Gimme your DFW Metroplex "big night" go-to restaurants

[solamente73 1132]

Got a big anniversary coming up, and the wife (no pics) and I want to venture beyond the Grapevine high-end steakhouse scene to celebrate.  What are the great, special occasion places in Dallas and Fort Worth these days?

[DFWTexEx 274]

Bullion: updated but classic French, in a really cool space downtown.  Dallas' only Michelin star chef.  Definitely see and be seen, but the food and service measure up.  Great place for special occasion.

The French Room: classic Dallas dress up spot.  New chef that worked at great places (including Heston Blumenthol's place in London) is rolling out his new menu.  I think this is the last place in Dallas that requires a jacket for men in the main room.

Flora Street Cafe: more hip than the above two, but still a place to dress up and have a grown up night out.  Do the tasting menu if you are somewhat adventurous eaters.

Fearing's.  Start with a drink at Rattlesnake, then go in for a big meal that will be excellent.  Service is perfect and they will do up your anniversary.  That's what they do.

The Mansion:  jury is still out on the changes the new chef is making.     The bar scene is still great, if a bit douchy.  

Lucia:  if you can get in, this is a different way to celebrate.  Much more casual and homey, but service is very intimate; it may be the best meal in town.  And walking around Bishop Arts after - go to get a slice of pie and or some chocolate at Dude -- can make this a romantic night.

 

Skipping obvious big steakhouse style places (Al Biernet's, Prime, etc.) because of your post and focusing on chef driven places.

Edited November 7, 2018 by DFWTexEx

[C-Man 27041]

Uchi is still an amazingly good place to have a night out. Uchiba upstairs is great too. If you're into Italian, I'm hearing great things about The Charles in the Design District so that's always a thought. Even though it's a steak house, Town Hearth has a much different vibe than places like Al Biernat's, though.

[Landomatic 3813]

4 hours ago, DFWTexEx said:

Skipping obvious big steakhouse style places (Al Biernet's, Prime, etc.) because of your post and focusing on chef driven places.

What is this Prime you speak of?

[Angry Gorilla 1763]

The food is slightly above mediocre, but my wife really liked doing the Reunion Tower for one of our previous anniversaries.

[Surly Bevo 24695]

If you want to go west there are always places like Grace, Lonesome Dove, Ellerbe

Or get her a burger at Freds...she will love you forever.

[DFWTexEx 274]

20 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

What is this Prime you speak of?

Ocean Prime, sorry

[Landomatic 3813]

12 minutes ago, DFWTexEx said:

Ocean Prime, sorry

Oh bummer.  Was hoping there was some new steakhouse.

[PorscheGuy 127]

Bullion: updated but classic French, in a really cool space downtown.  Dallas' only Michelin star chef.  Definitely see and be seen, but the food and service measure up.  Great place for special occasion.
The French Room: classic Dallas dress up spot.  New chef that worked at great places (including Heston Blumenthol's place in London) is rolling out his new menu.  I think this is the last place in Dallas that requires a jacket for men in the main room.
Flora Street Cafe: more hip than the above two, but still a place to dress up and have a grown up night out.  Do the tasting menu if you are somewhat adventurous eaters.
Fearing's.  Start with a drink at Rattlesnake, then go in for a big meal that will be excellent.  Service is perfect and they will do up your anniversary.  That's what they do.
The Mansion:  jury is still out on the changes the new chef is making.     The bar scene is still great, if a bit douchy.  
Lucia:  if you can get in, this is a different way to celebrate.  Much more casual and homey, but service is very intimate; it may be the best meal in town.  And walking around Bishop Arts after - go to get a slice of pie and or some chocolate at Dude -- can make this a romantic night.
 
Skipping obvious big steakhouse style places (Al Biernet's, Prime, etc.) because of your post and focusing on chef driven places.

Absolutely spot on list, Well done!

[solamente73 1132]

On 11/7/2018 at 10:18 AM, DFWTexEx said:

Bullion: updated but classic French, in a really cool space downtown.  Dallas' only Michelin star chef.  Definitely see and be seen, but the food and service measure up.  Great place for special occasion.

The French Room: classic Dallas dress up spot.  New chef that worked at great places (including Heston Blumenthol's place in London) is rolling out his new menu.  I think this is the last place in Dallas that requires a jacket for men in the main room.

Flora Street Cafe: more hip than the above two, but still a place to dress up and have a grown up night out.  Do the tasting menu if you are somewhat adventurous eaters.

Fearing's.  Start with a drink at Rattlesnake, then go in for a big meal that will be excellent.  Service is perfect and they will do up your anniversary.  That's what they do.

The Mansion:  jury is still out on the changes the new chef is making.     The bar scene is still great, if a bit douchy.  

Lucia:  if you can get in, this is a different way to celebrate.  Much more casual and homey, but service is very intimate; it may be the best meal in town.  And walking around Bishop Arts after - go to get a slice of pie and or some chocolate at Dude -- can make this a romantic night.

 

Skipping obvious big steakhouse style places (Al Biernet's, Prime, etc.) because of your post and focusing on chef driven places.

This is fantastic - some places I've heard of, others I had no idea existed.  Regardless of what we do for the anniversary, I want to use this list for date nights in 2019 - I'm going to make it a New Year's resolution.

[DFWTexEx 274]

So, we checked out Fauna last night.

Stephen Pyles has decided to dumb down Flora Street to make it more approachable and casual.  Tim Byres of Smoke is handling the new menu that will get released soon.  The trend in a lot of cities is that people are staying away from stuffy restaurants.  That plus its aggressive menu (not easily digestible for the steak, chicken breast, and potatoes crowd) led to declining revenue, so he is changing it up.  Think brunch.

But, he is taking the tasting menu to another level in Fauna, a restaurant within a restaurant, that he created around the old private dining room in Flora.  He brought in a chef from Mexico City via San Antonia via Quince in SF and Alinea in Chicago, to handle this menu.   It's a tasting menu only. It's pricey and requires prepayment of a "ticket" for a single seating.  This is the same concept as E in Vegas or Next in Chicago.  Only 12 people fit in the room, about the same as Purepecha, the tasting menu restaurant within Revolver Taco.

Verdict?  Damn good.   Worth every penny.  The room is smallish and tries to be elegant but with rustic elements, although I think they could lose the big curtains.  There is a beautiful plate on the table as you arrive.  Apparently, it is from some fancy place in Italy.  You look at it briefly and they take it away, never to be seen again.  The music is classic Stephen Pyles:  all over the place and fun.  The coolest thing about the room is the wooden wall as you walk it.  You aren't sure what it is, but later you see that it has big sliding doors that open into the kitchen.  The doors are closed most of the time, but at a discreet knock, they open and reveal the pass, where each course is completed, with many tweezers, tiny spoons and squirt bottles.  The show is beautiful and precise.  Above the wall are two monitors showing scenes from nature.  I didn't understand why they were there.

The food will change all the time, but think 12-14 courses.  Each is tiny and beautiful, but they add up to a good meal.  We are both big guys and we left full.  Highlights:  snails accompanied by the things snails eat (salsify, apples, fiddleheads), a bite of "caesar salad" that could have been served at and was clearly inspired by El Bulli, the best uni dish I have ever had, a paloma palate cleanser served in a bowl of grapefruit smoke, an incredible couple of bites of Texas Wagyu, and Dude Sweet chocolates as a treat at the end.   The wine pairings (including one sake) were interesting and done well.  Service was perfect.  With Chef Fernandez in charge of the food, Chef Pyles played the roll of server all night, literally serving dishes and standing in the back quietly like a waiter until he came around to talk to the tables.  He was very agitated that the meal did not start on time, but otherwise let the new guy do his thing.

Not every course was a home run (the tribute to frito pie without fritos was a bit of miss), but all in all, it was an excellent special night out and this place should be on the list of big nights out in Dallas (so long as "big" doesn't mean a big, loud, see and be seen restaurant).

[CBT 1281]

Nice review. We loved Smoke and was wondering what Tim was going to do. Will need to check it out. 

[DFWTexEx 274]

Too late.

Just like that, poof!  Both Byres and the Fauna chef are gone.  Fauna is being run by Pyle's son and is scaled back to weekends only.  We can't have nice things.

More changes at Flora Street

[Landomatic 3813]

26 minutes ago, DFWTexEx said:

Too late.

Just like that, poof!  Both Byres and the Fauna chef are gone.  Fauna is being run by Pyle's son and is scaled back to weekends only.  We can't have nice things.

More changes at Flora Street

Ya know, we consider ourselves somewhat foodies or restaurant snobs or whatever, but I’m thinking people must have to be whole other levels of FOODIE to appreciate most of Pyles’ concepts.  May just not be enough demand for that level in Dallas.  Seems he fails more than he succeeds lately.

[Dbeasy 14963]

Golden Effin Corral.

[DFWTexEx 274]

4 hours ago, Landomatic said:

Ya know, we consider ourselves somewhat foodies or restaurant snobs or whatever, but I’m thinking people must have to be whole other levels of FOODIE to appreciate most of Pyles’ concepts.  May just not be enough demand for that level in Dallas.  Seems he fails more than he succeeds lately.

I really don't think it's about the food.  There are places in Dallas cranking out aggressive, foodie food and doing well (and picking up steam):  Petra, Homewood, Mot Hai Ba, Khao...hell even Marcellaio has duck tongues.  I think it's about the atmosphere.  Unless a place is serving classic French (or at least French inspired food), folks just don't think it's worth putting away the jeans and khakis and eating on a white table cloth with nice cutlery and linens. Everything has gone casual.  Bouillon is the one new restaurant where many folks still dress up, but, hell, the servers are in jeans and leather aprons. 

Homewood, for instance, is putting out some serious food.  Matt McAlister can kick all sorts of ass.  But, it's in a barely renovated Becks Prime spot.  We were seated in a counter where the benches were upholstered in classic Denny's style.  The food was terrific, but it did not feel like a special night out.   And maybe that's the point.  McAlister wanted a place where you could stumble in flip flops and have aggressive, high end food. And, so far, it's working.

Pyles is trying to find that balance.  He closed Stephen Pyles because he thought that Michelin was coming to Texas and wanted to position himself for a star or two.  That was what Flora Street was all about.  His gamble on the high end experience did not pay off.

[Landomatic 3813]

5 hours ago, DFWTexEx said:

I really don't think it's about the food.  There are places in Dallas cranking out aggressive, foodie food and doing well (and picking up steam):  Petra, Homewood, Mot Hai Ba, Khao...hell even Marcellaio has duck tongues.  I think it's about the atmosphere.  Unless a place is serving classic French (or at least French inspired food), folks just don't think it's worth putting away the jeans and khakis and eating on a white table cloth with nice cutlery and linens. Everything has gone casual.  Bouillon is the one new restaurant where many folks still dress up, but, hell, the servers are in jeans and leather aprons. 

Homewood, for instance, is putting out some serious food.  Matt McAlister can kick all sorts of ass.  But, it's in a barely renovated Becks Prime spot.  We were seated in a counter where the benches were upholstered in classic Denny's style.  The food was terrific, but it did not feel like a special night out.   And maybe that's the point.  McAlister wanted a place where you could stumble in flip flops and have aggressive, high end food. And, so far, it's working.

Pyles is trying to find that balance.  He closed Stephen Pyles because he thought that Michelin was coming to Texas and wanted to position himself for a star or two.  That was what Flora Street was all about.  His gamble on the high end experience did not pay off.

I guess whenever I think of the term foodie, for me it always pertains to more than just the actual food.  I always consider space and service to be as important as the food for the total experience of the meal.  And I need them all to match the price-point for me to consider it a successful night.  That's not to say I need fancy every time at all, but for something to feel like a big, special nite out to me, it needs to be a little over-the-top in all three categories and I don't mind paying extra for it.  If the place is casual and the service is bad and the check is really high, I'm most likely going to be pretty disappointed, regardless of how great the food was.  We had a somewhat similar experience to that at Flora Street.  The place was pretty, although way too brightly lit (felt like we were having lunch at dinner time) and the food was undoubtedly special (although not as great as some had made it out to be) but our waiter was horrendous.  Ruined the night and the food definitely wasn't good enough to cary the deficiencies in the other two categories so we never went back.

Was the food at McAlister's new place really all that aggressive and high end?  I haven't been yet, but my impression based on everything I've heard is that it's pretty much just Sachet level (which was also a hard reservation to get when they first opened).  Similar menu, similar price-point, similar concept overall.  We love Sachet but would never consider it for a big night out nor all that aggressive or high end.  I'll need to check out Homewood sometime soon (we live about a mile from there).  My hesitancy, in full disclosure, has been the service aspect.  The 3 or so times we went to FT33, we found the service to be so incredibly dismissive and smug that I can't help but have a bad taste in my mouth (no pun intended) for a McAlister concept.  But, I also know he pretty much fessed up to basically that being his downfall at FT33 and this new restaurant is supposed to be some kind of redemption for it.  So, I can set it aside and give it another chance.

And I disagree that Bullion is the only new concept where people really still want to dress up to go out.  Granted, it is definitely the most extreme example.  But I would also put Fachini and The Charles (just off the top of my head) in that category to some extent.  They're not quite the level of Bullion, but they are definitely much more see and be seen and get dressed up than some of these much more casual concepts you're talking about.

Regardless, there's no doubt things are getting more casual, not just in restaurants, but in all of life.  I fully embrace the fact that we can go a lot of places we wouldn't have even gone 5 years ago in our workout clothes.  Hell, guys used to wear a suit to get on an airplane, which sounds like it would suck to me.  But, maybe I'm getting old too...because we still like to get dressed up for a big, fun, over-the-top night from time-to-time.

And funny you should mention the duck tongues at Marcellaio.  It was the best thing I ate the night we went.

Anyway, I've gotten all kinds of off track.  The four of us need to get that meal sometime in real life...we can talk about this shit for hours.

[Eggo 3974]

On 11/7/2018 at 10:18 AM, DFWTexEx said:

Bullion: updated but classic French, in a really cool space downtown.  Dallas' only Michelin star chef.  Definitely see and be seen, but the food and service measure up.  Great place for special occasion.

The French Room: classic Dallas dress up spot.  New chef that worked at great places (including Heston Blumenthol's place in London) is rolling out his new menu.  I think this is the last place in Dallas that requires a jacket for men in the main room.

Flora Street Cafe: more hip than the above two, but still a place to dress up and have a grown up night out.  Do the tasting menu if you are somewhat adventurous eaters.

Fearing's.  Start with a drink at Rattlesnake, then go in for a big meal that will be excellent.  Service is perfect and they will do up your anniversary.  That's what they do.

The Mansion:  jury is still out on the changes the new chef is making.     The bar scene is still great, if a bit douchy.  

Lucia:  if you can get in, this is a different way to celebrate.  Much more casual and homey, but service is very intimate; it may be the best meal in town.  And walking around Bishop Arts after - go to get a slice of pie and or some chocolate at Dude -- can make this a romantic night.

 

Skipping obvious big steakhouse style places (Al Biernet's, Prime, etc.) because of your post and focusing on chef driven places.

This is a great list. Visiting for the next two weekends, so made reservations at Fearing's and The French Room respectively. 

[DFWTexEx 274]

Not sure where to post, so I will throw this out here.  It was my turn to host out of town company execs and board members this week.   I decided to just go to my favorite places.  Board members were at the new Hall Arts Hotel.  We had cocktails there and it was cool, already buzzing even though it just opened.  Execs stayed in cool AirBnBs in my neighborhood in North Oak Cliff.

Sunday night casual dinner (no board members):  great weather...walked to Nova.  So awesome.  Greeted with hugs as always.  The most welcoming place in town.  We had a blast and they loved the food.  The fried green tomatoes with crawfish and shrimp mornay,  smoked salmon potato skins, mussels with tasso and the hummus were all as good as always.  Several guys got the epic chicken fried pork loin.  Man, that dish should make a list of the iconic dishes in Dallas.   BIG Food.  Whiskeys afterwards at Cannon's.  A very good night.

Monday night board dinner at Flora Street.  What a mess.  I am big fan of Stephen Pyles.  I have talked up Flora Street on several threads on here.  The first fancy dinner I ever paid for was at Baby Routh.  I was a regular at Star Canyon and even loved AquaKnox.  Spent birthdays at Stephen Pyles and was at Flora Street and Fauna as they opened.   He's got a problem here now.  On a cold, windy December night, servers were in sloppy, ill-fitting Hawaiian shirts.  It sounds like a small thing, but it so indicated where this once Michelin level restaurant is now.  Our guy actually did the "My name is Timothy and I will be taking care of you tonight thing, followed by an endless speech about the menu".  I expected him to offer bloomin' onions at a swirl margatini at the end of it.  Service was awkward at best, with endless waits as some people got coktails and wine and others did not.  The first three bottles we selected from the list were not available.  Sommelier was lost.  They could only offer 2 beers because "we can't get permission to transition", whatever that means.   They stuck is in the Fauna room, Siberia.  No music or atmosphere.    The food ended being ok, clearly upscale and presented nicely, but it was not interesting or good enough.  I had a branzino that was charred to death.  I had the same fish at Marea in NYC not long ago and this was not in the same league.  I don't know when or if I will go back.   I retract all my recommendations of Flora Street.  So sad.

Tuesday night dinner with clients at Boulevardier.   Restaurant was packed. Only 2 servers.  No manager.  Bad table again.  Pretty much ignored for the first hour.  Really bad start.  It was only ok because it gave us a chance to talk work without the interruptions of a server trying to serve us!   But, once it got going and she caught up, it was terrific as always.  The oysters are the best in town.  We had escargot, which I had never had there and now will recommend.  We got the meat and cheese board too and a round of bone marrow, with the luge shots after.  Really fun, especially for the client guys from the Northern suburbs.  I got my burger (the best restaurant burger in town).  Most everyone else got steak or lamb (1/2 price on Tuesdays, as a note).   Fun, satisfying meal with great food....after the terrible service at the start.  it must be hard to properly execute workforce management at a restaurant this time of year.  A couple more servers really should have been there.  Still, this is a great place and I will go back soon.

Overall, the guys left with a good impression of food in Dallas.  And I will be eating salads for a few days.

[C-Man 27041]

Not sure where to post, so I will throw this out here.  It was my turn to host out of town company execs and board members this week.   I decided to just go to my favorite places.  Board members were at the new Hall Arts Hotel.  We had cocktails there and it was cool, already buzzing even though it just opened.  Execs stayed in cool AirBnBs in my neighborhood in North Oak Cliff.
Sunday night casual dinner (no board members):  great weather...walked to Nova.  So awesome.  Greeted with hugs as always.  The most welcoming place in town.  We had a blast and they loved the food.  The fried green tomatoes with crawfish and shrimp mornay,  smoked salmon potato skins, mussels with tasso and the hummus were all as good as always.  Several guys got the epic chicken fried pork loin.  Man, that dish should make a list of the iconic dishes in Dallas.   BIG Food.  Whiskeys afterwards at Cannon's.  A very good night.
Monday night board dinner at Flora Street.  What a mess.  I am big fan of Stephen Pyles.  I have talked up Flora Street on several threads on here.  The first fancy dinner I ever paid for was at Baby Routh.  I was a regular at Star Canyon and even loved AquaKnox.  Spent birthdays at Stephen Pyles and was at Flora Street and Fauna as they opened.   He's got a problem here now.  On a cold, windy December night, servers were in sloppy, ill-fitting Hawaiian shirts.  It sounds like a small thing, but it so indicated where this once Michelin level restaurant is now.  Our guy actually did the "My name is Timothy and I will be taking care of you tonight thing, followed by an endless speech about the menu".  I expected him to offer bloomin' onions at a swirl margatini at the end of it.  Service was awkward at best, with endless waits as some people got coktails and wine and others did not.  The first three bottles we selected from the list were not available.  Sommelier was lost.  They could only offer 2 beers because "we can't get permission to transition", whatever that means.   They stuck is in the Fauna room, Siberia.  No music or atmosphere.    The food ended being ok, clearly upscale and presented nicely, but it was not interesting or good enough.  I had a branzino that was charred to death.  I had the same fish at Marea in NYC not long ago and this was not in the same league.  I don't know when or if I will go back.   I retract all my recommendations of Flora Street.  So sad.
Tuesday night dinner with clients at Boulevardier.   Restaurant was packed. Only 2 servers.  No manager.  Bad table again.  Pretty much ignored for the first hour.  Really bad start.  It was only ok because it gave us a chance to talk work without the interruptions of a server trying to serve us!   But, once it got going and she caught up, it was terrific as always.  The oysters are the best in town.  We had escargot, which I had never had there and now will recommend.  We got the meat and cheese board too and a round of bone marrow, with the luge shots after.  Really fun, especially for the client guys from the Northern suburbs.  I got my burger (the best restaurant burger in town).  Most everyone else got steak or lamb (1/2 price on Tuesdays, as a note).   Fun, satisfying meal with great food....after the terrible service at the start.  it must be hard to properly execute workforce management at a restaurant this time of year.  A couple more servers really should have been there.  Still, this is a great place and I will go back soon.
Overall, the guys left with a good impression of food in Dallas.  And I will be eating salads for a few days.

Nova on Sun for brunch might be my favorite spot in Dallas.

[DFWTexEx 274]

So, we hit up the French Room for my birthday over the weekend.  There is an asterisk (see below) but overall, the experience was really good and this place should be on your list for big nights out in Dallas.   We started at the French Room bar for a cocktail and it was just right.  Atmosphere was very adult and nice.  It was like the Mansion bar in the old days or Rattlesnake, but less rowdy.   We then moved on to the beautiful room.   We asked about the signature tasting menu and found out that they no longer offer a tasting menu; everything is a la carte.  This was a bit disappointing because the new chef Diego Fernandez had time at Alinea and we had his very creative tasting menu at Fauna during the short time he was there.  We wanted to see what he was up to.   But, really the disappointment didn't last long.

We picked out a few appetizers that all worked well and were beautiful, but the highlight for sure was a chicken en croûte.  Wow!  This dish is why we will go back to the French Room.   You need to go get this.  It's a dish for 2 or maybe even 3.  The really nice chicken is roasted en croute and then carved tableside with a reduction made by the neck and feet poured over like a gravy.  With some perfect pomme puree  and mushrooms on the side,  you are done.  Really good.  Wine service and service overall was graceful and nice.  Chef Diego came out at the end to greet us since we had mentioned that we followed him over from Fauna.  Overall, a really nice dress up night out.  Great for a celebration.

That all being said, there is a problem here, similar to what we saw at Flora Street.  The server, the captain and Chef Diego all referred to the restaurant being "in transition" as they figure out how to balance high end, creative cooking and presentation with a reluctance by Dallas diners to choose what they perceive to be overly fussy, non-standard food in a fancy room.   The servers, like at Flora Street, were casually dressed with simple cotton aprons.  This was in contrast to the patrons who were all suited up, with women in sparkly dresses.  These guys all talked about bringing in color, more casual chairs, more casual service and the death of the tasting menu in favor of a la carte dining.  I don't know how to call this.  Bullion seems to have figured it out, but maybe casual dining with high end food (see Homewood) is where we are headed.  Too bad.  I like options.

[DFWTexEx 274]

And Stephen Pyles is done.   There was a real struggling happening at Flora Street / Fauna.  I guess he couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Flora Street Closes

He says that he is getting out of the business to and focus on consulting and culinary travel.  And this...

Quote

"This will also give me the time, finally, to document my experiences in serving the city’s famous and infamous, as well as cooking for the likes of Mick Jagger, Queen Elizabeth ll and six American Presidents and First Ladies," he says. "I will also be able to share special stories of my mentors and protégés. My memoirs will also allow me to evaluate dozens of food critics I have encountered over the last four decades."

This is a loss for Dallas.  As I said, I have been a fan of his and his restaurants for a very long time.   

[threesheets 1652]

No mention of the Stampede 66 by me (Allen) but I figured it would be short-lived.  I haven't been but the wife said it was awesome. 

She mighta been talking about her date though. 

[Ths71 472]

And Stephen Pyles is done.   There was a real struggling happening at Flora Street / Fauna.  I guess he couldn't figure out how to fix it.
Flora Street Closes
He says that he is getting out of the business to and focus on consulting and culinary travel.  And this...

"This will also give me the time, finally, to document my experiences in serving the city’s famous and infamous, as well as cooking for the likes of Mick Jagger, Queen Elizabeth ll and six American Presidents and First Ladies," he says. "I will also be able to share special stories of my mentors and protégés. My memoirs will also allow me to evaluate dozens of food critics I have encountered over the last four decades."

This is a loss for Dallas.  As I said, I have been a fan of his and his restaurants for a very long time.   

Bummer. Met him several times and he was always very nice. My friend got a culinary degree from El Centro and went to work at Nana for Anthony Bombaci. When Pyles came back to Dallas and opened his place on Ross he hired her as his Sous Chef.


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk

[C-Man 27041]

Already reached out to Lando via text and he offered some great suggestions. Thought I'd crowd-source to kick over all stones. In-laws live in Farmers Branch but stay at the Omni every year for the duration of the DSC convention. FIL was member #73 or something and is a past president. They're eschewing some of the formal dinners down there but want to go to a very nice dinner in or around downtown on Saturday night. We'll go about 6:30 and then they want to slide in to the big formal party to see the auction after dinner. They've asked us to come up with a place.

They were supposed to go to Bullion with a group on Thursday but I think that's fallen apart. I'm intrigued by The French Room. I've never been and this might be my best excuse to check it out. I usually trend more to places like The Charles or Uchi and the like when I want to get out for high-end food for a celebration. Also in the mix is Fachini. So those are three great possibilities. Missing anything else?

[C-Man 27041]

Following back up on this as we are now going to Bullion in place of my in-laws tonight before we go to the Black Pumas show at Canton Hall -- any recommendations? Based on what I've read, sounds like I need to dress up for Bullion? (We are going to Fachini with my in-laws on Saturday night.)

[DDD Dad 14250]

On 1/2/2020 at 3:30 PM, DFWTexEx said:

And Stephen Pyles is done.   There was a real struggling happening at Flora Street / Fauna.  I guess he couldn't figure out how to fix it.

Flora Street Closes

He says that he is getting out of the business to and focus on consulting and culinary travel.  And this...

This is a loss for Dallas.  As I said, I have been a fan of his and his restaurants for a very long time.   

+1

We had our rehearsal dinner at Baby Routh back in the day.  

[Errestaurants 2570]

Any updates for this? You know with Covid around. Looking for a date night spot. No steakhouses. Thanks in advance.

 

[TankedBevo 2482]

15 hours ago, Errestaurants said:

Any updates for this? You know with Covid around. Looking for a date night spot. No steakhouses. Thanks in advance.

 

I love North Italia in Uptown. They have one of the best patio views in the city and the food is awesome IMO. 

[Errestaurants 2570]

12 minutes ago, TankedBevo said:

I love North Italia in Uptown. They have one of the best patio views in the city and the food is awesome IMO. 

Yea I've always enjoyed North in Houston and Austin. Owned by PF Changs now.

[TankedBevo 2482]

1 hour ago, Errestaurants said:

Yea I've always enjoyed North in Houston and Austin. Owned by PF Changs now.

Learn something new every day. I've had two incredible meals on date nights so far, and the view is finominle. 

[PorscheGuy 127]

18 hours ago, Errestaurants said:

Any updates for this? You know with Covid around. Looking for a date night spot. No steakhouses. Thanks in advance.

 

Drakes has a great date night vibe, awesome food.  Would be on the top of my list to go back too. 

Also, cant go wrong with The Charles. Always a lively atmosphere.  Great chargrilled oysters and a new champagne bar which could be much appreciated by the wife if she is into bubbles.

[Liquor and Poker 3659]

Well, the Taco Cabana on Lower Greenville closed down.  The frogs always provided that little extra ambience.  

[DFWTexEx 274]

Boulevardiere opened back up yesterday.  We are going to do our first in person dining since the pandemic started on the patio at happy hour time this evening (assuming we can get safe outside seating).   It's oyster happy hour and half price wine.  

Edited September 25, 2020 by DFWTexEx

[C-Man 27041]

I love North Italia in Uptown. They have one of the best patio views in the city and the food is awesome IMO. 

We went for brunch a few Sundays ago. Damn good and our server was awesome.

[AustinMT 952]

11 hours ago, Errestaurants said:

Yea I've always enjoyed North in Houston and Austin. Owned by PF Changs now.

Close.  Owned by the Cheesecake Factory.  They were a really good small chain that CF bought.  I like North, so it’s a shame.  Sort of the feeling I have about Fleming’s, which I always liked (well, some, especially the one at the Domain in Austin) and is now owned by the  group that owns Outback, or High West whiskey, which is now owned by the evil empire Constellation Brands.

[Landomatic 3813]

It always disappoints me when I hear a place that I like is owned by a big chain.  Don’t know why, because if I like it, I should just like it.  But it just changes everything for me.  Like I still having a hard time squaring in my mind that Mastros is now owned by Tilman and right alongside all the shitty other places he owns.  And the best Mastros in the country (most likely) is in his corporate parking lot.  Guess it’s just because I generally hate chains.  I don’t know...maybe I’m just a snobby asshole.

[TankedBevo 2482]

I get it, and tend to feel the same way but only after I notice any depreciation in the quality of food or service. 

[Landomatic 3813]

@ChiTownDoc mentioning Per Se in the NYC thread got me thinking about this place. Chef was at Per Se for a while...and some other places. Been hearing good things. Anyone been yet?

https://www.carteblanchedallas.com/

Quote

CHEF CASEY LA RUE

Being born into a family a chefs the first step in his journey was to work in the grand restaurants of New York city. Beginning as an apprentice at the then 3 Michelin starred Daniel then on the opening team at the legendary 3 star Michelin Per Se under chef Thomas Keller. After spending a few years in the big city and learning a solid foundation of the fundamentals of French cuisine he then went on to work for Ken Oringer at Clio in downtown Boston, one of the countries leading restaurants in modernist cuisine. From there he went on to Las Vegas to go back to another 3 Star restaurant Robuchon who had won the French award for chef of the century. Afterward going on to run the kitchens of award winning restaurant and winning his own awards spanning from Forbes 5 star restaurants to building Relais & Chateaux properties.

 

[Firemans4Horn 17827]

Went to a friend's birthday dinner at Manpuku (across the street from Carte Blanche coincidentally) on Friday. Tokyo restaurant that has a few locations in California and I think this is their first American outpost besides Cali. Wife and I did the American Wagyu tasting menu. You grill your own meat at the table, fun to do it once but I'm not in a hurry to go back. Cocktail/wine/beer list was pretty shitty to be honest.

[bluto 4883]

I think this qualifies as big night… tried the new Brazilian place called Meridian. Before you laugh at the fact it’s in the village (apt mega complex), you need to drive the area now to see how much coin they dropped. It’s actually pretty damn swanky.

Restaurant itself was fantastic. Everything from oysters to pork pasta to cheese fritters, drinks were excellent, service was great. Highly recommend, and while expensive not crazy… 2 apps, 2 entrees, shit ton of booze, $180.

[DalTxHornFan 3085]

16 minutes ago, bluto said:

I think this qualifies as big night… tried the new Brazilian place called Meridian. Before you laugh at the fact it’s in the village (apt mega complex), you need to drive the area now to see how much coin they dropped. It’s actually pretty damn swanky.

Restaurant itself was fantastic. Everything from oysters to pork pasta to cheese fritters, drinks were excellent, service was great. Highly recommend, and while expensive not crazy… 2 apps, 2 entrees, shit ton of booze, $180.

Haven't been there, but D Magazine's new top 50 rates this place as #3 out of 50.  Probably worth a try.

https://interactive.dmagazine.com/best-dallas-restaurants-right-now/

[Landomatic 3813]

40 minutes ago, bluto said:

I think this qualifies as big night… tried the new Brazilian place called Meridian. Before you laugh at the fact it’s in the village (apt mega complex), you need to drive the area now to see how much coin they dropped. It’s actually pretty damn swanky.

Restaurant itself was fantastic. Everything from oysters to pork pasta to cheese fritters, drinks were excellent, service was great. Highly recommend, and while expensive not crazy… 2 apps, 2 entrees, shit ton of booze, $180.

Yeah, I've heard good things about this place. From a competing restaurant owner who doesn't throw around compliments toward other restaurants very often. Been meaning to try it.

[Landomatic 3813]

32 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

Haven't been there, but D Magazine's new top 50 rates this place as #3 out of 50.  Probably worth a try.

https://interactive.dmagazine.com/best-dallas-restaurants-right-now/

What a horrible list. Must be pay for play...otherwise they have no business reviewing restaurants. Although, if I remember right, that's par for the course with D Magazine.

[DalTxHornFan 3085]

5 minutes ago, Landomatic said:

What a horrible list. Must be pay for play...otherwise they have no business reviewing restaurants. Although, if I remember right, that's par for the course with D Magazine.

I don't disagree, but, as they mentioned, it has been a tough time to evaluate restaurants lately.  The funny thing for me is that even though I do lots of business meals and entertaining in Dallas, the only restaurant on that list that I've actually been to is Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, which is a great place despite its location.  Maybe I need to expand my horizons!

[conVINCEd 21468]

27 minutes ago, DalTxHornFan said:

I don't disagree, but, as they mentioned, it has been a tough time to evaluate restaurants lately.  The funny thing for me is that even though I do lots of business meals and entertaining in Dallas, the only restaurant on that list that I've actually been to is Pappas Bros. Steakhouse, which is a great place despite its location.  Maybe I need to expand my horizons!

I haven’t been out much the last 1.5 years and I can cross 15 off the list.

[DalTxHornFan 3085]

3 minutes ago, conVINCEd said:

I haven’t been out much the last 1.5 years and I can cross 15 off the list.

Yep -- good for you.  I do mostly steak places in Uptownish area -- Al Biernat's, Nick and Sams, Del Frisco's, Morton's, Perry's.  Gotta get out more.

[DDD Dad 14250]

On 9/4/2021 at 9:29 AM, Landomatic said:

What a horrible list. Must be pay for play...otherwise they have no business reviewing restaurants. Although, if I remember right, that's par for the course with D Magazine.

I imagine it's a combination of PFP and very non-scientific internet voting.  

[Landomatic 3813]

1 hour ago, DDD Dad said:

I imagine it's a combination of PFP and very non-scientific internet voting.  

I imagine it's a combination of piss and shit

[Jive Turkey 12568]

1.  Monarch

2. Monarch

3. Monarch

but seriously, Monarch is phenomenal.  so phenomenal that they just changed their reservation policy.  to get a window table for 2 on the North side, there is a $300 food/beverage minimum.  a window table for 2 on the South side requires a $200 minimum.  no minimum for interior seating.  we got a North side window table a month ago.  this policy wasn't in effect.  but with wine and appetizers and salad and entree, we were over $300.  not hard to spend that kind of money there.

Dallas Observer also liked Meridian a lot.

https://www.dallasobserver.com/restaurants/review-meridian-upends-american-expectations-of-brazilian-food-12212408

Edited September 13, 2021 by Jive Turkey