THE PLACE TO BE SEEN
Is this Soho or Deep Ellum? We don’t care. Kudos to Michael Morris’s Buffalo Club: the best be-chic-and-be-seen spot since 8.0. Morris and designer Alan Fields conceived the very now neo-geo interior: towering arched windows, rugged-chic stone and metal surfaces. Attendees are a cool urban mix: well-heeled renegades from three-piece suitville, neighborhood color, and the terminally hip. You’ll want to be there. Food’s good, too.
FROM VIETA TO DEEP ELLUM
People Two and a half years ago, restaurateur Brian Hennington contacted the Catholic Relief Services Refugee Job Placement office looking for kitchen help for his new Deep Ellum Cafe. One of his hires was forty-five-year-old Man Minh Truong, who fled Vietnam in 1976.
Hennington discovered Truong’s talent in the kitchen after he had been a dishwasher at the café for a month. These days Truong is chef gardemanger (cold food chef) and his Vietnamese Salad is one of the most popular items served, selling as many as seventy-five a day on the weekends.
Belly Up To The Dance Floor
We’ve long heard about the mother-daughter belly-dancing team at Kostas, the Greek restaurant on Bachman Lake. We thought it was an interesting family profession-a devoted daughter following in her mother’s footsteps. A career transcending place and time. Definitely a Nineties kind of retro aerobic thing.
With a million questions we called Isis the dancing mom, who, it turns out, speaks with a Southern accent. “I’m from the SOU-yuth of Greece,” she kids.
More like deep SOU-yuth. Isis is actually part Scotch-Irish, part English, and part Egyptian. “I have some Egyptian from my fathuh’s side-and my feet are Egyptian.”
Now, this really gets tricky. Isis the belly dancer is not Greek. More like Anglo-Egyptian with some Southern belle thrown in. So it wasn’t too surprising to find out that in real life she’s Nancy deLackners-Bartlett, who, believe it or not, used to be an officer at Texas Federal Savings and Loan. Bartlett took a belly-dancing class about twelve years ago at Tarrant County Junior College. “It was just a way to work off some energy, but I fell in love with it, and at first started dancing for a hobby. Then about seven years ago, I changed careers.”
Now for the second-generation part. Daughter Tara got interested from watching Mom, and when she was about eleven started going to class with her. These days Tara dances on Mondays, while Mom works the Thursday, Friday, and Saturday shifts.
Souvenirs, Surf-and-Turf, Steel Drum Bands-And More
On The Road The mysterious beat of distant drums is replaced by the roar or distant traffic on 1-30, and though Henry Africa may remind you of shaggy men and fur-clad women, it’s not darkest Africa you’ll be thinking of but the darkest Sixties, when every restaurant had a theme and surf-and-turf was the height of culinary sophistication. To eyes accustomed to post-modern pink and palates used to pasta and goat cheese, a theme restaurant on the shores of Lake Ray Hubbard seems highly bizarre, like you took a wrong turn in time somewhere. But once you’re there, it is fun.
Inside, Henry Africa is tall, dark, and raftered-you step up to the bar and down again to the dining room. Trophies and zebra skins decorate the walls along with hundreds of photos (taken by the owner) of natives and endangered animals. There are enormous aquariums in the bar, a souvenir and beach shop opening off the restaurant, and a patio {where there is dancing to a steel drum band every Tuesday) furnished with recliners as well as umbrella tables.
The food is secondary to the entertainment and the decor; Henry Africa is open for dinner six nights a week and features, you guessed it, surf-and-turf-upscaled to mean prime rib and shellfish (lobster, crab legs, and shrimp).
CHEAP EATS
GRILLED CHEESE
You can got your haute bran muffins at any slick eatery in town. But where do you go for the fix that’s everybody’s favorite? We’re talking grilled cheese sandwich-one of the simplest solaces known to humankind.
Highland Park Pharmacy grills the lunch counter classic: your basic sandwich bread, butter-crisp outside, molten American at its heart, waffle-sliced dills as its only garnish.
Theo’s, on Hall at Commerce, varies the theme with thick Texas toast and a flash of garlic salt-satisfying, though a little skimpier on the cheese these days.
Roscoe’s Easy Way does a top-notch version, the melt of cheese as thick as the bread that holds it.
George Wesby’s, the folksy Irish-themed bar and grill on Live Oak, turns out the best variation: three cheeses- Swiss, ched-dar, and Monterey Jack-on white or wheat bread.
A surprise discovery: The Mansion on Turtle Creek does a fine, grease-less version. Not in the restaurant, natch, but in the cocktail lounge. With cornichons instead of pickle slices, thank you very much.
This month’s contributors: Brad Bailey, Betty Cook. Mary Brown Malouf. Rebecca O’Dsll, Terry Van Willson NEW RESTAURANTS
Handmade Mexican Food-And Hold The Orange Cheese
ZuZu The sign reads “Handmade Mexican Food,” and though the spotless interior is tiny enough to be a fast food place, and though there’s only counter and outdoor seating, this is indeed handmade, not fast, food. ZuZu operates like a fast-food place-you stand in front of the sneeze guard under the kindergarten-bright mural of smiling faces, study the menu card and the list of specials scrawled on the erase board, place your order, and pay. They’ll call your name when your order is ready, and everything is served on paper or plastic, whether it’s to go or not. No waitresses, no busboys. Just you and some of the best Mexican food in town.
This is not like other Mexican restaurants-the menu is limited, so after a taste at lunch one day, we went back for dinner and ate our way through the whole list. There’s no ground meat, heavy sauces, or orange cheese. The beef and chicken are always grilled and the corn tortillas are homemade-a ZuZu chicken taco is simply grilled chicken, crisp lettuce, tomatoes, cilantro, and scallions wrapped in a fresh tortilla- instead of tasting rich or greasy, it tastes light and fresh. You add your own salsa from the salsa bar at the back; they claim they make fresh salsa every six hours. Nachos are spread lightly with beans, glazed with white cheese, and sprinkled with tomatoes and cilantro. The stellar dish at ZuZu’s is gorditas, which for some reason is a rarity on Tex-Mex menus. A thick masa patty, griddled till it’s lightly crisped on the bottom, holds layers of beans, grilled meat or chicken, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes-then the whole thing is sprinkled with grated cheese and drizzled with sour cream. You can order a single as a prelude to a special of ancho-rubbed grilled chicken, or indulge in a plate of three, sided by black beans and perfectly cooked rice.
ZuZu is not only in University Park, it’s across from SMU, so there’s no bar; instead there’s fresh lemonade and a special mango tea. For dessert, don’t miss the wonderfully smooth) creamy flan (for large groups, call ahead and order a whole one) or a square of cajeta cake-layers of crisp, paper-thin pastry covered with dark, sticky caramel. Great stuff, but it is hard to eat with a plastic fork. 6423 Hillcrest. 521-4456. Sun-Wed 11 a.m.-9 p.m. Thur 11 a.m.-midnight, Fri & Sat 11 a.m.Sa.m. MC, V, AE. Inexpensive.
-Mary Brown Malouf
A Diner For The Nineties
QUADRANGLE GRILLE The Space looks much the same as when ft was occupied by Massimo da Milano al Teatro. but taking out the self-serve line and putting in some booths does make the place look more casually elegant. The large, hard-working staff also gives the Quadrangle Grille a good chance in succeeding in its aims, which seem to be to renovate the tradition of the American bar and grill-dare we say diner?-and bring it into the Nineties. Nobody cares what you look like, and families with kids and folks fresh from jogging will fit in right alongside the chic and fashionable. And the food is good; it’s ever-so-slightly innovative while seeking to please a wide audience.
Some of the best things to eat at the Quadrangle Grille are some of the most ordinary-sounding. Fish and chips is one of the best versions of fried fish in town, with a crunchy beer batter hiding sweet-tasting meat. The hamburger is really special, too, a large loaf-shaped piece of meat topped with melted asadero cheese from Mexico and resting on home-baked squaw bread-with homemade fancy-flavored mayonnaise if you want it.
You can keep things simple among the first courses, too, and still find something a bit novel. The potato cheese soup manages to be both homey and sophisticated, and one of the dressings that can accompany the big green salads is a new variation on ranch, with gorgonzola cheese along with the buttermilk. The variation on that great diner appetizer chopped liver is superb Calvados pate spread served with toasted bread and a tomato-apple relish.
The fancier entrées were not as impressive as the simpler ones, but all had some interest. The sesame-grilled grouper, served as a fish special, was grilled to the point of unpleasantness on one side. Two different meats received a treatment that more chefs are adopting these days to get away from the monotony of plain grilled foods: both were coated with a crust before cooking. The pork loin crusted with caramelized nuts worked nicely enough, and the chefs favorite steak was tasty, though we can imagine that some might prefer their beef cooked more straightforwardly; the ribeye was scored with garlic and mustard, coated with an anchovy butter crust, then cooked and served with a morel mushroom sauce. Is this a culinary equivalent to gilding a lily? The main courses might have seemed more interesting if the accompaniments had been more satisfactory. The rice mixed with undercooked black beans had little flavor, and the large chive or sweet potato biscuits sounded much better than they lasted.
One dessert at Quadrangle Grille stoodout for me, since I am partial to filled hard-cooked meringues. This version is calledShaum Torte, and the meringue shell isfilled with ice cream and berries. The lemonbuttermilk pie upheld the theme of old-fashioned-American-standards-updatedhonorably, but the burnt almond andchocolate fudge parfait didn’t live up to itspromise of reviving the fudge sundae, andthe big glass in which the parfait was servedwas so overfilled that it was almostimpossible to eat. In any case, theQuadrangle Grille adds depth to theincreasing range of places in Dallas whereyou can get a satisfying and interesting mealat a reasonable price. The Quadrangle, 2800Routh. 979-9022. Lunch Mon-Fri 11-2.Dinner Mon-Thur 5-10, Fri 5-U; open Sat 11a.m.-11 p.m.. Sun 11-10. All credit cards.Moderate. -W.L. Taitte
Honest Italian- With A Twist
Antonucci’S Transforming a chain restaurant into an independent is a challenge few would care to attempt. I wouldn’t, but Mark Fatemian would. And has, with a certain grace, in the case of Antonucci’s. The former Oak Lawn IHOP has been tightened and brightened inside and out to house this new, pleasantly unassuming Italian eatery.
The menu is a straightforward listing of familiar classics, modestly priced-the most expensive entree is less than ten dollars.
Perhaps because of Fatemian’s past association with the upscale Les Saisons, our food exceeded price-based expectations in freshness and polish. The thought occurs to me that Fatemian may have inherited a lemon orchard somewhere-almost every dish we tried was zinged with the fruit’s sunny flavor.
One exception was an appetizer of mushrooms stuffed with crab meat (a little) and bread crumbs (a lot) and richly topped with béchamel sauce. Escargots were bathed in a sauce that was exceptionally lemony and totally lacking in the usual garlic. A grilled chicken salad over seasonal greens was nicely thatched with tender breast meat strips over mixed greens, lemon-dressed. The house salad, too, involved several fine, crisp lettuces, along with grated carrot and oddly winter-pale tomato wedges, all sparked with lemon vinaigrette.
Two baked dishes we tried were exceptional-a homemade lasagna and an eggplant Parmigiana that fairly sang with the mingled essences of that vegetable and Reggiano Parmesan.
Scalloped veal alla Marsala was a winner, the pale slices, pounded nearly bacon-thin, a little dry, but heady with winey flavor and prodigally endowed with mushrooms. Best of our entrées was the day’s fish special, a trio of moist fillets of sole, barely gilded with crisp batter and served on a marvelous lemon-butter sauce.
Desserts were predictable-a cappuccino frozen pie, a simple crème caramel-except for one that was offered as a special and was special indeed: a French-style roulade, an albino version of the elegant bouche de Noel, done with white cake, whipped cream, and white chocolate frosting-as fresh and tender as a baby’s kiss.
One observation about the service: our waiter, bent on making us happy, apparently has been taught to equate speed with excellence. I don’t know when I’ve been served a complete dinner so quickly-a virtue, I suppose, if one were racing to the theater. We were not.
Otherwise, though, the entire diningexperience was enjoyable, and certainlyAntonucci’s long hours are welcome: theplace stays open for late-hour snacks andbreakfast. 3827 Lemmon Avenue at OakLawn. 522-4056. Lunch Mon-Fri 11-2;dinner Mon-Sat 5-10; late hours Mon-Sat 11p.m.-6 a.m.; brunch Sat & Sun 10-3. MC, V,AE. Inexpensive. -Betty Cook
The Newest Del Frisco’s
DEL FRISCO’S DOUBLE EAGLE This restaurant now looks very much as it did under its original ownership (as Del Frisco’s), and the ebullient proprietor (Del Frisco, a.k.a. Dak Wamstad) is once again much in evidence, solicitously cruising the tables to make sure all is well. The specialty is still gargantuan chunks of prime beef- the real stuff. But the menu now has a number of other, less pricey offerings. We devoted our first visit to sampling several of these. Sadly, the results were not very promising.
The pork chops bore the menu subtitle “Three Huge.” That they were, but God never intended monstrously thick pork chops to be cooked in the same super-hot broiler that’s used to grill steaks. The chops took forever to cook, then came out, paradoxically, both slightly underdone and tough from the excess heat. Add the complaint that they were underseasoned and tasteless, and you have a real bust all around. The chicken bonne femme with skillet potatoes, peas, and onions had a curious off taste, as if a splash of vinegar had been added. Of the newer, less expensive options, the only recommendable one was the filet tips with angel hair pasta and green peppers. The pasta was rather bland, but the meat had all the flavor of the prime beef that this place specializes in.
So we are back to the original raison d’être of Del Frisco’s-beefsteak. That fateful first visit made us fearful that even that mainstay had slipped-the flavor of the ribeye we ordered was marred by an unpleasantly overcharred exterior, though the center of the steak was cooked truly rare as ordered. When we went back to sample the steaks once more just to make sure, all was well again. The formidable sixteen-ounce strip was perfectly cooked and had the tantalizing, almost gamy flavor of genuine aged beef.
Just as the steaks that made the original Del Frisco’s reputation are still the only main dishes worth ordering in this new avatar (except perhaps for the humongous lobster tail, which we haven’t yet sampled this time around), the best choices for the other courses are also the old favorites. The appetizers that were on the original menu are still tasty enough tidbits of New Orleans cookery. An order of shrimp rémoulade brings big crustaceans firmly boiled (though not with the undertones of spiciness that they would have in the Big Easy itself); the rémoulade sauce tastes as if it really does have some Creole mustard in it, but is not the oily red variety made famous by the old New Orleans restaurant Arnaud’s. The crusty loaves of French bread, though, are as close to the genuine New Orleans article as you are likely to find in Dallas.
The best dessert here isn’t even listed onthe menu. There you will find somethingcalled a chocolate mousse cake, whichdoesn’t have nearly enough of the richchocolate mousse. The waitresses willinstead obligingly bring you a big gobletfilled with the mousse only, topped withwhat tastes like freshly whipped cream.4300 Lemmon. 526-9811. Mon-Thur 5p.m.-10 p.m., Fri & Sat 5-11. All creditcards. Expensive. -W.L.T.
The Mysteries of Chinese Food
First Emperor’s Chinese barbecue You need a compass to figure out where you are when you come to this place in Richardson’s tiny Chinatown, located in the space where China Green’s used to be. But once we arrived, we were impressed with the moxie of our waitress, who took the time to point out specialties that didn’t seem to be the usual standards offered to non-Chinese. We put ourselves largely in her hands, with mixed results. The “barbecue” in the restaurant’s name and the hanging roasted fowls made it a must to try one of the combination platters of roast duck and marinated chicken. The poultry was served in pieces, doused with a thin, soy-based sauce, and suffered from the usual problems of Chinese barbecue-the fat doesn’t get sufficiently rendered from the birds, especially the duck, to suit most Western tastes.
First Emperor turns out to be one of the growing number of Chinese restaurants here that cater as much to Chinese as to outsiders-you can tell that even in the absence of other customers by the presence on the menu of tidbits tike pork ear and stomach and by the style of the cooking, which is hearty to the point of being coarse. This can be a problem in ordering even innocuous-sounding dishes, as we discovered rather to our peril. The house pan-fried noodles were thin noodles very lightly deep-fried after boiling and served with a light brown sauce. But the deluxe house toppings included a couple of mystery items. Was that triangle of strangely textured and flavored meat a piece of the fabled pork stomach? I fancy myself sufficiently cosmopolitan in my tastes, but, sophisticate though I may be, I was not moved to eat past the first bite of the mysterious triangle and too abashed to inquire as to what it might actually be. In fact I hid it tactfully under some bones and things for its trip back to the kitchen. Similarly, the seafood Go Bar held pieces of chewy, underdone octopus and squid that didn’t please as much as European treatments of the same ingredients. The moral of this tale is that those visiting any of the Chinese restaurants addressing a largely Chinese clientele should be careful in ordering any generically named dishes consisting of many ingredients.
The other ingredients in these dishes were cooked pleasantly, if sometimes monotonously. Several things included lots of large pieces of the stems of bok choy (one of the Chinese cabbages), for instance. An order of the Peking spareribs, though, added a different flavor and texture. Strips of pork, some with bones, are battered and deep-fried and turned with tangy orange sauce, then served garnished with tangles of fresh cilantro (an herb that was sometimes called Chinese parsley before its many Mexican fanciers made it an everyday supermarket item).
I’d have to rate our meal at First Emperoras only so-so for most Western tastes. But Idiscovered, after giving our order to ourenterprising waitress, that behind the pottedplants there lurked a blackboard menu ofspecials written out in Chinese ideograms.When we inquired, we found that this listedassorted seafood specials: squid, crispyshrimp, lobster with black bean sauce.From our previous experience with this sortof place, these were probably the best dishesavailable, so our first impression of FirstEmperor might not be the whole story. 200 W. Polk, Richardson. 680-1034. Sun-Thur 11a.m.-10 p.m.r Fri & Sat 11-11. MC, V, AE.Inexpensive. -W.L.T.
A Charmer in Coppell
GASPAR’S CAFE Coppell is not a town known for fine dining-we’d be hard-pressed to name another restaurant there. Perhaps the wide-open field is what convinced former Hyatt Regency executive chef Gaspar Stantic to open his own New American restaurant so far northwest of the center of Dallas. In any case, his gamble seems to have paid off-Gaspar’s is full even on a weeknight. As well it should be, since the food is good and the prices almost unbelievably reasonable.
Can you create a country inn atmosphere at relatively modest cost in a newly built storefront? Stantic and his wife have managed to come up with a reasonable approximation, with little gingham curtains on the windows and a lovely open kitchen separated from the dining area by etched glass bearing the restaurant’s name. The glass, however, is not so high that you cannot see Stantic and his helper working hard and dishing up the food. You know when your order is ready because you can see it being assembled-this gives you courage during the sometimes long waits created by having a two-person kitchen staff and so many hungry customers.
The menu at Gaspar’s changes periodically. When we visited, the offerings were New Southwestern in influence, but a Hawaiian slant was promised for the next month. I suppose the changing emphasis is fine if it keeps Stantic from getting bored. He doesn’t seem to be venturing too far afield, in any case. His European training keeps peeping through his supposedly American creations in such dishes as a gorgeous ribeye steak, cut freshly and cooked perfectly, which was supposed to be accompanied by an ancho chili sauce. We’re sure that the sauce did have the promised chili in it-we could just barely taste it. What the sauce mostly reminded us of, though, was a heavy topping for steak au poivre. It was rich with cream and mushrooms and seemed far more Continental than Santa Fe-ish.
Stantic has a nice way with fish, and in fact there were more fish dishes than anything else on the menu. The sautéed grouper we sampled was immaculately fresh and had a nicely crunchy exterior. Its only problem was an excessive amount of sauce, a tomato-artichoke vinaigrette that spilled over to flavor the vegetables (steamed new potato, grilled zucchini, and large slices of carrots). There are also good versions of some Old American standards, a hefty but not too thick grilled hamburger and a chicken-fried steak with a peppery crust and a slightly odd cream gravy that seemed to have been made from bacon drippings. The house’s standard dessert is a strudel made from fresh fruit; the apple had a featherlight crust and swam in a sea of delectable crème anglaise-we were divided about whether the apples were too highly flavored with cinnamon and nutmeg, I usually like my apple pies light on the spice, but this version convinced me that a stronger flavor can be appealing too.
Caspar’s does have a few flops. An appetizer of chilled shrimp with tomato and grapefruit was just that-some gorgeous, huge, boiled crustaceans, beautifully whittled garnishes, and no sauce at all: the epitome of boring. The pasta of the day was a concoction of watery goat cheese and some flowerets of broccoli that just perched atop some overcooked, undersalted angel hair pasta. You may find it annoying that Gaspar’s, in a dry area, sells no alcoholic beverages-or you may be pleased that you can bring your own wine and decant it yourself into lovely crystal stemware.
Gaspar’s cannot duel the established NewAmerican restaurants in greater Dallas fororiginality and chic. But it brings well-executed cooking to a newly developingarea. And most of the main dishes on themenu are priced at less that $10. Is it anywonder the place is busier than many of themore adventuresome temples of the strangeand wonderful? 150 S. Denton Tap Rd.,Coppell 393-5152. Lunch Mon-Fri 11-2.Dinner Mon-Thur 5-9, Fri & Sat 5-10. Allcredit cards. Moderate. -W.L.T.
RESTAURANTS
BRITISH
D Revisits Jennivine’s Culinary Centre. No culinary custom more exemplifies ceremonial refinement than a traditional British tea. Comes now Jennivine’s Culinary Centre, the offspring of Jennivine restaurant on McKinney. The new place not only strikes the same mood, but belters it within its own lunch-and-tea-only limitations. Prices are the only fixed aspect of the center’s high noon and afternoon tea- Of the two. the noon affair is by far the better value at $9.50 for soup or salad, an entrée with vegetables, and dessert- Included with the food is a pot of any one of several special Fortnum and Mason tea blends, or of Jennivine’s own, which is an aromatic joy.
Lunch on our visit began with borscht, a fresh, cool puree of sweet beets sparked with mint. We suffered a small miscarriage of justice on our entrées: my companion’s grilled tuna was offered with red bell pepper sauce, my poached salmon with white zinfandel sauce. The two sauces were inadvertently switched in the kitchen-a pity, since the light zinfandel was perfectly matched to the delicate salmon, while the heartier tuna needed the robust pepper complement. The Person in Charge halfheartedly offered to redo both dishes, but we settled for side servings of the appropriate sauces instead-noi without regret. A mixed saute* of fresh garden vegetables completed both plates flawlessly.
Afternoon tea was a less exuberant experience. Priced at $7.50, only two dollars less than the lunch, the set menu promised assorted finger sandwiches, freshly baked warm scones with clotted cream and homemade jam, and dessert with a pot of lea. The sandwiches proved to be skinny triangles containing thinly spread egg curry, paper-sliced cucumbers with butter, and tomato with fresh basil and cream cheese. All had been made well in advance of service, although we arrived at the earliest moment allowed. The scones (one each) were fresh but barely warm, and both cream and jam were so meagerly portioned we were challenged to stretch them to last our two scones’ worth.
Charming as the notion of afternoon lea might be. I’d have to suggest the truly hungry should skip this one in favor of the lunch offering. But I will say this new Jennivine place, an exquisitely restored old house with a wide, shady, wraparound porch and bull’s-eye glass windows, is charming enough to want to visit even if food were not offered. Cooking classes arc taught here, too, by the way-information’s but a call away. 3521 Oak Grove at Lemmon Avenue. 528-4709. Reservations suggested. Inexpensive. -B.C
CAJUN
D Revisits Louisiana Purchase. Each time we visit Louisiana Purchase, we are surprised how good a chain-owned restaurant can be. Standard items like fried shrimp and catfish fillets are crisp and fresh-a bargain, too. But the surprise comes in a dish like blackened catfish rémoulade. Blackening fish has become such a cliche that we seldom order anything cooked this way .but here the fish is perfectly seasoned, still moist, and accompanied by a rémoulade (not the real New Orleans variety, but tasty all the same). The crawfish étouftée didn’t seem as exciting as on previous visits, but it is still as good a version as you are likely to find hereabouts.
Except for a rather sour, peppery Cajun filé gumbo andthe spicy boiled shrimp, the appetizers are all better asmunchies with drinks than before a meal-things like deep-fried shrtmp-and-cheese puffs and shrimp dip to spread onbread or crackers. The French silk and peanut butter piecombines two old favorite recipes rather schizophrenical-ly-the youngest member of our party definitively proclaimed it tasted just like Reese’s Pieces. The best dessert isthe least expensive-the New Orleans-style bread pudding.2901 N Central Expwy at Parker Rd. Plano. 422-2469.Inexpensive to moderate. -W.L.T.
CHINESE
D Revisits May Dragon. Ten years ago the story about Chinese restaurants in Dallas was that there were finally some good ones. Today the story is that there are a number of good ones, but few if any outstanding ones. Every time we go back to one of our favorite Chinese restaurants, it seems to lack the edge it used to have. The food may not be anything to actually complain about, but it seldom seems to bring excitement anymore. That was largely the story with our most recent excursion to May Dragon, which had alwaysseemed top-notch before. The standard dishes were cookedcompetently, but without much sparkle. There aren’t manyrarities on the menu, but we ventured as far afield as wecould. The scallops with Chinese cabbage in creamy sauceproved much like the rest of the meal: tasty but bland. Thehighlight of the visit was a red snapper cooked in Hunansauce. Even here, the fish was fresh-tasting but not ultimately crispy, and the sauce lacked the true peppery zip ofHunan, but at least the superman of a waiter boned ittableside almost flawlessly. 4848 Bell Line at Inwood.392-9998. Moderate. -W.L.T.
INDIAN
D Revisits Taj Majal. Two new developments here:first, the original location in Caruth Plaza has tripled in sizeand is thus much more roomy and comfortable. We sampledthe luncheon buffet and found it a bargain, with good versions of the now-standard dishes and even a beef curry (notalways encountered on the noontime all-you-can-eatspreads). Secondly. Taj Mahal has opened a new location ineast Richardson. The new place boasts especially friendlyservice and some outstanding food-the owner himself wasin the kitchen. The Indian grilled items were perhaps not attheir best-the place had not yet installed its tandoor, the clayIndian barbecue pit. But the sauced dishes like chicken tikkamakhanwala (brightly colored and flavored with tomatoes),beef punjabi (richly dark and aromatic of chopped freshginger), and malai kofta kashmiri (little vegetable dumplingsin cream) could not have been tastier. The kulfi-the Indianice cream made with cardamom and chopped pistachios-isat its best here. too. Caruth Plaza, 9100 N Central Expwy atPark Ln, Suite 179. 692-0535. 1600 N Plano Rd at Collins,Richardson. 235-3794. Moderate. -W.LT.
NEW AMERICAN
D Revisits Kathleen’s Cefe and Bar. This informal bistro boasts one of the city’s greatest dishes, the chile relleno. sniffed with chicken and adorned with both a walnut cream sauce and a dollop of guacamole. This exquisitemorsel, in its puffy batter, can be had either single as an appetizer or double as a main course. The pizzas-we tried theone with duck breast, goat cheese, and red onions-can alsobe divided as an appetizer. Both were much more satisfactory than the main courses we sampled at Kathleen’s, seafood lasagna (the salmon, crab, and shrimp didn’t blend wellwith the tomato sauce) or the roast duck breast in cabernetsauce (the duck was so undercooked that it seemed raw).The main dishes did come with a wonderful vegetable,though-stellar yellow squash sautéed with garlic. 4424Lovers lane (between the Tollway and Douglas). 681-2355.Moderate to expensive. -W.LT.
SEAFOOD
D Revisits Red’s Seafood Bar & Grill. If you’ve ever crossed a county line to gorge at one of those catfish emporiums that dot Texas at remote river crossings, you’ll know what to expect of the ambience at Red’s Seafood. Suave and city-slick are what it’s not; hail and howdy are what it is, from folksy service to woodsy setting, the restaurant mimics its country cousins with lodge-like decor, all dark woods inside, and a glassed-in area in back that overlooks dense trees and shrubbery. Our particular table also overlooked a balcony on which two raccoons posed and paraded, waiting with the assurance of regular patrons for their closing-time handout.
If they got our leavings, they didn’t get much-Red’s menu spans a more cosmopolitan spectrum than its looks and demeanor suggest. Fried catfish is on it, of course, and nicely done, too-crisped fillets tasted fresh and moist, as did oysters and shrimp. A day’s-special salmon fillet was suc-culently grilled, and the boiled lobster one of my companions chose had been lifted live from the tank for preparation.
We’d begun our meal with raw oysters on the half-shell, smallish but sweetly briny; tiny steamed clams, sand-free and delectable dipped in drawn butter; and fried calamari, popcorn-crisp in beer batter. Entree accompaniments were standards-a good baked potato with the usual trimmings, adequate French fries, creamed cole slaw. A refrigerated Soave was the best wine offered; Heineken is among several draft beers served, regrettably, in vast eighteen-ounce goblets that arrive encrusted with ice and take both hands to lift-now, that’s what I call country. We were a tittle affronted, too, that the head honcho chose to use our lobster to instruct our server on the niceties of lobster cracking and serving, while my companion, who’d have preferred to do it himself, fumed and starved. I’ve said the service was folksy; it also tended toward insouciance-an attitude of management that, I must admit, no one else seemed to mind: the crowd that filled the place seemed absolutely happy, 7402 Greenville Ave at Pineland. 363-3896. Moderate. -B.C
D Revisits Scott’s-A Seafood House. If the freshness of the seafood here doesn’t blow you away with pleasure, the sheer beauty of its preparation and presentation will. A grilled seafood sausage starter was exquisite-a magical melange of tender scallops, shrimp, and salmon, perfectly accented with a light Scottish smoked salmon vinaigrette. Steamed littleneck clams were succulent in a perfumed broth of wine with garlic, shallots, and butter. Manhattan clam chowder was a welcome variation, with clear tomato broth lively with diced vegetables and chewy clam meal. Even the house salad was outstanding-five lettuces, with a kalamata olive and Roma tomatoes, almost too subtly dressed.
An entree of sautéed seafood combined flawless gulf shrimp, scallops, and flaked crab meal in mild harmony; a fillet of Norwegian salmon was simply freshness itself, a huge, fine-grained cut delicately glazed with cream, shallots, and butter. Accompanying sautéed vegetables were lender-crisp, as were clearly homemade chewy ravioli pillows on the side. Desserts, also homemade, change daily and are irresistibly displayed in the gracious, spacious dining room that handsomely frames the hospitable ambience of this family-run establishment- I want to hear one of ourcoast natives-come-lately kvetch about ihe dearth of freshseafood in Dallas after eating in this altogether delightfulplace. 4620 McKinney. 528-7777. Moderate. -B.C
LAS COLINAS/MID CITIES
D Revisits Cacharel. Does Arlington know how blessed it is to have this superior French restaurant ensconced atop a local office building? I hope so-Cacharel’s fare and fair prix-fixe are a double draw of the sort Dallasites know how to cherish. My last sampling of the daily-changing menu bore home again how creatively outstanding this place is. My companion’s starter of sautéed sea scallops and lobster medallions in tarragon-kissed lobster cream sauce on fettuccini was good, but it didn’t outshine my salad of French green beans with mellow duck confit. Her sautéed veal chop on fresh morel mushroom cream sauce was hearty and perfect; so was my broiled breasi of natural chicken bedded on creamed Belgian endive with sun-dried tomatoes. Her dessert of phyllo pastry filled with white chocolate mousse and garnished with fresh raspberries held no more joy than my lofty, moist Amaretto soufflé.
I emphasize the comparison because her course, in eachcase, carried a small extra-price premium, while 1 stuck withthe basic $26-per-person dinner offerings and felt I’d enjoyedas sublime an experience as she. Seamless service, ofcourse, was a major contribution, as was a satisfying selection of wines. Brookhollow Two, 2221 E. Lamar, Suite 910,Arlington. (817) 640-9981. Moderate. -B.C
NIGHTLIFE
D Revisits Art Bar. Basically, there are two kinds of Deep Ellum tourists-those who come for the clubs and those who come for the galleries. Art Bar is a conscious attempt at crossover designed to introduce one group to another: this is where the an meets the beat of Deep Ellum. It is nothing more than what it claims to be, a bar, with art. But the an is serious: surely this is the only bar in town with a full-time art director. The Art Bar regularly hangs works from Deep Ellum’s best galleries, including Conduit,Eugene Binder, and Barry Whistler. Other than the art, theroom is plain, quiet enough to actually converse in. There’sno live music in the bar, but you can feel the thump and hearthe basses from adjoining Club Clearview, and the show onthe walls changes regularly. This month, the bar is planningan invitational show in conjunction with the State Fair, “Por-traits of Big Tex,” and, to show it’s really arrived as an “art” bar. will mount a show of DaJlas’s art darling. Dan Rizzie.2803 Main St. 939-0077. -M.B.M.
D Revisits 8.0. We have a friend in his forties who occasionally takes it into his head to wear an utterly outlandishcostume to an otherwise low-key gathering. Somehow, instead of sticking out like a sore thumb, his fearlessly exuberant clothes make the occasion: he’s having fun wearingthem and you have run because of that. The new 8.0 remindsme of Joe. The space, with its wildly varying floor-to-ceilingmurals by local artists and wildly eclectic jukebox-everything from Walt Disney to Willie Nelson-exudesenthusiasm. It’s not trying to be tasteful-there are no archaeological references, apricot walls, or pickled woodanywhere; and it’s not trying to be lockjaw coo;, it’s just afun place to be in. You don’t come here to dance, on weekends you’re lucky to get a table to put your drink on. and it’shardly the place for intimacy. It’s mostly a place to standaround with a drink and talk. But if you get tired of doingthat, there’s a lot to look at-besides the music videos andcompetitive fashjons that are the main visual attractions ofother clubs. 2800 Routh St. 979-0880. -M.B.M.
D Revisits Club Ku. The spacious upstairs stone patiodeserves a Mediterranean view, but downtown Dallas willhave to do. This multiuse club has something for everyone-a cozy piano bar with banquettes and soil lights downstairs, a dining room serving continuously from 11 a.m. to11 p.m. (plus a late-night menu), and a dance floor-but it’sthe indoor/outdoor bar and breezy terrace that make Ku socool. Despite the dance floor, there’s no sense of eating ina disco (if you want a little less action there’s a smaller,cushier private dining room) and Ku takes its food seriously. It opened with an American menu created by the formerchef from Cassis who heads Ku’s kitchen. 3232 McKinney,Suite 131. 953-3040. -M.B.M.
BARBECUE
Anderson’s Barbecue House. 5410 Harry Hines Blvd. (across from Parkland). 630-0735. Inexpensive.
Austin’s Barbecue. 2321 W Illinois. 337-2242. Inexpensive.
Blue Ribbon B-B-Q. 316 Hillside Village (Mockingbird and Abrams). 823-5524. Inexpensive.
Dickey’s Barbecue. 4610 N Central Expwy. 823-0240. Inexpensive.
Gene’s Stone Pit Bar B Que. 3002 Canton. 939-9419. Inexpensive.
Riscky’s Barbeque. 1701 N Market, Suite 104. 742-7001. Inexpensive to moderate.
Roscoe’s Easy Way. 5420 Lemmon Ave. 528-8459. Inexpensive.
Sonny Bryan’s Smokehouse. 2202 Inwood. 357-7120. Inexpensive.
Spring Creek B-B-Q. 270 N Central Expwy Richardson. 669-0505. Inexpensive.
BRITISH
Jennivine. 3605 McKinney. 528-6010. Moderate to expensive.
BURGERS
The Bronx. 3835 Cedar Springs. 521-5821- Inexpensive.
Cardinal Puff’s. 4615 Greenville Ave. 369-1969. Inexpensive.
Chip’s. 4501 N Central Expwy. 526-1092. 2445 W Northwest Hwy. Suite 101. 350-8751. Inexpensive.
Chuck’s Old-Fashioned Hamburgers. 502 Spanish Village. Arapaho at Coil. 386-7752. Inexpensive. 8.0. 2800 Routh St. 979-0880. Inexpensive.
Prince of Hamburgers. 5200 Lemmon Ave, 526-9081. Inexpensive.
Snuffer’s. 3526 Greenville. 826-6850. Inexpensive.
CAJUN
Arcadia Bar & Grill. 2114 Greenville Ave. 821-1300, Inexpensive.
Atchafalaya River Cafe. 4440 Bell Line Rd. 960-6878. Moderate.
Cafe Margaux. 4216 Oak Lawn. 5201985. Moderate.
Copeland’s of New Orleans. 5353 Belt Line. 661-1883. Moderate.
Crescent City Cafe. 2730 Commerce. 745-1900. Inexpensive.
Pontchartrain. 13444 N Preston Road. 385-1522. Inexpensive.
CHINESE
August Moon. I5030 Preston at Belt Line. 385-7227. 2300 N Central Expwy. 881-0071. Moderate.
Beijing Grill. 2200 Cedar Springs in The Crescent. Suite 148- 871-6868. Moderate to expensive.
Cafe Panda. 7979 Inwood. Suite 121. 902-9500. Moderate.
Crystal Pagoda. 4516 McKinney Ave. 526-3355. Moderate.
Forbidden City. 4514 Travis, Suite 201. 520-1888. Moderate,
Hag’s Chinese Food. 8440 Abrams. 343-3998. 6912 Snider Plaza. 361-7970. 7612 Campbell Rd. Suite 200. 250-4267. Inexpensive to moderate.
Hong Kong Royale. 221 W Polk St, Richardson. 238-8888. Moderate to expensive.
Jade Garden. 4800 Bryan. 821-0675. Inexpensive.
Plum Blossom. Loews Anatole Hotel, 2201 Summons Fwy. 748-1200. Expensive.
Snow Pea. 2007 Abrams Parkway (off Gaston). 824-4354. Inexpensive.
Szechwan Pavilion. 8411 Preston. 368-4303. Inexpensive to moderate.
Taiwan Restaurant. 4980 Bell Line. Addison. 387-2333. 6111 Greenville. 369-8902. Moderate.
Taton. 9243 Skillman, Suite 104. 343-0545. Inexpensive to moderate.
Tong’s. 11661 Preston Rd. Suite 143. 361-6588. Moderate.
Uncle Tai’s Hunan Yuan. Galleria. 13350 Dallas Pkwy, Suite 3370. 934-9998. Expensive.
FRENCH/CONTINENTAL
Brasserie Calluaud. 4544 McKinney. 521-2277. Moderate to expensive.
Cafe Royal. Plaza of the Americas, 650 N Pearl. 979-9000. Expensive to very expensive.
Chateaubriand. 3701 W Northwest Hwy (at Marsh Lane). 351-2248. Expensive.
Chez Gerard. 4444 McKinney. 522-6865. Moderate to expensive.
The French Room. The Adolphus Hotel. 1321 Commerce. 742-8200. Expensive.
The Grape. 2808 Greenville. 828-1981. Moderate.
Jonathan’s. The Centrum. 3102 Oak Lawn, Suite 49S. 520-8308. Moderate.
La Madeleine. 3072 W Mockingbird. 696-6960. 3906 Lemmon. 521-0182. Inexpensive.
L’Amblance. 2408 Cedar Springs. 748-1291. Expensive.
Le Brussels. 6615 Snider Plaza. 739-1927. Moderate.
L’Entrecote. Loews Anatole Hotel, 2201 Stemmons Frwy. 748-1200. Very expensive.
Mr. Peppe. 5617 W Lovers Lane. 352-5976. Moderate to expensive.
The Old Warsaw. 2610 Maple Ave. 528-0032. Very expensive
The Riviera. 7709 Inwood. 351-0094. Very expensive.
St. Martin’s. 3020 Greenville. 826-0940. Moderate to expensive.
GERMAN/EASTERN EUROPE
Belvedere. 4242 Lomo Alto. 528-6510. Expensive.
Bohemia. 2810 N Henderson. 826-6209. Moderate.
The Chimney. 9739 N Central Expwy. 369-6466. Expensive.
Franki’s Li’I Europe. 362 Casa Linda Plaza. Garland Road at Buckner. 320-0426. Inexpensive to moderate.
Hofsteffer’s. Plaza at Bachman Creek. 3830 W Northwest Hwy. Suite 390. 358-7660. Inexpensive to moderate.
Kuby’s Sausage House Inc. 6601 Snider Plaza. 363-2231. Inexpensive.
GREEK
Augustus. 15375 Addison Rd. Addison. 239-8105. Expensive.
Cafe Nelu. 30 Arapaho Village, Richardson. 235-5387. Inexpensive to moderate.
Crackers. 2621 McKinney Ave. 871-7268. Inexpensive to moderate.
Kostas Restaurant and Taverna. 2755 Bachman. 351-4592. Moderate
Kostas Cafe. 4914 Greenville. 987-3225. Inexpensive.
Little Gus’. 1916 Greenville. 826-4910. Inexpensive.
HOME COOKING
Celebration. 4503 W Lovers Lane. 351-5681. Moderate.
Good Eats Cafe. 3531 Oak Lawn, 522-3287. 6950 Greenville. 691-3287. 702 Ross Ave. 744-3287. Inexpensive.
Highland Park Cafeteria. 4611 Cote Ave a( Knox. 526-3801. Inexpensive.
Highland Park Pharmacy. 3229 Knox. 521-2126. Inexpensive.
Mama Taught Me How. 14902 Preston Rd. #512. in Pepper Square. 490-6301. Inexpensive.
Mama’s Daughter’s Diner. 2014 Irving Blvd. 742-8646. Inexpensive.
The Mecca. 10422 Harry Hines. 352-0051. Inexpensive.
Rosemarle’s. 1411 N Zang. 946-4142. Inexpensive.
Theo’s Diner. 111 S Hall. 747-6936. Inexpensive.
Tolbert’s. One Dallas Center. 350 N St. Paul & Bryan. 953-1353. 1800 N Market. 969-0310. 8121 Walnut Hill at Central. 739-6700. Inexpensive.
Vice Versa. 6065 Sherry Lane. 691-2976. Inexpensive.
INDIAN
India Palace Restaurant. 13360 Preston Rd 392-0190, Moderate to expensive.
Kebab-N-Kurry. 401 N Central Expwy, Suite 300. Richardson. 231-5556. Inexpensive to moderate.
Kebab-N-Kurry. 2620 Walnut Hill. 350-6466. Inexpensive.
Mumtaz. The Atrium. 3101 N Fitzhugh at McKinney Ave. 520-2400. Inexpensive to moderate.
ITALIAN
Alesslo’s. 4117 Lomo Alto. 521-3585. Moderate to expensive.
Alfonso’s. 328 Casa Linda Plaza. 327-7777. Inexpensive to moderate.
Bugatti On The Creek. 3802 W Northwest Hwy. 350-2470. Moderate.
Cafe Italia. 5000 Maple. 521-0700. Inexpensive to moderate.
Cafe Paparazzi. 8989 Forest Lane. Suite 136. 644-1323. Moderate.
Capriccio. 2616 Maple Ave. 871-2004. Expensive.
Carrelli’s. 12219 Coit Rd. 386-7931. Moderate to expensive.
Chianti. 4820 Greenville Ave. 691-6769. Moderate.
Fausto’s Oven. 300 Reunion Blvd. in the Hyatt Regency Hotel. 741-3304. Moderate.
Flip’s Wine Bar & Trattoria. 1520 Greenville Ave. 824-9944. Moderate.
II Sorrento. 8616 Turtle Creek Blvd. 352-8759. Moderate to expensive.
La Tosca. 7713 Inwood. 352-8373. Expensive.
Lombardi’s at Travis Walk. 4514 Travis 521-1480 Moderate.
Lombard!’* Espresso. 6135 Luther Lane. 361-6984. Inexpensive to moderate.
Mario’s. 135 Turtle Creek Village, Oak Lawn at Blackburn. 521-1135. Expensive.
Massimo da Milano. 5519 W Lovers Lane. 351-1426. Inexpensive to moderate.
Momo’s. 9191 Forest Lane. Suite A2. 234-6800. Moderate.
Momo’s Italian Specialties. 3309 N Central Expwy, Suite 370 (in the rear of Ruisseau Village), Piano. 423-1066. Moderate to expensive.
Momo’s Pasta. 3312 Knox. 521-3009. Inexpensive.
Nero’s Italian. 2104 Greenville. 826-6376. Moderate.
Pasticcio’s. 4527 Travis St. 528-6696. Moderate.
Pizzeria Uno. 2811 McKinney Ave. 855-0011.4002 Belt Line, Addison. 991-8181. Inexpensive to moderate.
Pomodoro. 2520 Cedar Springs. 871-1924. Inexpensive to moderate.
Ristorante Savino. 2929 N Henderson. 826-7804. Moderate to expensive.
Rodotfo’s. 5956 Royal Lane (at Preston). 368-5039. Inexpensive to moderate.
Ruggeri’s. 2911 Routh St. 871-7377. Moderate.
Sfuzzi. 2504 McKinney. 871-2606. Moderate.
Spaghetti Inn-Mike’s Italian Restaurant. 6465 E Mockingbird Ln. 827-7035. Moderate.
311 Lombardi’s. 311 Market at Ross. 747-0322. Moderate to expensive.
JAPANESE/KOREAN
Hana Japanese Restaurant. 14865 Inwood. 991-8322. Moderate.
Hibachi-Ya Japanese Restaurant. 3850 W Northwest Hwy. Suite 510. 350-1110. Inexpensive.
Mr. Sushi. 4860 Belt Line. Addison. 385-0168. Moderate.
Mr. Sushi & Hibachi. 9220 Skillman. 349-6338. Moderate.
Sakura Japanese Restaurant. 7402 Greenville Ave. 361-9282. Moderate to expensive.
Sushi On McKinney. 4500 McKinney. 5210969. Moderate.
MEXICAN
Blue Mesa Grill. Village on the Parkway, 5100 Belt Line at Dallas Parkway. 934-0165. Moderate.
Brazos. 2100 Greenville at Prospect. 821-6501. Moderate.
Caliente Ranch Grill and Cantins. 6881 Greenville Ave. 369-8600. Moderate.
Cantina Laredo. 4546 Belt Line, .Addison. 458-0962. Moderate.
Casa Dominguez. 2127 Cedar Springs, 742-4945. Inexpensive to moderate.
Chita’s, 3747 Walnut Hill. 357-2561. Inexpensive.
El Asadero. 1516 Greenville. 826-0625. Inexpensive.
Garmoy Lito’s. 2847 N Henderson. 821-8006. Inexpensive to moderate.
Gloria’s Restaurant. 600 W Davis. 948-3672. 9386 LBJ Frwy at Abrams. 690-0622. Inexpensive.
Graciela’s. 3957 Belt Line. Addison. 702-8051. Inexpensive to moderate.
Javier’s. 4912 Cole. 521-4211. Expensive.
J. Rape’s. 2800 Routh. 871-0366. Inexpensive to moderate.
Juanita’s Mexican Restaurant. 1905 N Josey Lane, Carrollton. 242-0888. Inexpensive.
La Botica Cafe. 1900 N Haskell. 824-2005. Inexpensive to moderate.
La Mansion de Blas. 2935 Elm. 939-0853. Inexpensive.
La Suprema Tortllleria. 7630 Military Parkway. 388-1244. Inexpensive.
Loma Luna Cafe, 4131 Lomo Alto. 559-4011. Moderate.
Mario & Alberto. LBJ Frwy at Preston. Suite 425. 980-7296. Moderate.
Mario’s Chiquita. 4514 Travis. #105 (in Travis Walk). 521-0721. Moderate.
Martinez Cafe. 3011 Routh St. 855-0240. 1900 Preston Rd. Suite 329, Piano. 964-7898. Inexpensive to moderate.
Mercado Juarez. 1901 W Northwest Hwy. 556-0796. 4050 Belt Line Rd, Addison. 458-2145. Inexpensive to moderate.
Mia’s. 4322 Lemmon Ave. 526-1020. Inexpensive.
On The Bonier Cafe. 3300 Knox St. 528-5900. Moderate.
Primo’s. 3309 McKinney. 520-3303. Inexpensive.
Villa Margarita. 362 Promenade Center. Coit & Belt Line. Richardson. 235-5447. Moderate.
MIDDLE EAST
Hedary’s. Promenade Center. 15400 Coit, Suite 2500, Richardson. 669-2112. Moderate
NATURAL
Bluebonnet Cafe & Deli. 2218 Greenville. 828-0052. Inexpensive.
Dream Cafe. 2800 Routh St in the Quadrangle. 954-0486. Inexpensive.
NEW AMERICAN
Actuelle. The Quadrangle. 2800 Routh St. Suite 125. 855-0440. Expensive.
Baby Routh. 2708 Routh St. 871-2345. Moderate to expensive.
Beau Nash. Hotel Crescent Court. 400 Crescent Court, Maple at McKinney. 871-3240. Expensive.
Chaplin’s. 1928 Greenville Ave. 823-3300. Moderate to expensive.
Cisco Grill. 6630 Snider Plaza. 363-9506. Inexpensive.
City Cafe. 5757 W Lovers Ln. 351-2233. Moderate.
Dakota’s. 600 N Akard. 740-4001. Moderate to expensive
Deep Ellum Cafe. 2706 Elm St. 741-9012. Moderate.
Elm Street Winery. 2704 Elm. 748-6565. Moderate to expensive.
Gershwin’s. 8442 Walnut Hill at Greenville. 373-7171. Moderate to expensive.
Huntington Grill. Westin Hotel, Galleria. 13340 Dallas Pkwy. 851-2882. Expensive.
Lakewood Plaza Grill. 6334 La Vista. 826-5226. Inexpensive to moderate.
Landmark Cafe, Omni Melrose Hotel. 3015 Oak Lawn Ave. 522-1453. Expensive.
Laurels. Sheraton Park Central Hotel, 12720 Merit. off Coit near LBJ. 385-3000. Expensive.
The Mansion on Turtle Creek. 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd. 526-2121. Expensive.
Malibu Cafe. 4311 Oak Lawn Ave. 521-2233. Moderate.
Parigi. 3311 Oak Lawn. 521-0295. Moderate to expensive.
The Promenade at the Mansion. 2821 Turtle Creek Blvd. 559-2100. Moderate to expensive.
Pyramid Restaurant and Lounge. 1717 N Akard in the Fairmont Hotel. 720-5249. Expensive.
Routh Street Cafe. 3005 Routh St. 871-7161. Very expensive.
Sam’s Cafe. 100 Crescent Court. Suite 140. 855-2233. Moderate to expensive.
Spatz. 2912 N Henderson. 827-7984. Moderate.
SEAFOOD
Atlantic Cafe. 4546 McKinney at Knox. 559-1441. Expensive.
Aw Shucks. 3601 Greenville. 821-9449. Inexpensive.
Cafe Pacific. Highland Park Village, Preston at Mockingbird, Suite 24. 526-1170. Expensive.
Hampton’s. Berkshire Place. Preston Center. 8411 Preston Rd. 739-3474. Moderate.
Hard Shell Cafe. 6403 Greenville Ave. 987-3477. Moderate.
Newport’s Seafood. 703 McKinney in the Brewery. 954-0220. Expensive.
S&D Oyster Company. 2701 McKinney Ave. 880-0111. Inexpensive 10 moderate.
STEAKS
Arthur’s. 8350 Central Expwy. Campbell Centre. Suite M 1000. 361-8833. Expensive.
The Butcher Shop Steakhouse. 808 Munger, off Lamar. 720-1032. Moderate.
Lawry’s The Prime Rib. 3008 Maple Ave. 521-7777. Moderate to expensive.
Mike’s Del Frisco’s. 2200 Cedar Springs Rd, Suite 165. in The Crescent. 720-4454. Expensive.
Morton’s of Chicago. 501 Elm St. 741-2277. Expensive.
The Palm Restaurant. 701 Ross Avenue. 698-0470. Very expensive.
TAKEOUT/DELI
Al’s New York Style Deli. 3301-A Oak Lawn (entrance on Hall). 522-3354. Inexpensive.
Bagel Emporium. 7522 Campbell Rd, Suite 117- 980-1444. Inexpensive.
City Market. 200 Trammell Crow Center. Suite 200 (Ross at Harwood). 979-2690. Inexpensive.
Marty’s. 3316 Oak Lawn. 526-4070 Moderate.
Petaluma. 2515 McKinney. 871-2253. Inexpensive.
Today’s Gourmet. 4446 Lovers Lane. 373-0325. Inexpensive.
Tommaso’s Fresh Pasta. 5365 Spring Valley, Suite 158, at Montfort. 991-4040. Inexpensive to moderate.
THAI
Sala Thai. 4503 Greenville Ave. 696-3210. Moderate.
Thai Lanna. 1490 W Spring Valley Rd. Richardson. 690-3637. 4315 Bryan. 827-6478. Moderate.
Thai Toy’s. 4422-B Lemmon Ave. 528-7233. Inexpensivi to moderate,
VIETNAMESE
Ba Le. 4812 Bryan at Fitzhugh. 821-1880. Inexpensive.
Mekong. 4301 Bryan, Suite 101. 824-6300. Inexpensive.
Saigon. 1731 Greenville- 828-9795. Inexpensive.
LAS COLINAS/MID CITIES
China Terrace. 5435 N MacArthur, Las Colinas. 550-1113. Inexpensive to moderate.
Moretti’s. 2709 Mustang Drive. Grapevine. (817) 481-3230. Inexpensive to moderate.
Via Real. 3591 N Belt Line. Irving. 255-0064. Moderate to expensive.
FORT WORTH
Hedary’s. 3308 Fairfield at Camp Bowie. (817) 731-6961. Moderate.
Juanfta’s. 115 W Second. (817) 335-1777. Moderate.
La Maree. 3416 W Seventh. (817) 877-0838. Moderate.
Reflections. The Worthington Hotel, 200 Main. (817) 870-1000. Expensive.
Saint-Emilion. 3617 W Seventh. (817) 737-2781.Moderate to expensive.
