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After rescheduling over and over again, we finally made it to Dallas Chop House for a media visit! I would get so excited each time it was happening and then we'd have to reschedule. haha. But finally we were there! I had been there once before, years ago, for Restaurant Week. Loved it. Excited to see what was in store for the night. And just a tip: you can park for free in the Comerica Bank Tower garage, the restaurant validates your parking! Woot!
Dallas Chop House
1717 Main St., Suite 100
Dallas, TX 75201
(214) 736-7300
www.dallaschophouse.com
Price: $$$$+
We arrived on a Saturday at 6PM. The dining room was still pretty empty. It filled by 7PM or so. We were seated in a nice booth, which was great because not only did I have a background for all my photos, I wouldn't be bothering other diners with my flashes and lights.
Our waiter, Michael, who was fantastic the entire night btw, came by to talk about drinks. They have their wines and cocktails on an iPad and you can scroll through and see the descriptions and information on that drink.
My husband got the Hot Headed Colonel (bourbon barrel aged for 30 days, Benadictine floated with Peychaud's bitters, fresh lemon oil and mint) $12~ Such a pretty color. My husband loved it. He was bracing himself for the alcohol bite, but it never came. It was super smooth.
I got the Meadow Mule (Bombay Sapphire, St. Germain, apple juice, fresh cucumber, ginger beer) $12~ He also wanted to try this so I ordered it. It was also very good. Light, refreshing, and you can taste the cucumber and ginger. I didn't get much apple, but I guess it more so sweetened the drink.
We met the chef, Chef Triptow, soon after arrival. He's the brains behind DCH and the Dallas Fish Market menus, which we had a fantastic dinner at earlier this year. We're excited to see what he's got planned for us tonight.
We were also served an Amuse: Tomato, pesto, goat cheese mousse, balsamic reduction. And some bubbly. :P The bite was yummy. I especially loved the pesto.
Then we were brought some Popovers (with honey rosemary butter). I always though popovers are fun. Don't you think so? That honey rosemary butter is amazing.
So Michael informed us that the chef was just going to send out a tasting of what he wanted us to try. Sounds good! I love surprises. :)
Steak Tartare (black truffle, green onion, cornichons, capers, quail egg) $18~ What an amazing starter.
First of all, it's gorgeous! The contrasting colors between the steak and the bright green onions and quail egg. I like the presentation on the wood board. The tartare was fresh, flavorful, and paired perfectly with the slightly salted housemade chips. One of my favorite dishes of the night.
Lump Crab Cake (oyster mayo, cilantro pesto, fennel-jalapeno marmalade) $18~
Also delicious. The crab cake was filled with lump crab. The oyster mayo was interesting, you can definitely taste the brininess of the oyster but wasn't overwhelming. The winning touch was that fennel jalapeno marmalade on top. It MADE the dish. A little spicy, a little sweet, it was perfect with the crab.
New England Clam Chowder (little neck clams, smoked bacon, Yukon potatoes) $11~
This was round 2, I hadn't expected this round, I thought we were moving to entrees. Because we ate ALL of the first 2 dishes, I was already getting full! haha. We had a similar, if not same, chowder at the Dallas Fish Market, and this is just as good. I like the consistency... a real chowder. And it was not lacking any substance either. Lots of clams, bacon and potatoes throughout.
DCH Wedge (blue cheese, crumbled bacon, marinated cherry tomato, TX pecans) $12~
My husband was just saying he wanted the wedge, so they totally read his mind. Two wedges, one for each of us. Doesn't look like a lot but it was really filling me up! But gotta eat your veggies, right?
Intermezzo: Blueberry Ginger Sorbet (with fruity pebbles).
We had a little break before entrees. The waiter brought this with no explanations so we were trying to guess what was in it. It was sublime. My husband guessed raspberries because it was a little tart. And I guessed anise was in it... and maybe cayenne, cuz it had a nice bite of heat to it. But alas, we were both wrong. The heat was from ginger, and it was blueberry. The pairing with the crunchy fruity pebbles was quite genius. All the flavors and textures worked so well together.
Seared Southwest Salmon (spanish chorizo, roasted corn, poblano peppers, marble potatoes, jalapeno butter) $28~ They split the salmon for us so we had mini platings for each of us. The salmon was perfectly pink in the middle. And the blend of the chorizo, corn, and peppers together was great. A little too much potatoes imo, but they were cooked well.
Himalayan Salt Dry Aged Reserve Steak - Ribeye (18 oz, dry aged 21 days) $50~
Yes!!! The steak was what I was waiting for! It IS the "Chop House" after all. I was a little surprised they didn't ask us what temp we wanted it cooked. So what we got was more of a med well... I usually prefer med rare. But... I have to say that because it was dry aged so well with the Himalayan salt, it was still very tender. AND I loved the edge crust from the dry aging... slightly crisp. The ribeye was simply seasoned because the meat itself had so much flavor. You can taste the quality of the steak. I think if it had been med rare it would've been that much more delicious.
Crawfish Maque Choux (crawfish, sauteed corn, red bell peppers, roasted poblano, garlic, cream) $12~ This thing packs a punch! Between the spices and poblano and cream, it's got so much flavor, and definitely some heat. I didn't really see it pairing with the steak though. The flavors overwhelmed the steak a little. I think a bowl of rice would've been perfect with this. hehe.
Loaded Twice Baked Potato (TX sharp cheddar, smoked bacon, green onion, crisp potato threads) $10~ Now this was a perfect pairing with the steak. The potato was nice and creamy with the melted cheese on top. The crispy potato threads added a nice crunch.
We were stuffed! We had to take some of the entrees to go. (And you know what... I used the leftover crawfish to make fried rice the next day. Superb!! :P) But we were told there's still dessert. Of course. Luckily it was only one item. haha.
Chocolate Hazelnut Tart.
Beautiful! Loved the flow of the chocolate swipe on the dish. I kept thinking of that song "I whip my hair back and forth", hahahha. Do you see it? :P The chocolate mousse? cream? ganache? filling was my favorite part. Rich, dark, and smooth. I wish the crust was thinner so we'd have more of the filling. Which is crazy cuz the crust is usually my favorite part of a pie or tart. A great end to an amazing meal.
Thank you, Dallas Chop House and Chef Triptow for a wonderful dinner. Also thanks to Michael, our waiter, and Demetrius, the manager (who actually served us too) for the fantastic service. We felt so welcomed to be there. And hopefully we'll be back soon. :)
I do have to note that we weren't aware we had to pay for our alcohol. Usually at media visits, everything is on the house. I have no problem paying for the alcohol though... it would just be nice to have a heads up that it was going to be a charge up front. Cuz for someone like me, who can barely get through half a cocktail, I wouldn't have ordered it just to try it in this instance.
They do have Social Hour M-Sat from 3-7PM which is pretty awesome. Who has happy hour on the weekends anymore, right?
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own. Plus, always tip your wait staff even if you get a free meal!*
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
We were walking down Champs-Élysées (a famous street in Paris with cinemas, luxury shops and restaurants) and came across a famous name I recognized. Joel Robuchon! I've heard his name many times in all the cooking shows and competitions. He is regarded as the "Chef of the Century". He has 28 Michelin stars among all his restaurants, the most out of any chef in the world. Wow... We decided to just take a peek at the menu they posted outside.
L'Atelier de Joel Robuchon - Etoile
133 Champs-Elysées
75008 Paris, France
01 47 23 75 75
http://www.joel-robuchon.net/
The menu was in French but the prices didn't seem too bad! I guess this is one of his more affordable restaurants. We decided to go in and see if they take walk-ins.
The restaurant was modern with black tiles and walls accented by bold red. We were seated immediately in a bar style seating area. I was a bit in awe just from the fame of the chef... it was a bit surreal.
We were given the menu... and we both realized that the menu we saw out front must've been the lunch menu. haha... Fail. :( I was a bit shell shocked by the prices given that we just walked in off the street in our jeans and tennis shoes. haha. But my bf just said to enjoy ourselves since we are here. And of course the menu was all in French. It was really hard to tell what to order other than looking at the prices.
I managed to narrow it down to several options and flagged the waiter down and asked him to explain what the dishes are. Fortunately most of the waiters there spoke English. Our main waiter was able to give us some insight to what choices we're making. I was still quite conservative on what I ordered. I kept trying not to think that these are in Euros! Yikes.
After ordering we were served an Amuse Bouche. Foie Gras Mousse, with a port sauce and some sort of foam on top.
One cool thing about fancy restaurants is that you always get a bunch of free bites in between your meal and sometimes they tend to be the best surprises. Neither one of us are really fans of foie gras since we find it very rich. But this was delicious.
(I know.. the picture doesn't look that appetizing. The port kinda looks like blood. :/ But trust me, it's gooood!) I think the sweetness and alcohol from the port help cut the fattiness of the foie. And it was a nice small portion. Just enough. Yum!
My bf took the waiter's recommendation and went with La Caille (caramelisee au foie gras avec une pomme puree) 51€ It is caramelized quail stuffed with foie gras with side of potato puree.
The plate was very delicate and clean. But soooo small... The quail was tender and the foie gras added some fattiness. It was yummy, but was it worth the price? I didn't think so.
We were also each served a side of potato puree.
Surprisingly this was the best part of the meal! It was amazing! So smooth, creamy, buttery and luxurious. I can stick my face in a tub of this and die happy! By far the best potato puree I've ever had.
I ordered an appetizer as my meal actually. La Volaille Fermiere (les ailerons et les sot-l'y-laisse, sur un risotto a l'oseille fraiche) 34€ It's chicken oysters on top of risotto.
Chicken oysters are the two small, round pieces of dark meat on the back of the thigh. It's supposed to be the most tender part. I've seen them being used on Top Chef so I was intrigued. The description the waiter gave made it sound really good. And I've been wanting to have risotto in Paris. He also said that for an app, the portion is pretty big. I guess he was right since it was about the same size as the quail entree. haha. The chicken oysters were delicious! So freaking tender and so much flavor. The risotto was tasty but I felt it was a bit undercooked. I'm a fan of al dente rice but I think these were a tad shy of al dente. I was a little disappointed that the risotto wasn't perfection... But the dish was very rich and filling. It was actually a good amount. Left me enough room to get dessert!
Between entree and dessert we were served a Palate Cleanser: Passion Fruit and Banana Mousse, Rum Granita, Vanilla Bean Whipped Cream.
This was also a nice surprise. The flavors all worked perfectly together. It was light and refreshing. I would've been happy to have this as a full dessert!
For dessert we got Le Souffle (chaud aux grains de cassis, sorbet a la muroise) 18€ Cassis Souffle with Muroise Sorbet.
Muroise is a cross between a wild bramble and raspberry. Not sure what a bramble is but it tasted like a wild berry mix of flavors. Can't leave France without having souffle! It wasn't hard to pick this as the dessert. I get my risotto and souffle in one night! Yay! The souffle did not disappoint. Probably the lightest souffle I've ever had. I feel like if I used more force with the spoon I would just collapse the whole thing.
It was definitely like eating air. The sorbet however, was a little too sweet and tart and overpowered the dish as a whole. So I tried to eat them separately.
We were surprisingly stuffed after the meal. I think it's all those little freebies in between that sneaks up on you. But wait! There's more! We were given Complimentary Madeleines.
Fresh from the oven. They were still hot. So fluffy and buttery. Definitely the best Madeleines I've ever had!!
My bf treated me to this meal. :) It was a very nice experience to have tried Joel Robuchon's restaurant. I was disappointed in certain areas but with my uber high expectations, I was bound to be disappointed somehow. haha. Everything tasted great and was handled with finess. However, I still cannot justify the cost. I've had better meals for less. But as a foodie, I would recommend checking it out. It is still on the more "affordable" side for his restaurants and I would still regard it as a culinary adventure. :)
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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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