This week in gluttony

Chill out during 7 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

There's a whole day devoted to cool, refreshing watermelon this week.

Photo by Rens D on Unsplash

This week's events will help bring on the chill during a hot week. Have a sweet slice of summer at a watermelon fiesta, find refreshment during a spritz sip-and-stroll, then keep cool at a gelato party. For those who like the heat, Hatch chile season is officially underway.

Friday, August 1

29th Annual Hatch Chile Festival launch at Blue Mesa Grill
It’s one of the longest-running Hatch chile festivals in existence, and it happens at Blue Mesa Grill every August. The Southwestern-inspired restaurant will serve a lengthy menu of specials using the piquant New Mexican pepper all month long. Highlights include fried Hatch chile strips, Hatch chile rellenos, Hatch brownies with cajeta swirl, and a pineapple Hatch margarita with grilled pineapple. Hatch chiles will also be featured at all weekend brunches throughout the month, or whenever the last crop arrives.

Saturday, August 2

Dallas’ Original Watermelon Day at Dallas Farmers Market
Have a sweet slice of summer at Dallas Farmers Market’s seventh annual Watermelon Day, this year featuring 15 different varieties of Texas-grown watermelons. Bring the whole family for kids' workshops, face painting, watermelon carvers, cooking demos, live music, and tastings all day. The event will run from 9 am-5 pm.

National Spritz Day Stroll in Bishops Arts
Sip spritzes of all sorts – from Aperol to limoncello – during this boozy stroll in the Bishop Arts district. The $15 ticket includes one Campari cocktail, spritzy samples, party favors, and discounted drinks from six-plus stops, including Casablanca, Paradiso, and Bar Eden. The event will run from 12-5 pm and check-in is at Bishop Lane’s.

Dallas Taco & Margarita Festival
At the Dallas Taco & Margarita Festival, presented by Casamigos Tequila, guests can sample some of the best tacos and margaritas that Irving has to offer. General admission ticketholders will receive five (two food and three drink) sampling tickets for margarita samples, tacos, elote, and other items, while VIP guests receive seven (three food and four drink) sampling tickets. There will also be live music and a beer garden, and a portion of the proceeds benefits Alexiam Foundation. The event runs 12-6 pm at Ferris Wheelers; tickets are here.

Sunday, August 3

Gelato Festa at Eataly
The NorthPark Italian gourmet grocer and dining destination will host a gelato party featuring 15 sweet, savory, and boozy flavors across the entire the store. Varieties range from gelato affogato and Caprese gelato to prosciutto di parma and melon sorbet. Tastes require tickets, which start at $3 for one, or spend $40 and get access to all stations, plus drinks. There’ll also be live entertainment. The event will run from 3-6 pm.

The Giving Table: Love For Kerrville
More than 20 area chefs will come together to prepare a family-style dinner benefiting Mercy Chefs, an organization currently in Kerrville that is provides hot, chef-prepared meals to victims, first responders, and volunteers. Set to take place at Profound Foods in Fairview, the dinner will include four to five courses paired with complimentary beverages. Chefs include Katherine Clapner, Dean Fearing, and Sharon Van Meter. Tickets are $150 or go VIP for $175 and get entry to cocktail hour with hors d’oeuvres. Dinner begins at 6 pm with cocktail hour at 5 pm.

Monday, August 4

Uncommon Ramen at Uchiba
There are only a few very late-night reservations left for this monthly series at Uchiba featuring innovative ramen dishes. This month's bowl is black garlic and truffle tonkotsu ramen ($22.50, or $19.50 for vegetarian) from guest chef Jon Stevens, chef and owner of Stock & Barrel, in collaboration with Uchi and Uchibā chef de cuisine Rhonda McCullar. An abbreviated regular menu will be offered. Reservations are available from 9:30 to 11 pm on the patio, but hurry.

cocktails dallas farmers market desserts festivals hatch chile events

French twist

Downtown Dallas hotel restaurant reopens following major revamp

CBD Provisions

Toast at CBD Provisions

There's new dining action in downtown Dallas at the Joule Hotel: CBD Provisions, the hotel's inhouse restaurant, has officially reopened with a new chef, menu, and interior design, following a months-long update.

The restaurant has been closed since July 2025. It originally opened in 2013 as a Texas-centric brasserie, named for downtown's Central Business District. It became most famous for its Pig's Head Carnitas, featuring one half of a pig's head on a plate, requiring diners to pull strips of meat and tuck them into tortillas — a dish that, with its sharable interactive nature, was ahead of its time.

According to a release, the restaurant returns under the direction of new culinary director Sezer Deniz, who has 20-plus years of experience working at Michelin-starred restaurants including the acclaimed Alinea in Chicago.

Deniz, who trained under Chef Jean Paul Naquin of the Institut Paul Bocuse in Lyon, France, is debuting a menu that focuses more carefully on French technique.

“CBD Provisions has long been about honoring local ingredients and our community,” Deniz says in a statement. “With this reopening, we’ve refined that vision, creating a dining experience that is both familiar and fresh."

Food
The menu will keep the pig’s head carnitas as well as pimento cheese toast, another favorite. But new dishes include:

Ancho Beef Bourguignon, a classic French dish featuring beef braised in a red wine reduction with ancho chili, pearl onions, carrots, wild mushrooms, and horseradish spaetzle.
Asado Short Rib, with three barbecue-glazed ribs, bread & butter pickled vegetables, sweet potato mousse, and pecan topping.

Daily fresh-baked breads, including buns and sourdough, will be provided by The Commissary, the nearby bakery-cafe that is a sibling concept from Headington Cos.

The beverage program will highlight small producers and regional makers with wines from Texas, California, and France; craft beers from Dallas-Fort Worth brewers; and cocktails such as the Good Word, a mezcal-based take on the Last Word cocktail.

Decor
With exposed brick, wood floors, and steel beans, the design preserves the classic brasserie soul of the space while softening its industrial roots with millwork paneling, vintage lighting, and mosaic tile floors.

Stone tabletops and antique mirrors add warmth, while layered textiles in seating and drapery create an atmosphere of comfort. New seating includes communal high-top tables, a center banquette, and railcar booth seating. A new airy bar opens up the space.

It's open daily for breakfast, brunch, lunch, and dinner from 7 am-10 pm, and until 11 pm on Friday-Saturday.

downtown hotels openings