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.

Skewer News

Vila Brazil to bring affordable Brazilian steakhouse to Cedar Hill

Photo courtesy of Vila Brazil

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A Brazilian steakhouse known for its low-for-steak prices is coming to Garland: Called Vila Brazil, it's part of a small local chain and will open in Cedar Hill, at 305 W. RM Rd. 1382 #316, in the former Crab & Bar space, in late 2025.

Vila Brazil was founded by restaurateur Roberto de Sa, who opened the first location in Irving in 2011, as a home-grown rendition of churrascaria-type restaurants such as Fogo de Chao. A second location opened in Garland in 2024.

According to co-owner Gabriel de Sa, the Cedar Hill location will feature the same menu, including rotating chef specials at the buffet.

Vila Brazil features a lower-cost version of churrascaria, a Brazilian style of serving cuts of grilled meat from giant skewers onto diners’ plates. They offer eight cuts of meat including picanha steak, sirloin, chicken, lamb, and pork.

There’s also a salad bar buffet featuring rice, salads, vegetables, and Brazilian-inspired dishes such as cheese bread rolls and cinnamon-grilled pineapple.

Weekday lunch is $25 and dinner is $40 daily. For the buffet only, it’s $18-$21.

They own other restaurants including VB's steakhouse in Arlington and Casa Pollastro, a Brazilian-Italian concept in North Dallas. But Gabriel says they take a different approach with Vila Brazil than some of the other more expensive churrascaria restaurants in town.

"Instead we offer homemade food at an affordable price with great quality and flavor,” he says. "Our guests on average visit our store three times a month — much more frequently than your typical churrascaria."

The Cedar Hill location will be fairly large, in a 6,528 square-foot space, with an approachable casual dining atmosphere.

“We choose the Cedar Hill community for the same reason we opened in Garland, to serve an underserved community,” Gabriel says. “A fusion between a fast casual buffet and a Brazilian Churrascaria Vila Brazil is accessible to all members of the community with high value.”

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