This Week in Gluttony

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

Take a class and learn to make your own tamales.

Photo courtesy of Latino Cultural Center

Recover from the Thanksgiving food coma with a visit to a vegan eatery. Then prepare for more holiday entertaining with a classes on making chocolate and tamales. This weekend, there'll be a chili cookoff and a cocktail competition.

Tuesday, November 28

Explore Plant-Based Eating at My Thai & Vegan
Explore the plant-based menu at this Las Colinas Thai restaurant with a group of like-minded folks. Menu items include fried coconut tofu, spring rolls, Thai mango wraps, and tofu satay. There will be prizes and an opportunity to share tips with the group. Beer and wine are available for purchase, as are non-vegan items. Hosts for the evening are Mollie Mossman CPA and Dr. Dän Lee Dimke, co-directors of Future-World Institute. The event is free, and starts at 6:30 pm. First 30 attendees get a $10 gift certificate good for items on the menu that evening. Pre-registration is required.

Wednesday, November 29

Holiday Chocolate Workshop at Ellie’s
Hall Arts Hotel restaurant will host a chocolate truffle class featuring chocolatier Zach Townsend of dallaschocolateclasses.com. The $75 per person price includes the class, wine, charcuterie, and valet parking. Class begins at 6:30 pm.

Friday December 1

Make Your Own Tamale Workshop
If you've ever wanted to learn how to make the perfect tamale, now is your chance. This is a time to not only have an amazing meal, but a time to spend time together talking and enjoying others' company. In this class you will learn how to prepare your own tamales at home. The class will share the ins and outs of creating wonderful masa, flavorful fillings and perfectly steamed tamales, covering two fillings and accompanying sauces. The class is $70, and takes place at the Culinary Community Kitchen, at 4401 N. Belt Line Rd. in Mesquite. 7-9 pm. Reserve online.

Friday, December 1-Sunday December 3

Alexander Mansion Holiday Home Tour & Bistro
Peek inside the historic Alexander Mansion at 4607 Ross Ave, with docent-led tours. Groups leave approximately every half hour, from 10 am-4 pm. $15. No reservations required for the tour. A separate bistro lunch catered by Chocolate Angel featuring chicken salad, pasta salad, pretzel salad, scones, and iced tea hosts one seating at 12 pm each day. $40, includes the brunch and tour. Reservation deadline for brunch is Monday, November 27.

Saturday, December 2

Two Mules Cantina Chili Cook-Off
First annual chili cook-off at Texican Court hotel by Valencia Hotel Group in Las Colinas features chili made by chefs on-site as well as from sister properties in Austin, College Station, and Lubbock. Get ready for an evening of tastings and toasts, with tokens you can use to vote for your favorite chili in the competition. It's from 5-7 pm, and tickets are $10, although they're doing some giveaways on Facebook.

Book Signing at Original Pancake House with Mark Brezinski
Addison restaurant is hosting a breakfast and book signing with Mark Brezinski, the veteran restaurateur who recently released Fork Fight!, a restaurant industry tell-all and memoir about his days founding concepts such as Pei Wei and Velvet Taco, a book that Simon & Schuster called "the most compelling, insightful and white-knuckled journey behind the restaurant curtain since Anthony Bourdain's Kitchen Confidential." The signing is from 10 am-12 noon.

Sunday, December 3

Repeal Day & Mixology Match-Up at Celestial Beerworks
Celebrate the end of Prohibition, called Repeal Day, with a cocktail competition. Guests can pay $15 to enter their best beverage made using at least one Celestial Beerworks ingredient. (A surprise variety will be provided on the day of the event.) Contestants should bring any other components needed, including mixers, fruit, liqueurs, and garnishes. The wining drink will be used to make an official Celestial Beerworks canned beverage, and the winner will get to collab with the Celestial team on name and label design. The celebration will run from 2–7 pm, and the competition will begin at 4:30 pm with a winner announced at 6:30 pm.

Hummus News

Revered family-owned Mediterranean restaurant debuts in North Dallas

Samantha Marie Photography

Zon Zon food spread

An upscale Mediterranean restaurant is coming to North Dallas from a trusted name: Called Zon Zon, it'll open at 5455 Belt Line Rd. #130, in the Work/Shop center, and it's from hospitality group Yela Concepts, led by Yaser Khalaf (Darna, Baboush), together with his son Mak Khalef in their first collaboration.

According to a release, it'll open on December 22.

Named for Mak's sister Zaina (“Zon Zon”), the restaurant will be open for lunch and dinner with a refined take on Mediterranean dining, rooted in tradition but with modern influences.

"We tried to merge what embodies Mediterranean cuisine with dishes that people in Dallas love," Mak says. "A lot of the dishes we have on menu are Mediterranean but have American and Texan influences."

Mezze favorites include hummus topped with green shatta and extra-virgin olive oil; baba ghanoush with charred eggplant, tahini, dukka, and pomegranate; crispy cauliflower with saffron labneh; tuna neya with tahini, mixed pickles, and Aleppo pepper; and kibbeh with ground lamb, onions, pine nuts, and dill labneh.

Salads include seared tuna salad with freekeh and golden beets; Tahini Caesar with tahini–Caesar dressing and za’atar croutons; and roasted beets with burrata, oranges, and pistachios.

Entrées include roasted chicken with garlic-batata and pomegranate jus; chicken shish kebab over saffron rice with almonds and raisins; hanger steak shawarma frites — a clever twist on steak frites with hand-cut fries; ZZ’s Wagyu cheeseburger with smoked provolone and house pickles; Prime ribeye with za’atar chimichurri and heirloom carrots; and apricot lamb couscous.

The beverage program complements the menu with a Mediterranean-focused wine list and creative cocktails such as the coffee-kissed Midnight Istanbul and ZZ’s Margarita, with burnt pineapple and ras el hanout.

Designed in collaboration with Dallas-based Coeval Studios, the restaurant features a 2,130-square-foot interior with an expansive 735-square-foot patio that seats 76, for a total occupancy near 100.

The restaurant boasts an open kitchen, while decorative finishes include modern woodwork, rich textures, and Middle Eastern-inspired details — stylish yet inviting, with a setting that feels like home.

“The inspiration behind Zon Zon came from wanting to create the kind of place we’ve always wished existed — a neighborhood Mediterranean spot that feels both familiar and exciting," says Yaser in a statement. "We wanted to create a comfortable space where guests can meet up with friends or neighbors on a regular basis."

Mak went to college to study biomedical engineering, but says he couldn't resist the lure of the restaurant world in which he grew up.

"Zon Zon is a reflection of everything we love about food," Mak says. "What makes this especially meaningful is building it with my dad — bringing our family’s story and passion to the table."

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