This week, I have some recommendations for discerning diners. Autumn (and spring, but it’s fall now, so…) is when some of the best ticketed dinners, pop-ups, and wine dinners happen. There are so many, however, that it can be tough to decide where to spend your money. For my DFW folks, here are a few to look at and consider making reservations for, listed in order of the date on which they will happen.
Thursday, October 16 | Chef Misti Norris and winemaker Giovanna Bagnasco | Saint Valentine | $250 per person plus tax and gratuity
It looks like there are still a few tickets available to this extremely limited seating wine tasting dinner with James Beard-recognized chef Misti Norris and winemaker Giovanna Bagnasco from the vineyard Agricola Brandini in Italy, which largely makes Barolo, a full-bodied red wine (if you love Cabernets, it is for you). Agricola Brandini utilizes organic farming and is one of a handful of woman-led vineyards in the country. All those things appear to align nicely with Norris’s ethos.
This is the first wine dinner that Saint Valentine, the bar in East Dallas where Norris has permanently installed her Rainbow Cat pop-up, has ever held. I’m told the seating will be outdoors on picnic tables, and folks close to the operation say Norris wants to do it simply to show people she can.
Tuesday, October 21 | High Society Dinner | Clifton Club | $94.80 per person plus tax (uh and the cost of Lyft because no one can drive home from this)
Can you consume 55 mg of THC in one evening and function the next day? What if that evening is a Tuesday? I cannot, but I am so intrigued by the High Society Dinner, which is apparently going to be a series at Clifton Club. The menu offers a mix of THC-infused dishes, some in sauces and some directly into the food, and drinks. I have a lot of questions about how this works, like how we're getting THC into Brussels sprouts and truffle fries, exactly? It ends with a THC-laced espresso martini and a THC brownie that houses 10 mg — so maybe take that home as a “for later.”
Appetizers at the April 2025 Cochon de Lait VI
Wednesday, October 22 | Cochon de Lait VII | Restaurant Beatrice | $100 per person (or $75 if you skip the whiskey pairings)
This is my hands-down favorite dinner of the year. Restaurant Beatrice holds its cochon de lait twice a year (usually), and the dinner centers around one animal. Chef Michell Carpenter gets a pig that is specially raised for this meal from her family’s ranch in Louisiana. The pig is smoked, and parts of it are the ingredients in every dish — it is meant to inspire a conversation/thoughts about sustainability and using an animal completely. I’ve been five times, I think, and it has been interesting to see the dishes change lightly from year to year, as the kitchen makes tweaks. This fall, Carpenter is doing a complete refresh of the dinner and trying out new preparations. My seat has been purchased for a minute, so let me know if you want to sit together.
Restaurant Beatrice always partners with a woman-owned alcohol brand for this dinner, and this fall it is Milam & Green Whiskey from Blanco, Texas, founded by Marsha Milam and Heather Green. The folks behind the whiskey are usually at the dinner and make their way around to all the tables to say hi, so ask them about what it takes to be a woman in the whiskey-fueled world.
Saturday, October 25 | Shef Food and Wine by chef Tiffany Derry | The Epic in Grand Prairie | $150 for the Grand Tasting or $275 for VIP access plus fees and taxes
The inaugural year of Shef Fest last year was one of the most satisfying experiences I’ve ever had at a food festival. Tiffany Derry curated a group of incredible chefs, most of whom were not from DFW and were part of various reality TV shows, and got them high-quality ingredients to work with. I ate a bite of jerkied teriyaki beef from chef Arnold Mynt. After I scarfed it up, he told me it was Rosewood Beef, some of the best meat in DFW. No wonder it was so damn good. The ticket price is high, but you are not getting scammed on the quality of the food; it is only the best. I made my way around and tried every dish until my stomach couldn’t take any more. No regrets.
I’ve listed the date of the big tasting festival, but Derry is hosting events from Thursday, the 24th, through the weekend. Attendees can pick a la carte, with some great low-cost options available still, including the opening reception, a whiskey and wine lecture followed by a tasting, and a wine experience with sommelier DLynn Proctor.
Tuesday, October 28 | Rare Champagne Dinner with Emilien Boutillat | Nuri Steakhouse | $295 per person
Interested in learning more about Champagne? This is the dinner. Emilien Boutillat, the chef de cave for Piper-Heidsieck (a 240-year-old institution and one of the most-awarded Champagne houses of the previous century) and Rare Champagne, will guide diners through a multi-course dinner with Champagne pairings. Piper-Heidsieck is also a B-corporation, which means it follows regulations around sustainability, equity, and representation — and Boutillat is more than capable of talking about the importance of those things in modern Champagne. Climate change has had a huge impact on the production of Champagne, and wine lovers should be aware of that as well as what to pair it with.