DINING OUT NEW RESTAURANT REVIEWS Clive & Stuart Island Cuisine Makes a Splash

CLIVE & STUART ISLAND CUISINE

A BETTER NAME FOR THIS “island seafood” spot steeped in art-deco Love Boat decor might be Jekyll and Hyde: It’s got forceful, schizophrenic streaks of both light and dark. Fortunately, there’s far more Jekyll than Hyde meshed into this Caribbean-influenced ensemble.

The first thing you’ll notice when you enter Clive & Stuart’s-other than the large porthole aquarium behind the bar, the dark wood paneling trimmed in brass, paintings of tropical fish, birds and beach scenes and the turquoise glass dolphin leaping over bottles in the wine cabinet by the door-is how effortlessly the staff anticipates needs and unobtrusively meets them. There is no asking for anything in this place.

As soon as we stepped through the door, the hostess observed our special needs and immediately prepared a table to meet them, without a hint from us. And after studying the saltwater aquarium and its elusive yellow tang, we were suddenly greeted by executive chef Tony Guercio-formerly of The Mansion and Star Canyon-who scrutinized the menu with us, describing the selections he was most proud of while gently steering us away from those that “weren’t quite there yet.”

Then one of our companions, just slightly below the drinking age–by about 19 years-erupted with an unruly outburst. A server who wasn’t even ours took note of our young diner and suddenly appeared with a raspberry dessert to placate her.

When this was exhausted, another server who wasn’t ours (ours, by the way, was pretty good, too) dropped by with crayons and paper to continue the diversion. We were about to pinch ourselves, but then the food arrived.

A hard-core minimalist with a “let simple flavors stand on their own” philosophy might be horrified by this menu. The tuna carpaccio, for example, was marinated in lime juice, coconut milk and extra virgin olive oil and topped with diced mango, papaya and tomato. While this melange looks horrifically cluttered on menu paper, in the mouth it’s a skillfully orchestrated bit of island paradiso.

Equally compelling was the pan-seared sea bass: a clump of flaky, succulent flesh resting on smoked-salmon basil ravioli soaked in Dallas goat-cheese sauce and crowned with an herb salad. This fish assumed a new level of culinary significance amongst the disciplined assemblage of seemingly scattered flavors. And while Clive & Stuart’s brags their fish is flown in fresh daily, it tastes like it was speared-to-order in a live holding tank below the prep tables.

Then there’s the pesky Mr. Hyde part of this nearly flawless dining experience. When we called to get information on the menu and the players, the woman on the other end belligerently chastised and insulted us, presumably for having the audacity to ask such arcane questions so close to the lunch hour. We were later horrified to learn she was a manager. Now anyone can have a bad day, but it’s hard to believe this kind of unapoligetically blatant coarseness doesn’t set the tone for some facet of the operation. So by all means go, but bring sharpened spears just in case.

-Mark Stuertz

Clive & Stuart Island Cuisine. 2614 McKinney Ave., 214-871-9119. Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m., Monday-Friday: dinner: 5:30-10p.m., Monday-Wednesday: 5:30-11 p.m., Thursday-Saturday-Moderate to expensive.

DOODY’S ROADHOUSE

Who said you have to know what you’re doing to get it right the first time?

Doody’s Owner Mark Dunlap, a rookie restaurateur in the first year of his escape from corporate accounting, initially wanted to open an Addison bar. Thankfully, that deal fell through, and when the old Moctezumas locale became available, Dunlap’s number-crunching days were over. After a little cosmetic remodeling, the oddly shaped smallish dining room was transformed into a comfortable retreat for diners and drinkers alike, and the overall effect exudes the genuine charm you’d be glad to discover in a favorite neighborhood joint.

This neighborhood joint, though, serves up surprisingly solid food at a reasonable price, a testament to Dunlap’s ability to surround himself with Dallas restaurant veterans to make up for his greenhorn pedigree.

“I just wanted a place that would prepare food the way I grew up eating it,” laughs Dunlap, a boyhood veteran of west Texas dinner tables. “We like to call our food ’upscale down-home cooking.’”

Dunlap must have grown up around some pretty damn big serving utensils. Appetizers and entrées alike are dished up in mountainous portions and with ingredi-ential flair that belies Dunlap’s unassuming goals. We tried four different appetizers on our two visits, any one of which we would happily have devoured as a meal, and each of which came in portions that could have made one. A favorite was tough to pick, but anyone with a soft spot for hot food has got to try the buffalo chicken fingers. The spinach dip was another winner, a mixture that included chopped fresh bacon, onions and sour cream in a creamy cheese sauce that proved more than enough for two.

Of course, if you focus on the appetizers (not to mention the complimentary chili cheese biscuits with drawn butter and honey), you’ll never survive the meal. Doody’s entrées come on industrial-size plates brimming with food, and the menu, while still under construction, features satisfying offerings of traditional fare. If you’re trying to use that last belt notch, our vote goes to the chicken fried chicken. Daily specials are in the works, and alternate selections range from steak to meat-loaf and pork chops.

Dunlap may be new to a tough business, but he’s got good instincts, good food, a friendly staff and fair prices. Looks like he’ll be here a while; sure beats punching a calculator.-Jeff Whittle

Doody’s Roadhouse. 2847 N. Henderson Ave., 214-828-9600. 11 a.m.-11 p.m. (or later), daily. Inexpensive to moderate.

COCO PAZZO

THE SIGN IN FRONT OF COCO PAZZO (ITALIAN for “Crazy Cook”) on McKinney Avenue declares “Coco Pazzo, A Tuscan Restaurant.” Call me crazy, but when I see a place billed as a Tuscan restaurant, I expect the interior to reflect the moods of the Italian countryside. If the interior of Coco Pazzo looks like a restaurant in Tuscany, then I am Pamela Anderson’s twin. Let’s call the decor Pottery Barn chic: ivory-colored walls and matching upholstered ceiling, white tablecloths, white chairs, bleached wood floors accented with cobalt blue wall sconces and small silver tubs of wheatgrass on each table.

Coco Pazzo comes to two locations in Dallas (the other on Beltiine Road) courtesy of noted New York restaurateur Pino Luongo, who operates two Coco Pazzos in New York, one in Chicago and one in Los Angeles. Coco Pazzo will soon operate in at least 10 more cities.

In principle I object to chain restaurants with pretentious settings and trendy pumped-up food. Much to my chagrin, I liked almost everything we ordered. From soup to sorbet, nearly everything we tried on both visits was superb. Highlights from the appetizers we sampled included creamy fresh mozzarella on tomatoes with marinated roasted pepper and a magnificent dish of 18 mussels in a spicy tomato broth.

I’d heard rumors of undercooked seafood, so on our initial visit we checked out the grilled swordfish with vegetables and a homemade tagliatelle with asparagus and shrimp. Both were done to perfection and the accompanying vegetables were delightful. On our second visit we sampled a scrumptious, yet somewhat out-of-sea-son, butternut squash soup. Risotto del Giorno was a simple mixture of Italian rice with wild mushrooms and chicken. Warm veal medallions topped with a cool arugu-la salad was heavenly.

Desserts were hit and miss. Tiramisu, a perennial favorite, favored poorly: A soggy sponge cake was masked by mounds of mascarpone. However, an assortment of homemade sorbet and gelati-raspberry, watermelon, orange and coconut-was the perfect ending.-Nancy Nichols

Coco Pazzo. 2504 McKinney Ave., 214-871-2606; 15101 Addison Rd., 972-960-2606. Lunch: 11:30 a.m.-2:30 p.m., daily; dinner: 5:30-10:30p.m., Monday-Thursday; 5:30-11:30 p.m., Friday & Saturday; 5-10 p.m., Sunday. Expensive.