteful and visually stunning. And his gelato — in flavors such as pistachio, French lavender, and Vietnamese coffee — is now sold not only at his shop but also by the pint at Central Market stores.

He does a variety of French pastries such as eclairs, small cakes, and Insta-friendly confections whose appearance is perfectly fabricated to match the flavor; for example, a lemon citrus pastry that looks exactly like a lemon. It's reminiscent of shokuhin sampuru, a Japanese tradition of creating plastic replicas of dishes.

Le Reve pastries L’orange et Citron Jaune at Le Reve.Le Reve

Pham's fame and acclaim includes landing a spot on the list of top 10 pastry chefs in Dallas at CultureMap Dallas' 2022 Tastemaker Awards, as well as a list of top 10 desserts.

Le Reve was also selected to participate in a national promotion in 2024 to hype the anniversary of cartoon SpongeBob SquarePants — one of 100 restaurants across the U.S., including 10 restaurants around Dallas, called on to do their own take on a Krabby Patty, the cartoon's signature dish.

Le Reve's entry stood out not only because it was the rare dessert participant, but also for its crafty execution, using sweet ingredients to mimic burger components: vanilla sponge cake bun, pineapple patty, crêpe lettuce, strawberry mousse tomato, puff pastry sticks for fries, and strawberry ketchup.

Opening a second location was part of his longterm plan, and when the space opened up at Mockingbird Station, it was an opportunity he couldn't turn down.

"I've always been a fan of the area, and Mockingbird Station seems like a perfect place for Le Reve," he says.

He's currently outfitting the space, which will get its own unique decorative theme.

"The first store was my recreation of a classic French patisserie, but this will be inspired by the south of France, with warm tones and a Mediterranean design," he says.

There will be seating, so that customers can sit and enjoy a sweet along with his trademark Vietnamese coffee featuring specialty Vietnamese arabica coffee beans.

Le Reve croissant Supreme croissant from Le ReveLe Reve

The sweets lineup will be similar to the menu at the North Dallas location, incorporating a major expansion he's undertaken in recent years: viennoiserie, aka croissants, including the ultra-trendy "supreme" croissants that are shaped like a wheel and often capped with icing.

"When I opened the first store, it was all new and I wanted to keep things manageable," he says. "Croissants are their own category, and it was important to me to do them well. I have family in France — my aunt and cousin would never let me live it down if I did a bad job. But viennoiserie have become a vital part of what we do now."

He's been warmed by the reception he's received from natives of France.

"I've gotten to know some of the French population in Dallas, and it makes me happy when they tell me that what we're doing reminds them of home," he says.

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