Speakeasy News

Speakeasy named for Bonnie & Clyde hangout opens at Dallas' Trinity Groves

The new speakeasy comes with one of the best views of the downtown Dallas skyline.

Saint Rocco's

West Dallas eatertainment complex Trinity Groves has a little of everything but now it has the missing piece: a speakeasy.

Called Devil's Back Porch, it's a Prohibition bar concept which will be located in an unexpected site: the second floor of Saint Rocco’s, the New York-inspired Italian restaurant with red sauce pastas, chicken parmesan, and pizza founded by Phil Romano.

According to a release, the bar located at 3011 Gulden Ln. has become one of the best spots in town to gather for a drink and gaze at the downtown skyline. Saint Rocco executive chef and co-owner Jay Valley decided to give the second-floor space a a little mystery, a little intrigue, a little extra pizzazz, and voila, Devil’s Back Porch was born.

“This Prohibition-era speakeasy is the perfect complement to Saint Rocco’s and our New York Italian roots,” Valley says.

It's slated to open on May 25.

The bar is named for Devil’s Back Porch, the infamous nickname for a West Dallas escape route during the Great Depression for gangsters running from the law. What's now called Singleton Boulevard used to be known as Eagle Ford Road, and provided a getaway over the West Fork of the Trinity River.

The area hosted many notorious characters over the years, including Bonnie and Clyde, who grew up nearby and had family in West Dallas during their 1930s crime spree.

Devil's Back Porch will serve a menu of classic cocktails, like the Godfather (scotch, amaretto, lemon); a mezcal-laced riff on the Corpse Reviver No. 2; and the Bee Sting, a spicy version of the Bee’s Knees.

They'll also serve food courtesy of Jay Valley and the Saint Rocco’s team, including chicken wings, spicy chicken sandwich, cheeseburger, lobster quesadillas, and cannoli.

Speakeasy bars have surfaced as a trend in recent years, which CultureMap isolated and documented in 2021 with this ground-breaking roundup.

Since that was published, more speakeasy bars have emerged including Room 520 at the Sova boutique hotel; Magnum Room at the Hotel Vin in Grapevine; The Branca Room inside Chimichurri restaurant; Red Phone Booth in the Grotto at Grandscape; and The Wilfred at Lakeside Market in Plano.

One of the key traits of the speakeasy bar is a complicated entry, and Devil's Back Porch has that covered: Patrons will enter through a separate back entrance into a room awash in red and black, with gangster photos displayed on the walls.

Bar staff will be outfitted in black vests and newsboy caps and the space will boast a dart board, pool table, and poker table. They'll also host events, such as birthday parties, casino nights, and parties. They'll be open Thursday-Saturday from 5 pm-12 am, with a happy hour from 5-7 pm.

"We can’t wait to serve good food and classic drinks in a fun, throwback atmosphere where our guests can live it up like the old days," Valley says.

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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.

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