Sneak Peek: Standard Service opens Monday, 10/10!

One of the most anticipated restaurant openings in Rockwall... My friend first tipped me off that HG Sply Co was going to open something in our neck of the woods months and months ago. For the longest time I thought it was going to be a second location but never really heard anything about it. Last week, I realized it was going to be a different name, Standard Service. I've actually seen the name on Facebook at some point a while back but the name didn't jump out at me. So the opening kinda snuck up on us! Do you have any idea HOW exciting it is to get a new restaurant in Rockwall? There's not many great places to choose from and something with the caliber of HG Sply Co and Remedy is huge! hehe.

Standard Service
760 W. Ralph Hall Pkwy
Rockwall, TX 75032
(469) 651-1100
www.thestandardservice.com
Price: $$$+

Once I found out Standard Service is the new restaurant name, I followed it's opening closely. Unfortunately they pushed back their opening date a few times since I started checking on it. We (a group of us) had been talking about going yesterday, then we found out the opening day got pushed to Monday, 10/10. Booo... Well, me being me, I decided to do a drive by with a friend Friday afternoon just to see maybeeeee they're doing a soft opening?! It's super close to my house anyways. As I drove by, I saw a lot of people inside. So I decided to park and go inside. They were doing training still so all the staff was there. I confirmed with them the opening date. MONDAY! And then they told me I'm welcome to sit at the bar and get a drink. Ooooo. So I casually asked if they are serving food as well. They said food service started at 6PM and it would be on them since they are still doing training. What?!? They're serving food AND it's free?? I immediately texted my husband and said change of evening plans and we're going to Standard Service! haha. I met back at the restaurant with my friend and her hubby at 6:30PM. The hostesses were super nice and said we can totally sit at the bar to eat and drink. Turns out they were having their friends and family night with mock services to practice. We felt so special that we were still allowed in since we're neither friends nor family. Although after the meal we felt like friends. :P

The space is super cool. High ceilings, lots of wood, the bar has a large window that opens up to their big patio. There's a ping pong table in the patio too. Definitely a cool place to hang out now that the weather is cooler.

We were given a smaller menu for their mock service night but the entire drink menu was available. We were so excited we didn't know whether to order food or drinks or just keep looking around the restaurant. Our bartender (who also took our food orders) was Jessica. She was super friendly and gave a lot of suggestions. You can tell she was very excited about the restaurant opening and their offerings. And... they have Moscow Mule and Old Fashioned cocktails on draft! What what!?! That's pretty freaking awesome. And they were good too. We tried both.

*I'm including the prices of all the menu items but the meal was on the house since it was a mock service. Sooo freaking awesome!!! :D

HG Moscow Mule (42 Below Vodka, Lime, Ginger Holy Kombucha, Agave) $10~ Very refreshing and definitely strong (for a lightweight like me) haha.

Right Grain Old Fashioned (Old Grand-Dad Bonded Bourbon, House-Mashed Barley Syrup, bitters) $10~ My friend really likes Old Fashioned and she said this one was really good.

Bison Chili Frito Pie (South Dakota bison, kidney, pinto, black beans, fritos, shredded cheddar, lime crema, guacamole, green onions) $9~ 

 

This was their only appetizer option of the evening so we go it first while still trying to decide what entrees to get. This was a pretty damn big portion imo. And it was definitely the prettiest frito pie I've ever seen. hahaha. Delicious!!! All the ingredients were super fresh and the flavors all complimented each other well. There wasn't too much of one thing or another. And it had the slightest little spicy kick to it. Yum. This could easily be a meal too.

The B-Webb (The Last Word: High Born Gin, Maraschino, Chartreause, Lime) $12~ 

Partial proceeds go to St. Jude Children's Hospital. They told us that they feature 5 different cocktails (the line up changes every so often) and each one has proceeds that go to a different charity. That's really awesome. Drink for charity, amiright? My friend got this. It was a pretty drink. It has a bitterness to it but is very smooth. Another winner.

Chicken Salad Wrap (chopped chicken breast, celery, green grapes in green goddess dressing, marinated tomatoes, cucumber, parsley, green onion, lemon, extra virgin olive oil, crispy brown rice; with side of potato salad) $13.50~ 

My husband chose this as his entree. I really liked the potato salad. You can also choose potato chips as your side. He liked the wrap... I thought it was ok. The flavor was fine but it was too saucy for me.

The Standard Stack (herbed smashbrowns with caramelized onion and jalapeno, green goddess dressing, marinated tx tomato and arugula; with choice of protein). Kansas City Kobe Beef Burger $15~ My friend's husband got this. He said it was good.

The Standard Stack (herbed smashbrowns with caramelized onion and jalapeno, green goddess dressing, marinated tx tomato and arugula; with choice of protein). Scottish Salmon $18~ 

I got the stack as well but with salmon. I shared it with my friend since we wanted to try everything. She said this was better than her husbands kobe beef burger stack. I ordered the salmon pink in the middle and it came PERFECTLY cooked. I mean.. just on point. And those smashbrowns... so good. Nice and crispy and flavorful. The whole thing was delicious and very well rounded. It didn't feel heavy at all. And at first the portion looked small to me, but its quite filling. Highly recommend this.

My friend got the Chicken Fried Chicken (sour cream and chive mashed potatoes, green beans, chicken gravy) $16~ 

We also shared this one. Jessica (our bartender) recommended this one. They use chicken thighs instead of breast so the meat was extra juicy and tender. The color on the batter looked dark but it wasn't overcooked. I really enjoyed the crunch on the batter. The mashed potatoes were fluffy and the gravy wasn't too heavy. I think the chicken was my favorite thing of the night. Then the salmon and smashbrowns were a close close second.

We were having such a great time and the restaurant had completely filled up. The noise level is a little high but it's energetic not overbearing. We chatted with Jessica a lot throughout the night. It was very cool sitting at the bar watching them make all the drinks too. Since it's still their training, it's like we got a behind the scenes look at the restaurant. For their first night of food service, we thought everything went really well. The service was fast, attentive, and friendly. The food was spot on, no major snafus on anything. I'd say they're ready to open!

Finally we decided to ask if they were serving dessert even though it's not on the limited menu and they said yes. They only have 2 dessert options. One is a coconut blondie, called The Lucy. The other was The Ricky (dark chocolate brownie topped with vanilla ice cream, peanut butter and chocolate sauces, chopped peanuts, whipped cream) $11~ 

Such cute names! You can guess which one we got. hehe. It was pretty freaking awesome. I was on a no sugar diet, but I cheated and had 2 bites. The brownie was super fudgy and they gave enough ice cream to brownie ratio (this is important!) We killed it pretty quickly.

What a fabulous night! I saw the executive chef, Danyele McPherson, walking around the dining room later in the night but didn't get to meet her. She seems really nice. I saw her when she competed on Top Chef and have kinda been following her movement since. She used the be the chef de cuisine at The Grape then moved to Remedy and HG Sply Co sometime in 2014. I freaking love Remedy... especially their burger. I'm very pleased to see that the burger is going to be on the menu at Standard Service.

If you haven't noticed my excitement for this new opening... I'm telling you now... They open on MONDAY! Lunch & Dinner - 7 days a week! What a great addition to Rockwall. Go check them out. :) And say hi to Jessica for me!

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~