Uptown News

Cult-favorite salad chain opens first Dallas outpost in West Village

They do great salads in a fast-food setting.

Sweetgreen

A healthy California-based restaurant concept is finally coming to town: Called Sweetgreen, it's a chain that does healthy food on a large scale, and it will open its first Dallas restaurant on November 23 in what is becoming the healthiest new destination: West Village.

According to a release, the restaurant will be located at 3636 McKinney Ave., #100, in the former Brooks Brothers space right on the corner, and continues a winning streak for West Village, which will also be home to a new location of Mendocino Farms, opening in early summer 2022.

Sweetgreen's philosophy is that "real food" should be convenient and accessible to everyone in a fast-food setting, making sustainable decisions and never sacrificing quality for convenience.

The company was founded in 2007 by three students at Georgetown University in Washington, DC, before relocating to Los Angeles in 2016. They currently have more than 140 locations across the U.S.

They source high-quality ingredients, with fresh produce delivered each morning for their rotating seasonal menus.

The Dallas store will use locally sourced products including bread from Empire Baking Co., Romaine from Fredericksburg Peach Co. in Fredericksburg, and tomatoes from Village Harvest in Marfa, which is sort of local.

Favorites from the menu include:

Kale Caesar with roasted chicken, tomatoes, parmesan crisps, shaved parmesan, shredded kale, chopped romaine, lime squeeze and caesar dressing
Harvest Bowl with roasted chicken, roasted sweet potatoes, apples, goat cheese, roasted almonds, warm wild rice, shredded kale and balsamic vinaigrette
Guacamole Greens with roasted chicken, avocado, tomatoes, red onion, shredded cabbage, tortilla chips, spring mix, chopped romaine, lime squeeze and lime cilantro jalapeno vinaigrette.

The Dallas restaurant will also feature a dish that's exclusive to Texas: Garlic Chili Shrimp Bowl, featuring Cajun shrimp, wild rice, shredded kale, shredded cabbage, red onions, raw carrots, apples, raw pecans, fresh herbs, a lime squeeze, and nuoc cham dressing.

The space accommodates 32 indoor diners with additional seating for 26 on its outdoor patio.

"With each new market we enter, we become students to make sure that it’s a fit for both the locals who live there and our restaurants,'' says Sweetgreen co-founder and Chief Concept Officer Nicolas Jammet in a statement. "Dallas felt like a natural next step for us -- the community is active, its home to great music and arts, and of course, has a thriving culinary scene. We couldn’t be more excited to finally open our doors in this amazing city."

To celebrate the opening, Sweetgreen will offer free delivery for the first two weeks when guests order through their mobile app. For every meal sold on Monday, November 29, Sweetgreen will donate a meal to Brighter Bites, a food nonprofit.

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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