Fearing’s—Dallas, TX
You figure out this is going to be an experience when you pull up to the valet at the Ritz Carlton and there are four (four!) neatly parked Lamborghinis facing you—a gentle reminder of how fortunate you are to be dining amongst the truly privileged (and in case you missed them, the Bentley pulling up behind you is an additional clue). For a change, our table was ready at reservation time, but the second indication of the special experience we were in for came as we made the trek to be seated. At the entrance of our dining room (there are five, to suit all tastes), none other than Chef Fearing himself! He greeted us with a friendly smile as big as Texas: “How y’all doing. Thank you so much for joining us tonight. I am here to see that y’all have a great time.” Say what you will about celebrity chefs, this one knows hospitality. He checked in at our table two more times…once during the main course and once again after dessert. His presence is a bit larger than life, but it never felt intrusive. He probably picked up on our enjoyment of his attention—why not? It’s nice to see how the other side lives every once in a while!
The restaurant is rumored to have cost $35 million and it looks like it. We were seated in a brightly lit hexagonal space that was classy without being over the top. A relatively cool evening made it possible to open the 20 foot windows where our table overlooked the reflection pool and a very cool outdoor dining area. It was all elegant but not at all stuffy. The ladies in our party objected to a low seat at our first table and we were quickly (like in 30 seconds) whisked to another one they found more to their liking. I think this is my new favorite dining space in the city—it certainly beats Charlie Palmer’s and Craft, two of my other favorites for décor.
Now for the food. It was like fireworks. Fireworks, mind you, are one of my favorite things. I am always excited in anticipation, and when the show is good, I am superbly content. This is the food equivalent to the best of fireworks displays. You will notice the presentation first, but put it in your mouth and you will know its special in unique, gastronomically creative way. 
The appetizers were a good start. From merely good to out-of-this-world-fantastic: tortilla soup (perhaps the only disappointment, since it is supposed to be Fearing’s personal specialty—the soup that launched him to fame and fortune); fried oysters, and Big Eye Tuna ceviche. The oysters were simply amazing, crispy and salty and a perfect way to start a meal…until you realize the tuna was even better. Its basically slices of top-notch sashimi with a light citrus-coconut marinade, mango, and cucumber, and it is sublime. The pragmatic genius I married calculated each bite at $4. And then declared it worth every penny.
I thought it would be difficult to improve on the starters, but the maple and peppercorn buffalo tenderloin, accompanied by a simply incredible butternut squash taquito that was crispy and original and tasty was an excellent entrée. Its only failing however may have been its size—it was the only stingy portion of the night, and I was sad to see it go after I vacuumed it off my plate. The other problem with the buffalo was not its own doing, but can be attributed to the chef nonetheless: Fearing’s interpretation of surf and turf defies language—I don’t have superlatives to describe this dish. Maybe with some expletives and superlatives combined I could do it, but I am afraid I still could not do it justice. And, after all, this is a family blog!
Should you take my advice and order this entrée, here is what you can expect: a pan roasted “spiced” filet that is cut like a jewel (or at least with the same precision and craftsmanship) and tastes amazing. My wife declared it the best she’s ever had, and I would easily put it in my top five. Accompanying the special steak is a chicken fried Maine Lobster. Chicken. Fried. Maine. Lobster. The ladies in the party thought it delicious but a bit heavy, to which the guys responded “Are you @#$% crazy! Hand it over!”. This is a brilliant culinary creation and it deserved a spot in the hall of fame. Lest I forget, the Queso Fresco corn potatoes are pretty special on their own. Suffice it to say that I have dreams about this masterpiece on a plate.
Oh yeah, there was dessert! One of my fellow diners was having a birthday so they brought out a slice of chocolate birthday cake. That cake alone would have been worth the visit. I would implore management to make it a permanent menu item so I don’t have to lie about having birthday-people with me in future visits. Two of us gave it the ultimate superlative: Best birthday cake ever. A chocolate trio and a plate of American artisan cheeses rounded out a very, very memorable meal. Both were good, but next to the decadence of the cake they sort of faded into the background. I am fairly certain Chef Fearing puts some marvelous but illegal controlled substance in it—I am hooked.
Service was consistent, elegant and unobtrusive throughout the night. A rare Odysseus Ribera Del Duero brought smiles to all our faces, and the sommelier out to the table to compliment my choice as one of the more rare and best value selections on the list. While I can’t say whether he was genuine in his praise or not, he sure made me feel good! To top it off, perhaps as a reward for the good choice, he recommended another Ribera del Duero for our second bottle that was not as good but still a hit. Why is this unusual? Because the second bottle went for half of what the first did. When was the last time a sommelier tried to down-sell you?
The only negatives came at the end of the night when we decided to check out the bar. It was packed and nobody came to offer a drink. But we felt out of place as married couples. Furthermore the average age of the men probably exceeded by at least 20 the average age of the women there, which led some in our party to question the intentions of both. But the bar is the bar and the restaurant is a marvelous experience. I even waited two weeks to write this, to make sure I wasn’t too over the top and my excitement had subsided. It’s that good.
Highly recommended.
Bijoux—Dallas TX
It is rather sad when a great restaurant slips up to become merely “good”, and that, I fear has happened to Bijoux. The restaurant has excellent pedigree, a somewhat unfortunate location, and a pretty good track record with me. This was, my fifth visit, and I saw the telltales signs of a restaurant that has begun to fail. For starters, there was no host on duty, so the sommelier (and co-owner with her chef husband) was on double duty and looking rather stressed for it. We were seated 35 minutes late for our reservation at a table that had been available since we entered the restaurant. We had called ahead to change the party size from six to five, and mentioned it again when we checked in, but our table was still set for six. Three different staff all asked whether we were expecting someone else before they finally removed the place-setting.
Service-wise, two well dressed and well trained waiters that looked like they might be brothers were efficient and unobtrusive, but managed to show off a little ‘tude while they were at it. They did work extremely well with each other though. The kiss of death for this wine lover, though, was when the first selection of wine was not available, their refusal to upgrade to better bottle at the same price. Over $8, they might have lost a customer for life—this on a check that exceeded $800. 
The food, fortunately, is still very good, though not quite as special as I remembered it. A smoked prawn appetizer was the hit of the night for me, though my steak (roasted filet) was perfectly prepared and tasty. The veal was only so-so, and a white fish (the name unfortunately now escapes me) was tasty but well short of spectacular. I only sampled a chocolate panacotta desert that was high on gelatin and low on chocolate for my taste. None of this was bad food, just to be clear. Just not quite up to the standard the restaurant has set in previous visits.
The crowd remains one of the older and stuffier in Dallas, due I am sure in part to the inexplicable location selection in a strip mall (albeit next to the most expensive neighborhood in the city). Our table of thirty-something immediately lowered the average age in the place by some 10 years—and it’s one of the few placed in this city I would feel uncomfortable without a jacket. Bijoux has fallen from memorable to just plain good, and that’s a shame. As a result of this last visit, it is losing it’s spot on my Dallas Top 10. Recommended
Trader Vic’s—Dallas, TX
Trader Vic’s—Dallas, TX
If you love paying fine dining prices for mediocre food, served by surly waiters in a tacky setting, then this is the place for you! All dishes sampled—a 
salmon, a halibut, calamari, duck, and a pork chop were equally insipid—and tasted almost as if they were all made with the same seasoning. Nothing was inedible, mind you, but nothing was notable either.
Our waiter never cracked a smile and took great pains to make sure everybody knew he did not want to be there. At one point in the meal two thirds of our large party was dry—no wine, no water—and it took way too long to be offered either. I would guess the restaurant missed about $400 in wine revenue thanks to their inept, slow pouring.
You’ve probably been to one of Trader Vic’s many locations—usually in urban hotels—and experienced something similar. Is there a rule that hotel guests must endure tacky music and decor, mediocre food that is over-priced, and servers that think they are doing you a favor? It’s tony Hotel Palomar location notwithstanding, I can’t see why any self-respecting diner wouldn’t cross the street to eat at Café Express—they’d get better food and wine and one fourth the price. Skip it
Capitol Pub – Dallas, TX
A good example of how poor service can ruin a meal. I had high expectations for this quasi-gastro pub based on the owners it shares with the Old Monk, a Dallas institution with great pub fare. Alas, the food was mediocre at best, the atmosphere was acceptable but nothing special, and our server managed to be both surly and incompetent—a deadly combination.
The fries we ordered for an appetizer were the highlight of the meal—themselves pretty average but served with your choice of three innovative and yummy dipping sauces. I was a fan of the smoked tomato ranch, but the loaded baked potato sauce and the aioli were all good.
A steak frites entree had that low-quality, previously frozen taste to the meat. “What did you expect for a $12 steak?” my wife asked. Logic notwithstanding, I responded “why sell something that sucks to begin with?” Fortunately her fried goat cheese salad was a lot better, and a hamburger was decent—totally average but edible.
But our waitress was so rude and incompetent none of this matters. It took forever to order anything, many of the drink orders were messed up, plates were thrown on the table, then never picked up after we were done. The food might have been resuced by the experience, but it was not to be.
I don’t expect this place will last long—we were there on the patio on a great, warm Saturday night and the Capitol Pub was barely half full. My guess is others got turned off as well.
Skip it.
Perry’s – Dallas, TX
Well, one of my favorites messed it up this time. I have enjoyed Perry´s steaks for several years, and I hope this recent restaurant week experience is not indicative of what future guests can expect. I suspect most of the issues we experienced on this visit were due to a woefully understaffed wait staff serving a completely full dining room.
We were seated at just past 9PM for an 8:30 reservation, and ended up in a not very desireable table, the only one they had. No waiter showed up for a while, and when he did, he brought the wrong menus. A further wait produced the correct menus.
The cesar salads were nothing to write home about—fresh but under-dressed and thus a little dry. My dining companion ordered a seared tuna and someone along the way decided to serve her the same sirloin steak I had ordered. After the food was bussed out, we could not find our waiter to send the mistaken entree back. We got someone else’s attention and they called our waiter, who quickly took it back and produced the correct tuna. But unfortunately, it was too quickly, and the tuna was barely even colored on the sides—it had barely touched the pan and was refrigerator cold in the middle. Sending that one back produced a condescending explanation of how tuna was supposed to be eaten medium rare (we had, in fact ordered it rare). We deemed it raw, not rare, and asked for them to put it on the pan for a minute more each side, which they did. After all the drama about the tuna, the saddest part is I must report it wasnt very good—just average an with so much soy sauce in the mix that it obscured the other flavors. On a positive note, the aforementioned steak was well prepared, and delicious as usual.
Chocolate cake for dessert was rich and satisfying, and a mid-range Penfold’s Shiraz was ok, but hardly a great value. The waiter was never rude, but he was clearly over-worked and trying a little to hard too compensate for it with artificial smiles and ingenuine politeness. It did not help that he answered every request with the phrase “not a problem”, but that may just be a style issue.
I will go back to Perry’s based on previous experiences, but I struggled to get to a “recommend” rating based on this visit. Lucky the chocolate cake was good, because otherwise I may have downgraded this previously super-consistent spot.
Recommended
Dragonfly – Dallas, TX
For a long time, I had avoided this spot—I believed the stories about the uber-trendy crowd and the sub-par cuisine. Restaurant week gave me an excuse to try it out in a low-risk setting. The hip crowd remains, packing the outdoor bar area until well after midnight, but it is about what you would expect for any other Dallas hot spot—a little more diverse, in fact. The dining area is in fact a trendy design, but it works with the setting and, once seated, does not feel so over the top after all. The whole ambiance is consistent with the Hotel Zaza that hosts the restaurant
But what others probably already knew is that there has been a new chef in charge for about a year, and finally the food matches the promise of the setting. The menu may in fact be too conservative for the out-there decor and guests, but no matter: absolutely everything we tried was a hit. That´s right, 9 different dishes and each was delicious. The starters included a sublime butternut squash and ginger salad that was creamy, spicy and delicate. My favorite, and perhaps the high point of the night, was the crispy clamari salad.
The mains included three huge well prepared seared sea scallops and a wild salmon fillet in an innovative and well matched red pepper sauce that gave the dish some gravitas and substance. A pepper crusted filet with acreamy potato mash and perfectly prepared asparagus was my favorite amongst the entrees.
Their las bottle of 2001 Chalk Hill Cabernet (it has been sold out for a while) was both a special find and a great value—can’t beat that!
Desert was less spectacular, but still pretty good. The homemade ice creams—butter pecan in particular—were better than the sorbets, which were so heavily colored in neon hues that they made you question the “home-made” claim. The mandarin sorbet tasted more than a little like TANG. Redeeming the desert experience was a peanut butter chocolate concoction that scored rave reviews.
Service started off spotty but built over the course of the meal. Our table wasnt ready at the reserved time and the maitre´ds (all three of them) had an attitude. Our waitress was knowledgeable, efficient and pleasant, though it took too long to take the initial order and she left some important information out of her introduction. As usual, we were the last ones out of the restaurant, and we never felt pressured—in fact we were oblivious to the fact until we got up from the table.
Whether you were previously attracted or repelled by Dragonfly´s reputation, its well worth your while to check this out.
Highly Recommended
Parrot Cay Como Shambhala Resort & Spa – Turks and Caicos Islands
This place trades on exclusivity. The website even claims it is “the world’s most exclusive resort”. It is not. I know this for a fact because I am fairly certain the world’s most exclusive resort would not see it fit to include me. I am also fairly certain the world’s most exclusive resort cannot be so easily found in a google search.
Parrot Cay, is, however, quite exclusive. The resort and a handful of private homes sit on its their own island. Rumored owners of said homes include Bruce Willis, Donna Karan and a few other big names. I can confirm Mr. Willis and his girlfriend take their meals at the resort’s poolside restaurant, so that one might be more than a rumor. The cool thing is that this is the kind of place where everyone will leave an instantly recognizable movie star and his statuesque girlfriend alone. Exclusive, indeed. The rest of the guests included one NFL player, a couple of captains of industry (I joked with my wife that the accessory I should have brought, but did not, was my resume), and a couple of people who looked familiar but may or may not have been famous, plus your run-of-the mill couples splurging on a nice vacation (that’s the non-exclusive part). Other guests are generally friendly but not at all intrusive. The honeymooning couples seemed to have formed a clique. We befriended one Belgian family which proved conclusively that children (four daughters!) can still be brought up to be respectful of their parents and other adults around them. If I have kids, I want them to grow up Belgian. The guests also were fairly diverse—mostly couples but also a few families—and I counted the following nationalities represented: American, Argentine, Brazilian, Belgian, British, Costa Rican, Italian, Canadian, Spanish, and Pakistani. Non-human guests included a miniature schnauzer, a shi-tzu, and a weiner dog, so yes, the place is quite dog friendly. At least half of the people we talked to were return visitors. This in a resort with less than fifty rooms.
So the crowd was pleasant and mostly attractive. The place? Blessed with unspoiled beauty. The only other beaches I have been to that might rival this one were in the Maldives. TCI is much closer. The sand is bright white, The water is jewel-toned clear. The weather is sunny windy and in the 80s. The ocean water temperature is perfect. The beach is never crowded thanks to difficulty of accessing it (a 30 minute, 500-HP speedboat ride from the international airport on the island of Providenciales. Can’t say much more—this place is naturally, absolutely beautiful.
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The grounds and common areas are attractive, well maintained, and lacking pretense. The Caribbean/Mediterranean architecture struck me as odd. The spa buildings (there’s like 6 of them) offer all kinds of services, are newer and offer more of a Balinese feel to them (COMO is an Indonesian company). The spa is rumored to be one of the very best. It looked great. The poolside restaurant, Lotus, is far more attractive than the Terrace, in the main building. More on the food later. The whole place smells great—they have mastered the art of appealing to the sense of smell in all the common areas with roofs over therm.
The room itself had some highs and lows. It was spacious, comfortable, and well appointed and very clean. The juxtaposition of styles-modern teak furniture, all white walls and linens, terra-cotta floors, a Formica desk and shelving and wooden walls that look like floor-to-ceiling wainscoting–just did not work together well. The bed was great with top-quality sheets. Their proprietary line of toiletries is awesome and keeps the room smelling great, and the Turkish cotton towels are an appropriate indulgence. A large deck faced the garden and a tiny little bit of ocean (more expensive digs get you better views). It turned out to be a romantic, private area to share a bottle of wine at the end of each day. The mosquito net on the four-post bed is redundant—there’s powerful air conditioning and no bugs. The mini-bar, oddly, is on the outside deck, a possible reason why ours did not cool at all. There were a number of glitches with the room, that however minor, are inexcusable in a place like this:
- All of the locks required technique, jiggling, patience and ultimately brute force to operate.
- Housekeeping staff was stingy with replacement toiletries
- A/C randomly got noisy (though fortunately not often—and not at night, or at least not loud enough to wake us)
- Showerhead had really seen better days
- Bathroom in general, though impeccably clean, could use some updating.
Service was generally top notch. The room itself is serviced three times a day. A generous plate of fresh fruit awaited every afternoon in the room, and on the first night, it was accompanied by an entirely decent bottle of Piper Heidsieck Brut. For the pain and suffering incurred in seven years of marriage to me, my wife received a nice hand-embroidered and lavishly wrapped beach sarong. Nice touch. Bottles of Fiji water accompany the evening service. Complimentary flip flops and other nice freebies abound in the room.
Wind water sports are complimentary (sailing and windsurfing are easy and fun), as is towel service at the pool and the beach. The gym is well equipped but the air conditioning was at best unconvincing. Free tea and scones are served in the library every afternoon, where you will find books, board games, a big flat screen TV, four internet terminals and free pool and ping-pong. Free still bottled water is available throughout the resort. Everything else costs approximately one arm and one leg. But when you consider the cost to build in a remote location, the cost to bring first-class supplies, food, materials and equipment, a guesstimated staff to guest ratio of 2:1, and the aforementioned “exclusivity”, what is expensive?
Interestingly, most of the customer-facing staff is Asian, primarily from Indonesia and India. This is a good thing, because the few locals on staff definitely had a different (and generally unpleasant) attitude towards guests. This could be a product of the resort creating a two-class system between “ex-pats” and “belongers”, or simply cultural difference, or a training snafu. Whatever the cause, it is palpable and unbecoming.
Now for the food. Outside of a couple of missteps, I give it an A. Not only did it taste good, but the program achieves significant variety out of just two kitchens. The wine program is good, and there are decent bottles to be had from $50-$500. I was surprised by its variety, again given the logistical challenge of getting and keeping wine safely at this far-off location. But perhaps the most impressive thing is that this is the first time I felt like I ate healthy for five straight days without ever feeling deprived—that is a monumental accomplishment for someone who quite literally has dreams about steak, bacon, butter, pasta and other less than stellar nutrition chart components.
The two restaurants are quite different, and in ambiance, Lotus by the pool is by far the more pleasant place to eat. But both are nice spaces that fit the mood well. In the interest of space, I will list the standouts from our five day stay as well as the misses. Winners were:
- Grilled soft-shell crab
- Eggs benedict
- Steak fries. (WOW)
- Prosciutto, parmesan, asparagus and arrugula salad
- Fresh-shucked oysters
- Tortellini with giant prawns
- Gazpacho (just an amuse-bouche but really good—should be a menu item)
- Blueberry pancakes
- Grilled prawns with corn, chili and avocado salsa (my favorite of all)
- Wagyu beef sirloin
- Grouper burger (trust me, try it)
- Wagyu burger with proscuitto and gruyere (proscuitto instead of bacon makes this special)
- Coconut toasted waffle
- Stir-fried clams
- Grilled prawns with mango-peanut relish
- Fresh cod with coconut milk and lemongrass
- Rice noodles with pork
- Edamame and bean sprout salad with white miso dressing
Losers were few but included:
- Roasted scallops (lacked taste)
- Egg-white frittata (lacked seasoning)
- Seafood stew (was just ok, but the waiter promised it had no fish, which turned out to be its main ingredient)
- Mushroom and pepper salad (too oily, peppers too bitter, Portobello too mushy)
- Grilled marlin with pesto (too oily—horrible tabouleh salad accompanied it)
Yes, there were a few glitches, but after five days, its easy to understand why so many fellow guests were repeat visitors. I would absolutely go back, but possibly spring for one of the beach villas (separate structures with their own pool facing the beach) and the all-inclusive plan. When you are spending this much money, you might as well go for it, and now that I know the food is top-notch, the meal plan doesn’t scare me. I will bring my dog, too. Before I do, I would like them to fix the damn locks and turn on the A/C in the gym. Otherwise, this is one of those vacations people describe as “paradise” with good reason.
Highly Recommended.
Parrot Cay Como Shambhala Resort & Spa—Turks and Caicos Islands
Tillman’s Roadhouse – Dallas TX
This is innovative comfort food, and it’s pretty well prepared. The atmosphere is fun and funky, and this is a great spot for tourists who what to see what the real Dallas is like (at least until tourists discover the Bishop Arts District). The tall dining room is kitschy yet attractive, and conducive to conversation and good eating, even if we found the music a tad loud. They only take reservations for six or more, but our party of four got one of two empty tables when we walked in at 9:45 on a Friday night.
The cocktails started us off on the right foot—a pomegranate mojito was refreshing and a great twist on an old classic, but the standout was the ginger lemon drop, for which the restaurant has kindly offered the recipe on its website: (http://www.tillmansroadhouse.com/drinks.html). The wine list is short and not that special, though there are a good number of wines by the glass available.
Another sign that this is not your mamma’s Texas cuisine: smoky salty peanuts and popcorn—covered in truffle oil—arrive at your table as soon as you sit down. (by the way, if anyone’s mom served truffled popcorn before every meal I would like to submit my name for adoption).
Like almost everyone, we ordered the trio of fries, which includes purple Peruvian, Kennebec parmesan, and my favorite, sweet potato with smoked sea salt. I think half the world’s dishes would probably benefit from smoked sea salt. The consistency of the fried did not impress, but the flavor and novelty makes them worthwhile anyway. A knockout starter which I sampled on a previous visit was the brisket and Oaxaca cheese quesadilla—its perhaps my favorite item on the menu.
Main courses were exemplary—the salmon in particular was hearty and original—glazed with Texas honey and lavender. As big a steak fan as I am, I still have to admit this is the best entrée they serve—it really shouldn’t be missed. My other favorite, a buffalo ribeye, mysteriously disappeared from the menu, replaced by a regular old cow ribeye that was well prepared, but disappointing by comparison. The chipotle barbeque ribs had fantastic seasoning and the meat melted off the bone as it should. The best thing about this dish, though, is that as you work on the meat, its sauce sticks to the white cheddar mac and cheese that accompany the ribs, creating a second course and flavor that is absolutely unique—the creator of this entrée truly understands how to surprise and delight a diner by unraveling a whole new course as they eat. Genius.
The S’mores dessert can’t be missed. Everything from the graham crackers to the marshmallows (like the fries, there are three types: maple, orange, and coffee) is home made. It’s an experience in that you build your own S’more, fondue-style, over an open flame. It’s unforgettable in that its absolutely delicious, a dessert you wish would never end. We ordered more of the orange marshmallows, at $1 each because we simply could not get enough. It’s rare that I would say a place is good enough to go just for the dessert. That would be the case here, except the food is so good I don’t have to.
Service was efficient and very friendly. The only noticeable slip-up was letting my wine (we were buying by the glass) go dry for a prolonged period of time without offering more.
Highly recommended
Rise no. 1 – Dallas, TX
A very cool new concept referred to by its management as a soufflé salon and yet another tasty gourmet addition to Inwood Village, the strip mall that somehow became the Park Cities’ gastronomic Mecca. Coming in from the parking lot, you don’t expect what you find inside: a tasteful, whimsical, modern yet still French-inspired 92-seat dining room made mostly of reclaimed and recycled materials, most ostensibly a chandelier made of re-purposed wine bottles that fits the space perfectly. The open kitchen affords all diners a view, but the owners may want to rethink that, as the view is mostly of the cooks waiting around for soufflés to come out of the oven. Anyways, the concept is unabashedly green and should be lauded for their efforts (which they publicize extensively on the menu).
The soufflés are very good. We tried three savory soufflés: a mushroom, a ham and cheese, and a boursin and crabmeat. The former two were very good, while the latter—that day’s special—was truly something special. All were well prepared, hitting the consistency, temperature, and even the portions just right. They’re not light, but they make an excellent lunch far better than any sandwich or salad you might get on a weekday. Perhaps because of the success of the first round, the dessert soufflés failed to impress me. Both chocolate and Grand Marnier were, to me, just ok. They were well prepared and there was nothing wrong with them, but they lacked the wow factor of earlier courses.
Whoever is running the wine program knows what he or she is doing. The selections are plentiful, rare, well selected and fairly priced. Furthermore, the approach to flights is the best I have seen yet—breaking the traditional rules of flights while educating and challenging the palette. Best of all, they are priced to encourage experimentation. I personally cannot wait until it cools off a bit to find a designated driver, go sit on their patio, and order flight after flight to taste and discover. Worth it even if you don’t like soufflé.
Try this one out—we need to support new, honest concepts in Big D and this is one of them.
Highly Recommended.
Villa O – Dallas, TX
My first question when I came in was “where are the throngs of Dallas’ beautiful people that other reviewers keep talking about?” This place was as brightly lit as a pizza parlor (which essentially it is—more on that later), allowing us to see that on this Friday night at 10PM, the crowd was largely middle aged and very casual, not the fashion/plastic surgery/skin/muscle parade one expects to see at Dallas’ hot spots. Perhaps our expectations were heightened because Samba Room, which used to occupy the space, was a decidedly sultry, sexy spot with sultry, sexy people waiting in long lines for a table.
The good news is that if the atmosphere took a dive, the food improved significantly. The better news is that the cocktails are still really good. A black sapphire martini (blackberries) was strong and looked menacing sitting in the glass. The Bellini was well mixed and hit all the right notes. But the standout was a Limontini, made with Limocello and tasting ultra-sweet but still, really, really good and very refreshing at the same time.
The wine program is also notable. The list is only 50 wines, but each is available as a glass ($9-32), a half bottle (poured into a carafe) or a whole bottle. It’s a pretty good list with several good values, as evidenced by the fact they were out of my first two selections, both Montepulciano d’Abruzzos that were reasonably priced. Almost all the wines are Italian.
I did mention the food, right? Just like the wine list, the concept here is about lots of choice. There are pizzas, pastas and other entrees and on this visit we all went with pasta. When selecting this meal, you have three decisions to make: the pasta itself, the sauce, and the “extras” if any. The pasta makes the meal—its homemade and delicious. A spinach fettuccine with Wagyu beef Bolognese was yummy and very satisfying. Penne with a tomato-cream vodka sauce and “frutti di mare” was delicious also, if a bit heavy. The chef eating with us pronounced the shrimp overcooked, but nobody else seemed to notice. The creamy flan/custard/crème brulee type desert, the name of which I have forgotten, was fine but not spectacular, and generous enough for two or three people to share.
Oh, and before I forget, the O is for “organic”. That’s right, all of your pasta and sauces will be made with organic ingredients. I am generally indifferent to these things, but I credit the restaurateurs for not price-gouging as a result of their Whole Foods positioning.
The best think about Villa O is that it is a pretty good value. The service was attentive, and mistakes (two of three pasta dishes came out mis-matched) were corrected quickly and with a smile. They really need to do something about the atmosphere though. By 10:30 on a Friday night, the place had cleared out completely. I hope this place gets a chance to correct its little flaws, but I suspect it may not last long. Try it while you can.
Recommended.
