This week in gluttony

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

Women and whiskey pair for a female-friendly happy hour this week.

Haywire

Dust off the denim for a DIY upcycling happy hour this week. Also on the list: a sky-wine wine dinner benefiting the arts, a Shakespearean pub crawl, and a tasting event celebrating women in the culinary industry. Save room for bites and cocktails celebrating a renowned Japanese chef by week's end.

Tuesday, March 5

Women, Whiskey & Wranglers at Haywire
Upcycle your own denim with patches, paint, and rhinestones ($10 per person) during this artsy happy hour featuring specials on women-created whiskey cocktails. There'll be photo ops, permanent jewelry, and hat-making, too. The event itself is free to attend and will take place from 6-9 pm at Haywire Uptown on Tuesday, Haywire Plano on Wednesday, and at sister restaurant The Ranch at Las Colinas on Thursday.

Wednesday, March 6

Booker T. Flyinghorse Benefit Dinner at Mirador
The elegant restaurant on the fourth floor of Forty Five Ten will host a three-course dinner benefiting Booker T. Washington High School for the Performing and Visual Arts. Menu highlights include black bass crudo, roasted lamb, and olive oil cake. All courses will be paired with Nickel & Nickel wines. The dinner is $125, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6 pm. Valet parking is complimentary.

Duckhorn Wine Dinner at Le Meridien Dallas, The Stoneleigh
Five Duckhorn wines will be paired with four courses by Le Meridien chef Esayas Estifanos during this Wednesday night dinner. Standout menu items include lobster risotto with black truffle, pink salt prime strip, and maple-glazed duck breast. Dinner is $132, plus tax and service charge, and begins at 6 pm.

Thursday, March 7

Festa della Donna: An International Women's Day Celebration at Eataly
The second annual event, in partnership with the women-focused culinary organization Les Dames d'Escoffier, will feature more than 50 food and drinks stations along with live entertainment, demos, and seminars. Special guests will feature women in the world of food, including Paula Lambert (Mozzarella Company), Nikky Phinywatana (Asian Mint), and Amber Fletcher (Fletchers Original Corny Dogs). Tickets start at $95 for general admission at 7 pm, or pay $125 for VIP entry at 6 pm and special perks like premium bites and pours and a dedicated lounge.

Casa Noble Tequila Dinner at Cantina Laredo Frisco
There'll be four courses paired with Casa Noble tequila during this Mexico City-inspired dinner. Menu highlights include posole rojo, coffee and chipotle crusted carne asada, and chocolate and caramel flan. The $79.99 price, plus tax and gratuity, includes a Casa Noble tequila flight upon arrival, along with Casa Noble tequila cocktails paired with each course. Arrive by 7 pm for a reception before a seated start time of 7:30 pm.

Friday, March 8

Querceto di Castellina Winemaker Dinner at Sassetta
Sassetta at The Joule will host its first winemaker dinner featuring the restaurant’s staple Italian wine, Querceto di Castellina. The winery's founder Jacopo Di Battista will be on-hand to talk about the family-run, organic winery and agritourism in the Tuscany countryside. Highlights from the five-course menu include tomato braised meatballs with whipped ricotta, and olive oil cake with strawberry coulis and candied lemon preserves. The dinner is $140, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6 pm.

Art Pop-Up at Punch Bowl Social
Sweet Tooth Hotel is popping up at Punch Bowl Social in celebration of International Women’s Day. Dallas Artist Sam Lao and her "Stay Sweet" tufted mural will be on hand for meet-and-greet reception. The first 20 guests will receive a complimentary cocktail sponsored by Topo Chico. The event will run from 6:30-8:30 pm and admission is free.

Saturday, March 9

Shakespeare Dallas 2024 Pub Crawl
Sip and recite sonnets during this Shakespearian-themed pub crawl through Bishop Arts hosted by Shakespeare Dallas. Stops will include Bishop Exchange (500 N. Bishop Ave.) with check-in at 2 pm, followed by Wild Detective (314 W. Eighth Ave.) at 3 pm for a performance by Shakespeare Everywhere. Finish at Taco y Vino (213 W. Eighth Ave.) for trivia, a raffle, and prizes. Actors will perform scenes from Shakespeare plays at each location. Tickets are $20 ($15 for Shakespeare Dallas subscribers).

Taste of Nobu
In celebration of 30 years of the Nobu brand this year, chef Nobu Matsuhisa will visit select locations of the upscale Japanese restaurant including Dallas' outlet at The Crescent. Guests will partake in bites from attended chef stations paired with cocktails made with Nobu's QUI Tequila. Tickets are $275, plus tax, and the event will run 6:30-9 pm.

chefs wine cocktails news-you-can-eat

Spring Arrival

West Dallas gets new Spanish-Peruvian restaurant with big-name chef

Photo courtesy of Ulloa's

Paella will be on the menu.

A new restaurant with a high-profile culinary director will bring Spanish and Peruvian flavors to West Dallas: Called Ulloa’s, it is coming to 727 Fort Worth Ave., with a projected opening in March 2027.

The concept is from philanthropists Susan and Woodrow Gandy, who were previously investors in the historic Belmont Hotel just around the corner. They've teamed up with Dallas celebrity chef Kent Rathbun as culinary director, along with Christopher Tunnell as general manager to lead the front of the house.

Rathbun is a name Dallas diners know well, with a resume that includes The Mansion on Turtle Creek, the Landmark Restaurant at the historic Melrose Hotel, Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art, Abacus, Jasper's, Rathbun’s Blue Plate Kitchen, and more. He's won numerous awards and made multiple appearances on Food Network. He was most recently behind the launch of On The Rocks, an Italian bistro in Burleson.

Chef Kent Rathbun will be the culinary director of Ulloa's. Photo courtesy of Kent Rathbun

Tunnell’s background spans both culinary direction and front-of-house operations. He worked at Los Angeles hot spots Ketchup, Geisha House, and Les Deux, as well as the Mandalay Bay and The Mirage in Las Vegas, before moving to Dallas to open The Mexican, the upscale restaurant in the Design District.

“I am truly excited to partner with Chef Kent Rathbun, whose reputation is amazing — not only in the DFW Metroplex, but in the culinary world,” Tunnell says. “He has been with this project since the beginning, helping develop it; this will be a very chef-driven, culinary-forward restaurant.”

The team's vision for Ulloa’s is both culinary and urban, with hopes of anchoring the corridor and attracting other businesses to Fort Worth Avenue — a stretch connecting downtown Dallas with Oak Cliff that remains somewhat underdeveloped despite its panoramic skyline views.

The restaurant is named for Spanish explorer, astronomer, and scientist Antonio de Ulloa, who spent extensive time in the Mexican peninsula before becoming Louisiana’s first governor. During his travels, Ulloa documented a fogbow — a circular rainbow formed when sunlight meets mist that causes silhouettes standing between the sun and fog to appear ringed in light, a phenomenon known today as “Ulloa’s Rings.”

That vibrant phenomenon inspired both the restaurant's identity and logo. The concept promises "bold, worldly flavors in a welcoming neighborhood setting inspired by exploration and discovery,” the owners say.

Ulloa's Rendering of Ulloa's.Rendering courtesy of Ulloa's

While the menu remains in development, Tunnell describes the culinary direction as “Spanish soul with a Peruvian heart.” The kitchen will merge the coastal flavors of both traditions — ranging from paellas and ceviches to crafted cocktails and signature adaptations by Rathbun.

The 200-seat, two-story space will feature a downstairs dining room, a large bar, and an outdoor patio. Upstairs, plans call for a secondary bar, a private dining room, a patio, and an expansive balcony patio, offering views of the city's skyline and of the Margaret Hunt Hill and Margaret McDermott bridges.

While the upstairs space will be available for private events, the owners intend for it to operate primarily as an organic extension of the main restaurant. The buildout will include a guest elevator along with ample parking, including both self-parking and valet options.

The team says the restaurant will have have an aesthetic that's “warm, theatrical, generous, elegant but alive, with the energy of a great Spanish tapas bar and the soul of Peruvian hospitality.”

Ulloa’s plans to launch with dinner service first, followed by lunch and weekend brunch.

restaurants bars peruvian flavors west dallas oak cliff kent rathbun