Not sure where to post, so I will throw this out here. It was my turn to host out of town company execs and board members this week. I decided to just go to my favorite places. Board members were at the new Hall Arts Hotel. We had cocktails there and it was cool, already buzzing even though it just opened. Execs stayed in cool AirBnBs in my neighborhood in North Oak Cliff.
Sunday night casual dinner (no board members): great weather...walked to Nova. So awesome. Greeted with hugs as always. The most welcoming place in town. We had a blast and they loved the food. The fried green tomatoes with crawfish and shrimp mornay, smoked salmon potato skins, mussels with tasso and the hummus were all as good as always. Several guys got the epic chicken fried pork loin. Man, that dish should make a list of the iconic dishes in Dallas. BIG Food. Whiskeys afterwards at Cannon's. A very good night.
Monday night board dinner at Flora Street. What a mess. I am big fan of Stephen Pyles. I have talked up Flora Street on several threads on here. The first fancy dinner I ever paid for was at Baby Routh. I was a regular at Star Canyon and even loved AquaKnox. Spent birthdays at Stephen Pyles and was at Flora Street and Fauna as they opened. He's got a problem here now. On a cold, windy December night, servers were in sloppy, ill-fitting Hawaiian shirts. It sounds like a small thing, but it so indicated where this once Michelin level restaurant is now. Our guy actually did the "My name is Timothy and I will be taking care of you tonight thing, followed by an endless speech about the menu". I expected him to offer bloomin' onions at a swirl margatini at the end of it. Service was awkward at best, with endless waits as some people got coktails and wine and others did not. The first three bottles we selected from the list were not available. Sommelier was lost. They could only offer 2 beers because "we can't get permission to transition", whatever that means. They stuck is in the Fauna room, Siberia. No music or atmosphere. The food ended being ok, clearly upscale and presented nicely, but it was not interesting or good enough. I had a branzino that was charred to death. I had the same fish at Marea in NYC not long ago and this was not in the same league. I don't know when or if I will go back. I retract all my recommendations of Flora Street. So sad.
Tuesday night dinner with clients at Boulevardier. Restaurant was packed. Only 2 servers. No manager. Bad table again. Pretty much ignored for the first hour. Really bad start. It was only ok because it gave us a chance to talk work without the interruptions of a server trying to serve us! But, once it got going and she caught up, it was terrific as always. The oysters are the best in town. We had escargot, which I had never had there and now will recommend. We got the meat and cheese board too and a round of bone marrow, with the luge shots after. Really fun, especially for the client guys from the Northern suburbs. I got my burger (the best restaurant burger in town). Most everyone else got steak or lamb (1/2 price on Tuesdays, as a note). Fun, satisfying meal with great food....after the terrible service at the start. it must be hard to properly execute workforce management at a restaurant this time of year. A couple more servers really should have been there. Still, this is a great place and I will go back soon.
Overall, the guys left with a good impression of food in Dallas. And I will be eating salads for a few days.