Cookie News

Downtown Dallas art venue debuts first real-deal Girl Scout cocktails

A cocktail with a Girl Scout cookie theme at Sweet Tooth Hotel.

TA Visuals

January 12 is the official kickoff of Girl Scout cookie season, meaning you can now get your Thin Mint Fix as well as order a box of the new special Raspberry Rally flavor, available online only.

But in 2023, Girl Scouts of Northeast Texas (GSNETX) have collaborated with a hip downtown Dallas lounge to offer Girl Scout cookie flavors in a revolutionary new way: cocktails.

It's going down at Sweet Tooth Hotel, the innovative immersive art venue, which will host the first official cookie cocktail bar in Dallas, at 1511 Elm St.

Beginning January 13, Girl Scouts will take over the lobby area with an interactive photo installation featuring cookie box creations and photo props. Local troops will be setting up shop and selling cookies on weekends.

While many bars and restaurants have concocted their own Girl Scout cookie-themed drinks, this will be the first authorized and official menu with five cocktails, in which GSNETX worked closely with the Sweet Tooth team to ensure that each cocktail would be true to the cookie.

The cocktails were devised by Sweet Tooth bar manager Steven Yeager. Cookies that provided inspiration include Trefoils shortbread, Thin Mints, TagAlongs, Lemon-Ups, and Samoas.

"As we reimagine Girl Scouts for a new generation with even more momentum in 2023, cookie season is no exception," says Jennifer Barkowski, CEO of GSNETX, in a release. "This is a great opportunity to get more people in Dallas buzzing about our cookies and generate greater interest in Girl Scouting and our Entrepreneurial Program."

Sweet Tooth Hotel, which brings together work by most innovative local and national artists, seems like a fitting venue. Their first installation offered five sugar-themed rooms based on brand name treats. They also have a specialty bar featuring whimsical craft cocktails at their downtown Dallas flagship location.

But beyond that, Sweet Tooth Hotel cofounder Jencey Keeton and other Sweet Tooth Hotel staffers have a personal connection, holding fond memories of growing up as Girl Scouts, earning patches, and selling cookies. Jencey still even has her sash.

"The Girl Scouts taught me to be creative, resourceful, and collaborative. I learned all kinds of entrepreneurial and leadership skills that have helped me be successful in my career today," she says. "It's such an amazing organization doing important work for young girls, and we want everyone in the area to know it."

They'll host a kickoff party on Friday, January 13, with DJ Ursa Minor and a green carpet event. Doors open at 7:30 pm. The partnership will extend through National Girl Scout Cookie Weekend, with special events each month, including a Galentine's Party on February 9 and a grand finale "Goodbye Girl Scout" event on March 3.

They still have a few tickets for the kick off event. You can RSVP at https://www.showclix.com/event/girl-scouts-cookie-launch-party.

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Dumpling News

Asian soup dumpling chain Ugly Dumpling to open location in Allen

Ugly Dumpling

Colorful dumplings from Ugly Dumpling

A new dumpling concept is coming to Dallas-Fort Worth: Called Ugly Dumpling, it's a chain specializing in Chinese soup dumplings, and it's opening its first DFW location in Allen, at 213 N. Central Expy., near the intersection of McDermott Road, where it will debut in early fall.

Ugly Dumpling is from Vertex Hospitality Group, a national restaurant franchise organization whose portfolio includes two other Asian chains, KPOT Hot Pot & Korean BBQ (which has a location in Arlington and another coming to Fort Worth), and Kinya Ramen.

Buoyed by the success of those two brands, Vertex launched Ugly Dumpling in 2023, opening the first location in Edison, New Jersey. They now list 26 locations on their website, in Virginia, New Jersey, Maryland, Delaware, Connecticut, New York, Massachusetts, and Texas, although 14 are "coming soon," including one in Austin that's been in the works since 2024.

Soup dumplings — official name, xiao long bao — are a dish of Shanghai origin that are popular due to their unique combination of a delicate dough wrapper enclosing a tender filling and savory broth, which releases when you take a bite — making for an indelible comfort food experience.

Ugly Dumpling's menu includes six varieties of dumplings, accompanied by a savory soup broth, as follows:

chicken
pork
pork & crab
pork & truffle
pork, shrimp, & spinach
Szechuan pork

Porky! They can be ordered in a dumpling sampler, one of each variety, for about $14. No vegetarian options, although they do have a couple of vegan dishes such as vegan wonton soup.

There are also Chinese classics like spring rolls, cream cheese wontons, hot & sour soup, salt & pepper popcorn chicken, garlic green beans, orange chicken, beef & broccoli, Mongolian beef, Kung pao chicken, and fried rice; plus tempting Asian favorites like edamame and bao buns, and even chicken wings.

They also serve boba tea and other beverages.

Bringing the concept to DFW is Grace Zhao, who previously owned Zhao Star Chinese Bistro in Frisco, which she sold. She's all in on Ugly Dumpling — "we're hoping to open more than one location, but Allen comes first," she says.

A statement from marketing head Margaret Farrell says that "when we created Ugly Dumpling, we wanted to tap into the historical Shanghai street food movement but do so in a way that caters to the modern palette. [Surely she means 'palate'?] Our menu respects Shanghai's centuries-old cooking techniques while cultivating an exciting experience for today's restaurant goer."

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