This week in gluttony

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

Christmas cocktails arrive early this year in downtown McKinney.

Facebook/Rye

This week gets cozy with fall cocktails, a baking class, a coffee class, and heated igloo-style bubbles that come with wine and warm fondue. And while Thanksgiving is next week (find dining-in and to-go lists here and here), we see our first glimpses of Christmas-themed events arriving now.

Tuesday, November 14

Santa’s Workshop Christmas Pop-Up at Rye
Christmas comes early to downtown McKinney thanks to a pop-up cocktail bar featuring nothing but holiday spirit. Located at 214 E. Louisiana St. in the former Rye McKinney location, Santa’s Workshop Christmas Pop-Up is now open offering Christmas movie-themed rooms for photo ops and festive cocktails. The menu runs deep with cheery choices like the White Russian-inspired Santa’s Pick Me Up, made with milk and cookies; and The Grinch, made with butterscotch Schnapps in a stocking shot glass. Hours are 5-10 pm Wednesdays-Thursdays, 12 pm-12 am Fridays-Saturdays, and 12- 10 pm Sundays. The pop-up will culminate on December 31 with a New Year’s Eve bash.

Thanksgiving Cocktail Dinner at Urban Rio
The Plano cantina and grill invites guests to forgo wine for cocktails during this four-course dinner. Four different fall-friendly cocktails will be paired with each dish. Dinner is $70 (price includes tax and gratuity) and begins at 6:30 pm.

Wednesday, November 15

Wild Game Dinner at SER Steak + Spirits
Hilton Anatole Dallas' sky-high steakhouse will host an inaugural five-course wild game dinner benefiting Communities Foundation of Texas. Exotic meats will be featured in each course, including a pheasant truffle terrine, bison tartare with duck egg, wild boar croquettes, and antelope Wellington. Fine wine will be paired with each dish. Tickets are $295, plus tax and gratuity, and the dinner begins at 6 pm.

Friendsgiving Bourbon Pairing at Carrabba’s Italian Grill
The Italian upscale comfort food chain will host a holiday dinner featuring bourbon and dishes perfect for a friendly gathering. The four-course menu includes spicy Palermo wings with gorgonzola cheese; creamy rigatoni with grilled chicken; bone-in veal steak with bourbon-bacon butter; and bourbon cinnamon panna cotta. Each course will be paired with a different bourbon. The dinner is $65 plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm. Carrabba’s has locations in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst.

Friday, November 17

Winter Wonderland Bubbles at Hotel Vin
The fan-favorite igloo-style bubbles are back in downtown Grapevine. The colorfully lit bubbles are situated on Hotel Vin’s outdoor WineYard next to the historic Grapevine Vintage Railroad. Each can seat up to six and come with après ski lodge décor, heaters, wine, and three-cheese fondue served with sourdough bread, cherry tomatoes, marble potatoes, asparagus, bacon lardons, pickles, and pretzel bites. Reservations are available in 90-minute increments, at 4 pm, 6 pm, and 8 pm ($250, plus tax and gratuity) Wednesday through Sunday starting November 17. Additional food and beverage from the hotel's restaurant Bacchus is available for a la carte ordering. Bonus: this year the bubbles will run clear through February 14.

Underground Comedy Dinner at Bourbon & Banter
The Statler hotel’s underground speakeasy will host its third installment of its comedy dinner series, this time featuring headliner Ku Engenti, who’s opened for big-name comedians like Paul Rodriguez and Ali Siddiq. The $80 ticket price, plus tax and gratuity, includes a multicourse dinner with Wagyu steak au poivre; grilled chicken with fried Brussels sprouts and wild mushroom hunter sauce; and black cherry chocolate crème brulée. Doors open at 6:30 pm, dinner is served at 7 pm, and the show starts at 7:30 pm.

Saturday, November 18

Basics of Pour Over Coffee at White Rhino Coffee Roastery
Learn the art of the perfect pour-over during this expert-led, hands-on class. Bean selection and grinding techniques will also be covered. Tickets are $25, plus tax and a small fee, and class will run from 10 am-12 pm.

Candor Baking Class: Pecans, Not Just for Pie
Learn the many ways to use pecans in a baked dish during this hands-on class hosted by Candor Baking. Participants will learn how to candy pecans and use them in pecan pie scones and brown butter pecan blondies. The $60 price includes pre-baked scones and blondies to take home, along with coffee to enjoy with your own class creations. Class takes place at Davis Street Espresso from 10 am-12 pm.

Monday, November 20

The Ranch’s Farm to Fork Tasting Event
The Ranch at Las Colinas will celebrate 15 years with its annual tasting event that features local farmers, ranchers, growers, and distillers. Visit for complimentary tastings, live music, and photo ops. Admission is free and the event will run from 5-7 pm.

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Benedict News

West End Dallas breakfast favorite Ellen's makes sudden comeback

Ellen's

Ellen's Southern Kitchen will return

A beloved breakfast spot in downtown Dallas is making a surprise comeback: Ellen's Southern Kitchen, the all-day restaurant concept founded in Dallas in 2012, is reopening its original location in downtown's West End.

According to founder Joe Groves, the restaurant, located at 1790 N. Record St., will open in June, following a "temporary" closure that lasted nearly two years.

The restaurant will reopen with the same hours, menu, and down-to-earth personality, serving breakfast, brunch, and Southern comfort food such as chicken-fried steak, fried catfish, meatloaf, shrimp & grits, and macaroni & cheese.

"We're still going to be the same — but better," Groves says. "We've kept the same management team, and we're thrilled that some of our waiters and bartenders and familiar faces are coming back. We're not taking anything for granted."

Groves is a voluble sort who disappeared from public view, due to landlord lawsuits that have since been resolved.

"There were two years of silence, we didn't know if we were going to be able to reopen or not," he says.

Named in honor of Groves' mother, Ellen's made its debut in 2012 with a special focus on breakfast — pre-dating the explosion of breakfast-and-brunch concepts that have opened across DFW in recent years.

Opening at time when the West End was on the upswing, Ellen's drew tourists, conventioneers, and downtown residents, with its menu of steak & eggs, migas, huevos rancheros, and Ellen's omelet with spinach, bacon, strawberries, mushrooms, and bleu cheese, served with toast and hash browns.

Signature dishes include pancake pot pie, a layered creation with pancakes, maple cream sausage gravy, bacon, sausage, hash browns, scrambled eggs, and cheddar cheese; and benedicts in eight options including Cajun shrimp benedict and crab cake benedict.

They were open for lunch and dinner hours as well, with a full bar. Groves' mischievous charm earned a following of its own, with stunts like his fearless 2018 run-in with the NRA in which he advocated for gun regulations during the organization's convention.

Bolstered by their success in the West End, Groves and his partners Andrew Chooljian and Russell Mertz went into what Groves calls "aggressive expansion mode," opening locations in Casa Linda and Allen, with plans for more. Casa Linda remains open; Allen closed in 2023. (They also opened Jack Ruby's, a restaurant-bar in the West End, which is thriving.)

But their momentum was derailed when one of their main financiers hit a wall. They closed the West End location temporarily, but the New York-based landlord at the time locked them out, spurring a domino effect with their other landlords, as well.

The building at 1701 N. Market St. where Ellen's resides has since been acquired by Five Smooth Stones, the development company owned by Owen Hannay, a longtime proponent of the neighborhood. He's working with Groves and company to get it back open.

"I've known Joe for a long time, and feel like Ellen's has always been such a great draw for the West End," Hannay says. "We're delighted that it's reopening and that we're able to get it going so quickly."

Once Groves and his staff were able to get back inside the beloved location, they found a time capsule — a romantic concept but one that also called for updates to the furniture, AC, and kitchen gear.

"After a couple years away, those holes in the upholstery became more obvious, and some of the kitchen equipment needed to be replaced," he says.

Ellen's reopening will restore breakfast and brunch to the West End, and Groves says they also hope it will bring them back to where they started.

"We have a big hole to dig out of — we want every vendor and individual we still owe to be fully paid," he says. "Reopening finally gives us hope for that."

"Ellen is my mom, this is our home location, and I've always felt a personal connection to the West End," he says. "I want the legacy of Ellen's to continue."

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