Another restaurant serving fried chicken, bread pudding, and bourbon cocktails garnished with meat is now open in Dallas.
Grayson Social, located in the LTV Tower on Elm St., makes its grand debut tonight with dinner service. The menu features over-the-top dishes like chicken-fried quail and waffles with chantilly cream, white gravy, maple syrup, and seasonal berries; pulled chicken poutine made with hand-cut fries, pepper gravy, and pimento cheese; and mushroom dusted baby trout with pea and escarole ragout, roasted beets, and huitlacoche purée. “The Grayson Social menu was crafted with the cosmopolitan residents of downtown Dallas in mind,” says Darlene Marcello, vice president of food & beverage and procurement at the restaurant. “We’ve balanced innovative twists with classics while offering generous portions and reasonable price-points.”
OK, fine. But does Dallas really need more Southern-inspired comfort food? Just this year Street’s Fine Chicken, Whistle Britches, and Julia Pearl opened, offering menus brimming with generous portions of fried chicken, black-eyed peas, and butter-laden sides served in miniature iron skillets. And not to mention all of the comfort food institutions that have been plating deviled-eggs and mashed potatoes for years.
So, what makes Grayson Social different? Well, there’s a separate “club component” that, according to the press release, “provides exclusive member perks including invitations to private events, preferred seating and special members-only pricing. The first social club of its kind in downtown, Grayson Social offers a new socializing option where loyalty has benefits.”
It takes a minute to wrap my head around this. I envision a room similar to an airport lounge packed with guests whose fingers are so greasy from chowing down on fried chicken that they can’t properly grip the stems of their coupes, overflowing with cucumber-mint daiquiris. Also, for some reason, a smooth jazz rendition of “What Is Love?” by Haddaway is playing.
Clearly, this isn’t the case. The “club component” is actually a rewards program for customers. But I like my version better.
Grayson Social also prides itself on having a cocktail lineup that, according to the release, “showcases Texan renditions of classic American cocktails.” While I’ve never sipped a bourbon cocktail garnished with a small plastic baggy filled with beef jerky that’s clothespinned to the side of a glass (pictured above), I don’t think I would like to. But the combination of bourbon, maple syrup, myrrh, and cypress, does pique my interest, as does the happy hour that runs from 5 p.m. to 7 p.m. Monday through Friday. I love a good happy hour.
“We are excited to open the doors of Grayson Social and provide our residents, hotel guests and Dallas’ thriving downtown business community with a new option for fare with a neighborly vibe and lively atmosphere,” says Gary Gutierrez, chief operating officer of HRI Properties and President of HRI Lodging & Metwest Terra Hospitality, the company behind Grayson Social.
(Side note: Lisa Garza-Selcer of Sissy’s Southern Kitchen & Bar was initially behind the project. Her agreement with the developer was terminated. You can read about it here.)
Grayson Social is located at 1555 Elm St. and is open for breakfast Monday through Friday from 6:30 a.m. to 10 a.m. and Saturday and Sunday from 7 a.m. to 11 a.m. Dinner is available Sunday through Thursday from 5 p.m. to 10 p.m. and Friday and Saturday from 5 p.m. to 11 p.m.
