This Week in Gluttony

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

Find an anniversary special on gumbo this week at Rockfish Seafood Grill.

Rockfish Seafood Grill/Facebook

In this week's food events around Dallas, you can warm up with a tequila pairing dinner, winter reds wine tasting, or a low-country supper that will showcase flavors from Charleston. There are also anniversary specials this weekend at a local seafood chain that will be easy on the wallet.

Tuesday, January 23

Tequila Dinner at Chido Taco Lounge
It’s the first tequila dinner of the year at Chido Taco Lounge and this one will feature the brand El Tequileno, which dates back to 1959 and only recently became available in the US. The four-course dinner will include bacon-wrapped chili toreado, Caesar salad, Chido fried steak, and Roberto’s cheesecake. Each course will be paired with a different tequila. The dinner is $165 and begins at 7 pm.

Thursday, January 25

Rockfish 26th Anniversary Party
Dallas-based seafood chain will celebrate its 26th anniversary with specials January 25–28, including $3.26 cups of gumbo, $6.26 shrimp, cheese, jalapeno and bacon “Bombs,” $2.26 jalapeno hush puppies, $4 domestic beers, and $6 Day at the Lake cocktails made with coconut rum, amaretto, orange juice, and grenadine. Rockfish has locations in Arlington, Frisco, Lewisville, McKinney, Richardson, and Southlake.

Charity Fundraiser Dinner at Musume Dallas
Upscale Japanese restaurant will commemorate its sixth anniversary with a fundraiser dinner, with 100 percent of sales benefitting employees affected by the January 8 explosion at its Fort Worth location. Visit anytime between 6–10 pm.

A Lowcountry Supper at Trinity River Audubon Center
Experience a taste of Charleston right here in Dallas at this multi-course dinner event hosted by Explore Charleston and Garden & Gun magazine. North Carolina chef, author, and TV personality Vivian Howard will prepare dinner paired with Blade and Bow Kentucky Straight Bourbon Whiskey cocktails by mixologist Edward Crouse and wine by Femi Oyediran, both of Charleston. The evening will conclude with a performance by Charleston singer-songwriter Mel Washington. Dinner is $300 and will begin at 6 pm.

Winter Reds Flight Night at CiboDivino
Sip and learn at this Sylvan Thirty Italian Market during this interactive class. Guests will get four wines plus a sparkling wine welcome toast, chef-prepared gourmet bites, take-home tasting notes, and the opportunity to purchase the selected wines. This month’s class will feature CiboDivino chef Daniele Puleo’s favorite winter reds. The class is $55 and will begin at 6 pm.

John Duval Wine Dinner at Gorji
Mediterranean restaurant will host three-course dinner paired with John Duval Australian wines. (Wine enthusiasts may know Duval for his Penfold Grange cabernet sauvignon.) The dinner includes New Zealand venison loin strips with cognac sauce, pan seared sea scallops, and prime beef tenderloin with gorgonzola gnocchi. Dinner is $179 (gratuity included) and begins at 6:30 pm.

Cakebread Cellars 50th Anniversary Wine Dinner at Truluck’s Plano
Indulgent event will feature a unique assortment of Cakebread wines, including 2013 Napa cabernet sauvignon, 2013 Dancing Bear cabernet sauvignon, and more. Menu items include crab ravioli, duck leg confit terrine, coffee-blackstrap molasses braised short rib, and chocolate gianduja mousse dome. The dinner is $350, including tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm.

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Pizza News

Donatos Pizza totes its unique crust to new location in Flower Mound

dallas.culturemap.com

Donatos

A pizza chain with a quirky obsession on its crusts is coming to Flower Mound: Donatos Pizza, the franchise famous for spreading its toppings to the very edge of the pizza, will open a location at 1400 Long Prairie Rd. #160.

According to a release, it'll open on December 17.

Donatos Pizza was founded by Jim Grote in Ohio in 1963 from a single stand, and remains family-owned. Their signature is to place the toppings on their pizzas "edge to edge" — for clueless diners who do not like plain crust edges. (Come on, the crust is the best part.)

Their menu features more than a dozen varieties of pizza such as veggie, four cheese, and pepperoni with hot honey. Their signature crust is a thin-crust but they also offer thicker alternatives as well as a cauliflower crust. Pizzas come in a 7-inch individual and go all the way up to a 14-inch large. Prices range from $15 to $25.

Fans appreciate their better-than-average ingredients and describe it as more flavorful compared to other corporate pizza chains, with a crisp thin crust and generous toppings.

In addition to pizza, Donatos' menu includes oven-baked wings, sub sandwiches, including meatball and Italian cold cuts, plus appetizers and salads.

The Flower Mound location will be a family affair, owned by Lynne and Ralph Pence, whose son Travis will oversee day-to-day operations. The Pence family has deep connections to Donatos including the fact that Lynne's sister used to work for the company, while her brother-in-law still does.

"We're from Columbus, Ohio — it is where our kids grew up and where our family is—it also happens to be the hometown and birthplace of Donatos Pizza," Lynne says. "Our daughter in Oklahoma found out Donatos was coming to Edmond, where she lives, and called us. She was so excited that Donatos was finally coming down south and we wanted to be a part of it."

This is the second Donatos in the Dallas area: a location opened in Frisco in November — the first in Texas.

There are currently 470-plus locations in 28 states. That includes 175 stores plus nearly 300 non-traditional locations nationwide, including select Red Robin restaurants, sports, and entertainment venues.

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