The Week in Food Events

Steakhouse peek tops 10 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

Steak and tallow fries from Tallow Steakhouse.

FB Society

A Dallas-based restaurant group will debut their first Manhattan restaurant, and this week offers Dallasites a preview tasting of the menu. It's also Negroni Week, and bars are jumping on board to showcase the classic cocktail. More Oktoberfest food and fun is on the list, too.

Monday, September 22

Negroni Week at Bourbon & Banter
The Statler’s underground lounge will celebrate Negroni Week with a lineup of specialty cocktails priced at $20 with $1 from each benefiting Slow Food’s mission to foster a more equitable and sustainable world of food and beverage. Savor inventive takes on the classic, including Kingston Negroni, with Smith & Cross Jamaican Rum, Campari, and sweet vermouth; Eeyore’s Requiem with St. George Terroir Gin, Cynar, Fernet-Branca, blanc vermouth, & orange bitters; Polka Dot Negroni, with Tanqueray No. 10 Gin, Salers Gentian, and blanc vermouth; and Left Hand, made with Old Forester 100 Bourbon, Campari, sweet vermouth, and chocolate bitters. Negroni Week runs through Sunday.

Wednesday, September 24

Garrison Brothers Bourbon Dinner at SĒR Steak + Spirits
As part of the Hilton Anatole sky-high steakhouse’s Signature SĒR Series, Nancy Garrison of Garrison Brothers Distillery will lead guests through four courses paired with her namesake bourbons. Menu items include black truffle ravioli, crispy duck breast, Akaushi reserve steak, and sticky toffee flan. Dinner is $175 plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6 pm.

Thursday, September 25

Nando’s PERi-PERi Chicken Texas Food Truck Tour
South African restaurant concept (which has a location in Addison) known for its flame-grilled chicken is rolling out a Texas food truck tour with a two-day stop in Dallas. Visit The Sound at Cypress Waters on Thursday from 4-8 pm and White Rock Alehouse & Brew on Saturday from 3–6 pm for complimentary flame-grilled PERi-PERi chicken, chips, and sides. Guests are encouraged to bring non-perishable donations to benefit the North Texas Food Bank.

Oktoberfest Beer Dinner Featuring Martin House Brewing Company at Omni PGA Frisco Ice House
Raise a stein during this four-course pairing dinner featuring Oktoberfest flavors and Fort Worth’s Martin House Brewing Company. Sneak peeks of the menu reveal pork schnitzel, smoked German roulade, German potato salad, smoked apple and cabbage slaw, and multiple Martin House brews. Tickets (which are going fast) are $95, plus tax and a small service fee, and the event begins at 6:30 pm.

“Meat” the Martinis at Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steakhouse
This seven-course martini journey will feature savory and sweet martinis paired with chef-inspired bites, with highlights including a dirty martini dip tower, Dubai chocolate espressotini, and tarte au citron. The immersive experience is $170 and will take place at all Del Frisco’s locations, including Dallas and Plano, beginning at 6:30 pm.

Oktoberfest Beer Dinner at Lochland’s Irish Pub
Lake Highlands gastropub will celebrate Oktoberfest with a four-course German dinner paired with five authentic Oktoberfest beers. The menu includes Warsteiner German Pilsner, Erdinger Oktoberfest paired with a Bavarian soft pretzel, beer cheese spread, and mustard sauce, Hacker-Phchorr Oktoberfest with Kuby’s beer bratwurst and sauerkraut, Hofbräu Oktoberfestbier with pork schnitzel and German potato salad, and Paulaner Oktoberfest Bier with apple strudel. The dinner is $60 plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 7 pm.

Friday, September 26

Tallow Steakhouse Experience at The Ranch at Las Colinas
Dallas-based FB Society restaurant group (Haywire, Mexican Sugar, Whiskey Cake, Sixty Vines, Ida Claire) will debut Tallow Steakhouse in Manhattan next year – but Dallasites get a taste this weekend. Visit The Ranch at Las Colinas for a three-course menu from Tallow Steakhouse ahead of its 5th Avenue debut. The $49 menu includes Italian salad, steak frites with tallow fries with rosemary sage salt, and New York cheesecake with Camembert cheese and fig compote. Optional cocktails include The Dirty Martini with house-made brine, Fifth Fashioned, New York Sour, and Midnight in Manhattan. The menu will be available Friday and Saturday.

Negroni Week 5-Course Tasting Experience at Eataly Dallas
Italian gourmet destination will celebrate Negroni Week with a five-course pairing dinner inside its upper-level restaurant, Terra. Each course will be paired with a cocktail, and guests will get insights on the art of the Negroni and the legacy of Campari, an Italian liqueur and classic Negroni component. The tasting is $80 plus tax and service fees, and begins at 6 pm.

Saturday, September 27

Sandy Pickle Beer Olympics
The Village Dallas hosts this amusing, slightly boozy Olympics-style competition in which teams of two battle it out in beerfest games including beer pong, flip cup, and cornhole. Each duo will be assigned a different country. Costumes count: The more over-the-top, the better. Flags from your country, jerseys, wigs, face paint, full-on Olympic uniforms are all welcome. The $75 price, plus tax and a small fee, includes entry for two participants, three beers, and choice of cheeseburger, hot dog, or veggie burger per person. The games will run from 12–8 pm.

Monday, September 29

Mystic 7 Fundraiser at Georgie
North Texas native Wes Whitsell will bring his West Coast experience back to Texas as the new executive chef of Georgie. He’ll begin his homecoming with a family-style dinner benefiting the foundations of the Mystic 7, the seven Dallas-area girls lost in the Texas Hill Country flooding. The three-course dinner paired with wines is $250 and seating times start at 6 pm.

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Burger News

Fun family-owned Big Mike's Bar and Grill from TV star debuts in Plano

Tommy LeBeouf

Big burger from Big Mike's in Plano

A charming family-owned restaurant with TV star ties has debuted in Plano. Called Big Mike’s Bar and Grill, it's an elevated sports bar that just opened at 3200 Alma Dr., in a former Pancho's Mexican Buffet where it's serving tasty Angus burgers and beer-battered onion rings, hand-battered in-house.

Big Mike's is from husband-and-wife Mike Cancelmi and Jennie Marie; she gained fame as the star of the 2018 TLC show Mama Medium. The couple is from Rochester, New York, but fell in love with the Dallas area with their four sons after visiting a friend in 2021.

Their signature Big Mike's burger is a biggie: a half-pound patty with cheddar, bacon, lettuce, tomato, and a fried egg on a brioche bun, served with choice of hand-cut fries, tater tots, or sweet potato fries, for $18.

They bring their Northeast influence with dishes such as a Reuben sandwich with corned beef on marble rye, and their own version of poutine, the Canadian specialty, which they make with fries, cheese curds, brown gravy, and thick-cut crumbled bacon.

One dish reflects their hometown roots: Called the Trash Plate, it's inspired by the Garbage Plate, a sloppy comfort food dish that's the unofficial signature dish of the city of Rochester.

Big Mike's version combines macaroni salad, home fries, and choice of hot dogs from Rochester-based Zweigle’s (which they fly in from New York), or two smash burger patties with hot sauce, mustard, and onions.

Their menu also features a few entree items like NY strip steak, their priciest item at $35, served with garlic mashed potatoes and Brussels sprouts; and chicken-fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans for $24. Portions are abundant.

Big Mike's family: Mike and Jennie Marie and their four sons.Big Mike's

“I created the menu based on things I like to eat," Mike says. "Everything we make is made from scratch, the way I would do it if I was cooking for my friends."

They host weekend brunch on Saturday and Sunday until 2 pm with a cinnamon roll skillet, frittatas, avocado toast, and a hash version of the Garbage Plate with home fries, mac salad, onions, diced Zweigle's hot dogs, eggs, and meat hot sauce. There are mimosas — they have a full bar — and they also do a daily happy hour from 3-6 pm with appetizer specials and domestic beers for $3.50.

Mike's background as a former contractor can be seen in the restaurant's spiffy remodel. The space sits 270, with enough room to host events that include karaoke every Wednesday, live music during brunch, and a ticketed group psychic event where Jennie Marie draws from her TV show days, performing readings and mediumship, with food and drink.

The restaurant has a wonderful family-oriented atmosphere. Many of their employees are friends of their sons from school or ice hockey, giving the restaurant a comfortable, homey vibe.

“We try to visit every table — that personal touch is important to us," Jennie Marie says. "We want that hometown feel, get people what they want so they come back."

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