Savor Dallas: My Favorite Food Festival + Free Ticket Giveaway!

2015 Post-Event Update: I no longer recommend attending this event. It has been steadily declining for the past the three years to the point where the 2015 event was not worth going to. Here's why: None of the media reviewers I see there every year or strangers I talked to in line were wowed by the creativity and flavor in any of the dishes this year. This downhill trend started at the 2013 event and has culminated in zero "wows" in 2015. It's nearly the same vendors every year. It seems more of them have figured out they need to make the food ahead of time. Perhaps that explains why taste and creativity has suffered. Although I don't understand why they haven't also learned to bring more food because every year a quarter of the booths run out of food one hour before the event ends and almost no one has food with 30 minutes left. The ticket price used to be cheaper and a good value with several really creative and delicious dishes to try, but $120 ticket price per person is not even remotely worth what you get now. I recommend spending that money on the much tastier and more creative food at any of the reputable restaurants in Dallas.
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You know I attend most of the food and drink festivals and events in DFW, but the one I look forward to the most is this Saturday's annual Savor Dallas International Grand Tasting. I like this event best because it offers the biggest variety of food from so many of the top restaurants in DFW—plus wine, beer, and spirits—and all of it is all-you-can-eat/drink. Also, there are no stupid food coupons needed to buy each item. In the words of comedian, John Pinette, you can just, "grab and move, grab and move!" The only thing you need to bring is a very empty stomach because you can't possibly taste everything at this event!

My favorite chocolatier, Kate Weiser Chocolates, will be there!

Be My Guest at GrapeFest

My friend at ILiveinDallas.com wrote the full article on this, but feel free to leave me a comment on this page.

Ladies and gents, this is a call for single men in Dallas who enjoy wine. Help your guy friends out here and let them know about this awesome opportunity to drink free wine with a fun single lady…

You may already know her as "Dallas Foodie". She posts about food and drinks in her social media profiles and occasionally writes for this site. She is also a personal friend of mine, so I can vouch for her awesomeness. She has an extra pass for an exclusive, behind-the-scenes, guided wine tasting tour of GrapeFest, so I told her I'd help her find an eligible gentleman to be her guest. This tour isn't available to the general public, so it is a very unique opportunity for a lucky guy. She wanted me to clarify that this is not a "date", but there are 140 Texas wines you can taste, so it's sure to be a fun time!

   

Read the rest of this article at ILiveinDallas.com.

Who Wants to Try Some Free Jalapeño Tequila?

Let's all give a little good will, and possibly get a little free tequila!

In a nutcracker's nutshell: I have the free tequila, and you have a favorite restaurant in Dallas who would probably love to know how much you love them. Together, we can put smiles on several people's faces! Here's how…

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on Saturday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Saturday is a lot like Sunday in terms of free food—there really isn't any in restaurants and bars. Instead, you have to hunt for free taste samples at EatZi's, Whole Foods, Central Market, or local farmer's markets. Luckily, the selections there are best on the weekend anyway!

Dallas Farmer's Market

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on Friday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Friday is not a one of the better free food nights of the week. As far as I could tell, the options are limited to the restaurants that offer the same free food deal Monday–Friday: Blue Mesa Grill, and reportedly, Campisi's.

Blue Mesa Grill
I think every location of Blue Mesa Grill has been offering this deal since the beginning of time, A.K.A. when I arrived in Dallas four years ago. The deal is every weekday from 4-6PM (note the early end time), their bar features a self-serve chips & salsa station and a grill station with mini-quesadillas cooked-to-order.

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on Thursday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Thursday is a bit of an iffy day for free food in Dallas. None of the deals I found are really advertised in writing, but if you know where to go, you can find something decent to eat. This is where Nick & Sam's Grill comes in.

Nick & Sam's Grill

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on Wednesday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Wednesday is probably the best quality free food of the week: sushi! Steel restaurant is the kind of highly acclaimed sushi place that you might go to for a nice Saturday night date, but not for a Wednesday happy hour; and thus, we get free sushi happy hour Wednesdays!

Steel's Wednesday night free sushi happy hour has been going on for the past two years or longer. I haven't been since sometime in 2010, and the gig has definitely changed. Overall I think the changes are for the better, but there are some changes that could be construed for the worse.

What Hasn't Changed:

1. Unlimited Sushi: The servers literally (borderline rudely) shove plates of sushi in your face without you asking for more, sometimes before you're even done with the previous plate. You will definitely leave here full!

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on Tuesday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Tuesdays don't have many options for free food, but Frankie's Sports Bar & Grill covers the evening well in free pizza with the purchase of a drink. This freebie stands out from the others in a few ways… 

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on Monday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week". Editor's note: Trece closed on Monday, August 1, 2011.

Monday is the best free food night of the week. Not only are there lots of restaurants with food specials, but there are two restaurants offering totally free, two-course dinners, with no purchase required! Check out my receipt showing "Monday Dinner" discount at -$47.95 in free food for two people! My friend wanted to buy wine, so that plus tip was our only expense.

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas on a Sunday

This article is part of my weeklong food blog series, "How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week".

Sunday is tied with Saturday for the worst day of the week to eat free food in Dallas. This makes logical business sense because people eat out on the weekends anyway, so there's no need to entice them with free food (although there are a lot of alcoholic drink specials on Sundays). Since I couldn't find any restaurants or bars offering free food on Sundays, that leaves only the grocery-type places where you can get free taste samples, and Dallas has some pretty good ones.

EatZi's

How to Eat Free Food in Dallas Every Day of the Week

Dallas is a restaurant mecca. We have some great food here, and there are some times when this food is actually FREE. I want to know if it is possible to eat free in Dallas at least once a day for a whole week. Starting Sunday, July 24, 2011, I will investigate what you need to do to get the free food and let you know how good it tastes. Every day I'll update the list below with a link to the daily report on where I went, but I'm keeping the spots a secret until I go!

Let me first establish what qualifies for this "free food". Mainly, I want you to be able to follow in my footsteps, so although it'd be fairly easy to eat free for a week with one-time deals like coupons, contests, and events, I'm not going be taking advantage of them unless they occur on a regular repeating basis. Also, I'm not going to be wearing the T-shirt I use to do yard work to get served at a soup kitchen or church function, and I won't be buying a SMU hoodie to sneak into a club meeting with free pizza. I'm just going to be an average person, walking into the right restaurant, bar, or food venue at the right time, and I'm going to eat real, free food.

Where to Get Mavs Championship Deals on Food & Drinks in Dallas

And now, let the slew of local discounts in honor of the Maverick's win begin! Here's the skinny on restaurants and bars that I know are offering specials in honor of the Mavs NBA Championship.

If you know of more, please add them in the comments and I will update this article.

10 Really Great Restaurants with Free Food or 1/2 Off Deals

Not only is Dallas a city full of great-tasting food, it's also a city where you can get some great food entirely for FREE, or at least 1/2 off—you just have to know where, when, and how to get it. I've personally tried most of these deals myself so I can vouch that they are for real. And there's one for almost every day of the week! Here's my compilation of the best-tasting weekly food deals in Dallas...

Sundays

1/2 off sushi rolls @ Kona Grill (during dinner hours only)

Kona's sushi is some of the best-tasting in DFW. They have a crab roll with tempura flakes on top that is unlike any sushi roll I've seen anywhere, and it tastes amazing. It's hard to believe it's only $3.25! The Philadelphia Roll was $3.00 and super fresh tasting. At these half-off sushi rates, my bottled tea drink cost more than one sushi roll! Two rolls is enough to feed two people, so a Sunday night sushi dinner date for two will cost you about $6.25. Dallas Foodie insider tip: sign up for their mailing list and they'll send you a coupon for a free appetizer, then next time you can get an appetizer AND two sushi rolls for only $6.25. I've done it! Location: inside Northpark Mall, on the north side.