This Week in Gluttony

These are the 7 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Cheers to Texas Independence Day at Culpepper Cattle Co.

Culpepper Cattle Co./Facebook

Food events this week include a rare once-every-four-years occasion: Leap Day. This week also features Texas Independence Day, bringing more reasons for restaurants and bars to celebrate with festivities like live music, pop-up vendors, and food and drink specials. Also make plans for a bourbon maker meet-and-greet and a "fowling" birthday party.

Wednesday, February 28

Meet the Maker: RD1 Spirits at Republic Texas Tavern
The Kentucky-based bourbon will be featured during this meet-and-greet event with RD1 Spirits co-founder Barry Brinegar. Tickets are $20 and include bourbon served neat or in a specialty cocktail. There'll also be small bites for pairing. The event will run from 6-8 pm.

Thursday, February 29

Leap Day at City Works Eatery & Pour House
Calling all Leaplings! If your birthday is February 29, you'll get a free entrée at City Works Eatery & Pour House, which has locations in Fort Worth and Frisco. Prepare to show an ID for proof. The deal is good for lunch and dinner.

Friday, March 1

Fowling's 1st Birthday Bash
A cross between football and bowling, the game of fowling takes place in Plano at Fowling Warehouse DFW, which will celebrate its one-year anniversary with a party. There'll be DJ music, casino games, photo booth, giveaways, free samples, a balloon drop, and food and drinks specials, including an adult birthday milkshake made with ice cream from Plano's Local Creamery. The party is open to those 16 and up and will run from 7-10 pm. Admission is free.

Saturday, March 2

Bengali Food Fiesta at Sigree Indian Restaurant and Banquet
Long awaited lunch buffet is a two-day weekend event, March 2-3 from 12-3 pm, with all manner of Indian dishes: pani poori, aloo tikki, vegetable chops, samosas, gobi Manchurian, veg noodles, cholar dal, kichdi, labada, loochi/aloo bhaji, panner tikka masala, veg pea pulao, kolkata chili chicken, tandori chicken, kosha mangsho, chingri biryani, chicken tikka masala, and tomato date chutney. It's all-you-can-eat, $19 for adults, and $14 for kids 9 and under. What a deal.

16th Annual Texas Independence Day Chili Cook-Off at The Ginger Man
Irving pub will host a chili tasting and cook-off benefitting EPIC Animal Rescue. Tickets are $15 for five tasting cups and two raffle tickets, or $25 for 10 tasting cups and five raffle tickets. Additional raffle tickets will be available for $5 each or $20 for five. The event will run from 2-6 pm.

Texas Independence Day at Culpepper Cattle Co.
Rockwall Texas-style home cooking sister restaurant to HG Sply Co., Leela's Wine Bar, HERO, and Standard Service will celebrate Texas Independence Day with live music, a pop-up hat vendor, and $10 Milagro margaritas. The Makhatter will be on-site from 6-10 pm and the Kasual T's will play classic rock from 7-10 pm on the patio. Reservations encouraged.

Texas Independence Day at PGA District
Frisco's Omni PGA District will host a Texas-sized Texas Independence Day Party offerings sounds and spirits from the Lone Star State. Garrison Brothers Distillery will be on-site to serve complimentary whiskey samples, with an appearance from founder Charlie Garrison himself. There'll also be a pop-up hat bar by Blue Lacy Mercantile, and live music by Unwound: A Tribute to George Strait. The event is free and open to the public, and will take place from 6-8 pm.

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Pizza News

Irving-based Chuck E. Cheese upgrades pizzas and adds new amusements

Chuck E Cheese

Chuck E Cheese pizza

Dallas-based Chuck E. Cheese, the restaurant chain known for combining pizza and entertainment, is executing a comeback that includes a new amusement park-style format with trampolines, climbing walls, and other next-level attractions.

They’re called Adventure Zones, and the chain is adding them to select locations as part of a global rollout for 2025. That includes a newly opened location in Allen at 2265 N. Central Expy., as well an already-open location in Grand Prairie, at 2760 W. I-20, which was retrofitted with the Adventure Zone package.

The changes come following a bankruptcy filing by parent company CEC Entertainment, LLC, in June 2020 — one that has inspired the new strategy at a cost of more than $300 million.

The Adventure Zones are like an adjoining park, with a separate entry charge from $10-$18 (discounted with monthly passes), with amenities such as trampolines, a ninja run obstacle course, climbing walls, and balance beams.

CEO David McKillips says that the innovation "has truly completed the experience and taken it to the next level. Kids love it. Parents love it. It’s transforming the way families enjoy Chuck E. Cheese, and we couldn’t be more excited."

One major change was the removal of longtime signatures such as their animatronics which McKillips called "a hot debate."

“Families have told us that traditional trampoline parks and bounce houses can feel overwhelming for little ones surrounded by bigger kids and teens, so we thoughtfully designed our Adventure Zones for younger kids,” McKillips says.

Now there's an increased focus on the digital games and interactive activities that their audience has grown up with.

To keep the parents engaged, they've upgraded their menu, improving the pizza recipe and adding new flavors such as BBQ pizza, Hawaiian pizza, meatball pizza, as well as wings and meatballs in three flavors, such as spicy Korean BBQ.

Chuck E. Cheese was founded by Atari video game founder Nolan Bushnell and opened its first location in 1977 in San Jose, California as "Chuck E. Cheese's Pizza Time Theatre" — the first restaurant to combine pizza, games, and animated entertainment. The company has been headquarteed in Irving since the mid 1980's, and currently has 480 locations, including 63 in Texas.

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