This week in gluttony

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

Learn to make a few new dishes with the chef at Asian Mint.

Photo by Kathy Tran

Holiday parties are popping up early, with one local brewery hosting one of the first Christmas-themed soirees of the season. There are also wine dinners aplenty, including one that comes with five glorious courses of truffle-infused dishes. Also on the list: an Asian cooking class, a famous cookbook author chat, and an anniversary party where everyone is encouraged to wear white.

Monday, November 14

Staglin Wine Dinner at Gemma
The modern American bistro on Henderson Avenue invites wine lovers for a five-course dinner paired with California’s Staglin wines. Two Chardonnays and two Cabernet Sauvignons will be paired with jumbo lump crab salad, fall squash risotto, chicken porchetta, Wagyu beef cheeks, and almond cake with cardamon, orange blossom, and pistachio. The dinner is $250 plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6 pm with cocktails and appetizers.

Wednesday, November 16

Be Our Guest Chef Series at The French Room
The French Room will open its doors for limited dinner service to welcome guest chef Tom Cunanan, a James Beard Award recipient who hails from the Philippines and who’s worked in renowned kitchens across Washington D.C. Cunanan’s five-course tasting menu will include exotic flavors with ingredients like squid, prawns, clams, and soft-shell crab. The tasting menu is $150 plus tax and gratuity, and will be offered through Saturday. Wine pairings or a mix of wine and cocktail pairings may be added for $68. Reservations are limited.

Hall Wines Dinner Series at Ellie’s
The Napa-inspired restaurant at the Hall Arts Hotel will feature the popular Hall, Walt, and Baca wines during this four-course pairing dinner from executive chef Anthony Hsia. Dinner is $125 plus tax and begins at 6:30 pm.

J. Lohr Wine Dinner at Hotel Vin
Cynthia Lohr, co-owner of California’s J. Lohr Vineyards & Wines, will visit the Grapevine hotel for a four-course wine-pairing dinner in the Bordeaux Ballroom. Chardonnay, two Cabernets, and a Petite Syrah will be paired with a seafood starter, lemon, basil, and fontina tortellini, Wagyu prime rib, and red velvet cake with cheesecake mousse and chocolate glaze. Dinner is $200 plus service charge and tax, and begins with a reception at 6 pm. Also note that Hotel Vin’s Winter Wonderland pop-up begins Friday for the holiday season, featuring the hotel’s popular igloo bubbles available for happy hour or dinner reservations. (This year they’re decked out with après ski lodge décor.) Reservations start at $150, plus tax and gratuity, for a bottle of wine and fondue to share during happy hour.

Thursday, November 17

Asian Cooking Class at Dallas Arboretum and Botanical Garden
Spend your lunch hour (or two) learning how to create flavorful Asian dishes from chef Nikky Phinyawatana of the Bangkok-inspired restaurant group Asian Mint. The hands-on class will feature crispy egg rolls with sweet-and-sour sauce and Thanksgiving Thai Fried Rice. The class is $89 ($79 for Arboretum members) and will run from 11 am-1:30 pm.

An Evening with Nigella Lawson
Food writer, author, and TV cook Nigella Lawson will sit and share in tasty conversation with Good Morning Texas host Jane McGarry during an evening at the Eisemann Center, Hill Performance Hall. Lawson will talk about her latest book, Cook, Eat, Repeat, which compiles a combination of recipes and narrative essays. She’s written 12 books total that have sold more than 12 million copies worldwide. Seats range from $35 to $60, and the event begins at 7:30 pm.

Friday, November 18

First Anniversary of Villa Azur
The South-of-France-inspired eatery and entertainment destination, which originated in Miami Beach, will mark its first anniversary in Dallas with a theme party. Guests are invited to light up the night and wear all white for dinner and a show. Entertainment will include live music, dancers, and DJ tunes from 6:30 pm-2:30 am. Mediterranean dishes for the evening will feature truffle burrata and the Instagram-worthy pates a la meule – pasta prepared tableside in a wheel of parmesan cheese flambeed in cognac. Dinner is a la carte.

Saturday, November 19

Holiday Party Kick-off at Pegasus City Brewery
Christmas has arrived early at this downtown Dallas brewery, which is now serving wine and cider alongside its lineup of 18 craft beers on tap. Celebrate with a holiday party to include live music and games like wreath toss, wrapping competition, and holiday music bingo. Food and artisan gift vendors will add the to fun. The event runs from noon to 11 pm.

Sunday, November 20

Truffle Wine Pairing Dinner at Trova Wine + Market
Truffle lovers, this one's for you. The Dallas wine shop and bar will present its newest dishes, each kissed with the tantalizing treat that is truffle. Menu highlights include leek and sweet onion focaccia with whipped ricotta and butter board and shaved truffle, shaved truffle-topped lamb chops, truffle artichoke soup, and red wine poached pears with truffle honey ice cream. Each course will be paired with wines. The dinner is $135 plus tax, and begins at 7 pm.

dinner beer chefs celebrities

More Guy

Guy Fieri's Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives is taping in Dallas this week

Guy Fieri/ Instagram

Guy Fieri at a previous DD&D taping.

Celebrity chef Guy Fieri is coming to Dallas this week as part of a meet-and-greet, in support of Santo Spirits, a liquor brand he does in partnership with Rock and Roll Hall of Famer Sammy Hagar.

But Fieri has not come alone: The Food Network star is also filming future episodes of Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives, his massively popular long-running show on the Food Network.

According to a source that requested anonymity, the TV show currently has two crews in town, who began recording segments at restaurants around Dallas on December 4. The taping will continue through December 6.

The restaurants — there are six — have all signed nondisclosure agreements, and the tapings themselves are buttoned down tight. And a spokesperson for Food Network said they have no news to share.

So no one is willing to go on the record about DD&D being in town.

However, that does not stop an observant diner from noting abrupt closures of their favorite restaurants — blamed on perfectly-reasonable-sounding excuses such as "plumbing issues" and/or "routine maintenance."

There have also been loose-lipped employees bursting with pride who've been unable to resist sharing the news.

So far, restaurants that have been observed enacting sudden closures such as this include at least two barbecue joints, one of which is a chain: Soulman's Bar-B-Que, founded in 1974 in in Pleasant Grove; and Slow Bone, the acclaimed barbecue restaurant from beloved chef Jeffery Hobbs.

Barbecue is one of the most popular cuisines featured on Diners Drive-ins, and Dives, along with restaurants that specialize in quirky over-the-top dishes.

The show loves to feaure independently-owned restaurants that offer a good bargain, and that also have "legs" — places that have been open for a minimum of two years and display business smarts, since the show does not want to recommend a place only to have it close.

“Triple-D” has been airing on The Food Network since 2006 and has spotlighted at least 1,000 kitchens in all 50 states. Getting featured on the show has an incomparably beneficial effect because the episodes go into reruns and bring restaurants subsequent waves of business.

A story about the behind-the-scenes reveals their selection process, including suggestions from restaurateurs who've appeared on the show previously. They avoid places that’ve already been on TV, and seek out places where the food is made from scratch.

Post-pandemic, DD&D has been on the rebound, taping shows with a renewed intensity in cities such as San Antonio, where sandwich shop Ro-Ho Pork & Bread will appear an episode on Friday, December 6.

About two dozen restaurants around DFW have been featured including Afrah, Avila's, Cane Rosso, Chef Point, CrushCraft Thai Street Eats, Fred's Texas Cafe, Jamaica Gates Caribbean Cuisine, Louie's, Maple & Motor, Nora Restaurant and Bar, One90 Smoked Meats, Original Chop House Burger, Pecan Lodge, Pepe & Mito's, Prince Lebanese Grill, Tacos Mariachi, Taste of Europe, Tutta's Pizza, Twisted Root Burger, and Whistle Britches — nearly all still open.

Meanwhile, there's one guaranteed way to find Guy: He'll be at Spec’s at 9500 N. Central Expressway #200, where he'll do a meet & greet and bottle-signing on Saturday, December 7 from 6:30-7:30 pm.

celebrities chefs media