FT 33 - closing

[Landomatic 3813]

Sorry @C-Man I know you loved that place.  Touching story however anyone who ends their rambling with “don’t worry you’ll be hearing from me soon” has a ton to figure out.

[C-Man 27262]

That sucks. When? I think my MIL still has $75 or so left on a GC.

[DalTxHornFan 3117]

June 23rd is last service.  

https://www.dmagazine.com/food-drink/2018/05/ft33-to-close-on-june-23/

[C-Man 27262]

Is that a dick move to go into a place with money left on a GC when you know it's closing down in the next six weeks?

[threesheets 1674]

Fuck no. Do it. 

[bluto 4942]

Somebody already paid for the food, why the hell would that be frowned up? 

[woohorn 1131]

No. It's a dick move to close a restaurant after selling gift cards.

[Landomatic 3813]

Finally got around to checking out Homewood last night.  Not really sure what category this falls under so I guess I'll put it here.  Despite there being several pastas on the menu, it certainly isn't Italian.  American I guess, but it's not like they have burgers or other things I would normally associate with American food.  It's run by Matt McAllister, the guy who used to run FT33 so I guess he gets his own thread.

It's really hard to get a good reservation there and whenever that is the case, I go in with pretty high expectations assuming it must be amazing.  We went with another couple so got a pretty good sampling of food and opinions about the place.

Location is great.  It's right between Highland Park and Oak Lawn across the street from Eddie V's in what used to be a fast food place called Becks.  You'd never really know it was a fast food place unless you knew, other than the fact that it's pretty small.  They have a full bar, an open kitchen and a patio, which is pretty cool around that area, although we didn't go out there.

The finish out was okay, but it went a little too retro for my tastes.  Lots of wood paneling on the walls and inexpensive looking green upholstery on the booths.  Someone earlier said it felt a little like an old Denny's which is probably pretty accurate.  I get it, but it's just not my taste.  The other thing that we all thought was weird is that the bar was sunken into the floor and I don't know why, but it just felt really awkward to the point of almost being uncomfortable.

Best part about it was the fact that the overall vibe is really casual.  I wore an untucked golf shirt, jeans and flip flops and could have easily been in shorts and a t-shirt.  Kitchen staff was all wearing t-shirts and ball caps (most backward).  It was a really refreshing take, especially in this town.  I only saw a couple people in stupid looking denim and leather hipster aprons.  Really glad to see that wasn't the entire staff's uniform as that schtick has been played to death.  Pretty good mix of people...young, old, gay, straight, black, white, etc.  Never felt like anyone would feel out of place there.

Service was really good and much better than the experiences we had at FT33.  Ordered drinks at the bar while we waited for our table to be ready and our bartender was very cool and attentive.  And he made some great drinks.  Waiter was overall pretty solid despite one time disappearing for what felt like a really long time.  It happens.  And he was great other than that.  One time he caught himself starting to tell us "no" on some random, simple, special request, but then when pushed a little, he thought better of it and changed his answer to "yes of course, right away" and took care of it.

Food was really really good.  There's no doubt about it, that dude can cook.  We all agreed that the best thing we had was the Gnocchi, but there wasn't a bad bite on the table.  It was all a little over-described...by both the waiter and the menu.  For example, The Parker House Rolls with parmesan mornay and chicken drippings (and even more descriptions from the waiter) are just dinner rolls with a side of gravy.  Granted, they were phenomenal and it was some of the best gravy I've ever had.  Or The Blue Crab Toast with pullman toast, chives, sambal and pear (and even more descriptions from the waiter).  It was one slice of toast with a crab spread on top.  That was actually the most disappointing thing we ate and was probably a case where the over describing actually hurt the dish as there was an unrealistic expectation set.  I understand the tendency for chefs to do this, but I can also see where some might find it a little intimidating and unnecessary, especially in a really casual setting.  The one guy we were with was pretty put off by it all.

Overall, the biggest knock on the place was that most of the food came out cold.  Our waiter told us at the very beginning that the "chef prefers" we put our entire order in all at once as it helps them time it out right.  I always find it a little insulting when a place does that.  Part of being a great restaurant is timing things out right without having to tell your customers how they can sacrifice to help make your life easier.  It's just a meal, not a tasting menu.  But whatever, we obliged without comment and did what the chef wanted.  Despite doing what they asked, we got 2 appetizers, 3 half orders of pasta, 1 entree and 2 deserts for the table to share and the only thing that came out hot was the gnocchi (which was also the best, so maybe a correlation).  They timed it all perfectly as far as when they brought it, but it sure felt like a lot of it was sitting around in the back before it was brought out.  I have a hard time believing that ordering things in courses could have made that part worse...maybe for the chef but not for the customer.  Despite this, everything was still pretty damn good and none of us had a problem devouring every bite of it and leaving very satisfied.

Price seemed pretty reasonable for a meal of that size and quality and that much booze.  Total check for 4 people with enough drinks and wine (no bottles) that we all left really full and pretty tipsy was around $350 including tip.

tl;dr - Overall very solid place, would go back and recommend, but I don't think it should necessarily be "hard to get a decent reservation" levels.

Edited July 30, 2019 by Landomatic

[Jive Turkey 12644]

Went tonight for the second time.  The food is so damn good.  

I went a month ago, and at least half the menu had turned over.  Lots of different dishes.  Everything I've had has been flavorful.

Two of us tonight.  A starter (marinated tomatoes), a salad and the emberred beets, and then two entrees (pork loin and half roasted chicken), couple glasses of wine, and a ridiculous dessert (butterscotch peaches).  $155 plus tip.  Not a cheap meal, but not steakhouse ridiculous.  Worth every penny.

The desserts are stupid good.  We sampled 3 last time (there were 4 of us), and had a different one tonight. They've all been amazing.  

[DFWTexEx 278]

We went back in May, early in its run.  I agree the food was very good, and, like you, we especially loved the gnochi.  Our waiter was fine with our ordering tapas style, in waves.  Considering we had no idea how big the portions were (and it was difficult to tell from the menu), that worked out well.

I guess if I lived in the area, I would love the casual vibe of the place.  I would like that I could go get interesting, well prepared food in flip flops and shorts or a business suit.  For us, that place is Nova.  But, living in Oak Cliff means that I have to pass several good to great restaurants to get to a place like Homewood and for the bother, it has to be special.  Lando, on a separate thread, you talked about how the space, service and food all have to be great (not fancy, they just need feel right) to create a special night.  I agree completely, which is why Homewood fell flat to me.  It felt like a slightly upscale Denny's.  The server was casual and as disinterested as could be (no sense of the excitement that should have been there considering the restaurant was just a couple of weeks old).  The table and settings were plain.  Nothing special.  Yes, I will go back, especially if invited by friends who live up there or if we are already in the area, but I just can't see making a reservation and Ubering up there for another meal there.  Maybe that's just me.

[C-Man 27262]

We went back in May, early in its run.  I agree the food was very good, and, like you, we especially loved the gnochi.  Our waiter was fine with our ordering tapas style, in waves.  Considering we had no idea how big the portions were (and it was difficult to tell from the menu), that worked out well.
I guess if I lived in the area, I would love the casual vibe of the place.  I would like that I could go get interesting, well prepared food in flip flops and shorts or a business suit.  For us, that place is Nova.  But, living in Oak Cliff means that I have to pass several good to great restaurants to get to a place like Homewood and for the bother, it has to be special.  Lando, on a separate thread, you talked about how the space, service and food all have to be great (not fancy, they just need feel right) to create a special night.  I agree completely, which is why Homewood fell flat to me.  It felt like a slightly upscale Denny's.  The server was casual and as disinterested as could be (no sense of the excitement that should have been there considering the restaurant was just a couple of weeks old).  The table and settings were plain.  Nothing special.  Yes, I will go back, especially if invited by friends who live up there or if we are already in the area, but I just can't see making a reservation and Ubering up there for another meal there.  Maybe that's just me.

Nova is so damn good.

[Landomatic 3813]

3 hours ago, DFWTexEx said:

We went back in May, early in its run.  I agree the food was very good, and, like you, we especially loved the gnochi.  Our waiter was fine with our ordering tapas style, in waves.  Considering we had no idea how big the portions were (and it was difficult to tell from the menu), that worked out well.

I guess if I lived in the area, I would love the casual vibe of the place.  I would like that I could go get interesting, well prepared food in flip flops and shorts or a business suit.  For us, that place is Nova.  But, living in Oak Cliff means that I have to pass several good to great restaurants to get to a place like Homewood and for the bother, it has to be special.  Lando, on a separate thread, you talked about how the space, service and food all have to be great (not fancy, they just need feel right) to create a special night.  I agree completely, which is why Homewood fell flat to me.  It felt like a slightly upscale Denny's.  The server was casual and as disinterested as could be (no sense of the excitement that should have been there considering the restaurant was just a couple of weeks old).  The table and settings were plain.  Nothing special.  Yes, I will go back, especially if invited by friends who live up there or if we are already in the area, but I just can't see making a reservation and Ubering up there for another meal there.  Maybe that's just me.

^ Spot on.   And you’re always invited to go back with us anytime.  @C-Man is out though.  He blew his chance 😂

[Landomatic 3813]

Looks like McCallister got the main culinary gig at the new Virgin Hotel opening later this year.  With Homewood, Malibu Poke expanding and now this, that’s a lot on his plate (so to speak).  Hope he can handle it all.

https://cravedfw.com/2019/09/04/mccallister-heads-up-new-dallas-virgin-hotel/