Dinner Lab Dallas

Dinner Lab Dallas

We had the pleasure of joining Dinner Lab Dallas on April 10th. The evening highlighted the cuisine of Los Angeles-based Chef DJ Park. As with any Dinner Lab event, the menu told a compelling story, featuring dishes and ingredients inspired by the chef’s heritage, life experiences and personal passions.

The dinner’s theme was “Kan-Kuko: The Union of Japanese Sophistication and Korean Comfort” which blended Chef DJ Park’s Korean cultural heritage with Japanese culinary training.

There were two seatings, the first at 7 p.m. and a second at 8 p.m. For the first 30 minutes we enjoyed a  happy hour including signature cocktails, wines and beers. I really enjoyed the flavors in the Sake Punch!

What I really like about Dinner Lab is they always pick a location that’s unique and unexpected. They really know how to keep up the element of surprise and delight going, only telling you the location of the dinner one day prior!  For this dinner we were sent to Lab Art in the Design District.

Lab Art

 Menu:

1 – Surf & Turf Crudo : tuna & beef tartare | wasabi salt & ponzu | sesame oil | Asian pear

2 – Onsen Egg : kimchi furikake | charred leek | black bean chili oil

3 – Earth & Sea (Okonomiyaki) : roasted vegetable pancake | wild mushroom salad | truffle butter & soy | seaweed medley

4 – Black Garlic Spaetzle : pork belly | kimchi romesco | braised greens | parmesan

5 – Toasted Rice Cream : salted caramel cream | popped rice

 Tasting Notes:

Surf and Turf

1) I enjoyed the tuna the best, very bright, light and refreshing flavors. It was also paired with a Sake Bomb, which was awesome and a lot of fun!

Onsen Egg

2) One word: Umami! This was fantastic; velvety, luscious and extremely tasty!

Earth and Sea

3) Great flavor, really enjoyed the meatiness from the mushrooms.
Black Garlic Spaetzle

4) This course was my favorite by far. The black garlic spaetzle with pork belly really worked and then the layering of the kimchi romesco with braised greens and parmesan took it to the next level. It was very creative and worldly – loved it!

Toasted Rice Ice Cream

5) This dish tasted like a rice krispy treat on steroids, needless to say it did not disappoint. And ghetto syrup… I still need to ask chef for this recipe!

More Information:

Annual membership with Dinner Lab Dallas costs $125 and provides the member and a guest access to Dinner Lab’s member-only events held regularly throughout the year in Dallas, as well as access to events in all cities where Dinner Lab operates. Individual dinners range in cost from $60-80 per ticket.

To join, visit Dinner Lab Dallas’ Membership Page.

Leave a Comment

Fortuitous Foodies logo

Subscribe For Updates

Join the Fortuitous Foodies mailing list to receive our latest posts and special subscriber content.

Thank You For Subscribing!