RW 2012: Hibiscus

RW #2 this year was Hibiscus. I've been wanting to go here since I started doing RW many years ago. But they only participate the first week and so scheduling has never worked out. But finally... I made it there!

Hibiscus
2927 North Henderson Avenue
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 827-2927
http://www.hibiscusdallas.com/
Price: $$$$

It was raining that night and parking on Henderson is almost nonexistent. Good thing they have complimentary valet. We arrived right on time but half of our party was running late due to the weather and traffic.

It looks like a quaint, unassuming restaurant from the front, but this place was huge! The room just kept on going! The lighting was very dim, but had a warm glow that was nice. They have several different rooms. My favorite one was the middle main dining area with the open kitchen. But we were seated in the back room. It was quieter back there though, which is good. And the entire restaurant was packed the entire night we were there. Very impressive!

I told them we had people running late and they were very nice and said it wasn't an issue. We were seated immediately once the majority of our group showed up.

Our waiter was very nice and energetic. He explained that they do a "family style" menu for RW. And we lucked out with 9 people because they round up! Basically, the appetizer, sides and desserts are all shared. 1 dish for every 2 persons. So since we had 9 people, we'd get 5 of everything. Awesome! This is the best deal for a large group because we get to try everything on the menu!

Openers -- (Choice of one per two guests, Served family style.)
- Baked Jonah Crab Dip (wood oven fired crackers). We got 2 of these for the table. It was quite good. I liked the browned breadcrumbs on top. And it was really creamy and rich. Initially it looked like just a bunch of cream, but there was actually quite a bit of crab in there. I just wish it was hotter.. like the cream should be bubbling when it's served or something.

- Tempura Green Beans (Meyer lemon aioli). We got 2 of these as well. I thought these were the best out of the appetizers. The batter was light and crispy and the beans were cooked well and had nice texture. You can taste the green beans without being overwhelmed by the batter.

- The Baby Wedge (house cured bacon, cherry tomatoes, crispy onions, Pt. Reyes Blue). We got 1 of this. It was a little less impressive than the other dishes. There were 3 small wedges on the plate, topped with a mountain of crispy onions. The flavors were pretty standard. My favorite surprise was the thick cut bacon on the bottom of the plate. Just a big slab of it.

Features -- (Choice of one per guest.)
- Roasted Chicken (braised spinach & potato). I think this was the biggest portion. And the flavors were fine, but not really that interesting.

- Horseradish Rubbed Scottish Salmon (jalapeno creamed corn, heirloom tomato vinaigrette). I opted for the salmon. According to some reviews online, people said the salmon and filet were really good. Since I don't really like the filet cut of meat, I went with salmon. Also because I wanted the jalapeno creamed corn. hehe. The salmon was really good. Cooked perfectly med rare and so tender. By far the best entree of the night.

- Petite Filet (butter poached shrimp and grilled asparagus). This sounded really good but was a disappointment. The meat was cooked really well even though it looked dry on the outside. But the entire plate just looked sad and bland. And it was very bland. The steak wasn't really seasoned. Neither was the shrimp and the potatoes weren't anything special. :( Everyone who go it just said it was "fine".

Sides -- (Choice of one per two guests, Served family style.) Now this is one of the highlights of the meal. I think the sides totally outshined the main course.
- Wood Roasted Cauliflower. This was the fav among the group. It had a nice spicy kick to it and lots of flavor. One of my friends thought it was too salty though.

- Wild Spinach. Pretty standard.

- Dish Deep Mac Casserole. I liked this one as well but it was super rich. I liked that the pasta was still somewhat al dente and not mushy like other mac and cheeses. One of my friends also liked the fact that they used more of a cheddar/yellow cheese and the flavor was bolder. I agree. The browned breadcrumbs on top was nice.

- Creamless Creamed Corn with Jalapeno & Bacon $8?~ A friend of mine ordered this as an extra side. It was delicious. The bacon came in large chunks! It could've used more jalapeno though. It wasn't very spicy. But I thought it was great, nonetheless.

It was a ton of food! Initially I thought we'd have no problem since everyone had to share but everyone was stuffed!!

Then it was time for Desserts -- (Choice of one per two guests, Served family style.)
I am so glad we had to share these because they were impressively massive. OMG! Especially the chocolate cake.
- Ice Box Pie (crushed Butterfinger, vanilla ice cream, Oreo cookie crust). We got 3 of these. What's not good about butterfinger ice cream and oreo crust? YUM! The majority preferred this one.

- Classic Chocolate Cake (devils food, truffle ganache, Morello cherry). We got 2. Wow.. this is a pretty epic cake. I'd say at least 6 inches high. I liked this one better. So chocolately and rich and decadent.

The ganache was amazing! I was super full but I think I managed to eat half of a slice by myself! It was actually great to eat both desserts together since ice cream pairs perfectly with chocolate cake!

We tried really hard to finish it all, but ended up taking some cake to go. Plus some of the girls (including me) boxed up half of our entrees. The desserts were a great ending to the meal. Overall, we had a good time. Some parts of the meal were disappointing, but I liked it for the most part.

Our waiter was great, didn't rush us or anything after our meal even though I saw a lot of people waiting at the bars for tables. He was also very accommodating to split the checks.

Just an advice if you are interested in their RW for the future. Make sure you go with at least a party of 3 or more. You get to try more dishes, it's a better deal! hehe. So far RW has been extremely filling! Sometimes you get restaurants that have tiny portions, but apparently I lucked out this year!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~