Dallas Fine Dining Blog | Fortuitous Foodies

Oak Dallas Restaurant Review

January 14, 2012

I was so excited to finally get a table at Oak, one of Dallas’s new hot spots, for my birthday. It was everything I had hoped it would be; offering a modern aesthetic, seasonal global cuisine, along with a list of hand crafted cocktails and extensive wine list. As they say on their website, “Oak is the perfect place to Be, Eat, Celebrate and Linger.”

Enjoying a lovely glass of Prosecco to start off our dining experience at Oak.

The infamous appetizer of smoked and marinated Moroccan octopus and pork jowl accompanied by radishes, aji pana and cilantro. Melt in your mouth delicious – we just about licked the plate clean.

We then split the Burrata salad with perfectly cooked asparagus, porcini mushrooms and heirloom tomato vinaigrette. The burrata was so creamy and smooth, one of the best I have ever had.

7 oz grilled filet of beef with browned butter potatoes, trumpet mushrooms and bordelaise. Once again absolutely delicious, although I would have loved more of the bordelaise and could have gone without the herb mixture.

Seared striped bass with artichoke ragout, preserved lemon in a flavorful broth. The dish was nice but didn’t hold a candle to the filet.

We went with a side of Spaetzle mixed with caramelized onions, Gruyere and hints of nutmeg. Being German I thought the Spaetzle was spot on, absolutely delicious.

We enjoyed the Forbidden Rice Pudding that came with papaya, mango, kiwi and pineapple. The sesame tuile was a beautiful twist and the coconut ginger sorbet refreshing and palette cleansing. Oak even presented me with a birthday card at the end of our delightful dinner. A big applause and thank you to Oak, we will be back!

Ellerbe Fine Foods

October 10, 2010

This week we decided to try out Ellerbe Fine Foods located on Magnolia. Ellerbe was recently awarded Bon Appétit Magazine’s 10 Best New Restaurants in America! Ellerbe has also been featured in Texas Monthly and D Magazine. After reading all of these rave reviews, we couldn’t wait any longer to go here and try it out for ourselves.

Upon arriving, we were pleased to find that Ellerbe offers complimentary parking. We received a very warm greeting by the staff and were immediately escorted to our table. The décor is a unique balance of elegance and comfort.

We started with an order of the Anna Marie Shrimp Toast. The dish came with Carter Farm homegrown tomatoes, creamy Italian dressing, and DMC Caciotta served on top of a piece of toast. We also ordered the Braised Rabbit and Brie Crepes with grilled Doak Farm peaches and crispy shallots. Having never tried rabbit before, I couldn’t I resist. The rabbit meat was delicious! It had a wonderful smoky flavor and paired perfectly with the smooth mildness of the Brie.

Next up, the Grilled Duck Breast and Stone Fruit Marmalade with sweet corn risotto, house-made bacon, and wilted cabbage. The duck was cooked perfectly. The sweet corn risotto really brought out the flavors of the duck and was the perfect compliment.

We also ordered the Chef’s Choice Steak, which was a top sirloin “baseball cut”. It was served with a Port Reduction; Brie mashed potatoes and lightly dress arugula. The steak was awesome!Our waiter informed us that this steak had been voted the second best in Fort Worth. The meat just melted in my mouth and was unbelievably delectable. To me there’s nothing better than a steak and potatoes combination. These Brie mashed potatoes were out of this world. The smooth hints of butter, cream, and Brie were heavenly. I liked how they included the bed of arugula to balance out the flavors and cut through the creaminess of the mashed potatoes.

There was no way we could pass on dessert when everything else had been so amazing. We ordered Maw Maw’s Bread Pudding served with Whiskey Sauce and Pralined Texas Pecans. As if this wasn’t enough, we also ordered a scoop of their Dulce De Leche ice cream. There aren’t words to express how satisfying this dessert was. The bread pudding is one of the owner’s grandmother’s recipes. It was literally a slice of heaven. It was sweet and had a hint of cinnamon and nuttiness. The bread pudding was moist and the Dulce De Leche ice cream was the perfect compliment. The ice cream was cool and refreshing. The flavors of caramel and cream went perfectly with the bread pudding.

Fine Dining, Restaurant Reviews

Reata

October 1, 2010

Restaurant Review: Reata Fort Worth, TX

Our dad was in Dallas this week for business, so he came to Fort Worth on Wednesday evening to take me out to dinner. We dined at Reata, one of Fort Worth’s most popular restaurants. Reata specializes in fine Southwestern cuisine. When you eat at here you have to request to sit on the roof top, weather permitting. Reata has a beautiful rooftop bar and dining area that overlooks downtown and is lit up with twinkling lights at night. The ambience is relaxing and will make you feel like you’re on top of the city.

My dad ordered a bottle of wine for the table. Their 2008 Estancia, Cabernet Sauvignon, Paso Robles from Keyes Canyon Ranches was on special. This bottle of red was delicious. For having just been opened, it was very smooth and already tasted like it had opened up. I would definitely recommend this wine.

I started off with the Field Greens salad. It comes with Texas Goat Cheese, San Saba Pecans and Sherry Wine Vinaigrette. This is probably my favorite salad in all of Fort Worth. The dressing is the perfect mix of tang and smoothness and it’s not over-powering. The creaminess of the goat cheese checks the dressing and blends nicely with the candied pecans.

My dad ordered the Chopped salad, which came with Pablano Buttermilk dressing. I really enjoy a good chopped salad. This one reminded me of a club salad. It came with bits of bacon sprinkled on top along with pieces of boiled egg, a slice of gingered apple, and tomatoes. The Pablano Buttermilk dressing did a wonderful job of tying all of the flavors together.

For my entrée I had the grilled Mahi Mahi topped with Lobster Florentine. The fish was accompanied with garlic mashed potatoes and green beans. This is one of my favorite dishes at Reata. If you love fish, this is the dish for you. The Mahi Mahi was cooked perfectly. It was flaky to the touch and slightly crisp on top. The Lobster Florentine consists of chunks of delicious lobster meat in a decadent cream sauce with wilted spinach stirred in. Reata’s mashed potatoes are out of this world! They are so creamy and garlicky. These mashed potatoes are so good that you could just order a plate of them for your entrée! The green beans added a nice crunch and some green to the plate that helped lighten it up and balanced the creaminess of the potatoes and sauce.

My dad had Reata’s Chicken Fried Steak with Cracked Pepper Cream Gravy. The same delicious garlicky mashed potatoes and green beans accompanied it. This is a true down-home Southern meal. The chicken fried steak was perfect and the gravy really made this dish a home run.

When you come to Reata, you have to save room for dessert because all of theirs are amazing. We had the Dessert Tacos with Caramelized Bananas and Chocolate Gravy. The taco shell was made out of caramel and was filled with vanilla bean ice cream drizzled with chocolate and caramel and had bits of strawberries and bananas sprinkled on top. My mouth is watering just thinking about this dessert, it was the perfect end to the perfect meal.

For more information visit Reata’s website.