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

This week in gluttony

The Douglas

Barbecue, tiki drinks, seafood, and white wine are all on the menu this week as restaurants embrace the summer season. There’s also opportunity to get the kids out of the house for a fancy afternoon tea, and a Saturday book signing event will come with barbecue from a famous pitmaster. Save room for new Tex-Mex dishes launching at a Snider Plaza restaurant for its first birthday celebration.

Tuesday, June 6

Sonoma Summer Wine Dinner at Carrabba’s Italian Grill
The Italian restaurant chain with locations in Dallas, Plano, and Hurst will welcome diners from all over DFW for a four-course summer wine dinner. Guests will get wines from well-known labels like La Crema, Mark West, Josh, and Kendall Jackson paired with crab and artichoke salad, linguine with crushed tomatoes and grilled chicken, Tuscan-grilled sirloin, and butter cake with berries. The dinner is $55 and begins at 6:30 pm.

Wednesday, June 7

The Douglas 1st Anniversary Party
The Snider Plaza bar and grill will celebrate its first birthday with a party, including the launch of Tex-Mex dishes. There’ll be live music by Ray Johnston, drink specials, and new menu items like smoked guacamole, queso, tacos al carbon with Wagyu skirt steak, and churros served with Mexican chocolate. The festivities kick off at 4 pm.

Thursday, June 8

Children’s Tea at the Dallas Arboretum
Bring the littles to an afternoon tea service geared just for them. The Arboretum’s Restaurant DeGolyer Tea Room will offer a multi-course, kid-friendly tea menu, including assorted sandwiches and sweet treats. The price is $42 for children 2-12, and $59 for adults. Reservations include parking and garden admission. The tea service will be offered on Thursday and Saturday at 2 pm.

Saturday, June 10

Aaron Franklin Barbecue and Book Signing at Loro Addison
The Asian smokehouse will host Loro co-founder and barbecue guru Aaron Franklin for a barbecue and book signing. Franklin will sell and sign copies of his latest book, Franklin Smoke, on the restaurant’s patio. He and his team will also prepare pulled pork and chopped brisket for purchase. The first 50 guests who buy a sandwich will get a free signed copy of the book. The event will run from 2-5 pm.

Dallas Tiki Week
A week of events offers a taste of the tropics without leaving North Texas. The annual celebration of tiki drinks and tropical vibes kicks off Saturday with a sip-and-shop at Savannah Hoffman Designs in Carrolton. Events through June 18 range from cocktail classes and tasting parties to a full-blown luau. Find the full schedule of events here.

Monday, June 12

Seafood & White Wine Dinner at Urban Crust
Kick off summer at this Plano dining destination with a light and lovely seafood dinner paired with four crisp white wines. Dinner is $59.90, plus tax and gratuity, and begins at 6:30 pm.

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Prominent Hill Country winery cracks open new tasting room in Fredericksburg

Winery news

One of the most prominent names in Hill Country wines has uncorked a new tasting room in Fredericksburg. On September 22, Grape Creek Vineyard’s owners, Brian and Jennifer Heath, cut the ribbon to their latest property, Invention Vineyards, at 4222 S. State Hwy. 16.

Heath Family Brands has used the name for some time, first as a vintage from the Grape Creek portfolio. A 2022 purchase of Slate Mill Wine Collective cleared the way for Invention to be born as its own estate label.

Under longtime winemaker Jason Eglert, Invention crafts mostly Texas blends. The line also includes several single-varietal wines, focusing on Old World grapes like Tempranillo, Mourvèdre, and Viognier.

The property echoes that approach. The tasting room is on the former 35-acre site of Pioneer Flour Mills founder Carl Hilmar Guenther’s original mill. The entrepreneur did business in Fredericksburg for eight years before volatile weather conditions prompted a move to San Antonio.

A handful of Guenther’s original stone buildings still stand near the entry to Invention, but new construction houses the brand’s tasting room and state-of-the-art production facility. Nodding to the original structures, the rustic-industrial facility utilizes weathered brick and a corrugated roof.

Though the business has been open during the build-out, the grand opening marked the first opportunity for guests to see the completed compound.

For hours, memberships, tastings, and more, visit the website.

Cidercade cider and games venue opens mega-facility in heart of Arlington

Cider News

Cider and games are coming to Arlington with the opening of Cidercade, a new entertainment venue opening at 500 E. Division St. in the heart of Arlington on September 29.

Cidercade has hundreds of arcade games, shuffleboard, pool tables, and more, all available for playing with a single admission fee, as well as dozens of drinks on tap. It's all ages during the day then turns 21+ at 8 pm.

Arlington is the fifth location in Texas, following existing Cidercades in Dallas, Fort Worth, Austin, and Houston, and is the largest yet with a huge space spanning 25,000-plus square feet.

It houses more than 300 retro and modern arcade games, pool tables, ping pong tables, shuffleboard courts (a Cidercade first), party rooms, and event spaces for groups of all sizes.

In a statement, co-founder and CEO Joel Malone says that with Arlington's reputation as an entertainment destination, he knew they had to build "something awesome."

"Cidercade Arlington is not only our largest location yet, but it includes a much larger variety of games and experiences," he says.

Cidercade customers pay an admission fee of $12 and get unlimited play on all the games and activities once inside. Cidercade also offers a $20 monthly membership that includes unlimited admissions as well as discounts on drinks and merch.

Beyond the games, multiple bars serve a big lineup of adult beverages on tap, all made by Bishop Cider, and soft drinks from soda machines with unlimited refills.

Customers are allowed to bring their own food or have it delivered from nearby restaurants.

In addition to the Arlington expansion, Bishop is also relocating the Dallas Cidercade to a new site near Love Field Airport, where it will be expanded dramatically to 79,000 square feet, nearly 10 times larger. It will feature concepts, games, and activities that aren’t offered anywhere else in Texas, and will open in 2024. The current location will remain open until then.

Malone and and his wife and partner Laura Malone initially founded Bishop Cider as a quaint 704-square-foot cider bar a decade ago. The company has since grown into a leader in beverage manufacturing and beverage experiences comprising four brands:

TexBev, a co-packer for carbonated soft drinks, juice, energy drinks, wine, beer, and RTDs.
Cidercade, the cider and game venue
Bishop Cider, the hard cider company
Wild Acre Brewing, a brewery and beer garden venue in Fort Worth that produces seasonal brews and year-round core beers like Texas Blonde, Juice Slinger IPA, and Sundance Wheat.

Dallas can now rent pickleball and tennis courts in people's backyards

PLAY BALL

Dallas-Fort Worth pickleball and tennis lovers can now play on courts that were previously inaccessible: in people's backyards.

The service is from Swimply, the online provider that has previously let homeowners rent out their private pools by the hour. They've now expanded their services to include courts.

Swimply says in a release that other backyard spaces for rent were the "logical next step" -- especially given the popularity of pickleball.

"Pickleball is a phenomenon and there aren't enough courts to meet demand," the release says."Tennis, likewise, has historically been an exclusive leisure activity where people pay upwards of $100 an hour at private clubs for court time."

In addition to tennis and pickleball, basketball courts will also be listed for rent on the site, beginning at $25 an hour. There are currently nine pickleball courts for rent in the DFW area and one tennis court, spanning from Allen to Aubrey to Mansfield to McKinney. (The DFW service has just started and will surely amass more options.)

These join 200 spaces in Austin, and 300-plus available across markets in Houston, New York, and Los Angeles.

Swimply founder and CEO Bunim Laskin says this new launch is a "game changer" for communities whose members want greater accessibility to recreational spaces.

"We're excited to offer this new opportunity for families and friends to have fun, exercise, and connect with each other in a safe, affordable, and convenient way," Laskin says. "Our mission has always been about democratizing access to exclusive spaces and creating positive social impact, and we believe that court rentals are a natural extension of that vision."

It won't stop there: Swimply is looking into expanding their recreational offerings to include backyards for events, music studios, and more.

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