On Thursday, November 7th, the Design Industries Foundation Fighting AIDS, DIFFA/Dallas, will kick off the holiday season with their 18th annual Holiday Wreath Collection at Dallas Market Hall.  The festive fete, hosted by the Dallas International Art, Antique & Jewelry Show will offer patrons a unique silent auction experience fit for the holidays along with an exclusive first look at the show’s exquisite array of rare treasures from the last several thousand years.

Taking place on the show floor, DIFFA/Dallas patrons will mingle amongst one-of-a-kind wreaths designed by Stanley Korshak, Timothy Oulton, Lisa Garza, Artist Susie Rosmarin, Design Within Reach, Olivia Riegel, Rockwell Group, Gallerie Noir, Gensler, Moet Hennessy USA, AIDS Arms, AIDS Services of Dallas, and many more. In addition to finding the perfect holiday wreath, patrons will be able to get first dibs on select and most sought after tables at House of DIFFA: Masquerade.

The cheerful evening will also feature champagne, wine and hors d’ oeuvres for supporters to enjoy. Cost is $75 per person. Tickets are available at diffadallas.org or by calling 214-748-8580.

Ring in the season with an amazing benefit that is sure to put you in the spirit (while sipping spirits) and give you something to feel good about while giving back. Tickets will sell out so hurry up and get yours asap!

You can join the fight on breast cancer with a 45-minute cycling experience including upbeat tunes and an inspirational instructor. Be sure to wear your pink workout gear (real men wear pink)! Riders can join by making a suggested donation of $25. Remember that every dollar makes a difference in our mission to save lives in Dallas County. Just six riders making a $25 donation could help to fund a life-saving mammogram.

Guys and girls of all ages are invited to come out and supper this great cause while getting in an awesome workout!

Last I checked there were only a few spots left for this charity ride so make sure to click here and get your spin on for a cure!

Five cents has never gone so far, when Taco Bueno restaurants turn this year’s Cinco de Mayo celebration into Cinco de Bueno .  On Saturday, May 4, and Sunday, May 5, participating Taco Bueno restaurants will debut an improved, bolder queso for only five cents a serving with the proceeds going to several local food banks. And the richer, tastier queso isn’t all that will be bueno on that date. Taco Bueno will match all sales from the new queso offer for the participating eight food banks, making the day even “More Bueno.”  No additional purchase is required.

“Taco Bueno’s new, improved queso is the best way to spice up your Cinco de Mayo,” said Ramon Torres , SVP of Operations. “It’s now made with two kinds of cheese, Cheddar and Pepper Jack, blended with jalapenos and red peppers for a rich, creamy taste, with a kick.”

For only five cents, guests receive a 2.0-ounce serving of the new queso with tortilla chips cooked fresh in stores. The offer is available at all of Taco Bueno’s locations in Texas, Oklahoma, Kansas, Louisiana, and Missouri. In Arkansas, Taco Bueno restaurants in Bentonville, Fayetteville, Ft. Smith, Rogers and Springdale will be participating. (Find the most “bueno” location atwww.tacobueno.com.)

Taco Bueno’s contributions to Cinco de Bueno will benefit:

• Arkansas Food Bank, fighting hunger in Arkansas since 1984, this food bank distributed 16.3 million pounds of food last year; www.arkansasfoodbank.org
• East Texas Food Bank, serving 26 counties in East Texas since 1988, the East Texas Food Bank served over 16 million pounds of  food last year; www.easttexasfoodbank.org
• Community Food Bank of Eastern Oklahoma, dedicated to 24 counties in Eastern Oklahoma and feeding more than 70,000 people per week; www.cfbeo.org
• Food Bank of Central Louisiana, serving 11 parishes and more than 22,400 people per month; www.fbcenla.org
• Harvesters: The Community Food Network, a Kansas food bank that supports 26 counties in Kansas and provides food assistance to as many as 66,000 different people each week; www.harvesters.org
• Kansas Food Bank, supporting 85 counties, Kansas Food Bank distributed 11 million pounds of food in the past year;www.kansasfoodbank.org
• North Texas Food Bank, which provides access to 130,000 nutritious meals a day for people in 13 counties; www.ntfb.org
• Regional Food Bank of Oklahoma, serving Central and Western Oklahoma (53 counties) and feeding more than 90,000 hungry Oklahomans each week; www.regionalfoodbank.org

Founded in Abilene, Texas, Taco Bueno operates 176 restaurants in Texas, Oklahoma, Arkansas, New Mexico, Louisiana,Kansas and Missouri, Taco Bueno is committed to the freshest, highest quality ingredients and a unique, authentic Mexican food experience. The company is privately owned by Palladium Equity Partners. Find out more about Taco Bueno by logging on towww.tacobueno.com or www.facebook.com/buenoheadquarters.

So, whether your celebrating today or fighting that hangover tomorrow…think about stopping into Taco Bueno for a good cause. And HAPPY CINCO DE DERBY WEEKEND, Y’ALL!

First, sample some great beer at The Gin Mill as they host a blind beer tasting Wednesday, May 8 at 7:00 p.m. with brews from Stone Brewing Co.  from San Diego, CA and local brewer Franconia Brewery of McKinney.  Test your beer knowledge and tasting skills.  Cost is just $30 per person and includes light bites to cleanse the palate and 16 varieties of beer. (WOW! 16 beers AND food for 30 bucks?…yes please.)

Reservations are recommended.  For more information call 214-824-3343.

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The third annual White Rock Local Market Chili Showdown will take place this Saturday, April 27 at The Green Spot on North Buckner Boulevard.  Up to twenty teams will provide samples to a public tasting, $7 per person from 11:00am – 12:30pm.

Celebrity guests including Corby Davidson, co-host of Hardline (1310 The Ticket), Goodfriend Beer Garden and Burger House co-owner Matt Tobin, The Blind Butcher Chef Oliver Sitrin and Daniel Vaughn aka “BBQ Snob,” author and BBQ editor of Texas Monthly will judge the competition and decide winners within the categories of Vegetarian, Spicy, Traditional, Wild Card and Best Booth Design.

Proceeds from this event will benefit White Rock Local Garden a community garden project that will support the White Rock community, provide classes for kids adults, and provide fresh local food for the community

Entry fee is $50 per team.  To register go to www.whiterocklocalmarket.org, email info@whiterocklocalmarket.com or pick-up at the information desk at White Rock Local Markets. Tasting tickets ($7) can be purchased in advance at WRLM Information Desk or day of the event.

“This year, guys are invited to get in on the action at Loafer Lounge at the Joule. An exclusive party for the gentlemen, The Loafer Lounge will feature cocktails, food and entertainment- with a rooftop view of the Strut happening below!”

Tickets to the Loafer Lounge and raffle tickets are available at the pricing tiers as follows:

Be sure to purchase your tickets here ASAP as they will sell out quickly. All proceeds of both events benefit The Family Place!

Buy Tickets

A close friend and fellow Dallas blogger, Feed Me Dallas is hosting the 1st Annual Feed Me Dallas Charity Chili Cook-Off. Teams will compete and all proceeds will be donated to the winner’s charity of choice. Judges and attendees will be able to vote for their favorite chili. Ticket price ($20) includes sampling of all of the chili and tickets for FREE beer.

http://feedmedallaschilicookoff.eventbrite.com

Fifteen local restaurants will be facing off at the popular Uptown watering hole Big Al’s McKinney Avenue Tavern on April 13th from 2:30-6:30pm. The teams and charities include:

Boca Chica (Charity TBA)

Driftwood benefiting The North Texas Food Bank 

Boca Chica (Charity TBA)

Driftwood benefiting The North Texas Food Bank 

Goff’s benefiting Fellowship of Christian Athletes

Hopdoddy Burger Bar benefiting SPCA of North Texas

Jonathon’s Oakcliff benefiting Search One Rescue Team

Max’s Wine Dive benefiting The North Texas 
Food Bank

Mockingbird Taproom benefiting Autism Speaks

Park Tavern benefiting SPCA

Pop Diner benefiting St. Benedict Monastery

Primebar benefiting March of Dimes

Sundown at the Granada benefiting Promise of Peace

Townhouse Kitchen & Bar benefiting National M.S. Foundation

The Standard Pour benefiting The North Texas Food Bank

So come soak up the sun for a great cause…you won’t want to miss this!

We started with a Firemans #4 Blonde Ale, a personal favorite of mine due to the easy drinking and mellowed nature of the brew. Small bites included a deliciously crispy goat sweetbread with hints of lime and butter, goat heart tartare (not for the faint of heart or tongue) with a simply garlic aioli on a Texas Redneck cheddar cracker and a corned goat tongue with creme fraiche and herbs. Of all the three appetizers, the sweetbreads were a table favorite while the tartare suited my weird foods privy.

The seconds course began with sips of Full Moon Pale Ale. This beer used to be the number one brew before Firemans and is silky and tongue friendly. Paired with Tete Du Chèvre or sliced head cheese, with arugala and lemon (also tasted a spice sprinkle of some sort). Yes, the head cheese is what you think it is but for all intents and purposes it was delicious.

Next came a 2012 Vintage Sisyphus Barleywine Ale. The brew was a darker and more bitter sort which paired with a starchy plate of St. Davids Raclette (semi-firm, cow’s milk cheese), a sliced Yukon Gold and Goat Linguisa made of belly, shoulders and legs. The bite was fantastically seasoned with melted cheese and a salty snap from the sausage.

Fourth course: A Lost Gold IPA Blend, even darker but more mellow. Main course was a Hay Braised Goat Shank, trompetti, mocetta and charred onions. Heaven sent and tender and all get out as the shreds of goat tangled with the seasoned pasta. The mocetta, an aged goat leg, was almost proscuitto esque in its shaved and salty nature. I should mention that this goat course was cured goat from Africa.

The final savory course was paired with a Brewhouse Brown Ale. An American, extremely dark and thick brew with strong hop flavoring throughout. Sweet Spiced Goat Tenderloin with beets, turnips and blue roan cheese. Each goat provides two of these tenderloin filets, that means that at our table of 6 we ate the tenderloins of 3 goats. Eye opening fact. The beet and turnips provided a light combative to the dark ale and paired well together.

Dessert course: A Shade Grown Coffee Porter, notes of ethiopian coffee and chocolate infused into this iced coffee tasting beer. I was weirded out by the coffee taste, but grew to enjoy this mock-starbucks brew. Dessert main was BloomBonnett Cajeta Flan with a spic(ed)y brittle cookie. This flan was spectacular. Notes of goats milk carmel sang on my tongue as a sharp kick from the spiced cookie balanced.

Dinners like this one remind us of the importances of relying on our local growers and brewers to stay true to their craft. The nature of the beast is that we forget that the meals we enjoy at our favorite local restaurants, depend on the bounty that our farmer friends tend to daily. Dodds impresses as a continuing proponent of local resources and many chefs in the area do as well. Stay seasonally savvy my friends.

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If you wish to attend the upcoming dinner at Central 214 see details here:

“All You Need is Love” Dinner for the Promise of Peace Community Garden

Central 214′s Chef Graham Dodds and guest Chef Chad Houser (Café Momentum) will be cooking up some love for the Promise of Peace Community Garden at this special five-course dinner with wine.  Guests will also enjoy live music by Bob and Sally Ackerman and a raffle for a variety of luxury prizes.

All proceeds will go to the Promise of Peace Garden in East Dallas, supporting the summer kids’ camps and the building of a new garden at CC Young Retirement Center on Earth Day 2013, in collaboration with Kimpton’s Hotel Palomar Dallas and Central 214.

Price is $85 per person.  Purchase tickets here:  http://promiseofpeaceus.eventbrite.com/#

Celebrity chefs will join Chef John Tesar on Friday, October 19^th, 2012 at the Stodghill Home for the fourth annual Burgers & Burgundy event benefitting The Dallas Chapter of DIFFA (Design Industry Foundation Fighting AIDS).

“DIFFA plays a major part in HIV/AIDS funding, awareness and prevention education in the North Texas area, having granted over $4.5 million dollars since 1988. The Dallas chapter is the Foundation’s largest and most successful in the country and has made significant financial contributions to AIDS Service Organizations in the North Texas area.  The DIFFA grants process includes site visits, fiscal scrutiny, and personal interviews with potential grantees to insure that funds are appropriated where they can do the most good.”

Photo credit Side Dish

This years Burgers and Burgundy Hosts Steve and Anne Stodghill

Burgers and Burgundy will be at the home of Steve and Anne Stodghill on Friday, Oct 19. Chefs serving their Wine and Burger pairings alongside Tesar will be announced soon but set your calendar for the most anticipated grill out of the season.

For more info on the event, and for ticket sales click here

more info? visit www.diffadallas.org,

OMG S’mores

Stacy Fawcett, of Fawcett Foods Inc., is bring a bit of summer fun one S’more at a time. Fawcett has been spreading the ooey, gooey love all over the metroplex. The OMG S’mores Kits, sold at participating Whole Foods stores throughout the metroplex, are the perfect way to end an evening or as Stacy herself does it “dessert first”. My kinda girl! The best thing about OMG S’mores beside the treats themselves is the cause they support. The “Kits for a Cause” help bring awareness and funding to the North Texas Food Banks “Stick it to Hunger Campaign” and a percentage of proceeds is contributed. The kits include all the ingredients you need including chocolate bars, marshmallows, graham crackers and roasting rods. And heck, you can even go the organic route; OMG S’mores comes in a natural version too!  This do-it-yourself treat makes our top 3 because who doesn’t love a nostalgic sweet that makes you feel good inside and out? You can snag  the s’mores at Whole Foods!

Trailercakes

The cupcake. Though this frosting topped poppable treat has taken the world by storm, not all ‘cupcakeries’ can fend for the fact that summer love is actually baked right into these morsels. Heather Zidell and Leora Azoulay Lesh have found happiness in the frosting to be the key. Decide on one of their many delicious flavors of cupcakes and enjoy! This summer, Trailercakes has rolled out a new flavor ‘Caramel Eileen’ that is bound to be the talk at your next barbeque or pool party. The makings of a classic seasonal sweet treat come together in the form of a Caramel cake, decadent ‘caramel goodness’ and a Salted Caramel frosting that’ll knock your socks off. Cupcakes are a usual suspect at summer get together but trust me when I say, you’ll want to spring for Trailercakes because this Food Truck is doing it right. Follow Trailercakes on Twitter or order online for pick up at their Richardson Kitchen!

Oh*Brownie

When she is not planning amazing events like Chefs for Farmers, trying to balance the ‘chef in the spotlight’ lifestyle of her talented husband Matthew or wrangling in the husband and daughter, Iris McCallister is a brownie force to be reckoned with. Oh*Brownie is the company, and baking chocolate gold bar is the name of the game. Brownies may seem simple but Iris is doing things her way and has perfected the art along the way. After creating 10 deliciously different flavors of brownies, McCallister has hit the happiness jackpot. “Warm it up and serve it with ice cream!”, she’ll say. Few actually get paces away from purchase before the brownie disappears…into their mouth. She delivers, she bakes and she’s got the brownie skills to back it up! So make the summer sinfully sweet with an ‘O.G.’ or peanut butter ‘Smooth Operator’ and never look back. Buy ‘em directly off the website or call 1.800.317.8830

On Saturday night attendees arrived at the Goss-Michael Foundation, located in the Dallas Design District, in support of Water-Thirst. The evening, sponsored by Smart water, Sewell and Kim Dawson Agency to name a few, was a stunning call to action for this much buzzed about cause. Helen Ficalora was on hand selling one of a kind Africa necklaces of which 100% of proceeds go towards Water-Thirst.

Things kicked off with a expertly guided tour of the curated collection of art pieces being auctioned off during the event. Aja Martin, the 2012-13 Graduate Curatorial Assistant at the Nasher Sculpture Center, swept us through the original works that were selected based on their relevancy for the cause. Local and Texas based artists were showcased and some very familiar Dallas landmarks took their place in the modern and photographically centered works.

Following the tour was a touching short clip that accentuated the dire need for clean and running water in the poverty stricken areas of Africa. We were then treated to a short private concert by local up and coming indie/pop band Aprilemade. Benefit attendees swarmed the open gallery and the hors d’oeuvres from Bridge Bistro were passed. Appetizers included a stilton cheesecake, duck confit tartlets and an apricot, goat cheese turnover. Bridge Bistro owner Kay Agnew was on hand to help guide the delicious bites around the room.

This exciting and special evening was one to remember with a live traditional African band followed by an over the top DJ. Lana and Zack have truly outdone themselves when it comes to raising awareness for the cause that needs the most attention. Water-Thirst is continues to seek a solution to the global water crisis but with ‘Quenched’ around, and a Dallas who’s-who backing a worthwhile cause I foresee this event becoming a staple.

To find out more visit: http://water-thirst.org/