RESTAURANTS Seafood Spectacular

Cafe pacific

LITTLE MORE THAN A DECADE AGO, when most of our catfish, shrimp, and bivalves hailed from the Gulf Coast and other suspect waters, Dallas was landlocked culturally, geographically, and gustatorily as Well. In those days, our sea creatures, like-our steak, were frequently dredged in flour, highly seasoned, then deep-fried in dots of lard or oil before rising slowly to the surface-greasy, golden brown, and ready to be devoured. These days, thanks to advances in transportation, changes with suppliers, and, above all, the demands of a widely traveled, more sophisticated populace, Dallas is home to several splendid, sophisticated seafood establishments that serve glistening fresh seafood from near and far.

Nowhere is this clearer than at the dignified and distinguished Cafe Pacific, one of the pinnacles of posh High land Park dining for 15 years whose role and foresight in transforming Dallas from a “one fish town” to one that serves a wide variety of fresh and salrwater seafood is legendary.

The interior of C>ife Pacific in Highland Park Village, with its warm wood wainscoting, striped fabric walls, graceful curvilinear chandelier, and a great mirror tilled fust so to (frame its refined, bejeweled, and faithful clientele, is sumptuous. Each time I visit, whether alone or with friends, the gracious host, the polished wait staff in their crisp white uniforms, the seasonal cut flowers, and, especially, the complimentary mound of julienne fried sweet potatoes that arrive at the table serve as a harbinger of the pleasures that lie ahead. This time of year, in addition to the joy of sipping Ricard at the cozy bar, spying on a brigade of chefs sauteng and saucing in the glassed-in kitchen with their copper pots gleaming, a private terrace provides a hidden spot for al fresco dining.

On an early visit, I started with a brilliant and breathtaking ceviche. Far from run-of-the-mill, Cafe Pacific’s was a medley of lobster, shrimp, scallops, tomatoes, and cilantro punctuated with sweet crunchy jicama match sticks marinated in lime juice with just a splash of vinegar. Though I found my companion’s Pacific clam chowder a bit dull, heavy, and lacking in darns, a highly seasoned pureed tomato basil soup with an undercurrent of sherry was vibrant indeed.

Among the special seasonal entrees, we were especially impressed with a light, white John Dory, baked with a delectable golden sauce of curry and apples italicized with scalllions and ginger. Two meaty and flavorful lump crab meat cakes, perhaps the best I’ve sampled, were so tasty we wished there had been more. Of two contrasting dressings, we far preferred a sharp, warm tartar sauce of lemon and capers to an overpowering, less-than-pleasing tomato sauce. Among five simple grilled fish with as many sauces-light offerings at lunch for those watching their waists and diets-we chose the sea scallops, perhaps an inch in diameter. Unfortunately, they arrived barely cooked and still translucent, but once we sent them back to the kitchen, they were returned to us springy, tasty, and grilled to perfection. Though I had never tasted golden trout before, farm-raised or otherwise, 1 found it lovely, much like a mild salmon, though a tomato and ancho sauce and herbed polenta seemed a bit strong for so delicate an offering.

Cafe Pacific’s desserts are so beautiful they are difficult to pass up. We selected a basket woven of pecans and caramel and filled to the brim with exquisite strawberries, raspberries, and blackberries, and we enjoyed every morsel.

Cafe Pacific’s: offerings, especially at lunch, are quite reasonable for the service and setting. 1 recommend it highly.

M Highland Park Village, Open Monday through Saturday, 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. and 5:30 p.m.-11 p.m. AH major credit cards accepted. 214-526-1170. Moderate to expensive.

Sea Grill

THIS PLANO RESTAURANT, WHICH OPEN-ed last October and seems to be going great guns, offers tantalizing sea fare in the surprising setting of a suburban strip shopping mall. Inside, well-spaced brick arches and columns, banquettes, and corrugated tin ceilings with fans make for a relaxed, attractive, yet eclectic mix. Its clientele, similarly, is casually attited in slacks, an occasional skirt, pants suits, and jeans. But the biggest draw here is the menu, which boasts fish and shellfish rarely seen in this part of the country and prepared with enormous creativity and flair.

On a first visit, 1 opened with a selection of two of my favorite East Coast oysters- the sweet, succulent, tangy Wellfleet from Cape Cod, Massachusetts, and the wonderfully briny St. James, Virginia variety. My companion was delighted with her bowl, full to overflowing, of tender, farm-raised Prince Edward Island mussels with lemon grass, though 1 would have preferred additional Thai herbs and a more unusual broth than the white wine associated with a standard mussels meuniere. A pureed asparagus soup, with scallops and a hint of nutmeg, was lovely, but a shared salad of radicchio, Belgian endive, and arugula would have benefited from a more assertive dressing. My companion, always on the lookout for new ways to cook without butter and oil, was thrilled with the novelty of a succulent filet of poached red snapper served with tiny green lentils, while I was delighted to find shad, a delicacy from the fresh waters of West Virginia and available only a few weeks each year, as a specialty that night. The flavorful white fish with its rich, fragrant, delectable roe heaped on ton was sauteed and sauced with champagne and a bit of cumin.

On a return visit, though many things went well, we had a few disappointments. This time, though I enjoyed a thick crawfish gumbo with an abundance of crawfish tails and okra, 1 did not care for a heavy scallop hash, thick with potatoes and thyme, and would not order it again. The halibut, luscious and moist, perhaps the best I have ever had, was rendered ethereal by a sublime fresh ginger and plum wine sauce. Though perhaps it was only an error that evening, the lobster seemed tough and too heavily dusted with saffron. I was far happier with the light-hearted lobster and shrimp rigatoni with a cream and vodka sauce that I enjoyed in its stead.

The Sea Grill bills itself as New American French with some Mediterranean and Thai tossed in, which is quite an eclectic mix and, perhaps, a tall order. Though nearly everything we tasted was flavorful, we were especially taken with those dishes that rarely reach Dallas as well as those using Thai and other Oriental flavorings over the well-prepared but more usual New French American fare. According to chef Andy Tun, formerly of Wilkinson’s, a seafood eatery in Manhattan, he was lured here by Dallas entrepreneurs whose hope is to introduce New York seafood Co Dallas. Tun relies on the freshest ingredients, and so far, as he mans the kitchen, he seems to have carte blanche.

With the exception of a scrumptious caramelised apple tart tatin with plump half apples, not mere slices, desserts here need work. A creme brulee was little more than a cup of custard dusted with maple sugar, and the base of an unexceptional fresh fruit tart was hard and difficult to eat.

The wait staff, though well-meaning and polite, is not as well informed as it should he. A captain knowledgeable in the restaurant’s scope could do wonders to educate its patrol s and to entice them to try its wondrous offerings.

2205 North. Central Expressway, Suite 180, Piano. 2\4’509-5542. Moderate.

S&D Oyster Co.

THIS QUAINT EATERY, WITH ITS NARROW brick exterior, brass bar, and yellow and deep green columned interior, remains popular with a fun-loving McKinney Avenue work-day crowd. From S&D’s unassuming, reasonably priced menu, I first chose the fried oysters, which were so succulent, moist, and flavorful I went back for seconds. Plump gulf oysters on the half-shell were fresh and delightful with a splash of lemon alone. Although my companion’s shrimp cocktai was dull, our waiter mixed up a sauce of catsup, horseradish, Tabasco, and lemon juice worthy of the Big Easy’s famed Acme Oyster House. Likewise, the seafood gumbo seemed flat at first but my friend was more than satisfied after seasoning it with extra file and hot sauce. Alas, the biggest disappointment by far was broiled red snapper, peppered with paprika, dry and string from being cooked far oil. Stick with the oysters, pass on the fish and don’t forgerthe inspired bread pudding in a luscious whiskey sauce. 2701 McKinney Avenue. 2\4SoO-0\ 11. Inexpensive u>mad-ercae.

Aw Shucks

WITH ITS BLUE AND WHITE STRIPED awnings, aged wood pilings, and white shel|s underfoot, Aw Shucks is about the closest one can get to the seashore in Dallas. On hot nights, what with waits, children dashing about, the jostle of self-service, and names being blasted on a microphone, the mostly outdoor restaurant’s atmosphere is not for everyone, Among Aw Shucks’ limited offerings, we are great farts of the hot-as in heated-Cajun shrimp, nestled in their soft shells with the heads still on, sprinkled lightly with cilery salt and cayenne. Another favorit; is the meaty, flavorsome Alaskan kingcrab, as luscious here as a blue crab and nearly as sumptuous as a lobster, though we found cracking the legs with the supplied nutcrackers almost impossible and wished the legs had been cut or tiny little picks provided. Boiled crawfish, always a challenge though usually worth it at this time of year, seemed on the tough side and instead of boasting a melange of flavors, the dominant fragrance here was “hot.” The restaurant, located on a busy stretch of Greenville across from the Granada, caters to a diverse clientele. Payment, amazingly enough, is by the honor system. 3601 Greenville Avenue. 214-821-9449. Inexpensive to moderate.

Newport’s

Entering Newport’s in the West End’s historic brewery building, with its cavernous brick-walled interior, its lofty deep green ceiling, and its tables set on semi-circular rings leading toward a seemingly bottomless pit seems at first like descending into Dante’s Inferno. Though we admired a large scale model schooner perched directly above the well, we were troubled by poor lighting, acoustics that muffled our words, and by dirge-like background music. Fortunately, we fared far better with the food. At our waiter’s suggestion, I ordered New England clam chowder, which was rich, creamy, and delicious. My companion chose ceviche but, while the baby scallops were clean-tasting and sprightly, the dish was more of a shrimp and scallop cocktail than the desired ceviche. My friend’s pasta with king salmon, tomatoes, cilantro, olive oil, and capers, though it sounded good on paper, was dry, in need of more oil and herbs. Never having tried it before, 1 chose to treat myself to a Mesquite grilled Maine lobster which, though only occasionally smoky as advertised, not only seemed larger than the one-and-a-half pounds, but was so meaty, moist, succulent, and filled with coral or roe that we ate almost everything save the gills. For dessert we shared Newport’s Kahlua Nest, a nest of chocolate pasta swirled artfully around a scoop of Mexican vanilla ice cream. 703 McKinney Avenue. 214*954* 0220. Moderate.

Pappadeaux

EVEN THOUGH PAPPADEAUX IS A CI IAIN, it manages to prepare lively Cajun and stately New Orleans style food in a welcome and authentic manner time and again. The always busy branch on Oak Lawn near Lemmon has a good-looking dark brick-walled barroom, while the dining rooms, with their uneven wood planks, mismatched painted wood walls, long windows, and lazily turning ceiling fans have a distinctly Cajun feel. I was more than pleased with the amazingly fresh, ice-cold Gulf oysters delectably topped with crab meat, spinach, and hollandaise presented on a bed of rock salt. On a lark, I tried the fried alligator and found it to be so sweet, juicy, lightly fried, and tasting like chicken that I plan to have it again. The Andouille sausage and seafood gumbo was tasty, authentic, and so highly spiced it needed no extra seasoning. Our blackened opelousas filled with blackened oysters, shrimp, and crab meat and served over dirty rice was moist, flavorful, and cooked to perfection, an altogether harmonious and splendid dish. Only soft-shell crabs, which we later learned were not yet in season, were disappointing. Desserts here are beautiful and hard to resist. 1 forget what the occasion was, but I treated myself to a strawberry cream cheese cake with plenty of fresh berries that was very good indeed. 3520 Oak Lawn Avenue and other locations, 214-521-4700. Moderate.

Daddy Jack’s

Daddy Jack’s, with its red walls and ceilings, red-and-white checked table cloths, lobster traps, and la id-back ways reflects the upbeat mood of its fun-loving clientele. Like its patrons, its servers seem to have a good time and, even as the noise level rises and the small restaurant fills to standing room only, everyone seems happy to make the best of things. We particularly enjoyed the mussels marinara in their vividly textured, garlicky tomato sauce; the halibut, a special, in an intense cream sauce; and a special potato and lobster pancake appemer. Steamed clams are flavorful although, it only for health’s sake, we would have preferred them stewed in broth rather than in butter and garlic. Daddy Jack’s is famous for its reasonably priced lobster, available with two meat-filled claws or, at a reduced rate, with one. Whether due to its source of supply or its swimming a bit too long in the tank, on two occasions, the lobster was a bit tougher and less flavorful than I expected. Dungeness crabs, ordered in tandem with the lobster, had been frozen and tasted it, Almost all dishes are accompanied by a great, charred, meaty baked potato and a somewhat water-logged ear of corn. Of the desserts a light tart Key lime pie was a perfect ending to the meal. J 916 Greenvilk’. Avenue. 214-826-4910, Moderate.