If you’re going to drink — and we know you are — you might as well do it for a good cause. Join the Young Friends of Ronald McDonald House of Dallas at Community Beer Co. for an evening that tempers philanthropy with just the right amount of bacchanalia. Enjoy plenty…
It is 11 a.m. on a Saturday, and Poor Richard’s Cafe is in full gear. Waitresses, armed with a tablet in one hand (they abandoned the pen-and-paper order taking method some time ago) and a coffee pot in the other, dash between tables with precision. Judging by the fact that…
The Grape’s latest iteration of their monthly wine dinner features special guest host John Keeton from Virtuoso Selections. We’re pretty sure the dinner, titled Come as You Are, doesn’t have anything to do with Kurt Cobain. Unless, that is, the grunge rocker was a fan of olive oil, legumes and…
At Pera Turkish Kitchen, the Sunday brunch buffet is a dazzling affair. Stepping foot through the front door, one is greeted by the sight of tables weighed down under great plates of fresh cheeses, spreads, jewel-colored jams and pastries shaped like pinwheels. There’s a steaming pot full of saffron-tinted soup,…
Deep Ellum venues will open their doors and pop some corks for the Mardi Gras edition of Wine Walk. This event is perfect for the shopper whose resveratrol levels could use a little pick-me-up. For $10 you get a Mardi Gras-themed collectible glass which will be topped off as you…
Rare is the brunch that is punctuated by the sounds of lives being gained and lost. Not real lives, of course — electronic ones. In the summer of 2016, a hybrid venture called Nerdvana opened shop in Frisco, positioning itself as a caffeine and gaming-lovers’ paradise. One component of this…
The first annual Unicorn Lake Ale Fest is just around the corner. Admission is free, but you’ll want to fork over $20 for 10, 3-ounce sample tickets and a Drunken Donkey Bottle Opener. Five breweries – Audacity, Armadillo Ale Works, Shannon, Deep Ellum and Rabbit Hole – will showcase their…
Pizza has always played a part in the morning food scene, but it’s been a supporting role, one relegated to the tin foil-wrapped shadows where all food is cold, leftover and consumed by those standing in front of open refrigerators. And while there will forever be a time and a…
There’s nothing like waking up to a nice dark cup of vanilla Ascension coffee. Truth be told, there is actually something better: Community’s Vanilla Ascension Coffee Porter. This dark and roasty Baltic porter lager is infused with Arabica coffee from Ascension and finished with Madagascar vanilla beans. Community is hailing…
Vegan food, like a sarong tied by a T-rex, doesn’t always get the best (w)rap. Critics assert that vegan diets are inadequate, and that those who adopt them are either confused about man’s role in the evolutionary food chain, sanctimonious anemics or some combination thereof. To the contrary, the Academy…
Barleywine, anyone? Flying Saucer Draught Emporium on The Lake is hosting Barleywine Week, which runs Jan. 12-15. Barleywine isn’t actually a wine at all, but rather a beer. It takes its name from wine because of its high alcohol content (usually in the neighborhood of 8 to 12 percent). Flying…
With each new year, Americans summon whatever shreds of mental energy that were not suckled dry by the previous year’s exploits in order to set resolutions. Chief among these resolutions, of course, is to be healthier. For you, this resolution might take the form of increased exercise, losing weight or…
Do your olfactory receptors rival those of bloodhounds? Do you practice swirling liquid in glasses? Are tennis balls and granny handbags part of your tasting identification lexicon? If so, you might want to check out III Forks’ Sommelier for a Day event. The first Wednesday of every month, the restaurant…
If you’re reading this, it is very likely that you have been charged with planning a New Year’s Eve gathering out on the town. The people who entrusted you with this responsibility are kind, wonderful people that you feel lucky enough to call your friends. It’s funny, then, how your…
Unleash your inner Dowager Countess of Grantham at The Dallas Arboretum. The arboretum is hosting a special three-course holiday tea from now through Jan. 3. Guests will enjoy a first course of roasted chestnut soup with cheese wafer, a second course of assorted tea sandwiches and a dessert course. To…
Grayson Social, the Southern-inspired restaurant located in downtown Dallas’ LTV Tower, stands in stark contrast to the surrounding landscape. Outside, the streets and buildings and even the sky, somehow, swirl together into a mass of gray. Stepping inside Grayson Social, the work-worn city scene falls away and is replaced by…
Join the Dallas Chop House for a testosterrific evening of steak, cigars and Glenfiddich Scotch whisky. The special tasting menu will include grilled flat iron, roasted strip loin and braised short rib (because meat). Tickets are $50 per person. What it be: Scotch + Cigars When it do: 6:30 to…
Since it opened shop in 2014, The Blind Butcher has won over critics and diners alike with house-made sausages, curated charcuterie and a poutine selection that sees a rotation of fatty, decadent meat toppings. A couple of weeks ago, executive chef Oliver Sitrin tucked four brunch items onto the menu. Brunch…
The holiday season is a time to be with family, to revisit favorite traditions and to make new ones. But perhaps more important, it is a time to consume festive alcoholic beverages. And what better way to mark the holiday season than with a mixology class at the Four Seasons?…
You know that noise corduroy pants make when you walk? As any good logophile will tell you, there’s actually a phrase to describe that very leg-fabric interaction: whistle britches. Southerners have also adopted the phrase to refer to folks who draw attention to themselves, e.g. “old Whistle Britches over there…
What takes 48 chef-hours to complete, tastes like Christmas and smells like Grandma’s house? Why it’s the Ritz-Carlton’s Frozen Winter Wonderland Castle, of course. Bear witness to this elaborate construction of gingerbread and icing at the grand unveiling, where guests will be treated to cider and cookies, the John Horn…
Here at the Observer, brunch is de rigueur. Every week, we bring you tales from the à la carte front line of Dallas’ bustling brunch scene. Brunch buffets, on the other hand, might as well be located on Mars, for we have spent the same amount of time exploring the…
