This Week in Gluttony

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

Make plans for tea and shopping this Sunday at Hotel Swexan.

Hotel Swexan

Margaritas are on the menu this week as venues across town get set to celebrate National Margarita Day. This roundup includes two themed events: a cocktail class and a margarita challenge. Also on the list, a nationally recognized New Delhi bartender will visit Irving for a pop-up, two new afternoon teas, and a chili cook-off by week's end.

Thursday, February 22

National Margarita Day Battle at Joe Leo
Dallas Tex-Mex destination will host a margarita competition where guests get to judge. Visit all day to try the featured margaritas: passion fruit and hibiscus. Each will be made with Socorro blanco tequila and will be on special for $5. The margarita with the most votes by the end of the day will be added to Joe Leo's margarita menu in May.

Margaritas at The Westin: Cocktail Class
Westin Dallas Stonebriar Golf Resort & Spa in Frisco will host a margarita mixology class using Casamigos mezcal. The $70 ticket ($120 for couples, plus tax and service charge), includes a welcome mezcal prosecco; Tex-Mex food stations with tacos, enchiladas, fajitas, salad, queso, and guacamole; mariachi music; and a gift bag with a drink voucher for the Westin's B&B bar. The event begins at 6 pm.

Friday, February 23

Sidecar x Sanjh Pop-Up
The founder of an award-winning bar in New Delhi called Sidecar will visit Sanjh in Irving this weekend for a cocktail pairing experience. Yangdup Lama, a mixologist, bar owner, entrepreneur, and author in India, was named mixologist of the year in 2022 by Travel + Leisure Asia. Partake in his cocktails and a special menu of bites by Sanjh during the two-day pop-up, taking place Friday and Saturday from 6-9 pm on Sanjh's mezzanine level. Pricing is a la carte.

Saturday, February 24

Taste of Soul Soul Food Cook-Off
To be held at the Martin Luther King Jr. Community Center, this tasting event will feature local chefs serving up their best soul food creations. Admission is free and free samples will be available. The event will run from 11 am-3 pm.

Afternoon Tea at Mirador
Downtown restaurant known for its floor-to-ceiling expansive views has launched Saturday afternoon tea service featuring a three-course dim sum-inspired presentation. Start with bubbly and scones before moving to sweet and savory dishes like deviled eggs, tuna tartare, and passion fruit tart. Tickets are $89. Reservations are available from 11 am-3 pm through March. (Also make plans now for a special Easter Sunday tea service on March 31.)

Sunday, February 25

Chili Cook-Off: Battle of the Breweries at Truck Yard
Local breweries will prepare their best chili and guests get to vote on their favorite. Participating breweries include Deep Ellum Brewing Co., Community Beer Company, and Manhattan Project Brewing Co. Tickets are $15 and include chili samples and one beer from a brewery contestant. The cook-off will run from 12-3 pm.

Afternoon Tea at Hotel Swexan with LoveShack Fancy
Hotel Swexan is hosting a sip-and-shop pop-up on the last Sunday of the month through May with LoveShack Fancy, a New York-based lifestyle brand. Menu items include tea sandwiches like truffle yuzu lobster, cucumber & smoked salmon, and chicken pate a choux. Tickets are $200 and include tea plus a $100 shopping credit.

cocktails event-planner

Ice Cream News

Global gourmet ice cream chain debuts in U.S. with 2 Dallas-area shops

Dumont Ice Cream

An ice cream concept from India has made its Texas debut: Called Dumont Creamery & Cafe, it's a ice cream chain founded in Hyderabad that now has two locations in the Dallas area.

Their first location was Frisco, which opened at 1951 FM 423 at the end of 2023; a second location opened in late October in Coppell at 1535 S. Belt Line Rd. #160.

Dumont was founded in 1999 by brothers Vivek and Bhashkaar, and currently has 23 locations in Hyderabad, Bengaluru, and Vijayawada listed on their website.

Bringing the concept to Texas are local franchisees and friends Sai Sashank and Tarang Tirumala, who moved to the U.S. in 2005 to attend college.

Both have successful consulting careers, but craved a taste of home.

Ice cream is the centerpiece at Dumont with more than two dozen flavors, ranging from gourmet to classics to flavors boasting global influences: from Italian-inspired sorbet to a New Zealand-inspired honey ice cream called "hokey pokey."

There is vanilla, chocolate, and mint chocolate chip — but also unique options such as cake and jam, an ice cream with a vanilla base, bites of cake, and spiced jam; and kheer, a coconut ice cream studded with dried fruits and nuts — a nod to the kheer rice pudding that's one of India's favorite desserts.

A single scoop is $4. They have cups and a cute version of waffle cones: shorter and fatter than usual, to provide a greater ratio of ice cream-to-cone.

In addition to ice cream, they have a beverage program with coffee and espresso drinks such as lattes, plus boba tea. There are also special drinks like falooda — an exotic Indian milkshake with rose syrup and vermicelli — as well as limited-edition drinks like iced kheer, a cool beverage version of that same popular rice pudding dessert.

Both locations are spacious, bright, and clean, with pale green banquettes at Frisco, and pale blue chairs and tables at Coppell. Both feature an astronaut theme with statues and framed photos and cartoons on the wall. The Coppell location also has a mural dedicated to great moments in Coppell history.