The starter at Quarter Acre’s Drifter Dinner Series for October. | Courtney E. Smith A drifter dinner series treat, a shockingly good vegetarian bowl, a great gumbo, and more make the cut this month The amount of excellent food available in Dallas is dizzying, yet mediocre meals somehow keep worming their way into our lives. With your Eater Dallas editor dining out frequently, that means coming across lots of standout dishes and drinks that need to be shared. Courtney E. Smith Courtney E. Smith Quarter Acre 2023 Greenville Ave., #110 Chef Toby Archibald extended an invitation to the Drifter Dinner Series for October, featuring a collaboration with chef Gavin Kaysen of Spoon and Stable in Minneapolis — whom Archibald knows through their time working together at chef Daniel Boulud’s restaurants. Picking favorite courses from the nine that were served is difficult. Not only were they wildly different, thanks to the work of the two chefs, but they were all exceptional. Two standouts included the starter of a mind-blowing oyster topped with spiced pomegranate foam and one of Archibald’s signature gourgere puffs of cheese and bread, but also an outstanding corn custard topped with caviar. Also loaded with wow factor was Kaysen’s signature tamarind pork chop, which was so packed with flavor and juice that it could change anyone into a pork lover. Also deserving of a shout-out were the wine pairings for the night, which were frequently bold and occasionally even challenging. Seeing more of that adventurous spirit in Dallas dining would be great. Seats are still available for the final dinner in November. Courtney E. Smith Righteous Foods 3405 W 7th St. in Fort Worth Who says you can’t have a great meal without beef in Cowtown? This poke bowl from Righteous Foods, which has a deeply Austin vibe, was brunch one hungover Sunday morning, and it did my mind and body right. It comes with ahi tuna, sticky rice, avocado, Fuji apples, a marinated kale salad with some mayo dressing, pickled cabbage and carrots, and cucumber. It ate as pretty as it looked. Courtney E. Smith Moxies 100 Crescent Ct, Dallas, TX 75201 Close Eater Dallas followers know that Moxies’ sticky toffee pudding, a warm cake doused in caramel sauce and pecans, jumped onto our dessert map — it’s perfect for fall. But on a recent trip, we also tried a newly added menu item. The mushroom zen bowl is a vegetarian option, but one does not need to observe to enjoy it. It features what is listed on the menu as a “crispy shiitake protein,” the stems of shiitake mushrooms. They truly eat like meat and soak up the soy ginger glaze like it. You can hardly convince me this isn’t a take on a broccoli and beef bowl. Courtney E. Smith Courtney E. Smith Georgie 4514 Travis St., Suite 132 A trip to Georgie for brunch yielded a couple of really great dishes. First is the biscuit and duck confit gravy with a fried egg and shallots. This takes a typical brunch dish and simply replaces the meat, which might typically be a ham or bacon, with duck confit. It’s got depth and flash. We also tried the brown butter poached oysters with seaweed oil and Kaluga caviar, which chef RJ Yoakum tells me is his ode to his mentor Thomas Keller and the oysters at the French Laundry. They’re rich and decadent — and make a wonderful brunch accompaniment. Courtney E. Smith S&D Oyster Co. 2701 McKinney Ave. With the weather cooling down (kind of) and bowls of hearty soup and stew sounding better and better, now is the time to head to S&D for a bowl of its gumbo. It’s got the same dark roux it always had and quite a bite. And although it eats like meat, this is a seafood base with shrimp, oysters, and fish among the okra and tomatoes. Courtney E. Smith Restaurant Beatrice 1111 N Beckley Ave. My favorite meal of the year is this restaurant’s cochon de lait, where a pig from chef Michelle Carpenter’s family farm in Louisiana gets roasted and served in every course. Pictured here is the first course, with Cajun-spiced pork rinds with some hot sauce that blew my heat-o-meter, muffuletta deviled eggs with bacon, sweet tea brined riblets, and the best bite, which was the pork belly burnt ends briochette (they’re on the stick). Put attending on your calendar for next year.