THE JOINT ON TURTLE CREEK
CALL IT A CLASSIC CASE OF split personality, but if the fully booked tables two weeks after its opening were any indication, this Dr. Jekyll/Mr. Hyde restaurant is spinning toward success.
Did I say restaurant? You can describe it equally well as an upscale pool hall or bar. Call to ask about the dress code and you’ll be told anything from shorts and sandals to nice blazers. Chefs Avner Samuel (if only he could be awarded frequent flyer points for his travels among Dallas’ restaurants!) and James Leath illustrate the point: Leath loves garlic and Avner hates it; thus mashed potatoes are available with or without it. Leath calls the atmosphere fine dining with a casual angle, and describes the menu as global, eclectic, with an Asian influence. As for the menu itself, dancing Tasmanian lobster and pan-seared range chicken with glass noodles get equal billing with tuna melts and tater tots. Tater tots? Those bagged, frozen Ore-Ida ersatz potato nuggets? You got it.
The lobster, though, was super. Tender chunks of it came in a big bowl topped with fried shredded scellions, but we found ourselves digging through this tasty mix to devour the potato/fennel hash browns at the bottom. Corn-crusted chicken arrived juicy and crispy, accompanied by nicely cooked vegetables, and a special of rib-eye steak was eclipsed (but barely) by blue cheese-laced scalloped potatoes.
No bread is served yet, as the chefs can’t find one they both like, so start with an order of legal joint sticks, sort of like eggrolls shaped like super skinny, long breadsticks. They’re filled with fermented black beans and other stuff, but all you’ll taste is their chewy/crisp texture and the fiery carrot-topped Thai dipping sauce. You’ II polish off an order with ease.
Desserts, supposedly made in-house, need to be completely rethought (tough pie crusts and dry cake), as does the thoroughly bland house salad.
So far, the service has been great, but maybe it’s because the staff loves wearing their pricy Stubbs shirts, upscale Western classics available to anyone who shops at Neiman’s. Staff members were very helpfui steering us to the rest-rooms, but, as I did, you might pass up the first door, marked “Woof,” just to see what the second says-“Meow.” The Joint serves breakfast all day, a nice touch for a place that’s open nightly until 2 a.m.
And about those tater tots. We got one order, just had to see if they came with a special sauce. Nope. Tots and a bottle of ketchup. At the end of the meal, my husband and I looked with amazement at the empty tot bowl and our brother-in-law. “They were pretty good,” he said with a sheepish smile.
-Suzanne Hough
The Joint on Turtle Creek. 2727 Cedar Springs, 214-754-0101. 11 a.m.-2 a.m., daily. Inexpensive to moderate.
SPIRO’S NEW YORK CAFE
LISTEN HARD ENOUGH AND YOU JUST MIGHT hear a chorus of contented sighs sweeping through Piano as customers meet up with Spiro’s homemade bagels, juicy roasted turkey and super-lean corned beef and pastrami. You also might hear some groaning from those who’ve managed to polish off one of the deli’s stacked-high sandwiches or a burger that weighs in at a massive 10 ounces. You won’t make it to your seat without hearing comments from regulars, like one vegetable-soup eater who rolled his eyes heavenward and enthused, “You” II think you died and went to heaven,” or the often-asked, “Hey Spiro, what’s good today?”
cares about every detail on his menu, from the real (not processed) cheddar, to the butter (not margarine) served with toast, to the homemade hot dog buns. And those hot dogs! Served as an all-beef duet on that fine bun, they’re topped with sweetly sautéed onions, good mustard and sauerkraut, and come with soupy, but tasty, slaw or potato salad the consistency of lumpy mashed potatoes. Burgers are equally good, made from Angus beef and served on decent Kaiser rolls instead of that white bread fluff that falls apart, and accompanied by plenty of golden brown fries. The sautéed potatoes, though, that come with the 40-or-so egg-based breakfasts, are woefully undercooked, and your better choice is a hefty, crusty potato pancake. Spiro’s dishes up breakfast all day, including plenty of types of pancakes and sturdy cheese blintzes, and coffee drinkers praise the enormous cup served here.
Everyone raves about the sandwiches too, from the classic Reuben to the “Piano Pleasure,” a mouth-stretching combination of real turkey, baked ham and cheddar. Even the salads stand out-like a thoroughly fresh Greek salad topped with grilled-to-order, seasoned, moist chicken. Spiro’s also offers full dinners, like veal parmigiana and beef goulash, but the beef brisket managed to be both fatty and dry on one visit, while the stuffed cabbage was very satisfying but rather sweet.
End your meal with a couple of pieces of raisin-filled rugalach or a slice of cheese strudel, buy a couple of bagels for the morning, and waddle out to your car. Then, go ahead and heave that sigh of contentment- maybe your belt won’t be quite so tight later on. -S.H.
Spiro’s New York Cafe. 700 E. 15th St, Piano; 972-881-2959. 6 a.m.-4 p.m., Sunday & Monday; 6 a.m.-9 p.m., Tuesday-Thursday; 6 a.m.-10 p.m., Friday & Saturday. Inexpensive.
LAVENDOU
EATING AT LAVENDOU MADE ME ALMOST sorry to be a restaurant critic. After all, a critic can never drop into a favorite neighborhood joint every Friday night, greet the owner and order a favorite plate of pasta. Instead, once our reviews hit print, we hit the pavement, looking for the next plate of pasta, the next jewel among the faux gems.
For example, the new French bistro Lavendou offers an ethereal French onion soup with a souffle-like crown of cheese-but once sampled, it was history, so we could move on to the zesty mussels, steamed to perfection in white wine; the tender gravlax; the house-smoked salmon. Each of these, like all the dishes here, is beautifully presented, with classic French touches like trimmed toasts, turned lemons and peeled tomatoes.
Lavendou may be thoroughly French, but it’s also as unpretentious as its parent restaurant, Chez Gerard. Its cozy blue, yellow and lavender color scheme heralds the Southern French countryside region of Provence; romance lurks in the softly lit patio area, and chef Jean-Marie Cadot’s mother’s paintings proudly line the walls.
And Lavendou, just like your mother, wants to make sure you get your vegetables, so meals are preceded by vinaigrette-dressed salads, and so many perfectly cooked vegetables accompany the entrées that sometimes a side plate is necessary to hold them all. Especially good is a thick potato pancake that marries a crisp crust with a tender interior. However, pommes frites didn’t pass the crispness test on either of our visits.
Our only other quibble was with the lackluster rolls. Each entrée we tried, though, was memorable, especially the duck with currant sauce; although we played dueling forks with the filets of salmon (basil cream sauce) and swordfish (tomato confit) at one meal.
Desserts have been a mixed bag so far, with only the profiteroles a clear winner. However, at the time we visited for this review, the restaurant had barely opened and was making daily menu revisions. The cheese plate, to my knowledge the only one served in this Far North Dallas area, would make a good dessert alternative. We’re looking forward to an expanded wine list, lunch hours and what promises to be an absolutely delightful afternoon tea service. Lavendou also wisely kept its predecessor’s renowned pizza oven, and will offer pizza at both lunch and dinner.
Lavendou is a place you’ll want to come back to. And now that this review is finished, Lavendou may even turn me into a regular, -S.H.
Lavendou. 19009 Preston Rd, 972-248-1911. Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-3 p.m., Monday-Friday; tea service: 3-5 p.m., Monday-Friday; dinner: 6-11 p.m., Monday-Saturday. Moderate to expensive.
