This week in gluttony

Pork chops sizzle in 7 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

The famous pork chop at Perry's Steakhouse & Grille.

Photo courtesy of Perry's

Temperatures are still hot but the grand opening of a new Italian ice and frozen custard shop will help keep things cool this week. A pizza joint's 10th anniversary provides for pies at a price that's easy on the wallet, and there's also a steal of a deal on a legendary steakhouse pork chop come Thursday. Plan for a family-friendly brewery birthday party come Saturday.

Tuesday, August 25

Pie Tap 10th Anniversary
The Dallas pizza chain known for its multi-day fermented sourdough crust will celebrate 10 years in business with $10 pizzas at all seven DFW locations. Choose from options like hot pepperoni with jalapenos and hot honey; and mushroom with caramelized onion with fontina cheese and a farm egg. Guests will want to visit throughout the rest of August as well, as Pie Tap is also randomly picking up patron tabs as a “thank you” to the communities that have supported the brand over the past decade.

iichiko Shochu x Midnight Rambler
The subterranean speakeasy under The Joule will welcome guest bartender George Kailho of Tei-An for an educational happy hour celebrating 100 years of Japanese cocktail culture in conjunction with iichiko Shochu, a native spirit of Japan. A seminar for industry professionals starts at 4 pm followed by happy hour at 5 pm (open to the public, no reservation required) featuring three Japanese cocktails by Kailho: the Million Dollar, Bamboo, and Lemon Sour. The event will run until 7 pm.

Wednesday, August 26

Rita’s Italian Ice & Frozen Custard Grand Opening
The world’s largest Italian ice concept will celebrate the opening of its new shop in Carrollton (4213 N. Josey Lane) with sweet giveaways. The first 50 guests will receive a Rita’s gift bag with merch, and in select bags, a golden ticket good for a week’s worth of Italian ice or frozen custard. The Pennsylvania-based brand opened a North Richland Hills location in July, and locations in Farmers Branch and Flower Mound will follow later this year. The grand opening will take place at 12 noon.

Thursday, August 27

National Pork Chop Day at Perry’s Steakhouse & Grille
Perry’s enormous pecan-wood roasted pork chop has anchored the steakhouse’s menu since its early beginnings in Houston. Now the restaurant will celebrate the signature dish (in conjunction with National Pork Chop Day) with a four-course dinner. Highlights from the prix-fixe menu include skewers of pork chop “bites,” white bean pork chili, Perry’s famous 18-ounce pork chop, and orange vanilla cream cheesecake. The dinner is $44 and is available after 4 pm by request. Perry’s has locations in Dallas, Frisco, and Grapevine.

A Lucky Pairing: Chef’s Dinner with Suerte Tequila at Ollie’s Azul House
Suerte means “luck” in Spanish, and Ollie’s Azul House in Rowlett will toast to buena suerte during this four-course tequila pairing dinner featuring four expressions of Suerte Tequila. The menu includes shrimp aguachile with blanco tequila, charred octopus with still strength tequila, duck breast with mole negro with reposado tequila, and olive oil cake with anejo tequila. The dinner is $55 and will run from 7-9 pm.

Saturday, August 29

Lakewood Brewing 14th Anniversary
The Garland brewery will mark 14 years with a day-long anniversary bash. The free-to-attend, family-friendly event will feature live music, local vendors, food from the Lakewood kitchen, and lots of craft beer, including a special American barley wine called Lion’s Share XIV brewed just for the occasion. Guests can also sample a selection of anniversary beers from years past. The agenda also includes beer poking, a centuries-old technique that uses a heated brewing poker to caramelize sugars in the beer. Don’t miss vendors T-Rex Pickles and Married to Sugar who’ll bring specialty creations made using Lakewood beers. The party will run from 12-7 pm.

Monday, August 31

Mixology Mondays at The Parlor
The speakeasy-inspired lounge inside Sheraton Dallas will launch Mixology Mondays, an opportunity to learn the art of cocktail-making with a different signature drink featured each week. Participants will get to shake up classics like the Manhattan, Cosmopolitan, Sidecar, and Old Fashioned during the hour-long experience. Class is $30 (includes free parking) and begins at 5 pm.

food events

Greenville Ave News

Dallas steakhouse chef to open his own restaurant on Greenville Ave

Aubrey Murphy

Steak by Aubrey Murphy

An acclaimed Dallas chef is striking out on his own. Aubrey Murphy, who most recently was executive chef at SER Steak + Spirits, is opening his own restaurant on Greenville Avenue. Called Brute, it'll be a contemporary American spot located at 1802 Greenville Ave. #110, in the cute storefront previously occupied by Swizzle, the tiki bar which closed in 2025.

Murphy will partner with James La Mar, a hospitality professional and sommelier, who will oversee the front of the house. They're working on the menu and renovation of the space and hope to be open in November.

Murphy's resume includes hotels and high-end restaurants alongside chefs such as John Tesar and Dean Fearing. Prior to SER, the steakhouse at the Hilton Anatole where he served as chef for three years, he was culinary director at Trinity Groves, and also worked at Fearing's, Knife, Spoon Bar & Kitchen, and the Waldorf Astoria in Hawaii.

During his time at SER, he was part of the team that received the "Best Food and Beverage Team of the Year," and was also nominated for Chef of the Year in CultureMap's 2026 Tastemaker Awards.

Opening a smaller restaurant on Lower Greenville is a major shift, one that Murphy welcomes. Landing the Swizzle space, next door to Wabi House and on a prime block on Greenville Avenue, is the culmination of a lengthy search.

"I feel like a lot of restaurants are way too big, and this will be more personal," he says. "I've been trying to open a restaurant for two years, but finding the right location was key. This space is the right size and it has character. I didn't want a glass box."

Their vision is a neighborhood restaurant where the food is both creative yet approachable.

"James and I are channeling restaurants that deeply inspire us, the kind you'd find in places like Chicago, California, and east Austin, where you don't feel weird going once a month," he says.

Brute will feature a main dining room with a regular menu, plus a separate lounge area in front where diners can come in for small bites and cocktails. The cuisine will be based on their travels and personal experiences.

"The food I like to cook combines my Dallas roots with Asian, a little Tex-Mex, and my experience of having lived in Hawaii for five years, where they mix up Americana with Thai, Filipino, and Japanese," he says.

They'll print a fresh menu every day, depending on what's in season and available. Murphy is already lining up local purveyors, including eggs from a small farm north of Fort Worth, and beef from Longhill Wagyu in Luling.

The bar program will include craft cocktails, a thoughtful wine list, and lots of AF.

"So many wine lists seem to have the same usual suspects, but we'd like to be more intentional," he says. "We're also going to have a bomb cocktail program and take the non-alcoholic selection seriously."

The main dining room will also offer a special program called "Let Us Feed You," inspired by something Murphy has seen done in some restaurants in California.

"It's our take on a tasting menu, with highlights of rare and cool dishes or something we might have in limited supply," he says.

While there will not be a "signature dish," Murphy is taking on a bold challenge.

"I'm going to do my best to have the best chicken dish in the state," he says. "I see all these restaurants these days doing duck and none of them can do chicken. It feels like running before learning to walk. I've learned to appreciate the complexities of doing a chicken dish well that celebrates the bird."

As for the name Brute, it's meant to be a double entendre, which gives a nod to both their food and wine goals.

"It's a play on 'brut' dry wine, and also the idea of raw and direct, with the same energy as restaurants like Animal on the West Coast," he says.

chefs greenville-avenue openings

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Greenville Ave News

Dallas steakhouse chef to open his own restaurant on Greenville Ave