BBQ News

BBQ restaurant on Dallas' Greenville Ave embraces Central Texas 'cue

Getting to the meat of the matter.

Photo courtesy of Smokin' C's

UPDATE 6/14/2019: The restaurant has opened on June 14 under the name Stiky Ribz Texas BBQ. While Jason Caswell and Shawn Corley are still involved, the restaurant is being run day-to-day by Jerry & Jennifer Reed, who co-own Stiky Ribz in Forney, which opened in 2018.

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Louie King BBQ, a barbecue joint that opened on Greenville Avenue in 2018, has closed, but there's a new barbecue restaurant taking its place.

Called Smokin' C's BBQ, it'll do "strictly Central Texas traditional style BBQ," and is shooting for an opening of June 1.

Located in the former Daddy Jack's space at 1916 Greenville Ave., Louie King was a venture from Sameer Patel and Patrick Bruce, who own Feed Company and Leela's Wine Bar + ABV, also in the Lower Greenville area.

Louie King's was their attempt to do something different on the barbecue front, with items such as Akuashi brisket, Pittsburgh hot links, and rabbit sliders. But their pitmaster, Will Fleischman, formerly of Lockhart Smokehouse, departed not long after they opened.

The new team is Jason Caswell and his partner Shawn Corley, a pair of hot turnaround artists whose portfolio of revived restaurants includes LG Taps on Greenville Avenue in the former J Pepe's space; and Ross & Hall, the bar they opened in the former Little Woodrow's. Their last names both begin with C, thus the Smokin' C's.

Caswell says they're also avid BBQ hobbyists who've always dreamed of doing a barbecue joint.

"We'd looked at opening a BBQ joint in the Greenville Avenue area and then Louie King opened," Caswell says. "We didn't want to try and compete. We wanted to see what Louie King would do. We tried their food, and it was good. It was eclectic; it had different things on the menu. I hate what happened to them, you hate to see anybody go out of business. We contacted the owners and said, 'Let us come in and rebrand.'"

Their approach will be the Central Texas-style barbecue that aficionados know and love, a la Franklin Barbecue in Austin and Smoke Sessions Barbecue in Royse City.

"I've been cooking BBQ in my backyard for years, and I feel like I'm in tune," Caswell says. "I really hope our stuff holds up to the people that I revere and look up to."

The menu will include brisket, pork belly burnt ends — "like bacon burnt ends," Caswell says — pork ribs, beef ribs, pulled pork, and sausage. Sides will be basic: potato salad, cole slaw, baked beans with brisket and jalapenos, and mac and cheese.

"We're also going to do 'Texas twinkies' — bacon-wrapped jalapeños stuffed with brisket and cream cheese — fun stuff," he says.

They'll have beer and wine, and they'll only be open Thursdays-Sundays, but they'll feature daily specials like pork loin and smoked meat loaf.

"It's always been a dream of mine to have a BBQ place as kind of a 'when I get ready to retire' deal," Caswell says. "I'm just getting a jump start."

greenville-avenue barbecue

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.

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