This week in gluttony

These are the 6 best food and drink events in Dallas this week

The Feast of the Seven Fishes special at Meddlesome Moth.

Raynor Brumfield

Let’s call this week “Feast of the Seven Fishes Week.” Multiple Dallas restaurants will celebrate the traditional Italian dinner – typically held on Christmas Eve. Why the number seven? Symbolic representations range from the seven days of creation to the seven days it took Mary and Joseph to reach Bethlehem. Regardless of religious background, everyone is welcome to enjoy various versions of the dinner at multiple eateries all week long.

Wednesday, December 21

Watercolor & Wine at Ellie’s
Learn the art of watercolor with a glass of wine in hand at the Hall Arts Hotel restaurant. This artist-led workshop will teach different techniques to create an original masterpiece based on a theme. The $75 ticket includes wine, light bites, paint supplies, and valet parking. Class will run from 6:30-8:30 pm.

Thursday, December 22

Feast of the Seven Fishes at Meddlesome Moth
An Italian-American celebration typically held on Christmas Eve, the tradition features many dishes of seafood and fish. Meddlesome Moth’s version will offer a Feast special ($59) of lobster with cognac cream, fried smelts, colossal shrimp, mussels, little neck clams, diver scallops, and black bass over a bed of linguini. The special will run Thursday through Saturday.

Feast of the Seven Fishes at Sassetta
This version of the Italian Christmas traditional dinner does indeed feature seven courses. Taking place at Sassetta inside The Joule, the dinner will offer scallop crudo, cioppino with mussels, clams, white fish, and calamari, two kinds of seafood pasta, branzino al forno, and cannoli with ricotta cream filling. The dinner is $130, plus tax and gratuity, and includes a cocktail upon arrival. Reservations are available both Friday and Saturday beginning at 5 pm.

Saturday, December 24

Feast of the Seven Fishes at Urban Crust
The Plano pizzeria and Italian eatery will feature three specialty courses to celebrate the Italian Christmas Eve tradition. Dinner is $49.90, plus tax and gratuity, and seating is first-come, first-serve beginning at 3 pm. Wine pairings will also be available.

Feast of the Seven Fishes at The Kimpton Pittman Hotel
The Deep Ellum hotel will host the traditional Italian Christmas Eve dinner inside Elm & Good, along with live acoustic music. The multicourse menu will include octopus carpaccio with fennel, grapefruit and pumpkin seeds, mussels in saffron broth, linguini with clams, shrimp cocktail, and much more. Dinner is $95, and reservations are available between 5-10 pm.

Christmas Eve & Christmas Day dining
Christmas will be a two-day dining extravaganza, with celebratory meals served from Christmas Eve through Christmas night. Check this list for restaurants serving brunches and dinners both days, along with some to-go options for at-home celebrations. Looking for restaurants to take out-of-town guests throughout the week? Find some great options here.

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Bakery news

Paris Baguette bakes up bread and croissants for new Dallas suburb

Photo courtesy of Paris Baguette

Croissants, breads, fruit-filled pastries, cream tarts.

International bakery-café Paris Baguette is bringing sweet things to Richardson, with the recent opening of a new location at 7615 Campbell Rd., Suite 106.

The Richardson restaurant (which technically comes up as North Dallas in the locations list, but is being called "Richardson") is headed by franchisees Sweta Goyal, Puneet Mittal, Mamta Singhal, and Rajneesh Singhal, two Dallas-based couples who grew up in India and turned their shared love for Paris Baguette into a five-unit development agreement, according to a release. The Richardson-area café is their first, with four more locations on the way.

“Paris Baguette was always a place our families loved to visit — it felt like a true neighborhood café,” Goyal says in the release. “Our goal is to bring that same warmth and sense of connection to the Richardson community and create a space where people can gather, relax, and enjoy fresh, high-quality baked goods every day.”

The Richardson café is the fast-growing brand’s 25th Texas. The first Dallas-Fort Worth location opened in Lewisville in 2019. They're quickly conquering every city in North Texas, from Mansfield to The Colony, from Rockwall to Flower Mound. Welcome to the fold, Richardson.

Paris Baguette is a chain known for its cakes, pastries, croissants, and breads, founded in Korea. The brand was founded in 1988 by Korean businessman Hur Young-in, and has locations in South Korea, Singapore, Vietnam, and China.

Their lineup includes classic French-style goods that sometimes incorporate Asian ingredients, such as buns stuffed with red-bean filling.

Many of their items are croissant-based, and more than a few are savory, filled with ingredients like sausage and crab croquettes. They also have doughnuts, cronuts, cream puffs, and cream-filled pastries of all kinds. People also rave about their cakes.

As is the case with this style of bakery, most of the pastries are self-serve; you load them onto a tray and head for the cashier.

“We’re on a mission to reestablish the neighborhood bakery café as the heart of the community and we’re excited to see Sweta, Puneet, Mamta, and Rajneesh bring this to life in their local trade area,” says Darren Tipton, CEO of Paris Baguette, in the release. “In our cafés, we like to say, ‘Happy to see you. Happier to serve you.’ And we know the Richardson team will wholeheartedly embrace this approach in their neighborhood.”

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