Dallas Restaurant Week 2013: Dallas Chop House

This past Saturday was my last Restaurant Week destination. I chose Dallas Chop House since I have never been there and their menu looked pretty good.

Dallas Chop House
1717 Main St.
Dallas TX 75201
(214) 736-7300
http://dallaschophouse.com/
Price (for RW): $$$$

I've heard different things about DCH so I was a little nervous. People I know that have been there say it's just ok. And online reviews were hit or miss on RW. I really hoped our experience would be a hit!

We all arrived a little earlier than our 7:30PM reservation. We had a party of 7. As soon as we entered the restaurant, I was already a little impressed. I loved the decor of the place. Plus they have a really nice patio/bar area. The host and hostess were really friendly and told us that we can be seated immediately even though we were early.

Our waiter welcomed us to the restaurant and presented us with a complimentary bottle of champagne! How nice! So we all toasted to a wonderful night out with friends and upcoming delicious food! :)

Deviled Egg (with caviar). This was compliments of the chef after we got the champagne. Another nice little treat. It was good. Not too rich. A nice little bite to get us started for the night.

I had 5 Central Market certificates so I gave that to the waiter. Their CM 4th course was Chicken Fried Sweet Breads (with blue cheese sauce and apple salad). 

Sweet breads are actually the pancreas of the lamb or calf. Sounds icky, but it's delicious when done right. And anything battered and fried is yummy! The dish was great. It was fried nicely, the sweet breads were creamy and paired really well with the crispy shell. The blue cheese sauce was just enough, not too overpowering. And I loved the contrast of the apple salad on the side. It added so much freshness to the fried counterpart.

Then they brought out the Popovers (with honey rosemary butter). 

We got 2 large plates of them. OMG! Very impressive looking on the plate. Everyone loved it. It was so airy and soft. The inside was hollow. And the honey rosemary butter added sweetness to the bread. I wish I could eat more of it, but had to save room for the next 2 courses!!

**Sorry for the lighting in the pictures. It's hard to get the right lighting without killing it with too much flash!**

We also got some cocktails during dinner.
My bf got the Featured RW Cocktail: Double Barrel Old Fashioned (DCH's herradura double barrel reposado, Texas honey, absinthe, grapefruit bitters) $12~ (left) Tequila, not my thing. haha. It was strong!

I got the Daisy Collins (Bombay Dry Gin, green Chartreuse, fresh lemon juice, tarragon) $12~ (right) I liked it. It was fresh, and just sweet enough for me. I've never had tarragon in a drink before. It wasn't overpowering, I quite liked it. :) Plus it was twice the size of my bf's drink. hehehe.

Now...to the actual meal!

Appetizers:
Tenderloin Steak Tartare (cornichons, capers, sharp mustard, aged parmesan, topped with a quail egg yolk). 

 

I was the only one that got this. It was presented on a giant wood platter. It was a fun presentation. They had little dishes of chives, mustard and cornichons on the side that you can mix to your own taste in the tartare. The tartare was very fresh. The beef was buttery and was really good with everything mixed into it. I spread some of it on the popover too. That was pretty awesome. haha. My bf said I had the better choice of the appetizers.

Ahi Tuna Crudo (togarashi mirin chili oil, micro basil, orange segments). 

Everyone else got this. It was a pretty teeny plate but considering we already had like 3 courses before this, it was ok. haha. The colors on the plate were very vibrant. The orange segments paired really well with the tuna. Everything was fresh. But yea, my tartare was better. :P

Entrees:
14 oz. Certified Angus Beef Ribeye (green onion mashers, cognac mustard sauce). 

Most of us got this. Can't come to a chop house without getting a steak! I pretty much decided on this a month ago when I first saw the menu. I love ribeyes. It comes 2nd (behind prime rib) to my favorite cuts of beef. I like fattier meat so the ribeye was great with lots of marbling throughout. The steak was great...even when they cooked mine slight more medium than medium rare like I wanted. It was still tender and I loved the seasoning and sear on the outside. They also included a bulb of roasted garlic on the plate. I just scooped out the soft garlic and spread it over the steak. Everyone at the table followed suit and agreed that the garlic made it even better. The steak was also a good size. I was already getting full so I took more than half of it to go! The green onion mashers came on the side. It was ok. Pretty standard mashed potatoes. The steak definitely stole the show.

Surf 'n' Turf (petite filet and diver scallop, green onion mashers, basil garlic emulsion). The others got this. It was a pretty presentation with the green from the basil emulsion. I got to try the scallop and it was cooked perfectly.

Dessert:
Chocolate Terrine (dark chocolate mousse, creme anglaise, pistachio). 

Half the table got this, including me. Can't go wrong with chocolate. It was a rich dark mousse. Very creamy and luxurious. It paired really well with the creme anglaise and the pistachios added a hint of nuttiness. I enjoyed it very much.

Strawberry Shortcake (strawberry sorbet, creme fraiche sauce). The sorbet was SUPER bright. I've never seen strawberry shortcake presented this way before. It was interesting. Didn't get to try it but my friend said it was good.

Donuts & Coffee (Henry's homemade coffee ice cream with dark chocolate sauce). 

The rest of the table got this. I love Henry's ice cream, but I can go to the actual shop in Plano so I didn't feel the need to get it. hehe. The ice cream was rich and delicious as always. The donuts were dusted with cinnamon sugar and I think some nutmeg. There was definitely another spice on it and made it more interesting. The donuts could've been a little lighter but it was still good. The chocolate sauce was awesome. If I didn't already have a rich chocolate dessert, I think I would've drank the whole thing. :P I'm glad I didn't. hahaha.

It was a fantastic dinner! Great start and carried all the way through. I thoroughly enjoyed all courses plus all the complimentary items. We had a lot of fun and everyone left feeling full. :) Our waiter was great as well. He was efficient yet still had some playful banter with the table. The water glasses were continuously refilled without asking. A wonderful end to this year's restaurant week. I'd like to go back to DCH when it gets cooler to enjoy their patio!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~