Dallas Chop House - Menu Tasting

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 ~~

NYC: Takashi

Friday night for our 2nd dinner. I had made a reservation at Takashi at 9:30PM. I normally don't eat this late, but to fit all these food places in... I guess that's a sacrifice I have to make. haha. :P 

Takashi 
456 Hudson St. 
New York, NY 10014 
(212) 414-2929 
http://takashinyc.com/ 
Price: $$$$+

This was recommended by a foodie friend. Unfortunately he had to work late and ended up cancelling last minute. We're so glad we still went though, despite being so full already. haha. I made a reservation for 6 people, and was able to fill that last spot before dinner. 

It's a small place. We almost walked past it because the sign outside is so small. But it's cute. Reminds me of the yakiniku places in Asia. Their menu is beef... all beef. Sounds pretty awesome to me! The beef comes from sustainably raised cattle with no antibiotics or hormones. On their website they list the farms where the beef comes from. 

Everything on the menu looked interesting and tasty. Unfortunately due to the uni shortage, they didn't have the one dish I really wanted. :( Oh well... maybe next time. Each of us ordered 1-2 things. 

Stewed Beef Tendon Casserole with White Miso $15~ 

 

This was my choice. As an appetizer for the table. It comes fully cooked. So freaking delicious. It's just just the chewy tendon parts, it was mostly the meat next to the tendons. Stewed to perfection, it was soooooo tender. And tons of flavor. 

Squid Ink Rice, Miso-Marinated Sweetbreads (spicy yuzu saffron aioli, served on a magnolia leaf) $20~ 

This was interesting. I'll eat sweetbreads but I'm not a huge fan. Normally they are just kinda mushy. For those who don't know, sweetbreads are either the thymus glad or pancreas of young animals like calf or lamb. I love offal, but I can live without this. I thought everything in this dish was good though. Really enjoyed the squid ink rice. 

Bakudan (rice bomb with Korean seaweed and pickled sesame leaf) $8~ This was to supplement the meats. It was pretty good, but we probably could've done without it. 

Sukiyaki-Style Round Steak (with tartare rice bomb and egg yolk) $30~ 

This was probably the coolest yakiniku dish of the night. It's like a DIY beef taco thing. You grill the meat, dip it in the egg yolk, put a ball of the tartare and rice and roll it up. The beef was super tender. I loved the tartare rice bomb on it's own too! Fun!! 

 

Kalbi (US Kobe Premium Short Rib) $26~ Really quality meat. 

Beef Belly (US Kobe Beef belly) $20~ Also delicious. 

Tan-saki, Tan-suji & Tan-moto (the tongue experience) $25~ The tongue tasting was interesting. I've had really tender beef tongue before but these were more chewy. But still good. 

Tsurami (beef cheek) $16~ The most bang for your buck. The slices were really thin though. It was like beef bacon. Yummers! 

It was so much fun! At first we thought we weren't going to have enough food since it was pretty expensive and the portions are not very big. But we were all satisfied at the end. The meats and flavors were all amazing, I totally recommend this place. The quality is comparable to the places I've been in Japan/Korea. Also, they have midnight ramen... yes, only starts at midnight. And you have to make reservations. Might be something fun to do next time. 

Oh yea... on the way back to the subway, we stopped at Big Gay Ice Cream, and several people got desserts. Wow. haha. I wish I had room! So I just watched them eat it. :P 

 

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~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

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 ~~