District Food & Wine

I got to check out District Food & Wine in the Design District last week. I had heard positive things about the restaurant so I was definitely looking forward to it. They're open for lunch M-F, and dinner service is only Th-S, closed on Sundays. I couldn't make it out for dinner so I invited a friend that works downtown for a long lunch. :)

District Food & Wine
921 N Riverfront Blvd. #300
Dallas, TX 75207
(214) 792-9729
https://districtfoodwine.com
Price: $$-$$$

The Design District is a cool place but still has a lot of opportunities for expansion/development. It's quite far out for me from home and work so I rarely go to that area. So I'd consider District Food and Wine to be a hidden gem. I think more people need to know more about this area as well.

Walking in, the restaurant was pretty empty... only a couple tables taken. But the place has floor to ceiling windows on 2 sides of the building so it had a bright and open feeling. And perfect for photos! :) The hostess grabbed the owner for us when we arrived. Jeff is one of the nicest people I've ever met. Just the first handshake and I felt like he was so genuinely happy to have us there. We were seated close to the window for optimal lighting. And Jeff proceeded to take care of us for the entire duration of the lunch.

We started with some Bread (rubbed with garlic; served with butter). It looked simple but it was freshly baked...warm and fluffy on the inside, crispy edges, and the garlic rub perfumed our noses.

Jeff gave us the run down on the menu, as well as their daily specials. 

Then he told us that he is already going to send out some of their Risotto Balls and Meatballs (tomato basil sauce). Normally the Risotto Balls are $7~ 

It was nice to get a little sampler so we're not getting too much food. The risotto balls were super cute and delicate. He explained that they are actually gluten free! They were deliciously airy and light for a fried rice ball. Without the breadcrumbs they were really able to lighten it up. Soooo yummy with the tomato sauce. The meatballs were good too but the risotto balls stole the show.

As we were waiting for our entrees, I saw that more and more people were coming in. And Jeff greeted each table himself. That's really great service and hospitality.

I chose the Grilled Salmon (Scottish salmon, grilled vegetables, jalapeno mustard sauce) $17~ 

I wanted to be a little healthier since 1) I've been eating a whole lotta fried foods last week, and 2) I wanted to get the Mac n Cheese. hahaha. He told me that they typically cook their salmon medium rare, which is perfect. And you know what? They were SPOT on with the cook temp. The fish was beautifully pink on the inside and insanely tender. And that sauce... you can see the whole grain mustard in there and it paired perfectly with the fish. It was a pretty plate. Again, everything's so simple, but extremely well executed. It was refreshing to see a place that just does good food instead of trying to be "epic" or "trendy" or whatever.

My friend got the Rigatoni (with tomato basil vodka sauce; added chicken) $10~ 

He added chicken since the original dish does not have a meat. It was really good. I love vodka sauce. I wish the chicken pieces were a tad bigger, it got lost a little bit in the dish. Other than that, no complaints!

Mac & Cheese (with truffle oil) $7~ 

I HAD to get this. I've been seeing so many posts on social media of this one dish. The truffle was so fragrant and smelled so good. It was still bubbling a little when it was brought to the table. It's not stringy cheesy like a lot of other macs (like the long cheese pull) but it definitely was not lacking any cheese! I freaking loved that crust on top. It was legit, and it definitely lived up to all the hype.

It was a great lunch. And we weren't too stuffed. But then we had to get dessert right? hehe. :P

Jeff highly highly recommended the Lemon Cake (mascarpone frosting, white chocolate curls) $7~ 

And that's the main thing I've been seeing on their Yelp page. I'm not really a huge lemon fan but I was really intrigued. I'm soooooo glad we got it. It is seriously THE BEST lemon cake I've ever had in my life. No joke! It was so light and fluffy. The frosting was made with mascarpone so it was really light as well. But was still somehow luscious. The amount of lemon was spot on. It had just the right amount of tartness... a lot of lemon desserts tend to be too sour for me. Or too sweet because they overuse sugar to cut the citrus. Both my friend and I agreed it was the best lemon dessert either of us have ever had. I wonder if I can order a whole cake for a party or something.... :P

Chocolate Cake (chocolate ganache) $7~ 

We only ordered the lemon cake, but Jeff said he was also sending out the chocolate cake. haha. I love chocolate so I wasn't gonna say no! :P The chocolate cake was also fantastic. The filling was light, and the ganache was rich... the cake was surprisingly not overly sweet. And it was super moist. Normally I would opt for chocolate, but in this case, the lemon cake still won out. Needless to say, we finished the lemon cake. haha. And actually made it through more than half of the chocolate as well.

We had a great time. Jeff was the most wonderful host. And the food was just simply delicious. I want to send everyone I know there... so GO!!! I really hope they stick around for a really long time. Thank you, District Food & Wine, for having us. I hope I will make it back in the near future. :)

*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own.*

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~