Social House

Social restaurant brings boffo brunch and patio to Arlington

Social House is opening in Arlington.

Photo courtesy of Social House

Dallas-Fort Worth lands an opportunity to get social with Social House Arlington, the fourth branch of a small restaurant-bar chain that serves from-scratch food, many beers on tap, and a friendly, welcoming atmosphere.

Social House is the linchpin concept from the Syn Group, the hospitality company founded in 2006 by Jonathan Serrano and Shawn Rao. The other three Social House locations are in Uptown Dallas, Addison, and Fort Worth.

The Arlington location will go into Champions Park, a new development on the northeast corner of I-30 and Collins Street, within eyeshot of AT&T Stadium. Social House will not be alone: The complex will also have a Torchy's Tacos, Cowboys Nail Lounge, Firehouse Subs, gourmet burger chain BurgerFi, Tokyo Joe’s, Urban Bricks Pizza, Salata, Yumilicious, and Tiff’s Treats, and that's just the first phase.

The complex steps up the game for Arlington, whose collection of restaurants vacillates mostly between mid-level chains and indie/ethnic finds.

"I feel like the Arlington market is under-served, there's not that many cool things," Rao says.

Social House Arlington will have some of your key 2017-era features including 50 taps of beer on draft, a spacious patio, and brunch, for which Social House has won best-of awards.

Everyone does brunch these days, but brunch in a way embodies the enduring charm of Social House as a place to eat waffles, drink cocktails, and hang out. It has a fun bar atmosphere, but with better versions of the usual bar food, from mussels to calamari to nachos to burgers.

The first incarnation of Social House opened in the West Village in 2009, followed by a branch in Addison in 2011. West Village closed, but a new Social House opened in Uptown in 2013, in the former Arcodoro Pomodoro space, where they came to appreciate the value of an outdoor space. Fort Worth opened in early 2016.

"They each have slightly different vibes, each are designed differently to fit the neighborhood," Rao says. "Arlington will have a center bar that's similar to the Fort Worth location, and it'll have an indoor-outdoor patio with accordion doors."

One thing that's changed in the past few years has been the attitude towards beer, Rao says.

"When we opened Uptown, we had 100 taps because the craft beer trend was on the rise, and we did that in Fort Worth, but we'll never do 100 again," he says. "The trend is going to having cocktails on tap. We have 15 cocktails on tap, like a Moscow mule. We did 10 at American Gardens, our other concept in Fort Worth, and in Arlington, we're going to do 15. Things are so competitive, we always try to think three steps ahead."

brunch openings

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