Fun with Food

Murder mysteries, meat fights and Halloween hillbillies: The best food events inDallas this week

Former Acme F&B chef Jeana Johnson competes at Meat Fight November 4.
Photo courtesy of Meat Fight
Dress like a hillbilly at the Sissy's Southern Kitchen Halloween Hoedown October31.
Sissy's Southern Kitchen & Bar/Facebook
Vegan beer dinners return to Libertine Bar November 5.
Photo courtesy of Libertine Bar
Learn how to raise chickens at the Birds and the Bees workshop November 3.
White Rock Local Market/Facebook

Murder mysteries, costumes and sacrificing goats: It must be Halloween. Time to drink from the cauldron, read the tea leaves and bite the neck of your favorite vegan. If these events won't sate your blood-lust, consult the complete list of things to do in music, entertainment and the arts.

Tuesday, October 30

The People's Last Halloween Party
The People's Last Stand hosts a sinister pre-Halloween evening with decadent dishes from chef Josh Black, a "cauldron" of cocktails, live music, classic slasher flicks and a special appearance by a fortune teller. Wear costumes, because they're giving out prizes for best dressed. You can score two free drink tickets if you find blogger Susie O, and they'll announce other prizes on all your favorite social media.

Wednesday, October 31

Halloween Hoedown at Sissy's
More Halloween madness on Wednesday at Sissy's, when guests are encouraged to wear their best hillbilly costumes, drink custom Stillhouse Moonshine cocktails and enjoy music from Dovetail’s White Lightning Quarter. Best costume wins a prize. Might as well stick around for dinner, including deviled eggs, boo-ha-ha-ha.

Saturday, November 3

The Birds and the Bees Workshop
White Rock Local Market hosts a three-part series covering the basics of raising chickens and keeping bees. Part one takes place at First Unitarian Church of Dallas, which will go over breeds, nutrition, egg production and coop building. If you're still all in, head to Fruth Farms Southwest in Cash, Texas, for parts two and three, where you can work on the farm, building shelters in the goat paddock or helping vaccinate the baby goats. Not sure what vaccines have to do with the birds and the bees, but here's your chance to find out.

Dressed to a Tea Murder Mystery Party
The Fairmont Dallas hosts a spooky night of enter-tea-ment and intrigue. Guests enjoy tea-infused cocktails and a four-course dinner with tea-inspired dishes, whilst trying to solve a murder mystery presented throughout the night. The guest who solves the murder receives a prize package that includes an overnight stay for two, dinner for two at the Pyramid Restaurant and a selection of Fairmont Teas.

WineFest 2012
The 10th annual WineFest, hosted by 500 Inc., features wine from Texas and across the country, complemented by snacks from Addison's top restaurants. The event also includes a cigar bar, music, dancing and large silent auction.

Sunday, November 4

Meat Fight
A dozen of the city's top chefs — among them Brian C. Luscher, Jack Perkins, Tiffany Derry, Jeana Johnson and Matt McCallister — duke it out for bragging rights to the best brisket, pork and sausage at this barbecue showdown benefiting multiple sclerosis. (Noteworthy: Aaron Franklin is coming up from Austin to judge.) The event sold out in an hour and 10 minutes, but, if you act fast and luck is on your side, you can try to win two tickets on the CultureMap Dallas Facebook page.

Monday, November 5

Vegan Beer Dinner
Libertine brings back its vegan beer dinner series with a five-course menu and matching beers created by chef Roseanne Dileo. Once you've worked your way through sun-dried tomato quinoa cakes with chive oil and arugula, pink lentil curry with roasted leaks and smoked cashew, seitan piccata over soba noodles and roasted squash, and pumpkin pudding with almond foam and praline, you may not remember what meat is.

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Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its U.S. debut, right here in Texas: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's an ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.