Marquee Grill's Last Weekend...

I recently found out that Marquee Grill in Highland Park Village was closing its doors and changing to something else. I still had a giftcard for them to use so I wanted to make sure I got in there before they officially shut their doors. :(

Marquee Grill
32 Highland Park Village
Dallas, TX 75205
(214) 522-6035
marqueegrill.com
Price: $$$+

Marquee Grill used to have Chef Tre Wilcox as the executive chef. Tre was one of my favorite contestants in Top Chef Season 3. But he left and they brought in Chef Andre Natera. I've been to the restaurant twice while Chef Tre was in charge, so I've never had the food since the new chef and menu revamp happened.

I made a reservation for Saturday night on the last weekend they were open. The place was packed! I wondered if it was due to their last weekend or business was usually like this... Which then begs the question why they'd be closing if business is booming? We had a party of 7 so we had a large round table on the first floor right in front of the kitchen. It was cool watching the cooks cook and plate and expedite.

The waiter came by for drink orders. One of my friends wanted to drink so I told her I'd order a cocktail as well. My friend had this last time we were there and I liked it. So I got it this time. Scarf Dancer (Aylesbury Duck vodka, black currants, lemon juice, St. Germain) $11~ Pricey cocktail, but it's good. And the colors are beautiful.

We took a long time to decided on drink orders so I feel like our waiter decided to not waste time with us and disappeared. It took a long time for him to come back and finally take our food orders. :( Luckily we got some bread at the table. It was pretty good. Had sun-dried tomatoes in it I think.

 

Asparagus Risotto (crispy artichokes, morel mushrooms, parmesan) $14~ 

I knew I wanted dessert so I opted for an appetizer and side dish for my entree. This was really good. I think the portion size was perfect for a risotto since they can be quite heavy. I loved the bright green color. It was creamy and luxurious and wasn't too too heavy. I liked all the veggies in there, but I did not get any mushrooms... Oh well.

Sticky Fried Brussels Sprouts with Spanish Chorizo $9~ 

I knew I was getting this as soon as I saw it. Love me some Brussels sprouts!! This was amazing. I don't know how restaurants get this perfect char on their brussels sprouts but they did it perfectly here. Super flavorful, I can eat this dish forever! Plus it paired super well with my risotto!

Baby Iceberg Wedge (bacon, cheddar blue cheese, tomato jam) $9~ 

My friend wanted a salad but didn't want the whole thing so I told her I'd share one with her. The kitchen split it for us. :) So the portion you see here is just half. It was fresh. I loved the big piece of bacon on top. And the tomato jam was killer. Kinda sweet, it went very well with the rest of the salad.

Supreme Breast of Chicken (grilled asparagus, bacon barley risotto, smoked tomato sauce) $21~ One friend ordered this. Looked pretty good. The flavors were good as well. I tried a bite of the barley risotto and it was nice.

Porcini Crusted Duck Breast (citrus glaze, roasted mushrooms and sunchokes) $29~ 

My bf and another friend ordered this. Winning dish of the night BY FAR! Even though everything was fantastic. So you can imagine how great the duck was! It was presented beautifully. I loved the color on the plate and the duck specifically. Cooked to perfection. It was super tender. The mushrooms and sunchokes were awesome accompaniment. The flavors were so cohesive and just delicious. It definitely had an Asian flavor profile but it's not like getting duck at a Chinese restaurant. The only complaint is maybe the skin could've been crisper but it's such a minor detail at this point. This is definitely the best preparation of duck I've had at an American restaurant.

8oz Flat Iron with Garlic Parmesan Fries $23~ So much fries! They were delicious too! haha. My friend said the steak was good. But seriously, nothing topped the duck. haha. I think another friend got the flat iron but with honey glazed vegetables instead of fries. 

14oz Niman Ranch Prime New York Strip $38~ Also looked pretty awesome. It was cooked well.

Mascarpone Fine Grits $9~ One friend got this as a side. It was eh. It had very light flavor. It needed something else in it. It's weird to eat grits on its own. haha.

Honey Glazed Vegetables (turnips, parsnips and carrots) $8~ Yummy. The veggies were cooked well, still had great texture. It was savory from being roasted but also sweet from the honey. A good side to pair with all the dishes we had. Doesn't top the brussels sprouts though! haha

So it's time for dessert. And one of the main reasons I wanted to come here... I'm not sure how many of you have heard of the Cronut. But there's a cronut craze right now in America. It started in New York and people line up hours ahead in the mornings at this bakery to get it. It's basically a hybrid of croissant and donut. Doesn't that sound awesome?? haha. I've been obsessed about it ever since I heard about it!! :P So I read an article of places you can find something similar in Dallas and Marquee Grill was on there. They called it the Croissant Donut (dusted with cinnamon sugar and served with spiced Mexican chocolate) $10~ 

 

 

I believe the creator of cronut already has that name trademarked. But this is slightly different than the original version since it doesn't have cream injected into it. I totally expected to just get one piece so I was happily surprised to see 3 on a plate. They looked and smelled amazing! I loved it. Layers and layers of crisp and buttery goodness, covered in cinnamon sugar. I liked peeling the layers off. haha. And the chocolate sauce was fantastic. Rich and decadent. I really enjoyed the dessert, and now I really can't wait to try the real thing in NYC!! :P

It was a FANTASTIC dinner. The only kink was our waiter disappearing on us through out the night. Although the other waiter staff were great. It was one of the best meal I've had in a while. I'm really questioning why they are closing now! haha. I'm sad to see Marquee Grill go. But the word is that they are opening 2 restaurants and a bar inside this space. Village Kitchen and Toko V (an Asian seafood/sushi place) is said to open sometime soon this month. It's still headed up by Chef Andre Natera, so I think it's definitely worth a visit once it opens. :)

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~