This Week In Gluttony

Top Chef Masters' Curtis Stone headlines the best food and drink events in Dallas

We're heavy on the booze this week, which happens when there's an entire party devoted to single malt scotches and a festival designed to get as many unique and wonderful beers in one place at the same time. Beyond those offerings, there's a wine dinner at the Gaylord Texan and a crawfish boil on McKinney Avenue to raise funds for local veterans.

Of course, none of those events have Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders like the ninth annual Taste of the NFL. Plan your week in gluttony appropriately.

Thursday, April 18

20th Annual Single Malt & Scotch Whisky Extravaganza
If you’re in the mood for some scotch and cigars, the Scotch Malt Whisky Society puts on its 20th annual event devoted to the finest single malt scotches in the world from 7-9 pm at the Dallas Marriot Quorum by the Galleria. Tickets are $150 for non-members, but if you wrangle more than eight people together, the price goes down to $135, which is also the price for members. How hard could it be to find eight people that like scotch?

Friday, April 19

Curtis Stone at Central Market Lovers Lane
Join Curtis Stone, host of Bravo’s Top Chef Masters, for a book signing and cooking class to promote his new book, What’s For Dinner? Delicious Recipes for a Busy Life, at the Lovers Lane Central Market from 5-7:30 pm. Stone demonstrates how to create three recipes from the book, including a chicken and arugula salad with zucchini and a lemon caper vinaigrette. For $55 you receive a signed book; some sparkling wine; and a salad, cheese, charcuterie and bread plate.

Beringer Winemaker Dinner at Gaylord Texan
The Wine & Food Society hosts this dinner at the Old Hickory Steakhouse, with a menu from executive chef Joanne Bondy. Dishes include braised duck with spiced Texmati rice, grilled venison, peach brûlée and more. Tickets are $169 for non-members and $135 for members. Dinners runs from 6:30-9:30 pm.

Saturday, April 20

2013 Untapped Music and Beer Festival
The inaugural Untapped Music and Beer Festival takes place at Panther Island Pavilion in Fort Worth, with a slew of local bands and craft breweries, all presented by Paste magazine. Bands include Justin Townes Earle, Deer Tick, Sarah Jaffe, Tennis, The Orbans, Skeleton Coast, Somebody's Darling and Dove Hunter; breweries such as Rahr & Sons, Franconia, Deep Ellum Brewing Company and Four Corners quench your thirst for beer. Tickets range from $22 to $58.

Fourth Annual Boil for the Brave
McKinney Avenue Tavern hosts its fourth annual Boil for the Brave to support Dallas-Forth Worth veterans. The goal is to raise $50,000 for building or repairing housing for disabled veterans in the community after raising more than $25,000 last year. Tickets are $25 with unlimited beer and crawfish. The boil goes from 2-6 pm.

North Texas Taco Festival
The North Texas Taco Festival celebrates the breadth of tacos available in Dallas-Fort Worth. Taco vendors will include Cafeteria y Loncheria El Padrino, Rusty Taco, Rock and Roll Tacos and So-Cal Tacos. Zen Bistro & Dessert Bar will offer a unique option with Filipino tacos. Deep Ellum Brewing Company will also be on hand to serve some local brews. The festival runs from 11 am to 5 pm.

Sunday, April 21

Ninth Annual Taste of the NFL
This is a night of food, football-themed fun and fundraising that helps tackle childhood hunger, as it benefits the North Texas Food Bank. There are 15 gourmet food stations featuring tailgate-inspired fare from top Dallas-Fort Worth area chefs, along with wine, beer and signature cocktails. Also enjoy live music from Emerald City, a silent and live auction, Cowboys players (past and present), and appearances by Dallas Cowboys cheerleaders. Tickets are $150 per person or $250 per couple in advance online or $175 per person at the door.

Curtis Stone comes to Central Market April 19 for a cooking class.

Curtis Stone Facebook

Curtis Stone comes to Central Market April 19 for a cooking class.

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Chocolate News

Richardson dessert shop Chocolate Drip lays out eye-catching treats

Chocolate Drip

Chocolate bear with pistachio sauce at Chocolate Drip

A dessert shop in Richardson has become the toast of the sweets world: Called Chocolate Drip, it opened in August at 1057 S. Sherman St., in a center east of US-75 near Spring Valley Road, where it's rolling out some eye-catching chocolate treats.

Chocolate Drip is a passion project from Mohammad Quzmar, a Palestinian-born owner who moved to Dallas four years ago and taught himself to cook through tinkering. That experimentation has translated into a constantly evolving menu, with new creations appearing whenever inspiration strikes — earning him a growing reputation as something of a modern-day Willy Wonka.

"Chocolate is my passion. I just love being in the kitchen and creating,” he says.

The cafe's offerings are extensive, from sweet breakfast staples like pancakes and waffles to off-menu items teased on the café’s Instagram, such as the Dubai Drip platter — an interactive fondue plate with fruit, brownies, waffles, marshmallows, to be dipped into melted chocolate and pistachio cream.

Many of his items have the kind of eye-catching twists and table-side presentations that draw attention on Instagram, such as the cruffle (a waffle made from a croissant) topped with spaghetti-like strands of gelato, which a server extrudes through a potato ricer right before your eyes.

Other signatures include a teddy bear made of chocolate mousse and kanafa, finished with pistachio sauce for $13.30, and crepes filled with a brownie, with pistachio and chocolate sauce for $15.

Prices are not cheap but these are ultra-decadent items with generous portions, often meant for sharing.

The drink list is ambitious, spanning coffee, matcha, smoothies, milkshakes, and nonalcoholic mocktails. It's obvious Quzmar is having fun, rolling out his versions of viral items like the famous s'mores hot chocolate pioneered by New York dessert shop Glace, which features a cap made of marshmallow meringue that’s torched and topped with a chocolate bonbon.

There are also a few savory offerings like egg-and-cheese crepes, a salmon croissant, and a turkey waffle. Those in the know also come to order Middle Eastern treats like salab, a creamy milk drink topped with cinnamon; and Om Ali, a sugary pudding with nuts, dried fruit, and coconut.

Named after the Gen Z slang for “cool” or “stylish,” Drip is meant to be a hangout spot more than a quick dessert stop, Quzmar says — a place to linger over brunch, then return late night to a place that feels buzzy and fun sans alcohol.

“Everyone who works here is either family or treated like family and everything is homemade with love," he says.

desserts openings