This week in gluttony

These are the 6 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

A popular barbecue joint will go Italian this week.

Oak'd

Lots of pairing dinners are on the schedule this week, including wine, whiskey, and local craft beer. There’s also an artistic way to enjoy happy hour at a local hotel and a kid’s cake decorating class with a bunny theme (Easter is less than two weeks away; here's help with dining plans). Lastly, make plans to eat a sub sandwich on Wednesday – 100 percent of all sales (not just profits) from a sub chain will go to a charity that fights kids’ cancer.

Tuesday, March 28

Cotarella Wine Dinner at OAK’D
In true Italian style, a four-course barbecue will be paired with Italian wines. The menu includes brisket and cheese cannelloni, smoked chicken parmesan on house-made garlic-tomato pasta, mini Wagyu sausage pizzas, and pear tarts with homemade vanilla ice cream. The dinner is $79, plus a small fee, and will run from 6:45-8:30 pm.

WC Barrel Select Pairing Dinner at Whiskey Cake
The Plano dining destination will share straight pours of barrel select favorite whiskeys during this five-course pairing dinner. The Southern-inspired menu includes smoky jalapeno Wagyu beef jerky, sage and wild mushroom bread pudding, roasted carrot hummus with fried garlic, chicken and dumplings, and pomegranate and hibiscus tart. Reservations are $100, plus tax and gratuity, and dinner begins at 7 pm.

Wednesday, March 29

Day of Giving at Jersey Mike’s Subs
Eat a sub and help a charity. On Wednesday, 100 percent of sales (not just profits) at all 71 DFW Jersey Mike’s Subs locations will be given to Wipe Out Kids’ Cancer. The fundraiser is part of the sub chain’s 13th Annual Month of Giving campaign, which originated in DFW and has raised more than $1.9 million for the charity. Find a list of DFW locations here.

Spring Beer Dinner at White Rock Alehouse & Brewery
The four-course beer pairing dinner will feature flavors of the season. On the menu: crawfish crostinis, spring salad, short ribs served Mexican-style, and fried strawberry shortcake. Each course will be paired with a different White Rock Alehouse beer. Arrive at 6:30 pm for a social beer before being seated for dinner at 7 pm. The cost is $50, plus a small fee.

Thursday, March 30

An Evening with Ebony Lewis at Elm & Good
The Kimpton Pittman Hotel restaurant will host Dallas artist Ebony Lewis for a live painting paired with cocktails. Visit between 6 and 8 pm to watch the artist create a piece that will be donated to the Deep Ellum Society. The artwork will be auctioned off later this year to benefit the Deep Ellum Community Center Artist Residency program. While there, sip an Old Fashioned made with Uncle Nearest whiskey. The Kimpton is donating $1 from every Uncle Nearest Old Fashioned sold to support Historically Black Colleges and Universities as part of the Old Fashioned Challenge through March.

Sunday, April 2

Kids in the Kitchen! Bunny Cake Class at Farmers Branch Historical Park
Kids ages 7 to 15 can register for this hands-on cake decorating class to be held inside the Dodson House at the Farmers Branch Historical Park. Participants will learn buttercream techniques and fondant accents and will get to take home their own multi-layer bunny cake. The class is $50 and will run from 1- 3 pm.

Jersey Mike's Subs Day of Giving wine dinner news-you-can-eat

Mango News

Upscale Indian fusion restaurant Mango Yard to open in Frisco

Courtesy

The mango

An Indian restaurant that promises to be much more is coming to Frisco: Called The Mango Yard, it's set to open in early 2026 at the booming intersection of University Drive and Coit Road on the border of Prosper, in a new center at 12275 University Dr. #100.

The restaurant is ambitious in concept and decor, featuring a menu with Indian classics such as biryani and lamb seekh kebabs, but that goes beyond with a more diverse offering, incorporating elements from other cuisines such as Italian, Asian, and Mediterranean.

The restaurant is from childhood friends Santosh Kota and Prem Kumar, who reconnected after Kota visited Kumar in Dallas. Kota is a veteran restaurateur who owns locations of the Dal Moro's Italian pasta chain; Kumar is a financial analyst and investor.

"During my visit to Dallas, I noticed there was great potential for a high-end, high-ambience, high-quality Indian restaurant that also could provide entertainment experiences," Kota says. "The restaurant scene back home in India has seen big changes, and we want to provide a taste of that in Dallas."

That means a menu that incorporates global and contemporary influences. One example is their flatbread featuring chicken tikka — one of India's most popular dishes consisting of chicken marinated in spiced yogurt and grilled — but served on a flatbread with onions, cheese, and coriander.

Some of their dishes will combine Indian and Italian elements such as alfredo-style rigatoni flavored with Indian spices; or chicken rigatoni, with Indian-spiced grilled chicken and chili flakes. Other dishes will feature Asian ingredients or techniques such as bao buns and Indo-Chinese Manchurian veggie bites with chili mayo.

Weekend brunch will lean heavily into fusion with dishes such as masala avocado croissant, masala omelet, gulab jamum French toast, and bone marrow uttapam, a gluten-free rice-batter pancake topped with mutton bone marrow broth.

The space, which seats 120 with 30 additional seats on the patio, will reflect their ambition with natural materials used to create an upscale, inviting lounge atmosphere, and a full bar with cocktails.

The restaurant name speaks not only to the strong role that mangoes play in India but also to the mango yards in South India, where people gather and relax.

"We want to offer a different experience with modern cuisine, ambience, and a high level of service," Kota says.

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