Pizza News

Miami pizzeria opens second Dallas-area outlet for its star-shaped pizzas

Star-shaped pizza is a Mister O1 signature.

Mister 01

Star-shaped pizzas are hurtling into Grapevine and now there's a date: Mister O1, the Miami-based pizzeria concept, will open its second Texas location in Grapevine at 129 S. Main St. #155, Tuesday, May 2.

The nearly 4,000 square foot space in a former Cotton Patch Cafe seats 50 with a patio seating eight.

Mister O1, which has a capital "o" and not a zero, was founded by Renato Viola, a native of Italy who moved to Miami under the O1 Visa category, reserved for those with “extraordinary artistic ability” of internationally acclaimed fame. Thus the name.

He opened the first location of Mister O1 in 2014. It has since grown to 13 locations including the first Texas location in Dallas, which opened in fall 2022 at Turtle Creek Shopping Village off Oak Lawn Avenue with franchise partner John LaBarge, a former VP at Corner Bakery Cafe.

“We’ve had such a positive response from Dallasites at our Turtle Creek location and we are looking forward to providing a new area in DFW with a taste of our pizzas," LaBarge says in a release.

The menu features 13-inch traditional and specialty pizzas as well as calzones, salads, and an antipasti and burrata bar. Select traditional and specialty pizzas are offered in 8 inches as well. Options include a Margherita, sausage featuring Jimmy’s Italian sausage, the Alessandra Jalapeño with mushrooms, avocado, jalapeño, the il Pescatore with tuna & anchovies, and the Fabio with gorgonzola blue cheese, speck (smoked prosciutto), & white truffle oil.

But the most famous are the star-shaped pizzas which come in 13-inch versions, as follows:

Star Carlos - filled with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, Spanish sausage chorizo, fresh tomatoes, arugula, avocado, Italian parmesan, jalapeño sauce
Star Beckham - star shaped pizza filled with ricotta cheese, mozzarella, bacon, onions, fresh tomatoes, ranch dressing, basil
Coffee Paolo - Italian tomato sauce, mozzarella, gorgonzola blue cheese, natural honey, coffee, spicy salami calabrese
Star Luca - star shaped pizza filled with ricotta cheese, spicy salami calabrese, mozzarella, Italian tomato sauce, basil
Claudio - Italian tomato sauce, mozzarella, fresh burrata Stracciatella cheese, white truffle oil, basil

They also do calzones filled with Calabrian spicy salami Jimmy’s Italian sausage, and the Calzone Giorgio with roasted peppers, spinach, mushrooms, & basil.

A big selection of salads includes Caesar, a Greek-like salad with kalamata olives & feta cheese, and the Laura with Romaine, burrata Stracciatella cheese and tomatoes.

An antipasti and burrata bar is available as well with a Caprese, Burrata with arugula and fresh tomatoes; Burrata e Italian balsamic glaze; Burrata e white truffle oil and Burrata e crudo.

Beverages include red, white, and sparkling Italian wines by the glass and bottle as well as the well-known Italian beer, Peroni.

"To us, Italy is synonymous with quality. At Mister O1 we focus on quality as well as simplicity to create a delicious product and our wine menu reflects this,” Viola says.

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