Peak summer in Texas means watermelons are at their ripest, and one farmers market will celebrate the seasonal fruit with a two-day festival featuring more than 20 varieties. On the pairing dinners front this week, tequila, mezcal, and wines from the largest Black-owned wine company in the US are on the menu. So is a classic fast-food ice cream treat from which sales on Thursday will benefit a good cause.<\/p>\n
Wednesday, July 29<\/p>\n
Chef Collective Series at Meridian Stag’s Leap Cellars Wine Dinners at Centrale Italia<\/a> Racho Mezcal Dinner at Crown Block Thursday, July 30<\/p>\n Miracle Treat Day at DQ McBride Sisters Wine Dinner at Radici Wood Fired Grill Herradura Pairing Dinner at Whiskey Cake Friday, July 31<\/p>\n Grand opening of Kroger Little Elm<\/a> Saturday, August 1<\/p>\n
<\/a>Meridian executive chef Eduardo Osorio will collaborate with chefs Joshua Zacharias and Brenda Perez of the intimate Vietnamese-inspired supper club, Restaurant Shua, for an exclusive eight-course tasting event. Guests will experience live-fire cooking, storytelling, and creative dishes from sea urchin and sweet shrimp canh chua tom soup to blue mussel Vietnamese crepes. Dinner is $185 and seating times run from 4:30-8:45 pm.<\/p>\n
The Preston Hollow Village destination for upscale Italian (and sister restaurant to Princi Italia) will host its first wine dinner. Centrale Italia\u2019s<\/a> three-course pairing dinner will feature Napa Valley\u2019s Stag\u2019s Leap Cellars. Menu items will include Laura Chenel goat cheese-filled zucchini flowers paired with a Sauvignon Blanc spritz, summer ravioli primavera paired with Chardonnay, Alaskan king salmon paired with \u201cArtemis\u201d Cabernet Sauvignon, and grilled peach shortcake. Dinner is $85 and begins at 6:30 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The sky-high restaurant atop Reunion Tower will host Racho Mezcal co-founders Matt Ornstein and Danial Ayala, who\u2019ll guide guests through a four-course pairing dinner prepared by Crown Block executive chef John Pineda. Each course \u2013 like the main entr\u00e9e of Akaushi Wagyu strip with roasted carrots, burnt onion soubise, guajillo demi-glace, and smoked bone marrow butter \u2013 will come with a unique mezcal cocktail. The dinner is $150 and begins at 7 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/a>Have something sweet for a good cause. Buy a Blizzard Treat at participating DQ restaurants in Dallas-Fort Worth and $1 from each sale will benefit Children\u2019s Miracle Network, an organization that supports patients at Children’s Health and Cook Children’s. Try one of the new limited edition globally inspired Blizzard varieties, including Biscoff Cookie, Mexican-Style Hot Chocolate made with ABUELITA, and Strawberry Mango-flavored Mochi. Miracle Treat Day has raised more than $195 million across the country over the last 42 years.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Farmers Branch outlet of chef Tiffany Derry\u2019s Radici will host a multicourse pairing dinner featuring wines from McBride Sisters, the largest Black-owned wine company in the U.S. Founded by sisters Robin McBride and Andr\u00e9a McBride John, the company is popular for its Black Girl Magic portfolio, She Can canned wines, and the McBride Sisters collection. The dinner is $125 and begins at 6:30 pm.<\/p>\n
<\/a>The Plano outlet of the popular Southern comfort food chain invites guests to indulge in four courses (plus a tequila street corn amuse bouche) paired with four unique Herradura Tequila cocktails. Dishes include grilled octopus salad, compressed watermelon with prawns and peppers, tequila-ancho chile-glazed picanha, and fried strawberry ice cream. Tickets are $95 and the dinner begins at 7 pm.<\/p>\n
Kroger will celebrate the grand opening of its new Marketplace store in Little Elm<\/a> when doors open at 6 am. Festivities will include performances by the Little Elm High School marching band, drill team, and cheerleaders, plus product sampling, demonstrations, special guests, and giveaways including gift cards, small appliances, and breakfast items. Exclusive store discounts will continue through August 4, including 30 cents off per gallon at the store\u2019s new Fuel Center with a Kroger Rewards Card during the weekends of July 31-August 2, 2026 and again on August 7-9. The address is 26857 E. University Drive, Aubrey (though it’s called the “Little Elm” store.)<\/p>\n