Listed under “The Finer Things in Life,” excellent sashimi is one of the best culinary indulgences. It’s luxurious and smooth, sensuous on the tongue, and refreshingly light. After the Japan trip, I was worried that sashimi in the States would never be the same, but this weekend’s dinner at RA Sushi proved that wrong. But perhaps I’m jumping ahead, so let’s start at the beginning and work up to that…
This weekend we visited RA Sushi in Plano for the first time. Located in the Shops at Legacy, the place has such ambiance, you’d be shocked to find out they’re located nationwide. Choosing some of their newly added cocktails, we started dinner with a customary round of drinks…
Shiso Naughty: A good mix of sweet & sour. Sweet pineapple vodka & bright citrus yuzu is a nice combination. They incorporated a favorite savory herb, Japanese shiso, for balance, as well as something called X-Rated Liqueur (which sounds kinda gimmicky, but I’m willing to overlook because it was tasty).
Tea It Up: This is the Far East version of one of my favorite Summer drinks: Iced tea spiked with Firefly Sweet Tea Vodka. The idea is translated into Japanese with a zen green tea liqueur and a citrus twist.
Strawberry Soju Sunrise: The ultimate girly drink featuring Soju, yuzu, and fresh strawberry. Overall, their cocktails had a distinctly unique flavor that set them apart from the usual. I think this was because of the yuzu element, but I’m not completely sure. Call it drinker’s intuition.
White Sake Sangria: An updated take on a classic: Sauvignon Blanc, sake, peach, orange, and pineapple juice, plus a splash of yuzu sour. Delicious.
In addition to cocktails, RA also has some new additions to their menu, which (by the way) features a lot of options for those who don’t share in my exaltations of sashimi. They definitely won’t be relegated to boring chicken teriyaki.
To start, it was RA chips & salsa. Tasty & clever, it was a tuna tartar dip with avocado, jalapeno, cucumber, and cilantro. Served with fried wonton “chips” that would be delicious dipped in almost anything, it was a welcomed alternative to the usual edamame starter.
We also tried their Spicy Rice Crispy Treats for two reasons. One, because they sounded delicious. Two, because of the name. Cute! For the roll, they flash-fried sesame rice into strips of crunchy goodness, added spicy tuna, fresh lettuce, and avocado, and then wrapped them in soy paper. They were plated with two sauces: one soy-based, and the other a wasabi cream. Toasted nuts & bright red tempura flakes finished the dish, which I loved. Great taste and texture. If you like hand rolls, this would definitely be your thing.
Grilled Short Ribs with wasabi mashed potatoes found more favor with Brian than they did with me. They had a nice flavor & the potatoes were fabulous, but I’m always more interested in sushi. However, it was the perfect example of what I mentioned earlier: excellent options for those guests who don’t want to go raw. One other thing, these were under $8. Crazy.
Finally, the real highlight of the meal (where we started in the beginning) were the sashimi plates. They’re being offered as “RA Tapas” for the uber-reasonable price of $7.50. (Something that all of RA’s menu items seemed to have in common).
We chose the yellow tail with a garlic citrus ponzu sauce & scallions (above), as well as the salmon with marinated sweet onion dressing (below). Both were killer. Kill-ah. If you go to RA, you better try some of them or the little dish will wonder about your judgement.
While we have NEVER really talked about service on the little dish (we focus only on food), we feel we would be remiss not to mention our server, David. He was attentive and funny and knowledgeable, which is like a triple-threat in almost every profession.
Check back tomorrow when we post pictures of the beautiful dessert that finished the meal. Hint: It could also be eaten with chopsticks!
7501 Lone Star Dr. | Plano, TX 75024
469.467.7400
Other locations nationwide.
Hi, I’m Michael. I go to school in Austin, Texas and I like to eat. I’m a friend of Michelle and Brian. The result? I’m going to start writing some things for the little dish that involve eating in Austin. It’s going to be great, I promise…
Lambert’s is a great restaurant in downtown Austin that refers to itself as “fancy barbecue.” It’s housed in a great looking, old two-story building that apparently dates back to 1873. The interior is cozy but modern, and manages to feel exactly how you would think an upscale barbecue joint should. (In other words, the hardwood to brick to leather ratios are on point.) The open kitchen is definitely a plus in my book.
The second floor is home to the main bar, which is just as charming as the main dining area downstairs. A small stage frequently hosts live music acts. There’s a great neon “LIQUOR” sign hanging over the staircase. I’d like to take it to hang in my apartment, but they’d probably notice. Most importantly, this bar is where my evening gorging took place. You see, from 5 to 7 PM, seven days a week, Lambert’s has happy hour. And during said happy hour, all of their (already reasonably priced) bar food is half-price and all drinks are 2 dollars off.
We started with some Roasted Green Chili Queso and a round of drinks. The queso was good, though I wish the green chiles would have been a bit more prevalent. I’m not sure what kind or combination of cheese they use, but it was a little mild/Velveeta-y for my tastes. However, my two dining companions had no complaints. The tortilla chips though, were awesome—fresh, perfectly crunchy, and not greasy at all.
I ordered the Wood Grilled Natural Cheese Burger. Brian (who had eaten their previous on a trip to Austin) raved about this burger, so I had high hopes. I was not disappointed. It’s a very straightforward burger, but executed extremely well. The beef is flavorful and was perfectly cooked; the dressings (mayo, mustard, lettuce, and red onion) provide a good counterbalance to the richness of the meet and cheese. The taste and aroma of the wood is definitely there. The bun is thick enough to last the entire meal without getting soggy, but so heavy that it gets in the way of the main burger goods. I could eat the mustard with a spoon all by itself. Really, it’s just an awesome cheeseburger. I want another one right now.
The herbed waffle fries that came with the cheese burger were also great. Crispy outside, fluffy inside, and tossed with a nice seasoning that coated all the fries pretty evenly. I dipped them in the mustard. And then dipped my finger in the mustard a few times, too. Seriously.
The Crispy Wild Boar Ribs with celery and daikon slaw were pretty spectacular, too. Each rib had a fairly small amount of the flavorful (but not gamey), lean boar meat. However the serving was large enough to be satisfying. They had a sweet and sour glaze with a great tang to it, and gave the ribs a bit of an asian inspiration to match the garnish of daikon slaw.
The third dish at the table was a Barbecue Plate with chicken, jicama slaw, and green chili grits. I didn’t taste the chicken, but it didn’t look like it was overcooked, which seems to be the problem with chicken at most barbecue places. I did, however, steal a bite of the sides. I love jicama and grits and green chili, so I naturally expected to like both of them. And I did…especially the grits. Even before you taste them them, there’s something kind of inherently fun about green-tinted grits.
To finish, we got an order of Bread Pudding for dessert that doesn’t appear to be on the websites menu. It came out steaming hot with a perfectly round scoop of in-house homemade ice cream on top. I only had a bite, but it was a great bite. The custard perfectly saturated the bread (not too mushy, not too dry) and there was plenty of spice from the cinnamon. The cold and creamy ice cream melting down into the pudding was…cold…and creamy…and melting down into the pudding. Real good. I wished I wasn’t so full and could have eaten more of it.
The only thing I didn’t enjoy was the Habanero BBQ sauce. I liked the heat, but it seemed like—both from flavor and color—they had tried to cut the spice with the sweetness of ketchup. I could be wrong about the source, but there was definitely a sweetness that I was not digging too much.
Overall, it was a great early dinner, especially for the price. If you’re ever in Austin looking to get some drinks and a great bite to eat, the Lambert’s bar should definitely be towards the top of your list. Get the burger. Eat the mustard. Booyah.
401 West 2nd Street | Austin, TX 78701
512.494.1500
Every year Dallas’ premier restaurants take part in Dining Out In Dallas, an annual fundraiser benefiting The Texas Neurofibromatosis Foundation. DFW chefs each donate a table for 10 to be bid on & the proceeds go to this excellent cause. This year, we had the pleasure of getting a table at Local with family & good friends. In one word, it was delightful. In a lot more words, here’s the rundown of the full menu & how it went down…
Warmed nuts were a salty prelude to the meal & a gentle reminder to never underestimate the goodness of a homemade snack mix. Fried green beans were the first starter & paired nicely with a Chardonnay Terrazas Reserva ‘07 from Spain. The green beans were dipped in a flavorful batter & served with a ranch sauce for dipping. Delicious & unexpected—they’re as salty & addictive as their potato counterparts.
Amuse-Bouche: A cream soup (broccoli?) with crispy fried leeks. Comforting & nice, even though I can’t remember exactly what flavor the soup was. Cream of…cream.
Short Order First Course: Eden Creek baby arugula salad, with brown sugar sauteed asian pears, crumbled Pure Luck dairy blue cheese, toasted pistachios, and a honey-balsamic vinaigrette.
Wine: Riesling Thomas Schmitt ‘04 – Germany
From the description, you can tell this salad was very sweet. It might have been too much so, but the bites of blue cheese & salted pistachios—as well as the wine—added balance. The pears were perfection & everyone at our table was impressed with the honey vinaigrette.
Short Order Second Course: Seared Hudson Valley foie gras, house-made Texas toast, fresh fig and madeira compote
Wine: Rioja Luis Canas Crianza ‘04 – Spain
The surprise of the night. I’ve had foie gras once, possibly twice before this point. I couldn’t remember the difference between pate & foie gras because the two had sort of combined in my mind in the “not great, but you can bear it” category. This foie gras came like a ray of light—a major epiphany. I loved it. With the figs, it was perfectly perched between sweet and salty…incredibly soft and tender…rich and luxurious in texture. Liver? Really? Yeah, you heard me. It’s awesome.
Tall Order: Grilled grass-fed beef tenderloin filet, creamy Anson Mills grits, flash-fried spinach, roasted garlic-butter balsamic finish
Wine: Bordeaux Chateau Mouton Jean Philippe ‘03 – France
Everything in this dish was excellent. My filet was served rare; Brian’s was more medium-rare, so there was a little variance in the cooking. No matter because both filets were supernaturally tender. The grits were creamy & the spinach was a perfect compliment. This dish was the highlight of Local’s skill in the arena of New American cuisine.
Baby Desert Tasting: Warm mini chocolate souffle, brownie cookies, Ovaltine-spiked chocolate malt, spiced cake donut holes
Wine: Moscato d’asti Marenco Scrapona
Whimsical and delicious, it’s one of the best mini-dessert plates I’ve ever had. Usually there’s at least one dessert that falls short, but that wasn’t the case here. The chocolate souffle was rich, indulgent, and actually just the right size. The shake was lovely, the brownie cookies were far beyond what I was expecting, and the donut holes were a playful take on an American classic. I loved the sparkling moscato. So sweet & refreshing, it could stand on its own if served as dessert.
At the end of our meal, just when we thought it was over, a final parting bite arrived at the table: homemade thumbprint cookies with a cranberry-chutney center. One little bite…tart & sweet…it was like a farewell wave & a reminder to come back again for more.
2936 Elm Street | Dallas, TX 75074
214.752.7500
Now when you’re in downtown Plano you can visit Urban Crust, a newly opened wood-fired pizza joint with a rooftop bar. When we arrived at 8:00 on a Saturday there was, of course, a wait. So, we started our dinner in the bar. It’s named “32 Degrees” because of the frozen bar concept. The place was packed, so if you actually want to sit at the frozen bar, you’ll have to get there early. It’s a nice area with a small, open-roofed patio & a wonderful view of downtown Plano. The only drawback is the size. Since it’s so small, be prepared to rub elbows a bit & brush up on your drink ordering skills because you’ll need them.
After the pager buzzed, we headed downstairs & ordered a few apps to start. We enjoyed the starter bread, which greets you as you sit down for dinner. It was an Italian-take on flatbread served with pesto and marinara sauces for dipping. The carpaccio was thinly sliced beef with shaved cheese, capers, chives, and truffle oil. The calamari was interesting; instead of just the typical rings, this serving included a handful of crispy-fried whole baby octopus. This is good/bad depending on how you feel about eating lil octos whole. I think our table was split 50/50. On the whole the starters were good, but not extremely impressive. Next time we’ll try their salads.
And there will definitely be a next time, because the pizza is worth going back for. We ordered the Quattro Formaggi: a blend of fresh mozzarella, fontina, Maytag blue cheese and grana padano, drizzled with truffle oil. Outstanding! All the cheeses melted perfectly together atop an excellent crust. Our other choice was the Margherita: tomato sauce, imported Italian buffalo mozzarella, fresh tomatoes and basil. We went with a simple choice so we could really evaluate the ingredients & crusts in an uncomplicated way. Rich ingredients and truffle oil can hide a multitude of sins. The question is: can you do a simple pizza well? Urban Crust didn’t disappoint.
What they really excel at is their excellent crust. Every true pizza devotee knows that this is crucial. Just like with a great sandwich, it’s all in the bread. Once you have the perfect base, it’s just a matter of selecting the right cheeses, meats, and veggies. Not everyone can mix, toss, and fire the perfect dough. We’re constantly disappointed with that average doughy “crust.” Urban Crust has come awfully close to perfecting the crust. It’s thin, chewy, and full of flavor—one of the best in Dallas. There’s a highly-spoken of rival across town that we have yet to review, but right now we’re content with what they’re tossing in Plano.
1006 E. 15th Street | Plano, TX 75074
972.509.1400
This weekend was probably one of the worst to have a potluck, for me at least. I had my wisdom teeth taken out Thursday and spent the weekend sleepy, puffy, and sipping soup. That being said, I would never miss a date when this crew gets together and cooks. So, I nibbled my way through most of the dishes, appreciating the mouth-friendly orzo, chocolate mousse, and melt-in-your-mouth tuna the most. Everything was delicious though. Thanks to everyone for coming! It was so much fun. Next time, we’ll do a better job of snapping everyone’s picture, but it’s so hard when it’s time to eat!
Nick & Caitlin – Organic sweet potato orzo with pecans and parmesan; local pan-sauteed okra with lemon (pictured top left)
Michael – Golden brown chorizo empanadas (black bean version on hand for the vegetarians) (pictured top right)
Brian – Pasta shells stuffed with creamy ricotta and parmesan chessse, choped parsley, spinach, and sweet Italian sausage. Cooked in a spicy arrabbiata sauce (sausage-free version for the vegetarians!)
Andrea – Chocolate-topped toffee bars (which surprisingly did not contain toffee)
Mark & Kendall – Chocolate pudding with a crispy, nutty crust, topped with whipped cream
Michelle & Jen – Chocolate mousse
Jen – Spicy tandoori chicken with a tomato. onion, and Serrano jam, topped with creamy herbed yogurt, served atop pita bread (pictured bottom left)
Matt – Seared tuna slices with a mixed citrus, bell pepper, and red onion salsa, drizzled with a red wine vinaigrette (pictured bottom right)
Dinner last night was a feast; it made me realize I need more Mediterranean food in my life. Four of us went to Fadi’s and decided to get sampler platters to split so we could try a little of everything. It was excellent. For $13.99, you should get the Ultimate Sampler. Go through the line and choose tasting portions of whatever you like: hummus, fresh and roasted veggies, salads, plus, you get one choice of meat. We split two samplers and added sides of rice and pita bread for dipping. We were, at first, unsure if just two plates were going to be enough for all of us, but it ended up being more than enough.
I loved getting to try tastes of everything. I don’t eat Mediterranean food very often, and when I do I tend to order the same thing. (Chicken Shawerma, anyone?) So this opportunity was a great one to try a broader range of dishes. One of the highlights? Their tabuli was so packed with fresh herbs (green onions, parsley, mint), it was completely green. Delicious. Cucumber, tomatoes, onions, mint and lemon juice made up a refreshing Lebanese salad that I could’ve eaten by the pint. Their hummus and baba ghanoush were tasty, but nothing out of the usual. A dish of spicy chicken was moist and very flavorful, accompanied by sauteed onions, peppers, and tomatoes. (My only caveat was that it wasn’t really spicy.) Roast potatoes are usually foolproof, and Fadi’s didn’t fall short. Their version was tossed in olive oil, coriander, and parsley(?). Strangely my favorite bite was the cauliflower. Yeah, you heard me. With all of those interesting, complex dishes, my favorite was roasted cauliflower. But you have to trust me on this. It’s buttery and a little spicy; it’s completely delicious. I asked my friend Matt to split his last floret with me. It’s that good.
Visit Fadi’s, try everything, and while we’re on the subject–what other Mediterranean restaurants would you recommend? I’ve heard great things about Kavala, but have yet to try. It’s high on the list though. Any other sugggestions?
3001 Knox St. #110 | Dallas, TX 75205
214.528.1800
(See site for other locations.)
Oh dear. I had just literally finished writing a review about ALO when I found out that they’re going to be closed for months because of a kitchen fire that happened Sunday! Looks like a visit from the little dish is just too hot to handle. (Bad joke.)
Anyway, we’re going to proceed with this post because a future visit to ALO is something worth marking on your calendar (apparently sometime during September)…
ALO is La Duni’s diffusion restaurant. They serve lighter fare (Merican and Peruvian street food) and were HIGHLY recommended by a friend a work. When I told her I was finally going, she gave me a list of about fifteen things to try.
You begin with an amuse-bouche: salty, spicy, baked Peruvian corn. (The closest thing to compare them to are fancy cornnuts.) Highly addictive, they were the perfect accompaniment to before-dinner drinks.
Now, there are two things that make me feel terribly uncouth: being baffled by a restaurant’s menu and mispronouncing a designer’s name (by day, I work in the fashion/retail industry).
A lot of time has passed since the first time I ordered french food or had to refer to Ann Demeulemeester. I’ve gained a sense of worldliness – a confidence in my grasp of basic ettiquette and culture. Yeah, the trip to Japan definitely shook that feeling because I walked around quite clueless for two weeks. But, I rationalize this because I wasn’t on home territory…or something.
Anyway, it took about four minutes of pouring over ALO’s menu to put me right back in that uncomfortable place of feeling unfamilar.
Their menu is split into sips, sides, bites (to begin), bites (to continue), and bites (to fill up). While some of that is self-explanitory, some of it was definitely not and the lack of English translations for entree titles didn’t help. To confuse matters, the subhead “share family style” is under every category.
Are we ordering large, family-style entrees? Or is this like Peruvian tapas? What’s a “tiradito” or a potato “causas?” What is going on here? (It was probably fatigue from my day at work or the mojitos I started with that complicated things, because my dinner companion wasn’t nearly as confused.)
Our server was very sweet and explained the situation. The bites (to begin) are lighter, but enough for two to share. Sides are served in family portions for about three to four people, depending on the appetite. The bites (to continue) and bites (to fill up) are the entrees, so to speak.
We ordered a lot, as much as we thought we could eat, and were disappointed that we couldn’t try more; there’s so much on the menu that’s enticing. The highlights of our meal were the beef picadillo tacos with well-seasoned meat, fresh cabbage, pineapple pico de gallo, and shredded jicama. The flautas weren’t out of the ordinary, but well executed.
A rich side of buttery corn rice proved to be an excellent recommendation from my friend at work, and she was right about another thing: you cannot stop by without having the yucca fries. Sprinkled with lime and dipped in salsa, they’re awesome.
It’s sad to think it’ll be months before we can have more because of the fire disaster, but as they put it so poetically on their site, “like a phoenix, [they] will rise again.”
4447 North Central Expressway | Dallas, TX 75205
214.520.9711
Umm… what’s a popover? I thought I knew, but after making these and doing some in-depth research, I realized I’m not so sure anymore. Originally, I thought popovers were fluffy, brioche-ish bread rolls. However, this recipe yielded some very delicious bread-looking things that were more like hollow, fluffy quiche than anything else. Whaaat? Well apparently, this isn’t far off from what popovers are supposed to be (see link above), but I’m still not sure if this recipe can be rated as a great or not. They were incredibly tasty with lots of parmesan cheese, fresh herbs, and herbs de Provence (one of my favorite seasonings). They had a nice texture, albeit a pretty eggy one. If that’s the way popovers are supposed to be, then good job on this recipe, Giada! If not, should we just call these something else next time we make them?
What I would really love is for some popover-loving connoisseur to shed some light on the situation. Do these appear to be good popovers? Is there a recipe you can recommend to really show me what a perfect popover is like? If you got anything on this, let me know!
I’d like to end on this note: this recipe is prepared in a blender, which is awesome for mixing, filling up the muffin tins, and clean up. That is definitely working in its favor–popover or not.
Parmesan Popovers from Giada de Laurentiis
3 eggs
3/4 c. all-purpose flour
1/4 tsp. salt
1/2 tsp. freshly ground black pepper
1/2 tsp. herbs de Provence
4 tbs. chopped parsley leaves
1 c.s whole milk
3/4 c. grated Parmesan (about 5 ounces)
Preheat the oven to 400 degrees F.
In a blender, combine eggs, flour, salt, pepper, and herbs, milk, and cheese. Blend on medium speed.
Spray a mini-muffin pan with nonstick cooking spray. Pour the batter into the muffin cups, filling each cup 3/4 full. Bake until puffed and golden brown, about 20 to 25 minutes.
Remove popovers from muffin tin and cool on a wire rack. Save in a storage container to take to the picnic.*
*Editor’s Note: Picnic???
Hattie’s is a beautiful, uncomplicated bistro in the Bishop Arts District whose fare is best described as “white-tablecloth Southern food.” The menu consists of rustic, traditional favorites from the South that have been infused with a charming sense of refinement and polish. I was really excited about trying this place.
To start, fried green tomatoes seemed to be the only real choice—not from lack of options, because there were other very tempting choices on the menu like proscuitto-wrapped black figs with bleu cheese and walnuts. (YUMM!) However, my heart was set on fried green tomatoes because for me, few foods could symbolize Southern cooking any better.
In a word, they were delightful. The tomatoes themselves were incredibly flavorful and ripe. Dipped in a cornmeal batter, they were perfectly coated and crispy. It wasn’t a greasy mush that hid the natural goodness of the tomato, it was a golden-brown crunchiness that celebrated it. The buttermilk ranch dressing drizzled on top was light, not thick as a usual dressing, but almost like a white sauce that complimented the tomatoes so well. A true Southern classic with an upscale touch—such a good fit for Dallas.
Price: $7.50
418 Bishop Avenue | Dallas, Texas 75208
214.942.7400
MAP | DIRECTIONS
These are some kick ass fries. Most of the time when I dare to order the cheese fries at an establishment they try and pass off some orange-colored rubber substance as cheese. Snuffers on the other hand knows what cheese is supposed to taste like and they give you plenty of it. These fries are covered in all kinds of delicious delights: jalapenos, chives, bacon and aged cheddar. All in mass amounts and piled high atop a perfect amount of tasty fresh cut fries. So next time you are in the area and off your diet, hit these guys up. Highly recommended.
Price: $3.95 (small, pictured above) or $5.95 (large) | Chives, Bacon and Jalapenos $.95 extra (a must)
3526 Greenville Ave. | Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 826-6850
Other locations at Addison, Park Cities, Plano, Rockwall, McKinney, Southlake & Highland Village
