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I was super psyched about my visit to City Hall Bistro. Like counting down the days excited! I had seen pictures from other bloggers of the interior as well as the food and both looked amazing. I didn't even realize The Adolphus Hotel had done such an extensive renovation recently. I can't say I remember what it used to look like since the last time I was there was at least 8 years ago to dine at The French Room (which JUST reopened on 10/4, btw.) But the newly updated hotel is beautiful! Lots of deep, bold colors, and velvet. According to my friend velvet is back in? This is why I'm a food blogger, not fashion or design. haha. Anyways... I'm rambling. We arrived for dinner on a Monday night at 6PM. The restaurant was still quite empty. But oh it's so pretty! This way I was able to get interior pictures without a lot of people in it.
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| hotel interior |
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| restaurant interior |
City Hall Bistro - The Adolphus Hotel
1321 Commerce St.
Dallas, TX 75202
(214) 651-3686
http://www.cityhallbistro.com/
Price: $$$
We were seated in a big booth right across from the kitchen. I cannot get over how pretty this place is! Our waiter was Jared and he was great. Super nice and was so accommodating. He took our drink orders. My friend got the Juice of the Day (pineapple, lemon, watermelon) $6~ She really liked it. Watermelon is not my thing but it was very fresh. I stuck with water since all of the cocktails sounded too strong for me to handle. hehe.
Jared came to the table and explained the concept and menu for us. The cuisine is Southern European-Mediterranean. Yum. Seriously everything looked delicious on the menu. He also asked if there were any specific dishes we wanted to try. He said the chef will also send out anything else they thought we should try. We told him 4 dishes... and he said they were all great choices. We only got 1 dish that was not on our list. So I guess we're good at picking the best stuff, eh? :P
We started with the Atayef (savory lebanese pancake, duck confit, pear, black garlic aioli) $15~
Can't go wrong with duck confit... plus the savory Lebanese pancake sounded so interesting. This was my favorite dish of the night. I tried a bite of the pancake on its own. It's not often that I have a savory pancake! The flavor by itself was delicious. I could've just had a short stack of this on its own. I still think on a daily basis to drive back there, and just order this dish. haha. The duck had great flavor and the aioli added a richness and moisture to the whole bite. I need more of this!!!
Spanish Octopus (bell pepper, pine nut, harissa vinaigrette) $10~
I love octopus and they cooked theirs really well. No chewiness. It was tender and flavorful. You have to get a bit of every element into each bite. The frisee provides a freshness, the nuttiness and crunch from the pine nuts, and the vinaigrette was just enough, not overly dressed. I feel like the edges of the octopus could've been a little crispier, but I'm just nitpicking.
Snapper Crudo (baby heirloom tomato, pickled shishito pepper, citron salt) $11~
This was the one dish we didn't select. It was very pretty. Upon first bite, it was quite tart for me. But as I ate more, all the flavors came together. The snapper was super tender. I loved the different tomato slices and the pickled shishito pepper added a pow! to each bite.
Much Like Provence (genever, lemon, lavender sugar, club soda) $12~
My friend decided to get a cocktail half way through. It was very pretty... a subtle and simple kind of pretty just like their decor. I don't think my pictures captured it very well. It definitely tasted of lavender, but it wasn't sweet enough for her. (She likes super sweet though.) And I was right, it was quite strong.
Squid Ink Pasta (marinated squid, cilantro, garlic aioli) $17~
This was the dish we were both most excited about. I love anything squid ink. And wow oh wow... this packed so much squid ink flavor that it PUNCHES you in the face. In a good way, of course. But damn! The boldest and most potent squid ink dish I've ever had. A little goes a long way. Eating it straight was almost too much at one point, so I started mixing it with the paella... and you know what? winning combo! :D
Chef's Paella (oyster, octopus flavor, escalivada, babaganush, allepo pepper, grilled kale, dehydrated apples, shallot and mustard seed marmalade, micro cilantro and flowers) $26~
They also have a more traditional paella. This one changes daily. Jared said we should order this one. So we took his rec. And it was awwwwesome! Btw... Escalivada = onions, bell pepper, eggplant "salsa". This was a huge portion size. I think it will easily feed 4 people. I loved the crispy crust on the top of the rice. The flavors were amazing. But the most genius element was the shallot and mustard seed marmalade. You MUST mix a little of the marmalade in each bite. It makes a big difference. It was freaking fantastic. Needless to say, we could not finish this... we took more than half to-go.
We were so full. But I was told I must get the churros. So we did. Spanish Churros (saffron gelato, olive oil caramel ) $8~
It was a pretty big dessert since you get 5 churros... FIVE!! But they're light and fluffy so it didn't weigh you down. The churros were fried nicely and lightly drizzled with the caramel and some more on the side for dipping. The caramel was great, but I wish it was dipped in more cinnamon sugar.. that's how I normally like my churros. The saffron gelato was interesting. You can really taste the saffron. I wished there was another flavor mixed in though... maybe pistachio? The saffron was overpowering for me. However, we also asked for some of the Sweet Basil Ice Cream and it was delicious. So unique with the herbiness of the basil. Very refreshing and fragrant.
My friend got some Coffee (featuring Oak Cliff Coffee Roasters) $3~ For $3 that's a whole lot of coffee. Nice!
I found the price point here to be extremely reasonable for the quality of food you are getting. And I've had several things and flavor combinations that I haven't experienced before, so this place is a total gem. I highly recommend it. I actually already have a brunch reservation to go back in two weeks. Counting down!! Thank you so much, City Hall Bistro, for having us. It was a wonderful meal. Service was top notch and we enjoyed it tremendously. I cannot wait for brunch! :)
*The meal was comped but all opinions are my own. Plus, always tip your wait staff even if you get a free meal!*
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value: (comped)
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
I've been waiting for this day to come. The raw bar at Pok is open! I saw that some friends of mine had gone opening night and they said I HAVE to go. I was leaving for my Iceland trip that Friday and my schedule was quite hectic. But I thought, "I must make this happen!!!!" :P So I contacted the chef, Chef Jimmy Park, the next day and asked if the raw bar is open daily. He told me it's open for lunch and dinner, 7 days a week! Then he said to let him know when I wanted to come in and he'll order some special fish. Um, YES PLEASE!!! I was getting REALLY excited. So we scheduled for a Wednesday night at 6PM. I invited a friend to go with me. I knew she would totally appreciate this experience. Plus it's always more fun to dine with a friend. :)
Pok the Raw Bar
3699 McKinney Ave #306
Dallas, TX 75204
(214) 484-1139
www.poktherawbar.com
Price (for the raw bar): Varies
We arrived at 6PM and the place was quieter than I'm used to. I generally go during the lunch rush. It was nice... we had 2 seats open for us at the raw bar. It is only a 6 seater, y'all, so you gotta go early! There was already another couple there and a few minutes later, 2 more guys showed up. One turned out to be a blogger as well! @eatstyledallas writes about food, fashion, and lifestyle. I've definitely seen many of his posts on Instagram. The 4 of us hit it off and that made the dinner all the more merrier!
Chef Jimmy personally made every piece of food for us that evening. It was wonderful to see him work, the passion, and to be able to talk to him throughout the meal. He's a really fun guy and his love for his craft really shines through. We were all doing the omakase (or "chef's choice") so our fate was in his hands. Honestly, I think all of us would happily eat anything he put in front of us, no questions asked. :P
We started with some Edamame. This was served cold, sprinkled with a little salt. A lot of places normally serve it warm, but the cold temp actually was quite refreshing. The edamame were big and plump. It was a good snack in between the different courses.
Let's jump right in shall we? I have to apologize in advance if I misspell anything or mis-wrote my notes. I tried to take everything down as he was introducing them.
Hiramasa with Serrano (baby yellowtail). Gorgeous dish. It was fun watching Chef Jimmy assemble it. He has a very delicate hand. He advised us to either the berry before or after the dish. It is sweet and will cleanse the palate. I opted for after. The fish was so fresh and tender. I loved the heat from the serranos. And the berry was definitely a refreshing finish.
Yellowfin Tuna from Kauai?, Hawaii. Chef Jimmy aged this tuna for 8 days. Apparently fish can be too "young", I had no idea! But the aging process creates more depth in both the color and flavor. It was fantastic as well. We had several tuna preparations and it only got better from here.
Snapper with Asian Pear and Ume Salsa. Ume is Japanese Plum. I can't say I've ever had it in salsa form. hehe. This was a cute little bite. The nugget of pear wrapped in the middle was a nice surprise. The crunch and sweetness paired with the tender fish and ume worked together so well. I've definitely never had anything like this before.
Salmon Belly (with 3 year aged soy sauce; topped with sesame seeds). I love me some salmon. That's probably why this was one of my favorite bites. It was so buttery and melted in your mouth. And the sesame seeds brought this nuttiness that hits you at the end of your bite. The progression of flavors in that one bite was pretty spectacular.
Japanese Snapper ("Matsuhisa style"; yuzu, shiso, arashio salt). No idea what Masuhisa style is but it was delicious. haha. I have to admit, I didn't understand a lot of the terms and names the chef was throwing out. But I just wrote them down. hehe.
Akami Tuna. Check out the knife skills. The chef scored the fish so more sauce can soak into it. It looks cool too!
Hirame (cured in kombu). I believe this is a Japanese flounder. I actually saw a video on Pok's IG of the chef washing it while it was still moving. This is as fresh as you get, folks! We also got to try it plain, without the rice and soy sauce.
And I gotta mention the sushi rice... it was the perfect texture. Plump grains mixed with red vinegar and sea salt. And it was the perfect temperature. Sushi rice should not be super cold. Room temp is best. It was also not packed super tight. The chef was telling us a sign of good technique is if the nigiri "moves" as the chef sets it on the plate. The rice is slightly loose so you can see it settle. And the looseness of the rice helps you experience the bite, when it "explodes" in your mouth. I definitely felt this as he was explaining it. It's quite magical.
Hokkaido Scallop. I think I've only had a scallop nigiri once in my life, and I don't remember much of it. This particular scallop had a sweetness to it. You can definitely taste it. And the scallop was as tender as can be. It was a great bite.
Homemade Shrimp. This is not frozen. The chef cleaned, prepped, butterflied the shrimp and boils it with a secret ingredient. I never order shrimp when I go to sushi restaurants because it's just not great. This was different. The texture was plumper, firmer, and definitely very fresh. The color was also vibrantly red.
Aged Tuna (marinated in soy sauce for 72 hours). Melt in your mouth tender. You can really taste the soy sauce.
Snow Crab. It's real crab, y'all! Not that imitation stuff. Expertly removed from the shell. And like the shrimp, you can tell the freshness just from the texture of the meat.
Fatty Tuna from Spain. We had this 2 ways. The first was sashimi with a little bit of sauce and I think some sort of garlic topping on top?
I can't remember anymore... I was kind of in a glorious stupor at this point. And I started taking less notes... haha. :P But I do remember that this was also one of my favorite pieces of fish. The 2nd preparation was in nigiri form. One of my favorite bites of the night.
Uni. Yaasssssssssss! I love me some uni! I just never order it in Dallas because they're usually super expensive and just quite disappointing. But you guessed it, this one did NOT disappoint. Uni has a specific texture and is an acquired taste. It's very creamy which I love! But sometimes it can get quite fishy tasting. This was fantastic. Everyone was oooh-ing and quite literally moaning. hahaha.
At this point, Chef Jimmy says "are you guys ready for round 2?" And went off to the kitchen. We all looked around at each other, really hoping he wasn't joking. We've already had so many spectacular bites... is it really only half way? OMG. I think we all became really giddy. :P
So he started us off with the more traditional sashimi and nigiri. And now he's getting more modern and fusion.
Spicy Tuna Taco (fried gyoza skin shell). When we all saw the taco shells we got super excited. This was so much fun. And just delicious. The shell was perfectly crisp, the tuna was seasoned and sauced perfectly, and the chilies on top added a little more kick.
Tuna on Lotus Chip (ponzu truffle mayo?). I'm not sure what all he put on there. But the truffle was very evident which was great. The lotus chip is not only pretty but added that crispy element. Such a cute bite.
Torched Crab Handroll (in sesame rice paper). When he first started prepping this, we had no idea what to expect. He put the shredded crab in piles on 2 plates and topped them with a spicy mayo. We were like "how do we eat that? Scoop it with our hands maybe?" haha.
But then we saw the blow torch. YAAASSSSSSSSS!!! Fire! We're gonna torch some food! It was a great show too. Big flames and we smelled the crab bake and char. Drooling!
Then he started prepping the paper. It was white and studded with sesame seeds. I have never seen this kind of rice paper before. He layered rice, some green onions, the torched crab/mayo, and eel sauce. ooOOOOoooooo! The rice paper was surprisingly soft but held everything in so well. If I had to choose, this was my favorite of the night. But only if I HAD to choose. haha.
Tuna Hand Roll. We all thought this was the last thing. But just you wait!
He ended the meal with this green berry looking thing for everyone. I still don't know what it is, but it was sweet and very tasty.
It was so amazing. We were all on cloud 9 and just chatting with the chef and chilling. Then he goes "do you want one more thing? Dessert?" Sure! But then we saw the blowtorch again and he began to prep eel?
Japanese Sea Eel (the eel was used to make the eel sauce too). Eel for dessert? I can dig it.. the sauce is usually a littel sweet anyways. hahaha. :P The sauce glistened on the torched eel. It was sooooo good. A wonderful finale.
But then... as we sat around and chatted some more. The waitress brought over actual desserts for all of us. It's kind of like an Asian Ice Cream Sandwich.
The outside shell is similar to a cake cone texture. I've had many of these when I go overseas. Different shapes, filled with different flavors and fillings. This had vanilla ice cream inside and was served on a pool of honey. As I held it up to me, I saw there was a layer of something dark on the ice cream. I thought it was going to be red bean paste but it turns out to be a thin layer of hardshell chocolate. Even better!!
We were all moaning and oooh-ing again. hahaha. It had been a very foodgasmic experience for sure! And finally, we ended on a spectacular bite. I kept secretly hoping if we linger around some more we would get even more food though. hahaha.
The whole dinner took almost 2.5 hours. A fantastic 2.5 hours! It was nice to just sit there and enjoy every aspect of the meal... Chef Jimmy's love and talent for what he does, the exquisite quality of all the ingredients, and the journey he took us on from beginning to end. My friend said he has truly ruined all other sushi experiences for her. haha. I'd have to agree. I can't think of a single place in Dallas that does what Chef Jimmy is doing with the raw bar. To have a dedicated chef making you course by course... it really brought me back to my trips to Japan.
And the price point? It's killer. If you get "The Pok", it's $35 and you get some amazing things. The "Trust Me" omakase will be varied by market price and number of pieces, but it will still be a great deal and totally worth it.
Thank you, Chef Jimmy, for taking us on this gastronomical journey. I CANNOT wait to see what else you bring for us in the future!! And thanks to our waitress, Tina, who kept us hydrated the entire night, constantly replenishing our water glasses, and clearing our dirty dishes. :)
Quality of Food:
Service:
Ambiance:
Value (we got a killer discount!):
Overall Experience:
~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~
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