The Fairmont Hotel hosts the Duchman Family Winery 2010 White Wine Roadshow Thursday, 5 to 8 p.m.

This is a big deal in Texas wines because Duchman in Driftwood is working with three Italian grapes that show great promise in the state - pinot grigio, trebbiano and vermentino - and these will all be part of the release tasting. So, too, what's proving to be the warhorse Texas white, viognier.

The wines will be paired with Fairmont Executive Chef Andre Natera's appetizers. Yummy, matched bites, in other words. It's $30 a person; for reservations, contact Lisa Elliott at events@duchmanwines.com or call her at 512-858-1470 extension 107.

I don't usually just post a press release, but in this case, it states the information so clearly that I'm thinking, "Why rewrite?" (OK, I did lowercase the screaming caps, and I want to draw your attention to the pop-up farmers market that's buried toward the bottom of the release.) Here's the skinny, both on the cocktail competition (free, but RSVP) and the Chefs for Farmers event, where the winning cocktail will be served.

Join five of Dallas' top barmen on March 21 from 6 to 8 p.m. for a high-stakes cocktail competition at The Chesterfield in downtown Dallas. Eddie "Lucky" Campbell (pictured) of The Chesterfield, Jason Kosmas of Marquee, Kyle Hilla of Bolsa, Brad Hensarling of Fort Worth's The Usual and Abe Bedell of Oak will create a handcrafted cocktail for the occasion, which will be judged by those in attendance. The winning libation will be the signature drink featured at Chefs for Farmers' Mixin' It Up on the Boulevard May 6 in Lee Park.

"The Mix-off Battle" is a free event, but attendance is limited. RSVP is required by March 10 at im@chefsforfarmers.com. Light bites by Chesterfield executive chef Michael Ehlert provided. Complimentary valet parking available.

Flip to the jump for info on the main event.

If you want to attend the 2012 Buffalo Gap Wine & Food Summit, you best purchase your tickets now. Even though the event doesn't take place until April 20-22, the tickets go flying out the door in February, just after the go sale.

This year, the theme is Italian varieties, some of which are Texas' most promising grapes. The panels typically include California producers, Texas producers and guests from the international region, this time Italy. Damian Mandola is doing lunch on Saturday. Cheese whiz Laura Merlin is a big guest, too.

How to explain Buffalo Gap (named for the tiny town near Abilene)? It is by choice kept small. It doesn't grow from year to year. Stephan Pyles, long committed to the cause, does an outlandish dinner Friday night - but 160 and 160 only. You can attend one event, such as the dinner or the gala walk-around tasting under the stars (pictured), or seminars on wine grapes.

There is a commitment to education, a commitment to fun, and a commitment to keeping it real. To me, it's like a Jerry Jeff Walker vision of Texas blessed by the wine gods. I know I will be there. Check the website for ticket information.

Do you plan to dine out on Valentine's Day? If so, you should probably nail down a reservation soon. Like, maybe, now! If you seek someplace romantic, quiet enough for conversation and intimate for the occasion, those places tend to be small -- and will probably get booked quickly (if they're not already booked!).

I've been thinking about some good places to celebrate V-Day, and I've put together an incipient list, below. And GuideLive has been compiling a list of places doing something special.

Of course we'd love to know what you think. Please add to the list by letting us know where you're thinking of bringing your sweetheart. We'd also love to know whether you've been to any of the places mentioned on this list -- and how they measured up for V-Day.

Baboush. The West Village Moroccan-Lebanese place has exotic, romantic allure, sexy drinks and fab light bites. You'll leave feeling good.

The Cedars Social. A good spot if you're looking for a place that's not stuffy or formal, with great cocktails and food, not terribly expensive. Chef Kyle McClelland is offering a special menu that looks pretty compelling.

Campo Modern Country Bistro. The chic-yet-homey new restaurant in Oak Cliff is small enough that I can't imagine it will be a crazy scene. Chef Matt McCallister, who's in charge of the kitchen for now, is doing wonderful things there. For food-lover-type-lovers.

Last year's KRLD Restaurant Week raised a record sum for the North Texas Food Bank and Lena Pope Home. The total estimated take -- including restaurant and event promo totals, according to the press release, was $695,000. Participating restaurants donated $7 to one of the two charities for every $35 fixed-price meal they sold.

Dates for this year's KRLD Restaurant Week are August 13-19, with some restaurants extending the event for an extra week or two.

Will you be planning your summer vacation around Restaurant Week, in order to be in town for the event? If so, what's on your Restaurant Week wish list of restaurants?

Sign up now for the upcoming Dallas by Chocolate tours. Chocolate enthusiast Jeanine Stevens gathers 15 to 22 people on to a luxury bus, then sets out for a three-hour tour that includes wine-and-chocolate pairing on the ride and stops at chocolatiers and bakeries around town.

The upcoming tours include places such as CcoAndre Chocolatier and Dude, Sweet Chocolate in Oak Cliff, as well as the Dark Chocolate Bakery and the Chocolate Angel in far north Dallas, Society Bakery on Greenville and Scardello Artisan Cheese on Oak Lawn. Yes, for chocolate and cheese at the latter. But not all of these stops are on every tour.

Tours are scheduled from 1 to 4:15 p.m. on Feb. 5, 12, 19 and March 17. Cost is $25. Departure point unknown. For more information, go to www.DallasbyChocolate.com

Reservations may be required or recommended at some locations below.

1 DINING FOR A CAUSE French-style steakhouse Mignon offers a three-course dinner with a portion of the sales benefiting the Collin County Children's Advocacy Center. Menu options include brie-and-mushroom soup, mint-crusted rack of lamb, and banana, hazelnut and chocolate crêpes. Jan. 27-28 from 5 to 11 p.m., Jan. 29-31 from 5 to 10 p.m. at 4005 Preston Road, Suite 518, Plano. $54.95. 972-943-3372. mignonplano.com.

2 CHILI-PLATE-OOZA The Holy Grail Pub hosts a cook-off, pitting its four chili dishes against one another: seven bean with white cheddar; smoked brisket with manchego; Indian-spiced chicken with cream cheese; and ghost pepper chili. Jan. 28 from noon to 9 p.m. at 8240 Preston Road, Suite 150, Plano. $5 per cup, $14 for flight of all four, $8 per bowl; all served with bread and habañero butter. 972-377-6633. holygrailpub.com.

3 DRAG QUEEN BRUNCH Dish serves Sunday brunch with a twist -- a show with three drag queens. Three-course brunch is $25; same brunch with bottomless mimosas or Bloody Mary cocktails is $30. Jan. 29 with seatings at 11 and 11:30 a.m. and 1 and 1:30 p.m. at 4123 Cedar Springs Road, Dallas. 214-522-3474. dish-dallas.com.

4 NEW ENGLAND LOBSTER BAKE Sea Breeze Fish Market and Grill hosts a New England lobster bake for two, including two 1.5-pound lobsters, a pound of Prince Edward Island mussels, a dozen littleneck clams, red potatoes, corn and house salad. Jan. 29 from 11 a.m. to 8 p.m. at 4017 Preston Road, Suite 530, Plano. $98. 972-473- 2722. seabreezefish.com.

5 DINNER WITH WOLFGANG PUCK Celebrate the Chinese New Year and welcome the year of the dragon with chef Wolfgang Puck, who will be joining diners at his Reunion Tower restaurant. Menu includes lobster dumpling, applewood-
smoked Peking duck, Szechuan pepper-crusted filet, and golden pineapple sticky cake with black-pepper ice cream. Feb. 1 from 5:30 to 9:30 p.m. at Five Sixty, 300 Reunion Blvd., Dallas. $125, $175 with wine pairings. 214-741-5560. wolfgangpuck.com.

Compiled by Tyra Damm

POST YOUR EVENT ON GUIDELIVE.COM
Add your dining event listing (such as cooking classes and demos, wine dinners, wine tastings and culinary fundraisers) by logging in to GuideLive.com. (New users will be required to register, but it's free and fast.) We will consider online submissions for print listings in Guide. If you would like to submit information on happy hour specials and dining specials or deals, please email guide@dallasnews.com. Deadline is two weeks before publication. Information must include description of event, date, time, address, cost and a phone number for the public to call.

Valentine's Day will be here before you know it, and GuideLive.com has several options for local events and dinner plans you can make to celebrate. Here's a sampling of the interesting choices D-FW offers:

- Dine by candlelight at The Old Warsaw
- Have some wine and chocolate covered insects at Texas Discovery Gardens
- Pop the question at Ristorante Nicola and receive a complimentary dinner

And more!

Tell us in a comment where you love to celebrate a romantic dinner.

What I mostly think about, when I'm not thinking about food, is food. Specifically, Chinese food. More often than I would like to admit, I cannot shake the thought of the roast pork at First Chinese Barbecue in Plano, for instance. I can't sleep at night because I'm thinking of dumplings. Every winter when Chinese New Year approaches, it gets worse.

Do you share my affliction? If so, where do you plan to celebrate? I can't decide.

The Dallas area, especially north of LBJ, is a wonderland of Chinese cooking -- you'll find some terrific places in last year's the Best in DFW: Chinese Restaurants story. As far as I know, all the places except Fu Zhou Cuisine are still open. You can also eat extremely well at North China in Plano, which I discovered too late to include in the Best in DFW roundup.

For the deep-pocketed, there's an event coming up that sounds amazing: a Chinese New Year menu at Five Sixty. The fixed-price menu (5 courses plus amuses) is $125 per person, or $175 per person with wine pairings. What's on it? Wok-fired lobster dumplings with XO chile sauce; roasted loup de mer (aka branzino) with preserved lemon and black pepper sauce; applewood-smoked Peking duck with Chinese mustard and duck fried rice; Szechuan pepper-crusted filet with wok-fired longevity noodles; and golden pineapple sticky cake with black pepper ice cream and gold dusted chocolate talon.

The feast is available January 23 through February 3, and Wolfgang Puck will make an appearance at the dinner on February 1.

File photo of Yao Fuzi's lion's head meatballs

Reservations may be required or recommended at some locations below.

1 PANCAKES FOR PUGS The DFW Pug Rescue Club will host an all-you-can-eat pancake breakfast, with proceeds benefiting the care of rescued pugs (476 dogs were helped in 2011). Jan. 14 from 8 to 10 a.m. at Applebee's, 1901 N. Belt Line Road, Irving. $8 general admission, $5 for ages 10 and younger. 972-313-0081. dfwpugs.com.

2 OAK CLIFF ETHICURIANS Folks who are interested in good food and drink -- and in choosing and processing those items in a healthy, ethical way -- are invited to the first meeting of the Oak Cliff Ethicurians. Take a dish to share for the potluck lunch. Jan. 15 at noon at Unitarian Universalist Church of Oak Cliff, 3839 Kiest Blvd., Dallas. Free. 361-788-3442. oakcliffuu.org.

3 GALA DINNER Support the Orchestra of New Spain at its annual "Courcelle Dinner," featuring French food and live music. Black-tie attire is optional. Jan. 15 at 6 p.m. at L'Ancestral, 4514 Travis St., Dallas. $125. 214-750-1492. orchestraofnewspain.org.

4 OLD HICKORY STEAKHOUSE The restaurant at the Gaylord Texan resort hosts a winemaker dinner featuring Janet Trefethen of Trefethen Vineyards. Chef Joanne Bondy's menu includes coriander ahi tuna with grapefruit ponzi, along with lobster and couscous salad. Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at 1501 Gaylord Trail, Grapevine. $125. 817-778-2215. gaylordtexan.com.

5 TEXAS WINE DINNER Brian Christensen from Becker Vineyards helps lead a five-course dinner with wine pairings. Menu includes grilled portobello quesadilla, pork empanadas and seared skirt steak. Jan. 19 at 6:30 p.m. at WineStyles, 6100 Long Prairie Road, Flower Mound. $60. 972-874-9315. winestyles.net/flowermound.

Compiled by Tyra Damm

POST YOUR EVENT ON GUIDELIVE.COM
Add your dining event listing (such as cooking classes and demos, wine dinners, wine tastings and culinary fundraisers) by logging in to GuideLive.com. (New users will be required to register, but it's free and fast.) We will consider online submissions for print listings in Guide. If you would like to submit information on happy hour specials and dining specials or deals, please email guide@dallasnews.com. Deadline is two weeks before publication. Information must include description of event, date, time, address, cost and a phone number for the public to call.

Reservations may be required or recommended at some locations below.

1 ASIAN TAPAS Steel Restaurant and Lounge offers a frequently changing menu of small plates to share. Look for choices such as Thai calamari salad, shrimp and avocado tempura, and five- mushroom sauté. Tuesdays from 5:30 to 11 p.m. at 3180 Wellborn St., Dallas. $6-$12 per menu item. 214-219-9908. steeldallas.com.

2 FRIENDSHIP TEA The Dallas Arboretum is presenting its Friendship Tea menu in the Restaurant DeGolyer: tomato broth, assorted tea sandwiches and pastries, and hot tea. Through Feb. 26 with seatings at 11 a.m. and 2 p.m. at 8525 Garland Road, Dallas. $38, $48 with Champagne. 214-766-5433. dallasarboretum.org.

3 HALF-PRICE PIZZA Horne and Dekker offers build-your-own thin-crust pizza (choose sauce, cheese, protein and vegetables) for half-price on Thursdays from 5 to 10 p.m. at 2323 N. Henderson Ave., Suite 102, Dallas. Regular price $11 per pizza plus $1 per topping. 214-821-9333. horneanddekker.com.

4 PLATES MENU Capital Grille is offering a seasonal menu for lunch: Guests can choose one soup or salad, one sandwich and one side (three selections are available in each category). Winter options include Wagyu cheeseburger with fried egg, roasted-pepper soup, and roasted root vegetables. Menu promises complete meal in about 45 minutes. Beginning Jan. 9, Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 2:30 p.m. at 500 Crescent Court, Suite 135, Dallas, 214-303-0500; and at 7300 Dallas Parkway, Shops at Legacy, Plano, 972-398-2221. $18. thecapitalgrille.com.

5 ROYAL SIXTY Wendy Krispin has added dinner hours at her new restaurant, Royal Sixty, in the Design District. Menu selections include pork shank, chicken and waffles, brie and wild mushroom queso, Vietnamese chicken salad, and crêpe of the day. Lunch Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.; dinner Thursday through Saturday from 6 to 10 p.m. (and live music until 9) at 150 Turtle Creek Blvd., Suite 202, Dallas. Dinner entrees $11-$28.50. 214-741-2604. royalsixty.com.

Compiled by Tyra Damm

POST YOUR EVENT ON GUIDELIVE.COM

Add your dining event listing (such as cooking classes and demos, wine dinners, wine tastings and culinary fundraisers) by logging in to GuideLive.com. (New users will be required to register, but it's free and fast.) We will consider online submissions for print listings in Guide. If you would like to submit information on happy hour specials and dining specials or deals, please email guide@dallasnews.com. Deadline is two weeks before publication. Information must include description of event, date, time, address, cost and a phone number for the public to call.

The Dallas Farmers Market Friends and American Institute of Wine and Food D-FW have rustled up another stellar lineup of chefs for its winter Farmers Market Chefs Cooking Classes, starting Jan. 21. To wit:

Jan. 21: Tiffany Derry, Private Social
Theme: Top Chef Cooking at the Market
Jan. 28 Salvatore Gisellu, Urban Crust
Theme: Sexy Soups
Feb. 4: Pete Harrison, Dakota's
Theme: Winter Cooking from Dakota's
Feb. 11: Abraham Salum, Komali & Salum
Theme: Authentic Mexican Cuisine
Feb 18: Kent Rathbun, Abacus, Jasper's, Blue Plate Kitchen
Theme: Kent's Winter Cooking

The details: Classes are held 11:30 a.m. to 1 p.m. Saturdays in the Market Resource Center at the market. Classes are $25 advance, $30 at the door, with group and series discounts.

File 2011/Dallas Morning News
Tiffany Derry

1 BONNELL'S Three-course Texas dinner offers an appetizer sampling (including fried quail leg and smoke shrimp tostado), center-cut beef tenderloin filet and seared ahi tuna, and dessert sampling (including tres leches crème brûlée) with a glass of sparkling wine. Seatings from 5 to 11 p.m. at 4259 Bryant Irvin Road, Fort Worth. $85. 817-738-5489. bonnellstexas.com.

2 THE CEDARS SOCIAL Two options: a three-course menu (selections include Kobe beef carpaccio and air-chilled Muscovy duck) and a glass of Moët Imperial Champagne for $65; or a five-course menu (set dishes include seared Hudson Valley foie gras, butter-poached Maine lobster and chocolate Nutella bar with orange sorbet) and a glass of Ruinart Blanc de Blancs Champagne for $100. Seatings at 6, 8 and 10 p.m. at 1326 S. Lamar St., Dallas. 214-928-7700. thecedarssocial.com.

3 DISH The restaurant and lounge hosts guest DJ Jose G and offers chef specials and holiday cocktails in addition to its regular dinner menu. Seatings from 5 p.m. to midnight at 4123 Cedar Springs, Suite 110, Dallas. Entrees $11-$34. 214-522-3474. dish-dallas.com.

4 EL RANCHITO The Oak Cliff restaurant offers its celebrated mariachi band all night, regular menu until 11:30 p.m. and live music from Mexican rock band Alebrije from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. at 610 W. Jefferson Blvd., Dallas. $10 cover charge beginning at 10 p.m., $5 for children 12 and older. 214-946-4238. elranchito-dallas.com.

5 FAIRMONT DALLAS Black-tie affair features a four-course dinner from chef André Natera, wine pairings by sommelier Hunter Hammett and live music from Hunter Sullivan. 7:30 p.m. to 1 a.m. at 1717 N. Akard St., Dallas. $250. 214-720-5261. fairmont.com/dallas.

6 GRAPEVINE BAR Celebration includes seven drink tickets, a dinner buffet, dancing and a midnight Champagne toast. 8 p.m. to 1 a.m. at 3902 Maple Ave., Dallas. $65 in advance, $80 at the door if available. 214-522-8466. grapevinebar.com.

7 HOTEL INTERCONTINENTAL DALLAS Q de Cheval offers a four-course meal, including Bandera quail with ancho-chipotle honey, roasted butternut squash cappuccino, and a choice among three entrees (roasted tenderloin of beef, sautéed Dover sole, herb-crusted rack of lamb). 7 p.m. at 15201 Dallas Parkway, Addison. $65. Stay for live music, dancing and a Champagne toast in the hotel's Crystal Ballroom, beginning at 8 p.m., for an additional $65. 972-386-6000. www.intercontinental.com/dallas.

8 MIGNON Three-course menu includes choices such as lump crab cake, shrimp cocktail, seared Maine diver scallops, roasted Chilean sea bass, and cinnamon and white chocolate crème brûlée. 4:30 to 11 p.m. at 4005 Preston Road, Suite 518, Plano. $69.95. 972-943-3372. mignonplano.com.

9 NANA Three options for the night: five-course dinner with seatings from 5:30 to 8:30 p.m. for $95; buffet in the bar with a glass of Champagne, dancing and balloon drop from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. for $95; or eight-course dinner, bottle of Moët Champagne, dancing and balloon drop from 9 p.m. to 2 a.m. for $195. At the Hilton Anatole, 2201 Stemmons Freeway, Dallas. 214-761-7470. nanarestaurant.com.

10 NOSH EURO BISTRO Four-course menu offerings include ahi tuna tartare, rabbit and Maine lobster fricassee, and espresso-braised short ribs. Seatings at 6, 7:30 and 9 p.m. at 4216 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. $99; includes glass of Champagne. 214-528-9400. nosheurobistro.com.

11 RATHBUN'S BLUE PLATE KITCHEN Four-course dinner offers choices such as polenta-crusted fried green tomatoes, braised beef short-rib soup, smoked pork chop with foie gras cornbread stuffing, and pan-seared red snapper with crab dumplings and soba noodles. 5 to 6:30 p.m. ($55) and 7 to 11 p.m. ($75) at 6130 Luther Lane, Dallas. 214-890-1103. kentrathbun.com/blueplate/dallas.

12 ROHST KOREAN MARINADE GRILL Four-course dinner offers dishes including seared tuna salad, Korean barbecue meatballs, and spinach shrimp rolls. Evening also includes a Champagne toast and live music. Seatings at 6:30 and 8:30 p.m. at 2817 Greenville Ave., Dallas. $49. 214-823-8730. rohst.com.

13 SAMAR Four-course meal features flavors from India, Spain and the eastern Mediterranean; belly dancers will perform every hour. Seatings from 6 to 6:45 p.m., 7:45 to 8:30 p.m., and 10 to 10:30 p.m. at 2100 Ross Ave., Dallas. $60, $90 with wine pairings. 214-922-9922. samarrestaurant.com.

14 VILLAGE MARQUEE GRILL AND BAR In the downstairs dining room, patrons can choose a nine-course dinner with wine pairings and a glass of Dom Pérignon for $295; seatings at 7 and 9 p.m. Or choose upstairs for open bar and food and dessert stations, dancing and party favors for $250; from 8:30 p.m. to 2 a.m. At 33 Highland Park Village, Highland Park. 214-522-6035. marqueegrill.com.

15 ZANATA Special menu offers choices for three courses, including Maine lobster bisque, oven-roasted Texas redfish with shell pea succotash, grilled quail breast and vanilla panna cotta. Seatings at 5:30, 7:30 and 9:30 p.m. at 1022 E. 15th St., Plano. $50, wine pairings $15. 972-422-9999. zanatas.com.

Compiled by Tyra Damm

POST YOUR EVENT ON GUIDELIVE.COM

Add your dining event listing (such as cooking classes and demos, wine dinners, wine tastings and culinary fundraisers) by logging in to GuideLive.com. (New users will be required to register, but it's free and fast.) We will consider online submissions for print listings in Guide. If you would like to submit information on happy hour specials and dining specials or deals, please email guide@dallasnews.com. Deadline is two weeks before publication. Information must include description of event, date, time, address, cost and a phone number for the public to call.

Reservations required at most locations below.

CHRISTMAS EVE & CHRISTMAS DAY

1 ANDIAMO ITALIAN GRILL The restaurant offers its regular dinner menu on Christmas Eve from 5 to 10:30 p.m. at 4151 Belt Line Road, Addison. Entrees $13.95-$28.95. 972-233-1515. andiamogrill.com.

2 BAILEY'S PRIME PLUS Four-course menu offers dishes including bacon-wrapped shrimp, prime rib with mashed potato and asparagus, and salted caramel apple pie. Christmas Eve from 4 to 11 p.m. at Dallas, Fairview and Fort Worth locations. 817-870-1100. $64, $12 for menu for ages 12 and younger. baileysprimeplus.com.

3 BIJOUX The Inwood Village restaurant presents a three-course menu, with options including cauliflower soup, beef tenderloin filet and flourless chocolate cake. Christmas Eve from 4 to 10 p.m. at 5450 W. Lovers Lane, Dallas. $75, wine pairings $45. 214-350-6100. bijouxrestaurant.com.

4 CANARY BY GORJI Three-course dinner offers field green salad; turkey or pork chop with dressing, potatoes and vegetables; and pumpkin or pecan pie. Christmas Eve from 5 to 10:30 p.m. and Christmas Day from 5 to 10:30 p.m. at 5100 Belt Line Road, Dallas. $30. 972-503-7080. canarybygorgi.com.

5 CRAFT Fixed-price, four-course menu with options such as mussels and tarragon; quail and pecan; and apple custard tart. Christmas Eve from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and Christmas Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the W Hotel, 2440 Victory Park Lane, Dallas. $95, $45 for ages 6-12, free for ages 5 and younger. 214-397-4111.

To my knowledge, Campo's Matt McCallister is the only area chef participating in the Total Catch program which was profiled last quarter in Edible Dallas and Forth Worth. I wrote about the story and concept in a previous post.

Basically, the cool and practical green program works to keep and sell perfectly good, edible fish that is part of the bycatch when Gulf fishermen go after specific species, such as red snapper. The bycatch is usually thrown away.

TJ's Fresh Seafood Market & Catering is the only participating area retailer, offering a grab-bag of bycatch from time to time (Saturdays, mostly; call ahead).

McCallister will create a six-course Total Catch dinner on Jan. 24 at Campo, using bycatch. Cost is $60 a person, add $35 if you'd like wines, too. Seating is limited to 50.

"I have no idea what kind of fish I will be seeing yet," wrote Matt in an e-mail. "I told him [the Louisiana purveyor] I like a challenge and I like to challenge diners."

I had a great experience with triggerfish purchased from TJ's and enthused about it here. More details as they develop.

Reservations are required or recommended at most locations below. For more listings, visit GuideLive.com.

1 CANARY BY GORJI Three-course dinner offers field-green salad; turkey or pork chop with dressing, potatoes and vegetables; and pumpkin or pecan pie. Christmas Eve from 5 to 10:30 p.m., and Christmas Day from 5 to 10:30 p.m. at 5100 Belt Line Road, Suite 402, Dallas. $30. 972-503-7080. www.canarybygorgi.com.

2 CRAFT Fixed-price, four-course menu with options such as mussels and tarragon; chestnut tortellini and black truffle; quail and pecan; sirloin and bone marrow; kale and dates; and apple custard tart. Christmas Eve from 5:30 to 10 p.m. and Christmas Day from 11 a.m. to 7 p.m. at the W Hotel, 2440 Victory Park Lane, Dallas. $95, $45 for ages 6-12, free for ages 5 and younger. 214-397-4111. www.craftdallas.com.

3 FEARING'S Three-course dinner offers choices such as cider-glazed quail on roasted apples; halibut on cornbread-sage pan stuffing; mesquite-grilled coriander lamb chops; and double chocolate mint crunch cake with peppermint candy. Go home with a box of cookies for Santa. Christmas Eve from 5 to 10 p.m. at the Ritz-Carlton, 2121 McKinney Ave., Dallas. $100, $35 for ages 12 and younger. 214-922-4848. www.fearingsrestaurant.com.

4 FERRARI'S ITALIAN VILLA The restaurant offers a special: lamb chops with pesto sauce, fregula, cherry tomatoes and Parmigiano-Reggiano plus a glass of house wine. Christmas Eve from 5 to 10 p.m. at 14841 Midway Road, Addison, 972-980-9898, and 1200 William D. Tate, Grapevine, 817-251-2525. $28 (regular menu also available). www.ferrarisrestaurant.com.

5 GAYLORD TEXAN Buffet brunch includes a festive spread of omelets, carving stations and more, with seating in the Texas Ballroom, featuring ice sculptures and live entertainment. Christmas Day from 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. at 1501 Gaylord Trail, Grapevine. $68, $27 for ages 4-12, free for ages 3 and younger. 817-722-9024. www.gaylordtexan.com.

6 HUMPERDINKS Feast includes turkey, stuffing, gravy, mashed potatoes, green beans, yams, cranberry sauce and pie. Christmas Eve from 11 a.m. to midnight and Christmas Day from 10 a.m. to midnight. $17.99, $9.99 for ages 6 to 12, free for ages 5 and younger. (Regular menu also available.) 6050 Greenville Ave. at Southwestern, Dallas, 214-368-6597; 3820 Belt Line Road at Marsh Lane, Addison, 972-484-3051; 1601 N. Central Expressway, Richardson, 972-690-4867; 700 Six Flags Drive, Arlington, 817-640-8553; 2208 W. Northwest Highway at Loop 12, Dallas, 214-358-4159. www.humperdinks.com.

7 MIGNON French-style steakhouse offers a three-course meal, with options including lump crab cake; lobster bisque; pan-roasted Atlantic salmon; mint-crusted rack of lamb; and white chocolate and Grand Marnier bread pudding. Christmas Eve from 4:30 to 10 p.m. and Christmas Day from 11 a.m. to 9 p.m. at 4005 Preston Road, Suite 518, Plano. $59.95. 972-943-3372. www.mignonplano.com.

8 MORTON'S THE STEAKHOUSE Dining room and bar offer full-service menu. Reservations required for the dining room; bar is first-come, first-served. Christmas Eve from 5 to 10 p.m. at 2222 McKinney Ave. at Pearl Street, Dallas. Entrees $38-$53. 214-741-2277. www.mortons.com/dallas.

9 OPIO Buffet brunch includes omelet station, pastries, ham, turkey, bourbon-glazed salmon, desserts and Champagne. Christmas Day from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. at Hilton Park Cities, 5954 Luther Lane, Dallas. $44.95, $20 for ages 6-12, free for ages 5 and younger. 214-368-0400.

10 Y.O. RANCH STEAKHOUSE The restaurant will offer its regular menu plus some wild game and fresh-seafood specials. Christmas Eve from 5 to 9 p.m. at 702 Ross Ave., Dallas. Entrees $23-$47. 214-744-3287. www.yoranchsteakhouse.com.

Compiled by Tyra Damm

POST YOUR EVENT ON GUIDELIVE.COM

Add your dining event listing (such as cooking classes and demos, wine dinners, wine tastings and culinary fundraisers) by logging in to GuideLive.com. (New users will be required to register, but it's free and fast.) We will consider online submissions for print listings in Guide. If you would like to submit information on happy hour specials and dining specials or deals, please email guide@dallasnews.com. Deadline is two weeks before publication. Information must include description of event, date, time, address, cost and a phone number for the public to call.

Meet Marc Kuehl, cheesemaker at Brazos Valley Cheese, at Sigel's in Addison from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. Saturday. He'll have some of his award-winning cheeses for sampling.

Brazos Valley Cheese is part of the Brazos de Dios Community in Waco. I like the way the Houston Dairymaids website explains it:

"Marc.. [is a member] of the Brazos de Dios Community, a group of about 1,000 people who practice traditional farming and craft on 500 acres along the Brazos River near Waco. Although they have cars, cell phones, and other modern conveniences, they most value efforts to make things slowly, by hand, and in tune with the natural environment. As a result, they are experts in carpentry, farming, metalwork, pottery, and weaving."

And cheese-making. Kuehl will have on hand to taste: horseradish-and-pecan cheddar, roasted garlic montasio, raw milk muenster, raw milk gouda and raw milk Swiss.

The cheese-tasting overlaps with Jami Fleming's pie and dessert wine tasting from 1 to 3 p.m. She owns The Plate & Cork Catering.

Reservations may be required or recommended at some locations below.

1 12 DAYS OF TAMALES Urban Taco is celebrating the season with 12 Days of Tamales -- a different special flavor each day. A taste: Dec. 12 is pollo con mole, Dec. 13 chicken tinga, Dec. 14 rajas con queso. Dec. 12-23 from 11 a.m. to 10 p.m. at 3411 McKinney Ave., Dallas (214-922-7080), or at Mockingbird Station, 5331 E. Mockingbird Lane, Suite 125, Dallas (214-823-4723). $9.75 for three tamales and choice of two sides. www.urban-taco.com.

2 CHRISTMAS BEERS Urban Crust hosts a Christmas beer-tasting event, featuring five seasonal beers paired with five dishes. Dec. 12 at 6:30 p.m. at 1006 E. 15th St., Plano. $39.90 per person. 972-509-1400. www.urbancrust.com.

3 HAPPY BIRTHDAY, BURGER HOUSE The University Park stalwart celebrates its 60th anniversary with 60-cent cheeseburgers, giveaways, contests and a milkshake toast from Mayor W. Richard Davis. Dec. 13 beginning at 11 a.m. (open until 9 p.m.) at 6913 Hillcrest Ave., Dallas. 214-361-0370. www.burgerhouse.com.

4 TAMALES FOR TAKEOUT Just in time for holiday entertaining, Blue Goose Cantina is offering chicken or pork tamales for takeout. Through Dec. 24. $20 per dozen. All five locations: Addison, Dallas, Frisco, Highland Village and Plano. www.bluegoosecantina.com.

5 LUNCH AT AQUADORA One of North Dallas' newest restaurants has recently added lunch service. Entrees include Shiner Bock-braised short ribs and a Texas gulf oyster po' boy. Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m. at 5301 Alpha Road, Dallas. Entrees $10-$24. 972-201-9680. www.aquadoradallas.com.

Compiled by Tyra Damm

POST YOUR EVENT ON GUIDELIVE.COM
Add your dining event listing (such as cooking classes and demos, wine dinners, wine tastings and culinary fundraisers) by logging in to GuideLive.com. (New users will be required to register, but it's free and fast.) We will consider online submissions for print listings in Guide. If you would like to submit information on happy hour specials and dining specials or deals, please email guide@dallasnews.com. Deadline is two weeks before publication. Information must include description of event, date, time, address, cost and a phone number for the public to call.

And now for something a little different: Fairmont Hotel executive chef Andre Natera and executive sous chef Paul Peddle (Rising Star Chef winner/white wine in 2011) will have their own in-house competition dinner on Friday.

At the beginning of the night, the chefs will get a mystery ingredient to incorporate into their dishes, and a panel of judges will evaluate the dishes for taste, presentation, originality and use of the ingredient. These guys have a lot of fun in the kitchen, so this ought to be entertaining.

The menu's on the jump, and it will probably change slightly to accommodate the new ingredient.

The cocktail reception starts at 7 p.m. Friday with dinner at 7:30 p.m. in the Venetian Room. Cost is $100. Call Elena Duke at 214-720-5211 for reservations.

File/staff photo
Andre Natera in the Fairmont's rooftop garden

We've got a fine-sounding farm-to-fork dinner coming up Sunday. Chef Andrea Blair of Wine Down Bistro in Burleson cooks for the event at Times Ten Cellars in Fort Worth. Festivities start at 5 p.m.

Local goods on the table include grass-fed beef from Teel's Custom Meats in Weatherford, vegetables from Texas Prairie Farms in Godley and bread and dessert from Artisan Baking Co. in Fort Worth.

How's this for menu highlights: radishes with butter-and-salt gougères, Texas Ruby Red grapefruit sorbet and ancho chile-and-coffee-lacquered beef short ribs - with Times Ten wines, of course. The whole menu is on the jump.

It's $68 a person, benefits Meals on Wheels of Tarrant County, and you can buy tickets online here.

On Sunday, when Whiskey Cake in Plano hosts a mini-farmers market during its brunch hours, you can meet the cow that made the cream that goes in the Ramos gin fizzes that bartender Sean Conner will make. She will be there from Holleman Farms in Greenville.

That's also where the eggs will come from that make up the whites that join the cream that comes from the cow and goes in the drinks that Conner will make.

Pegasus posted the details on the farmers market here. Basically, the market is an extension of Whiskey Cake's commitment to farm-to-fork dining. With the exception of one, the vendors on hand will be those who regularly supply the restaurant. Brunch is 10 a.m. to 3 p.m.

With Chef Dean Fearing slated to make a guest judge appearance on the next episode of Bravo TV's Top Chef, Fearing's Restaurant will expand its nightly bar service and lounge menu on December 7, 2011, to allow guests to watch the show from the restaurant's popular Sendero room. The expansive room will be equipped with multiple flat-screen TVs and will provide access to Fearing's food and drink items from the menu of the adjoining Rattlesnake Bar.

The viewing party will begin at 8 p.m., with the TV episode set to air at 9 p.m. Dean Fearing will be on hand to share in the celebration, as the growing Dallas food scene continues to gain exposure in the national media. There is no cover charge for the evening, and reservations are not required. Admission will be offered on a first-come/first-served basis.

The Top Chef episode for December 7 will provide a glimpse into the area's South Fork Ranch, where the show's Elimination Challenge will focus on steaks to be prepared for the annual Cattle Baron's Ball. Competing chefs will be charged with preparing a progressive four-course beef menu for 200 seated guests, with judging to be provided by Chef Dean Fearing, Chef Hugh Acheson, head judge Tom Colicchio and show host Padma Lakshmi.

From GuideLive.com:

Join The Shops at Park Lane on Fridays in December for Food Truck Fridays, a showcase of some of the best food trucks in Dallas.

Enjoy delicious food from 3 Men and a Taco, Gennarino's, Green House, Jack's Chowhound, Ruthies Rolling Café, Ssahm BBQ and Trailercakes.

Check out our Facebook page, Park Lane Dallas, to see who will be there each Friday. And each Friday, vote on your favorite food truck by "liking" their favorite truck's photo. The overall winner will receive a special prize!

Find a food truck near you with our daily map

Find Dallas food trucks on Twitter

Reservations may be required or recommended for some of these Dallas-area dining events.

1 FREE: HOLIDAY BREAKFAST CLASS Learn how to prepare make-ahead dishes so you can enjoy holiday-morning festivities and guests. Dec. 3 at 9:30 a.m. Williams-Sonoma, Stonebriar Centre, Preston Road and State Highway 121, Frisco. Free. 972-712-9455.

2 TEA FOR TWO (OR MORE) Cafe on the Green offers a holiday afternoon tea, including Champagne cocktails, with a two-person minimum. Through Dec. 18, Mondays through Saturdays from 2:30 to 5:30 p.m., at the Four Seasons Resort and Club, 4150 N. MacArthur Blvd., Irving. $40 per person. 972-717-2420 (reservations required 24 hours in advance). www.fourseasons.com/dallas.

3 CUPCAKES FOR TOYS Take a new, unwrapped toy to Sprinkles Cupcakes and receive a free cupcake of your choice. Toys will go to Children's Medical Center as part of the Treats for Toys Drive. Dec. 5-18 from 9 a.m. to 8 p.m. (10 a.m. to 7 p.m. on Sundays) at 4020 Villanova Drive, Plaza at Preston Center, Dallas. 214-369-0004. www.sprinkles.com.

4 FONDUE NIGHT Scardello Artisan Cheese hosts a four-course dinner featuring three-mountain cheese fondue with salamis, bread and fruit. A glass of sparkling wine is included. Dec. 9 at 8 p.m. at 3511 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. $40. 214-219-1300. www.scardellocheese.com.

5 RED MARE WINE DINNER Steel Restaurant and Lounge welcomes Red Mare winery co-owner and Dallasite Jim Striegel for a reception and four-course dinner on Dec. 8 at 6:30 p.m. $92 plus tax and gratuity; reservations required. 214-219-9908. www.steelrestaurant.com.

-Compiled by Tyra Damm and Ann Pinson

POST YOUR EVENT ON GUIDELIVE.COM
Add your dining event listing (such as cooking classes and demos, wine dinners, wine tastings and culinary fundraisers) by logging in to GuideLive.com. (New users will be required to register, but it's free and fast.) We will consider online submissions for print listings in Guide. If you would like to submit information on happy hour specials and dining specials or deals, please email guide@dallasnews.com. Deadline is two weeks before publication. Information must include description of event, date, time, address, cost and a phone number for the public to call.

Got this in the inbox today:

The Granada Theater is opening a neighborhood restaurant and beer garden on Greenville Avenue and hiring all positions.

Sundown at Granada is hosting a Job Fair Sunday, Monday, and Tuesday so you can meet the chef and owner. Currently looking to meet GM, wait staff, bartenders, hostess, sous chef, line cooks, prep cooks, and dish washers.

Please bring a resume and arrive at 3520 Greenville Ave. (old M Street Bar beside the Granada Theater) from either 12pm - 2 pm or 5pm - 7pm and earn a chance to interview further.

Excited fans started lining up as early as 7 a.m. to see Martha Stewart at Williams-Sonoma NorthPark Friday, and they weren't disappointed. Starting at 1 p.m., America's queen of entertaining signed copies of her new Martha Entertaining: A Year of Celebrations (Clarkson Potter, $75). Check out the video here.

Great. The website's not even updated to reflect that the Dallas Beer Festival Saturday is cancelled.

Presumably the week's other remaining Dallas Beer Week events are still on.

Ben Cohen and Jerry Greenfield, the founders of Ben and Jerry's, come to North Texas for two appearances.

See the duo up close and personal for photographs and autographs at Ben & Jerry's Scoop Shop in Highland Village, at the "Party with a Purpose" from 3:30 to 5:30 p.m. Thursday. It's a "meet and greet" fundraiser for SpiritHorse Therapeutic. The shop is in the Shops at Highland Village. Free ice cream samples and empty cartons for the ice cream icons to sign.

Later that evening, at 7:30 p.m., Cohen and Greenfield will speak as part of the University of Texas at Arlington's Maverick Speaker series.The free seats are taken, but there are still a few $25 seats at www.utatickets.com.

I was having a hard time wrapping my head around the coming events for Dallas Beer Week - dinners, keg tappings, special tastings - starting tomorrow and culminating in a huge event Saturday.

Then I saw Teresa Gubbins' post on Pegasus, and it all made sense. It's a week of craft beer brouhaha with something to excite everyone. The organizers put together a similar event in Houston.

Saturday at 11 a.m., events kick off with a Deep Ellum Brewing Co. launch party at The Common Table. Ringo's Pub hosts a Franconia Beer dinner on Sunday, Rahr & Sons do two beer dinners at Cowtown Diner. There's a blind beer challenge at Holy Grail Pub Wednesday, a Brooklyn Brewery special tap at the Ginger Man - 22 events in all.

Keep reading on the jump; there's so much more, including a link to the events calendar.

Lucky Layla Farms and Lavon Farms hosts a customer appreciation day 1 to 5 p.m. Nov. 19 (that's a Saturday). It's a chance to visit a working dairy farm with tours led by owner Todd Moore. Families are welcome.

There will be plenty of samples on hand, including cheeses and drinkable yogurt, and the farm store will be open, where you can purchase a number of dairy products, including Grade A raw cow's milk. That's the only legal way to purchase raw milk - at the farm.

Lavon Farms is at 3721 N. Jupiter Road in Plano.

Zanata Plano is the site of a unique cultural and culinary heritage event at 6:30 p.m. Nov. 17.

"Palate, Poetry and Preservation of Collin County's Past: An Autumn Feast of Celebrating Collin County's Local Ingredients" features presentations by Texas Poet Laureate Alan Birkelbach and Collin County historian Randy Farmer.

Chef Jamie Samford's three-course meal uses original historic recipes and ingredients native to Collin County. These include autumn corn, squash, pumpkin, native greens, beans and legumes, figs and persimmons.

Site of the event is Zanata Plano; cost is $40. Make reservations at 972-422-9999.

Every Monday 6:30 to 9 p.m. for the next several months, Cane Rosso's Jay Jerrier will bring in a celebrity chef to make a special pie ($16). The celebrity that sells the most pies, says the press release, gets the Cane Rosso Golden Peel and Trophy.

Here are the celeb chefs and dates for Industry Night/Celebrity Chef Pizzaiolo:

Monday - Brian Luscher from the Grape
11/14 - Chad Houser and Janice Provost from Parigi
11/21 - Randall Copeland from Restaurant Ava and soon to open, Left Bank
11/28 - Jack Perkins from Maple & Motor
12/5 - John Tesar from The Commissary
12/12 - Dean Fearing from Fearing's
12/19 - and one ringer: Daniel Vaughn from the Full Custom Gospel BBQ blog

A portion of the proceeds benefit the Deep Ellum Urban Gardens, which still has some hurdles to jump before it's a reality.

On Friday, all Coal Vines Pizza locations will offer free sparkling wine at 11 seconds after 11 a.m. The doors will open at 11 a.m. The 11th customer will get a free pizza, and the price of a regular pizza will be $11 all day.

Hotel St. Germain is hosting a wine dinner with after-dinner deejay with the wines, spirits and all the songs built around the theme of "one."

The wine and spirits include Square One vodka shooters with lemon, Root:1 Sauvignon Blanc, Civello (a Row Eleven wine), Robertson Number One Constitution Road Shiraz and One Hope Cabernet Sauvignon. Eleven courses to the meal, too.

Festivities start at 7 p.m. Friday, and the cost? $111. Call (214) 871-2516 to reserve.

Sigel's Fine Wine has cancelled its Nov. 12 Food Truck Fest because the city of Dallas increased its requirements for the the permit - all of which may ensure safety, but became prohibitive for the retailer.

Instead, the Sigel's at 5757 Greenville will host one food truck, Gennarino's Friggatoria, serving authentic Neapolitan street food (yes, it really is authentic). The store will offer samples from Il Palagio, Sting's Tuscan estate, at the same time.

Sigel's will also give away two concert tickets with VIP backstage passes to Sting's Nov. 16 concert at the Verizon Theater in Grand Prairie.

Sample Gennario's fare and Sting's wine 6 to 8:30 p.m. Nov. 12.

The XX Annual Caesar Salad Competition on Sunday at the Westin Galleria had a special twist: All 10 chefs were former winners, or "Caesar laureate chefs," of past competitions brought together to vie one more time. In the regular competition, once you win, you're ineligible to enter again.

And the winner this year? Drum roll, please.

First place went to David Holben, the 2004 winner, with Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse. "It's a classic Caesar salad," he said as he was dishing it up to attendees, "but the thing is, it's fresh Parmesan with crumbled croutons on top. We offer anchovies, and eight of out ten take the anchovies."

David C. Smith, last year's winner and chef at the host hotel, took second place, also with a classic approach. "We went with a more expensive cheese," he said.

Third place was a tie between Doug Brown (Beyond the Box and Dish,
2002 winner) and George Brown (George Catering, 1996 winner). One was a classic, and one was more of a riff.

Get details and who made the all-star lineup on the jump.

That's right. Tomorrow from 5 to 6:30 p.m., the Texas cheesemakers who came home with awards from the recent 2011 American Cheese Society conference in Montreal will be offering free samples of their award-winning cheeses and yogurts at Celebration Restaurant.

The Mozzarella Company's Paula Lambert is the linchpin, and she's gathered Rebeccah Durkin (Brazos Valley Cheese), Amelia Sweethardt (Pure Luck), Edgar Diaz (Three Happy Cows), Dave Eagle (Eagle Mountain), and Dr. Anne C. Jones (Latte Da Dairy) for the meet 'n' greet.

Meaders Ozarow (Empire Baking Co.) will bring the bread. The ACS awards are the Oscars of the cheese world. Click here to see a brochure listing all the winners.

File 2004/Staff Photo
Mario Batali with Paula Lambert at her cheese factory for a 2004 filming session

Slow Food Dallas is partnering with JuHa Ranch for a Ranch Tour and Hay Ride from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. Nov. 6. (That's a Sunday.)

This is a real working cattle ranch, where the family follows sustainable practices to produce beef, pork, chicken and eggs. Judi Glasgow and Harry Butaud (JuHa - get it?) will show you their spread, where they also sell and train ranch horses and dogs. Lunch will be prepared by chef Chris George with products from the ranch.

It's $30 a person. Purchase tickets through Eventbrite.

This should be a super outing. I've known Judi for years on the farmers market scene, and she's one of the troopers. JuHa is at 8098 NW CR 2080 in Barry, Texas, just west of Corsicana.

That's Judi on a cold day at the Dallas Farmers Market.

Decisions, decisions for omnivores this weekend:

Starting at noon on Saturday, Blues, Bandits and BBQ fills Lake Cliff Park with the smell of smokers as teams compete for best barbecue honors in the following categories: brisket, whole chicken, sausage, ribs and pulled pork. There will be plenty of 'cue, beer, live music and more for committed carnivores and others. If this doesn't invoke Austin, I don't know what will. Details on the jump.

Meanwhile starting at 11 a.m. on Sunday over at Winfrey Point, the vegans and vegan-wannabes amass for the Texas State Veggie Fair for food, samples, booths, cooking demos, fun, speakers and more. Plus, yours truly will be one of the judges in the Vegan Fried Foods competition (shades of the State Fair sans meat). Details for this event are on the jump, too.

Bar 828, the pop-up speakeasy for charity, is set to kick off tonight in Oak Cliff, but Eddie "Lucky" Campbell -- one of the two organizers -- will not be involved. I just got off the phone with Campbell, who told me, "I have completely disengaged myself from it." He declined to say why.

Though he will not be there, he did say it promises to be "one heck of a cocktail show."

Eden's Organic Garden Center and CSA Farm hosts Barn Aid 3 Sunday, celebrating farm-to-table foods down on the farm (tour included) and under the stars to raise money for Feed Texas First.

At 5 p.m., the ticketed part of the family-friendly event takes place, with a wine-and-cheese pairing led by Calais Winery's Benjamin Calais and Scardello Artisan Cheese's Rich Rogers. A keynote presentation by Amanda Vanhoosier from Coppell Community Garden follows.

Then a bunch of local chefs - David Gilbert, Janice Provost and Chad Houser (Parigi), Jeffrey Hobbs (formerly with Suze), Brian Luscher (The Grape), Jeff Harris (Bolsa) and underground chef DAT (David Anthony Temple) - and the Texas Honeybee Guild's Susan Pollard bring out the heavy hors d'oeuvres to go with the cheese and wine.

Tickets start at $50 (and don't go much higher); you can purchase them here. But there's more. The ticketed portion is followed by a free film presentation of the documentary Urban Roots and live music with Lorynn the Redhead. Locacvore goodies will be available for purchase during the movie. All this, and cool weather, too.

Eden's owner Marie Tedei and Texas Honeybee Guild's Susan Pollard at a previous Barn Aid

Thursday and Friday, downtown Dallas will be smokin' as eight top pitmasters from Texas and Oklahoma square off in the Texas/Oklahoma Red River Barbecue Shootout.

It starts Thursday mostly with set-up and prep all day for round one, the food experts judging at 7 p.m. to declare one finalist from each state. Judges include The Dallas Morning News' own food-wine and features editor, Cathy Barber, and several other journalists.

9 p.m. Friday, the two finalists are announced.

Early, early Friday morning (5:30 a.m.), the Pre-dawn Shootout Pep Rally convenes at Main Street Garden and the pitmasters left standing fire up their smokers. At 5 p.m., the public is invited to taste and vote on their favorite. At 8:30 p.m., mayor Mike Rawlings announces the winner.

This is all one big Texas-OU party, centered around Main and St. Paul. I've posted all the details on the jump. Yahoo, go 'cue.

TJ's Fresh Seafood Market is doing a photo shoot of its party platters starting at 1 p.m. Wednesday. The owners are inviting people to come by starting about 2 p.m. to sample anything off of the photographed platters. They don't want to see the food go to waste, according to an e-mail. That, and maybe generate a little buzz, too?

Platters include their miso-and-honey-seared salmon platter, New England lobsta' roll platter, seafood food feast and others. The full line-up is on the jump.

At $4.99 a bottle, these Campodesole wines from Emilia Romagna are going to be running, not walking, out the door at Jimmy's Food Store:

Selva Albana Secca (white)
San Pascasio Pagadebit (white)
Durano Sangiovese (red)

Jimmy's is in East Dallas, at Fitzhugh and Bryan.

It's that time of year again for Stephan Pyles' favorite celebrity chef dinner - this year's them is "No Kid Hungry" - which he puts together on behalf of Share Our Strength to end child hunger.

Never been? He assembles a group of chefs at his namesake restaurant from Dallas and here and there who each prepare a separate course. There have been some fabulous meals in the past, and this year's lineup promises more of the same. He's pulling in Jimmy Schmidt (remember him from Rattlesnake Cafe?), who's chef at Morgan's in the Desert in La Quita, Calif. Also Jamie Bissonnette from the Coppa team in Boston. Plus locals such as Anthony Bombaci (Nana) and Katherine Clapner (Dude, Sweet Chocolate and former Pyles pastry chef).

The dinner, which includes wines and a silent auction, starts at 6:30 p.m. Oct. 9. (That's a Sunday.). Tickets are $175, and you can purchase them online at www.join.strength.org/ATP_Dallas.

Stephan Pyles

On International Sake Day, Texas Sake Co. in Austin celebrates the grand opening of its organic sake kura (brewery) and debuts the nation's first sake made from Texas rice.

You read that right: Texas is adding a boutique sake - a GoTexan product at that - to its ever-growing lineup of spirits. "The rice we use in our saké is a variety grown from Japanese seed that arrived here more than 100 years ago," notes the kura's website. "This history is what allows us to make great sake and we're putting this great tasting history in a bottle."

If you head to Austin, festivities take place Oct. 1 from 1 to 7:30 p.m., and tickets are $25 advance, $30 at the door; purchase them online here. The address is 5501 N. Lamar Blvd. A115. Check the full details taken from the website on the jump.

Back in May, Cheryl Collette Ng wrote about plans for this year's Outstanding in the Field dinner. Traveling locavore chef Jim Denavan will bring his bus to Flower Mound on October 19, where Sharon Hage will prepare a 4-course dinner, paired with wines, at Latte Da Dairy.

I just had a call from a reader, Jan Lovell, who tried to nab seats (they're $200 each) when our story was published, but it sold out quickly. Well, October 19 is his wife's birthday, and he'd really, really like to bring her to the dinner. Because tickets are paid for in advance, says the Outstanding in the Field website, there are no cancellations or wait lists -- once it's sold out, it's sold out.

I told him this would be a long shot, but we might as well try: Is there anyone out there who purchased tickets and cannot use them? Mr. Lovell would be thrilled to take them off your hands. Please leave a comment here letting Mr. Lovell know how to reach you, or email me at lbrenner@dallanews.com, and I will put you together. Oh, and Mr. Lovell, please shoot me an email as well, so I know how to reach you.

Meanwhile, if you're lucky enough to have a ticket and do plan to go, we'd love to hear all about it after the fact -- so definitely take pictures!

2010 file photo of last year's Outstanding in the Field dinner at Tom Spicer's FM 1410

Cribbed off El Fenix Mexican Restaurant's Facebook page: "Celebrate 93 years of great Tex-Mex, September 21st with 93¢ cheese enchilada dinners, all day (downtown only)."

The downtown El Fenix opened in 1918 where Woodall Rogers now stands adjacent to the current location, which was built in 1965 on what used to be the original's parking lot. Amazing, given the way downtown has grown and changed, that the Martinez family has managed to keep the Tex-Mex icon in the family and so near the original location all this time. You may not know that local civic pioneer Anita Martinez is part of the restaurant family.

You also may not realize what an important historic restaurant this is. El Fenix opened as one of the first "Mexican" restaurants in Texas, restaurants that began to cater to what Anglo Texans thought of as authentic Mexican cuisine. But by that time, the cuisine was already beginning to split between what Mexican Texans ate amongst themselves and what they served in their restaurants in response to Anglo Texans demand.

Update: The Martinez family sold its El Fenix restaurants to Firebird Restaurant Group in 2008.

Check out my post over on the Dallas Life blog about the Collin County Historical Society's "Pre-Historic Taste of Collin County." It's at 2 p.m. Saturday in McKinney, with samples.

When the item announcing the American Heart Association's Mobile Pizza Smackdown with Cavalli, Cane Rosso and Urban Crust was posted, the online ticket-purchase site was wrong. Here's the correct site: www.cdcwinesociety.org. Here's a link to the original post about the Sept. 29 event.

The Cooking Channel is celebrating its first anniversary with a cross-country, frozen-treat truck tour, and it's scheduled to stop at the Dallas Farmers Market 10:30 a.m. to 4:30 p.m Sunday.

The Cooking Channel partners with a local vendor, and in our case, it's Kaurina's, which will be on hand to give out free samples of their ice-cream-like Indian frozen treat. Kaurina's kulfis are wonderful, delicious bars. Made from cooked milk that's not whipped, kulfi comes out denser than ice cream.

So drop by for free kulfi and a chance to shop the market on a cooler, slower Sunday. (You can track the Frozen Treat Truck Tour, too.)

The American Heart Association hosts its annual Cotes du Coeur Wine Society Kickoff 6 to 8 p.m. Sept. 29, and guess what: It's a Mobile Pizza Smackdown. For 20 bucks, you can join the society and its Young at Heart members for some of the hottest pizza on wheels in town.

Paolo Cavalli will be there with Cavalli Pizzeria's oven on wheels. Jay Jerrier will be sweatin' behind the traveling Cane Rosso oven. And Salvatore Gisellu will roll all the way down from Plano with his Urban Crust mobile pizza oven. Pogo's is donating wine (while supplies last).

It's at the West Village Shopping Center, 3699 McKinney, in the north alley off the Blackburn Street entrance. Here's the updated info on the website where you can purchase tickets: It's www.cdcwinesociety.org.

I wonder if this group understands what kinds of crowds this three-way showdown might draw. Can you say SRO?

Cane Rosso pizza

Roving chef Matt McCallister comes to Duo for a class from 6:30 to 8:30 p.m. Sept. 15. He'll share tips for two hot food DIY trends: preserving vegetables and pickling, plus charcuterie. (Is anyone trying charcuterie at home?) Guests get to taste samples and sip wines. Cost is $65; call 214-884-2979 or go to www.duoallthingsculinary.com for a reservation.

You may have noticed that after staging stints (like internships for professionals) at McCrady's in South Carolina, Alinea in Chicago and Daniel in New York City, chef's been mum about the French Landry gig. He told me via e-mail why it's not going to happen.

Matt McCallister making salad at 2010 Buffalo Gap Wine and Food Summit when he was executive chef at Stephan Pyles.

The Mozzarella Company's Paula Lambert, who was a judge in Central Market's Hatch Chile Recipe Contest, posted on Facebook that the winner is: Hatch Chocolate Pecan Pie with Hatch Cinnamon-Vanilla Ice Cream. She's uploaded a pic and, boy, does it look good.

White Rock Local Market enters the food truck sweepstakes with a food truck day Sept. 24 during regular market hours, 8 a.m. to 1 p.m.

No word yet on which trucks will be there, but the word is five or six.

On the Scoop blog, Bruce Tomaso announces the finalists in the annual State Fair fried food contest. Would you believe fried salsa? Fried "bubblegum"? Fried autumn pie actually sounds good, but it's not nearly outrageous enough to win.

Check out photos of some of the finalists here.

I got the news a little later than the guys over at Pegasus News, but here's what I know: Besides the Nov. 12 date for Sigel's Winter Food Truck Festival, confirmed trucks include Cane Rosso, Gennarino's, City Street Grille, Gandolfo's and Entice Ice. More TK.

Here's an update on confirmed trucks: 3 Men & a Taco, the Butcher's Son, Jack's Chow Hound and Nammi. More confirmations as they, ahem, roll in.

The DFW Food Truck Festival starts at 6 p.m. Saturday in the parking lot of Sigel's Fine Wines on Greenville just north of Lovers Lane.

Here's what Erika Nunez writes over on Guide Live: "Expect a kaleidoscope of flavors, from banh mi and tacos to cupcakes and shaved ice. Save room for in-store wine and craft beer tastings. Participating food trucks include Nammi Cruisin Vietnamese Fusion, 3 Men and a Taco, Ruthie's Rolling Cafe, Gandolfo's New York Deli Dallas, the Bomb Fried Pies, Crazy Sisters, Enticed, Jack's Chowhound, Mister Cool Ice Cream and Trailercakes."

Note the fine print: Sigel's will be doing a free wine and beer tasting inside the store (5757 Greenville).

I plan to be there and file a report.

Anne Byrn, creator of the Cake Mix Doctor cookbooks, comes to the Dallas Central Market 10 a.m. to 3 p.m. Friday, where she will introduce her new premium cake mixes the store now carries - with samples, of course. ('Bet she'll sign books, too.)

I got a preview of these mixes when the food-journalist-turned-cookbook-author visited earlier this year to talk about The Cake Mix Doctor Bakes Gluten-Free. She gave me samples of her new cake mixes, which I promptly turned over to my friend, Rosemary, who loves to bake.

Rosemary wrote back: "Thumb's up on the Cake Mix Doctor's Mix! I used it to make my pineapple Cool Whip cake. The two layers baked up a beautiful golden brown, literally picture perfect. To frost with the pineapple-cool whip mixture, each layer has to be split in two, and the cakey "body" was perfect to do that. 'Turns out a little more like a torte. Yum, yum. Great product. Thank you very much!"

The Cake Mix Doctor's Mixes come in two flavors: old-fashioned yellow and deep, dark chocolate.

Robin Lail is Napa royalty, a vintner whose roots extend back to the beginnings of Napa's wine heritage; her great-grand-uncle Gustav Niebaum founded the legendary Inglenook Vineyards in the late 1800s. But she has a long string is accomplishments in her own right, and she and husband Jon founded and co-own Lail Vineyards.

She's the guest of honor at "An Evening With Robin Lail" at Sevy's Grill, 6:30 p.m. Monday for a wine-and-food club dinner that's also open to the public. It's a must-do event for fans of Napa wines who are also interested in learning more about the storied appellation's past and future.

Cost is $89 (plus tax and gratuity); make reservations at 214-265-7389. Check on the menu on the jump. (It includes Georgia and J. Daniel.)

Central Market kicked off its 16th annual Hatch Chile Festival on Wednesday, a celebration where the store goes crazy for Hatch, featuring the roasted chiles from Hatch, New Mexico, in everything they can think of (Hatch demi-baguette, Hatch cheddar loaf, Hatch chicken salad, Hatch crab cakes, Hatch salsa (the best), Hatch turkey breast, Hatch remoulade, Hatch goat cheese spread, etc. - you get the idea).

Paul Wackym, the artisanal cookie-maker behind Wackym's Kitchen, will be doing an in-store demo all day Saturday with his special Hatch chile-chocolate chip cookies. They'll be for sale at least a month.

In the parking lot this weekend, employees will be grilling Hatch burgers, hot dogs and sausage and serving them on house-made Hatch chile buns. The tumbling roasters will also be going, too; roasting chiles smell so good.

If you're feeling creative, CM also has a Hatch recipe contest going on. The winner gets 75 pounds of Hatch chiles and a $100 CM gift certificate. Deadline for entry is Monday.

Juan Garcia/Staff Photographer

Just over a year after his retirement party at Roy's Natural Market, Roy Beard, 81, passed away Aug. 14 in Lincoln, Neb. after long battle with cancer.

Last year in July, he greeted customers who came to his retirement party (left) after he announced that he was closing the store, which he and wife Wanda operated for more than 40 years.

I wrote about his impending retirement in an earlier post, and Cheryl Hall wrote a wonderful piece in the Dallas Morning News about his pioneering role in the natural-foods movement.

After retiring, he moved to Lincoln to live with daughter Alice Hillhouse and her family. Wanda died in 2009.

KYe R. Lee/Staff Photographer

File this under "who knew he had such a hidden talent?" Bill Elsey, director of sales at Duchman Family Winery in Driftwood (the winery that gave us the incredible vermentino) was named Texsom's 2011 Texas Best Sommelier last night at the Grand Tasting and Awards Reception at the Four Seasons Resort & Club in Las Colinas.

First runner-up was Nathan Prater, wine specialist at Good2Go in Austin. Second runner-up was David Keck from Prestige Wine Cellars in Houston. All the winners get various scholarships to the Court of Master Sommeliers to continue their studies toward becoming master sommeliers.

What a great year for Texsom, the Texas Sommelier Conference. Skip to the jump for some amazing numbers.

Left to right: Nathan Prater, Bill Elsey and David Keck

The annual event officially kicked off yesterday (after a preview weekend) and continues through Sunday. We know you've had your reservations made for weeks and can't wait to get your grub on. So after your lovely meal at one (or more) of the over 120 participating Dallas-Fort Worth restaurants, come back to this very blog post and share in a comment below what you ate that makes this whole shebang amazing.

I don't really understand why the North Texas Food Bank and Lena Pope Home fundraiser is deemed just a week. It's actually nearly a month long! The First Extension Week runs Aug. 22-28, and the Second Extension Week runs Aug. 29-Sept. 4.

We look forward to hearing about your experiences and your recommendations!

The Scoop blog has the story. Apparently, no one's motivated to line up for a 4X4 animal-style for breakfast at this point. Still, it wouldn't surprise me if they do a brisk lunch business. If anyone stops by, it would be great if you could drop a comment here.

Hatch chiles, the distinctive green chiles from Hatch, N.M., are at Blue Mesa, Blue Goose Cantina and Whole Foods Market.

Central Market's 16th annual festival starts Aug. 17. CM goes the craziest, putting them in everything from scones to sausage. CM also has a recipe contest. You can enter or judge. Check out CM's website for more about their Hatch craziness.

The Albuquerque Express reports that the Hatch crop is smaller this year, due to lack of water.

File 2006/Staff Photo

I forgot to mention in my post about TexSom, the Texas Sommelier Conference coming up this weekend, that there is a grand tasting from 7 to 8:30 p.m. Aug. 15 at the end of the conference.

Texas Best Sommelier will be recognized, and some 130 wines will be poured for tasting, representing wineries from around the world as well as some familiar Texas "faces," such as Duchman Family Winery and Inwood Estates Vineyards.

It's all at the Four Seasons Resort and Club in Las Colinas, as are the other events. The tasting, which includes hors d'oeuvres, is $75. Get your tickets here.

While Big Tex gets new duds, the would-be and wannabe State Fair of Texas food vendors are lining up their new ideas for fair food.

You thought you'd seen it all, right? Well newbie vendor Phuong Le sent out a notice that she will be serving fried chicken skin - "the best part of fried chicken, right?? why not just take off the skin and fry it?" she writes.

She's also going to be doing fried cake balls and fried loaded mashed potatoes.

Fried chicken skin just boggles the mind. Are you going to try it? I'm still trying to wrap my brain around the whole idea.

Dallas Whole Foods Market butcher Hans "Grizz" Van Der Enden beat out 10 other finalists for the Best Butcher title at the 2011 Amstel Light Meatopia at New York's Brooklyn Bridge Park last week. It was the culmination of a two-month competition among 300 Whole Foods butchers.

Here's what he won: an all-expense-paid trip to ICELAND, where he will attend rettir, the nation's fall lamb round-up of its unique breed, followed by a festival. The lambs are harvested, and the meat will be sold to Whole Foods exclusively. It will be available in select stores from September through November.

Stop in at the Park Lane store and congratulate Enden on his new title.

From Leslie Snyder:
Dallas chef John Tesar (The Commissary) joins the reality TV fray Thursday (Aug. 4) on Food Network's new Extreme Chef.
The "Survive the Farm" episode, airing at 9 p.m., has Tesar and two other chefs, Gregory Gourdet (Departure, Portland, Ore.) and Joe Isidori (Southfork Kitchen, Bridge Hampton, N.Y.) compete in challenges designed to take them out of their kitchen comfort zones.
They do everything from gathering the eggs and digging potatoes to milking a cow and cooking with a blowtorch.
Back in Dallas, Tesar will host a viewing party at The Commissary starting at 8 p.m. On the menu: $6 tap wine, half-price sangria and free nibbles.

The Cafe Momentum crew is auctioning a block of 10 seats right this minute for guest chef Sharon Hage's sold-out Aug. 7 dinner at the Garden Cafe. The opening bid of $1,000 has already been met. The monthly benefit dinners are to raise money for a bricks-and-mortar facility.

Want to play? Go to http://www.facebook.com/cafemomentum. The auction ends at 6 p.m.

What's Cafe Momentum? From the website: Café Momentum is a nonprofit restaurant concept that will serve as a culinary training facility for disadvantaged youth. With the help of Youth Village Resources of Dallas and the North Texas Food Bank, a program has been created within the Dallas County Youth Village, where students currently learn basic culinary skills. When the young men graduate from this program, they will be provided with paid internships working in the Youth Village kitchen. Eventually they will have the opportunity to work at Café Momentum for one year, in an internship-style environment, alongside a rotating roster of guest chefs from the Dallas area.

I posted a blog about the July dinner here.

This year's KRLD Restaurant Week - when more than 120 restaurants will offer three-course prix fixe meals for $35 to raise funds for the North Texas Food Bank and Lena Pope Home - will be August 15 through August 21.

The list of participating restaurants has been revealed: Browse listings to discover how long they're running their specials, search listings for online menus and make reservations online.

The Preview Weekend will be August 12 through 14, and the First Extension Week will be August 22 through 28. The Second Extension Week will be August 29 through September 4.

Have you made reservations? Where? Are you excited about some new additions to the list? Let us know in the comments section!

Today is Bastille Day (or le Quatorze Juillet, as it's known in France) and a great excuse to eat something delicious and French tonight. Need some ideas? Here are 10 fabulous French dishes in and around town:

1. Hot and cold foie gras at Marquee Grill and Bar. Tre Wilcox's beguiling appetizer doesn't only showcase seared foie and a foie gras brûlée, but it also includes a crepe filled with duck confit. As much fun as Liberté, égalité, fraternité!

2. Onion soup "Les Halles" at Saint Emilion. Something tells me it could be hard to get in, but a trip to Bernard Tronche's restaurant in Fort Worth can almost feel like a trip to the French countryside, and the onion soup is spot-on.

3. House-made pâté at Lavendou Bistro Provençal. Chef François Soyez gets it right, and serves it with crusty baguettes.

4. Bistro-syle mussels at the Grape. Simmered with white wine, garlic and thyme, they're swell.

I managed to slip in to Sunday's Cafe Momentum dinner with chef Randall Copeland from Rockwall's Restaurant Ava. But before I tell you about that I just want you to know that these pop-up venues are selling out fast.

Aug. 7: Sharon Hage at the Garden Cafe: SOLD OUT
Sept. 11: Lucia's David Uygur at Maple and Motor: SOLD OUT
Oct. 2: Abraham Salum, location TBA: Still available
Just announced for Nov. 6: Matt McCallister, location TBA

The Cafe Momentum website isn't even updated yet to take McCallister reservations.

Why is this such a hot ticket? Great chefs and a good cause: to fund a restaurant where Dallas Youth Village residents can learn culinary skills.

At Cafe Momentum Sunday at El Centro (left to right): Edible Dallas and Fort Worth publisher Nanci Taylor, Parigi co-owner-chef and Cafe Momentum linchpin Janice Provost and cravedfw's man-about-town Steven Doyle.

This is pure press release, because the first one starts in 15 minutes:

"Four Seasons Markets has scheduled 12 Evening Markets at its 4 existing locations where they currently operate weekly farmers markets.

"The idea comes from the summertime markets found along the seashores of Europe where tourists vacation. An evening market is a pleasant opportunity to stroll and take some time shopping, when the outside temperature finally cools down, before or after having dinner at one of the local restaurants.

"Locations include: West Village (Dallas Uptown), The Eastside (Richardson), Castle Hills (Lewisville) and II Creeks Plaza (Richardson). The market will take place every Friday, once a month at each location, starting July 8th at West Village (5 p.m. to 10 p.m.).

"Vendors will include Specialty food producers, Craftsmen, Artists and tenants from each location. Live music will be provided by local artists.

"An evening market is a great addition to a shopping center because it brings more visitors to the place, when usually, everything is closed. The majority of the tenants at each location will also participate in remaining open until 10pm.

"More info at: http://www.fourseasonsmarkets.com"

Quoth the press release: "In support of the Texas Wine Industry and clean environment awareness, we [at Calais Winery] are accepting empty bottles from any Texas winery for recycling. The EPA estimates the national recycling rate for wine bottles is only 30%. Bringing your bottles August 6th will help increase that number."

The recycling event is from noon to 5 p.m. Saturday, Aug. 6. In return for your returns, Calais is hosting a tasting and discounting prices:

Bring six empty bottles: Get a free tasting and 5 percent off any purchase.
Bring 12 empty bottles: Get the tasting and a 10 percent discount.
Bring 24 empty bottles: Get the tasting and a 15 percent discount.

Discounts are per person. If all your empties are from Calais, the free tasting will be good for two people. Nice promotion. Calais Winery is located 3000 Commerce in Deep Ellum.

If you'd like a preview of Dough, the outstanding San Antonio pizzeria that's coming to Dallas (and hoping to open by July 9), check out the Food Network's reruns of Diners, Drive-ins and Dives with Guy Fieri over the next few days and next week.

The episode that includes Dough airs tonight at 8:30 p.m. and 11:30 p.m. CDT. (I think that's right: 9:30 p.m. Monday and 12:30 a.m. Tuesday Eastern time.) The shows will be repeated next week, same days, same times.

Dough brings to North Texas the third Associazione Verace Pizza Napoletana-certified pizzeria in the state made in the traditional Neapolitan style. I wrote an article last week about the amazing transformation that's taken place in North Texas pizza lately.

Dough/Michael Giordano

Matt McCallister, the Restaurant Ava team Randall Copeland and Nathan Tate, and chef-at-large David Anthony Temple prepare a vegan dinner, served with cocktails, for a Hope for the Silent Voices benefit, 7:30 p.m. Sunday at the Milestone Culinary Arts Center. There's a VIP reception at 6:30 p.m. and a raffle, too.

The press release explains: "Proceeds will help to fund the upcoming impact trip to Sri Lanka and Cambodia, which will provide necessary life services and products to the "throw away" society of orphans and the disabled." The craveDFW team of Steven Doyle and Melissa "Vegan Girl" Brenner host the event.

Tickets are $30 or $45 for VIPs. Contact Vegangirl@cravedfw.com or Steven@cravedfw.com to make reservations.

Park Cities People was on this first, but we just confirmed the news with Carl Van Fleet, In-N-Out's V.P. of Planning and Development: In-N-Out Burger will open its first store in Dallas proper on Thursday. That would be location at Central Expressway and Caruth Haven.

Van Fleet added a few more details in an email:

"Stephen Kirk, who has been with In-N-Out for 20 years, will manage the new restaurant located at 7940 N. Central Expressway. The restaurant will employ about 60 In-N-Out 'burger associates' with a starting wage of $10 per hour. There will be one drive-thru lane, with seating for 99 guests. All In-N-Out Burger locations are open daily from 10:30 a.m. to 1:00 a.m. and until 1:30 a.m. on Friday and Saturday."

Do you have In-N-Out fatigue, or will you be out there lining up?

In-N-Out Burger, 7940 N. Central Expressway, Dallas. www.in-in-out.com

Photo by Michael Ainsworth/Staff Photographer

Stephan Pyles wrote to let me know that there are still a few spots left in his "Summer Grilling: Local Produce and Cheeses" class 10 a.m. to 2 p.m. Saturday at his namesake restaurant.

He will be highlighting local farmer Rocky Tassione, a major restaurant supplier with greenhouses south of Stephenville, and local cheese maven Paula Lambert, who makes cheese at her Deep Ellum Mozzarella Company.

I'm not a big dessert person, but the Warm Chocolate-Chipotle Brioche Bread Pudding with Texas Peach-Pecan Ice Cream on this menu sounds pretty darn good. Heck, it all sounds good.

The class is $120; call 214-580-7000 to sign up, and take a peek at the entire menu on the jump. Wines with every course.

The Coppell Farmers Market held its farm-to-table dinner Sunday night at Grapevine Springs Park and, although my photograph foreshortens the image, I can tell you that was one long, white-tablecloth table.

Volunteers served, and vendors supplied everything from Jack Finley's vegetables to Rehoboth Ranch's Berkshire pork.

Two vendors, Victoria and Robert Hooker (who make handmade tortillas and hot sauce), double as instructors at the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Dallas and arranged for aspiring chefs (culinary students) to prepare the six-course feast. Read on for some highlights.

Here are more times and dates in Sigel's Summer Gourmet Food Truck program. Is this cool or what?:

Gandolfo's Sigel's-Greenville Tuesday, June 7th Lunch 11:30-1:30pm
New York Deli

Nammi Sigel's-Greenville Thursday, June 9th Lunch 11:30-1:30pm Dinner 5-8pm
Bánh Mi, Spring Rolls & Vietnamese Tacos
Oregon Wine tasting featuring Owen Roe owner/winemaker David O'Reilly 5-7pm

Gandolfo's Sigel's-Greenville Tuesday, June 14th Breakfast 7-9am Lunch 11:30-1:30pm
New York Deli

Ssahm BBQ Sigel's-Greenville Thursday, June 16th Lunch 11:30-1:30pm
Korean BBQ

Il Cane Rosso Sigel's-Greenville Saturday, July 9th Dinner 6-9pm
Authentic Neapolitan Pizza
Pizza Vino tasting - sample wines from around the world that are great matches with Pizza (6-8pm)

Il Cane Rosso Sigel's-Addison Saturday, July 23rd Dinner 6-9pm
Authentic Neapolitan Pizza
Italian Wine Tasting - featuring wines from Tuscany, Piedmonte, Sicily and Veneto (6-8pm)

Il Cane Rosso Sigel's-Elite (on Cole) Saturday, August 6th Dinner 6-9pm
Authentic Neapolitan Pizza
California Pizza Wines - taste different varietals that go great with Pizza, including Grenache, Counoise, Syrah, Zinfandel (6-8pm)

This just in from Sigel's Fine Wines:

"Join us Thursday, June 9th for the debut of Sigel's Summer Gourmet Food Truck program. Throughout the summer Sigel's will be hosting premium gourmet food trucks serving a variety of different cuisines prepared fresh by some of Dallas' most innovative chefs.

"For our inaugural event, chefs Teena Nguyen and Gary Torres of Nammi will be at Sigel's-Greenville (5757 Greenville Avenue) serving lunch from 11:30 to 1:30 p.m. and dinner from 5 to 8 p.m.

"On the evening of June 9th we will also be hosting a wine tasting with David O'Reilly, owner/winemaker of Owen Roe winery in Oregon from 5 to 7 p.m. The crisp acidity of Oregon Pinot Gris, Chardonnay and Sauvignon Blanc are perfect for pairing with the vibrant, exotic flavors of Vietnamese cuisine. More details to follow."

Who was that making a speech last week to the grads of his alma mater, the Culinary Institute of America, Hyde Park, New York? Dallas' own Dean Fearing, who graduated with the class of '78.

What a different landscape for chefs today. Fearing graduated just before the New American Cuisine movement hit. Chez Panisse was making a name for artisanal sourcing in Berkeley - lots of famous chefs would go through its kitchen - but 1978 was so early that Wolfgang Puck hadn't even opened Spago in Los Angeles.

Of course, it's history now. Fearing was one of the original Gang of Five who translated the first-time-around, source-local trend in Texas, Southwest cuisine. He's still plying his trade at Fearing's at the Ritz-Carlton.

CIA

The Coppell Farmers Market is hosting a six-course Farm-to-Table dinner Sunday featuring foods from its farmers and producers prepared by the International Culinary School at the Art Institute of Dallas.

It starts with a tour of the Coppell Community Garden with appetizers at 5 p.m. It's an awesome garden, BTW. Then festivities shift to Grapevine Springs Park at 6 p.m. for the dinner proper, with wine and live music.

Coppell is one of the area's best markets, run by volunteers who got an early start on the farmers market curve and zeroed in on the important things, like a good vendor mix, keeping vendors and shoppers happy, and vetting vendors. Tickets are $100 and will help establish Supplemental Nutrition Assistance Program at the market. Get tickets online here.

Courtney Perry/Staff Photographer
Farmer Mike Powell sells his lettuces at the Coppell Farmers Market

This is a way early warning, because these things sell out early.

Cribbing from special contributor Cheryl Ng Collett, who wrote about this in The Dallas Morning News: "What began in 1998 as a series of farmers' dinners by founder, chef and artist Jim Denevan has transformed into a full-blown culinary tour. This year's Outstanding in the Field tour recently kicked off in California. A dinner is scheduled this fall in Flower Mound.

"On Oct. 19, the signature red-and-white bus will stop in Flower Mound, at the goat cheese farm Latte Da Dairy. Guests can expect a tour of the dairy and to meet the dairy divas (a.k.a. goats) before sitting down to a four-course dinner with wine pairings created by chef Sharon Hage, formerly of York Street. Hage says she will be "sourcing as many ingredients locally as possible."

According to the group's website, there will be two meals in Austin (seats still available). Another in Brenham on Oct. 22 is already sold out. It's a quirky OITF tradition that guests are required to bring their own plates, to create a beautiful and eclectic setting."

The event is at 2 p.m. Oct. 19 at Latte Da Dairy in Flower Mound. Cost is $200 per person. Buy tickets at www.outstandinginthefield.com

UPDATE: Early ticket op is over; the event's now sold out.

If you haven't heard about Parigi co-owners Janice Provost and Chad Houser's Cafe Momentum project, listen up: The plan is to create a nonprofit restaurant to serve as a culinary training facility for young men from the Dallas County Youth Village, a resident facility nonviolent youth offenders ages 13 to 17.

Provost and Houser are passionately committed to this dream and have been working with the teens on their community garden. There's already a culinary program at the Youth Village, and this would provide an environment for a year-long internship.

Provost and Houser are launching a series of monthly pop-up dinners to raise funds for the project, and the first event, on June 5, is already sold out. The next dinner is July 10, chef tba, at 6 p.m. at Milestone Culinary Arts Center; Tickets are$75. Get more info here.

Lately I've had more than the usual number of emails from readers wondering if I can recommend a restaurant for a particular occasion -- which I'm always happy to do (assuming it doesn't slip past me in my stuffed-to-the-brink in box!). Maybe that's because it's the season for graduations, anniversaries, out-of-town visitors and such.

Are you celebrating something? Or even just looking for a great Italian spot, a Japanese restaurant with a tatami room, a place where you can have fabulous cocktails and pretty good food, or a great burger in a sit-down restaurant, a place to bring a visitor from Waikiki or Winnepeg who wants to discover what's great in Dallas?

Ask me here, in a comment -- giving as much info about your needs and tastes as possible, including price range, whether you're looking for something sceney and buzzy or quiet and intimate, whether geography is a consideration -- that kind of thing. I will do my best to recommend something that will fit the bill. Why? Because I'm on deadline today, and this sounds like more fun than writing what I'm supposed to be writing.

Photo by Bloomberg

FOLLOW LESLIE: twitter.com/lesbren

Meet Alvaro Palacios and taste wine

Alvaro Palacios, at Pogo's from 2:30 to 4 p.m. today, is one of the most promising of the new generation of Spanish winemakers, taking the reins of Palacios Remondo after his father died in 2000. Alvaro's flagship Priorat wine, L'Ermita, is widely considered one of Spain's most important.

He now makes wine in three different viticultural areas: Priorat, Bierzo and his hometown of Alfaro in Eastern Rioja. Taste his newest vintages to see the enormous impact he's had on his country and family's wines.

Pogo's Wine & Spirits, 5360 W. Lovers, at Inwood; 214-350-8989; www.pogoswine.com

At 2 p.m. Friday, be one of the first 100 people in line at Sigel's Fine Wine on Fitzhugh to lock down a wristband that enables you to meet Bethenny Frankel, creator of the reduced-calorie Skinnygirl Margarita, from 2:45 to 3:45 p.m.

As the story goes, the natural-foods chef and cookbook author mixed herself a drink on Real Housewives of New York a couple of years ago and exclaimed, "You know what this is? It's a Skinnygirl Margarita! The minute I said that on Bravo, it was earth-moving," she told The Tasting Panel magazine. She's on the cover of the April issue.

Skinnygirl is indeed a hit and puts a whole new spin on reduced-calorie alcoholic beverages. Frankel's 100-calorie margarita is made with blue agave silver tequila, lime juice and agave nectar - that's it. I'm betting there will be samples at the Sigel's event. Girls, this is one for you.

Although the Dallas Farmers Market is open year-round, this Saturday marks the official "farmer" season kick-off with a marketwide celebration.

The fifth annual Mama Ida Ice Cream Social (named in honor of longtime market advocate Ida Papert, who died earlier this year) takes place 9 a.m. to noon. Taste ice cream made by culinary students and young men from the Dallas County Youth village and vote for your fave.

Chef Vijay Sadhu of Sutra leads off the Chef at the Market series with a cooking demo 10 to 11 a.m. Finally, there will be all manner of children's activities, from a rock-climbing wall to crafts table.

And of course there will be lots of fresh, local produce as more farmers and producers stream in to shed No. 1. This week, expect eggs, East Texas tomatoes and peaches, squash, cucumbers, green beans, maybe some early blackberries and more.

Five Sixty by Wolfgang Puck is hosting a sake-pairing dinner at 6:30 p.m. Tuesday to help raise funds for the Red Cross' Japanese disaster relief effort.

The four-course menu includes (from the press release): "Surf and Turf" Roll, plus new menu additions, including Crispy Black Bass with Sea Spears, White & Green Asparagus, and Myer Lemon Beurre Blanc and Duck Galantine with Morel and Beach Mushrooms, Tokyo Negi, and Lemongrass-Duck Jus. The dessert selection will incorporate sake as a main component in items such as Lemon Cake with Grapefruit-Vanilla Filling with a Kamoizumi Kome Kome Citrus Broth. (Sorry about the punctuation - not my doing.)

It's $155 a person; make reservations at 214-741-5560.

OK, you have to check out this video, made by Morning News staff photographer Vernon Bryant at In-N-Out Frisco today. Hilarious.

Photo of Danielle DeInnocentes of the Colony by Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer

FOLLOW LESLIE: http://twitter.com/lesbren

It was 40 years ago today (well, maybe not today exactly) that Mariano Martinez, inspired by a Slurpee machine, invented the frozen margarita. Matthew Huisman has the very interesting story, reported from our Washington, D.C. bureau. In case you suspect this of being an urban legend, the original margarita machine is in the National Museum of American History there.

How about toasting Martinez tonight with a big frozen one? Sounds like a plan to me!

Photo by Vernon Bryant/Staff Photographer

FOLLOW LESLIE: http://twitter.com/lesbren