Chef’s Choice Awards

The Dallas restaurant community selects the best.

DALLAS
IS ONE OF THE MOST COMPETITIVE DINING MARKETS IN THE country, which
means our chefs and restaurateurs know their stuff. Last year, we asked
the industry heavyweights to vote on their favorites in this town,
including best chef, best restaurant, and best signature dish, to name
a few. The result was D Magazine’s inaugural Chefs’ Choice Awards.

Late
this summer, we contacted last year’s advisory panel and asked them to
name their successors. The new chiefs include chair Janet Cobb (Mi
Piaci), Dean Fearing (Mansion on Turtle Creek), Wayne Broadwell (M
Crowd), Paul Pinnell (Nana), and Michael Tiefel (Marty’s). This
competitive group dropped their chef’s knives long enough to choose the
categories for this year’s contest, which now includes 13 honors. More
than 800 ballots were mailed to area restaurant owners, chefs, and
industry leaders. Duplicates were not counted, nor were
self-nominations. But enough of the fine print. On to the winners.

Chef Choice Awards
 
BEST SIGNATURE DISH: Lobsters Shooters at Abacus     
BEST RESTAURANT: York Street     
BEST CHEF: Sharon Hage     
BEST RESTAURANT BAR: Jeroboam    
BEST RESTAURATEUR: Mico Rodriguez     
BREAKOUT TALENT OF THE YEAR: Doug Brown     
BEST PASTRY CHEF: Jason Foss     
BEST CULINARY EVENT: Star Chefs of Dallas    
BEST VALUE RESTAURANT: Cheesecake Factory     
BEST RESTAURANT DESIGN: The Mercury at the Shops at Willow Bend    
BEST WINE PROGRAM: Lola, The Restaurant    
BEST SERVICE/BEST AMBIENCE: Nana

BEST SIGNATURE DISH: Lobster Shooters at Abacus
What would a contest involving the best in Dallas restaurants be without Kent Rathbun’s name somewhere
on the list? Abacus swept the 2001 Chefs’ Choice Awards, winning for
Best Restaurant and Best Restaurant Design, and Rathbun himself nabbed
the Best Chef title. This year, he lost to Sharon Hage by a shot.

Speaking
of shots, Rathbun’s popular lobster shooters won the Best Signature
Dish hands-down. A zen-style plate with six little sake cups, each
containing a delicate morsel of fried lobster, surround a sake carafe
filled with a Thai broth of coconut milk, red curry, and sake. Pour the
brew over the lobster and toss it back. A gimmick, yes. But it tastes
as good as it looks. 4511 McKinney Ave. 214-559-3111.

BEST RESTAURANT: York Street
BEST CHEF: Sharon Hage
You can’t mention York Street
without mentioning executive chef and owner Sharon Hage. Eighteen
months ago, Hage—who had already made a name for herself in the
kitchens of the Zodiac Room, Salve, and Hotel St. Germain—struck out on
her own and reinvented this small East Dallas
restaurant. She stripped the interior and designed a simple dining room
in shades of black, white, and gray, including intimate black-and-white
portraits of her former colleagues by photographer Steve Riley. To
complete the at-home feel, guests are served a glass of sherry to sip
while noshing on warm salted almonds and marinated olives.

In
the kitchen, Hage uses fresh, locally grown produce on a menu that
changes daily according to what is available, which makes dining at
York Street a culinary surprise. No wonder local chefs are spotted
dining here. And national chefs. Last summer, legendary chef Alice
Waters, who’s been using fresh herbs and seasonal ingredients in her
Berkley, California, restaurant Chez Panisse for 30 years, wanted to
dine at York Street. Though frontman Mark LaRocca had no vacancies, he
accommodated Waters with a picnic table in back by the dumpsters, where
she and friends dined happily on soft-shell crab and champagne. “It was
one of the best dining experiences of my life,” Waters said. With that
review, York Street landed on the national culinary map—Hage recently
made Esquire’s list of chefs to watch this coming year. We could have told them that two years ago. 6047 Lewis St. 214-826-0968.

BEST RESTAURANT BAR: Jeroboam
One word comes
to mind when we think of this bar: sexy. Maybe it’s the dark wood, low
lights, and thick velvet curtains. Perhaps it’s the all-French wine
list. Whatever the reason, Dallas restaurant industry heavyweights
agree—this ultra-swank urban brasserie is the perfect perch for
sipping. So perfect, in fact, that it won this same award last year.
Pre-dinner pommes frites and coarse pâté are perfect
accompaniments to a glass of Montagny Premier Cru. Or settle into
Jeroboam’s burgundy velvet couch for a postprandial glass of sherry. C’est la vie on Main Street. 1501 Main St. 214-748-7226.

BEST RESTAURATEUR: Mico Rodriguez
Mico Rodriguez has
come a long way, bambino. Once a busboy at Mia’s, his mother’s popular
Tex-Mex restaurant on Lemmon Avenue, he rapidly rose through the ranks
and ventured out on his own. At his first Mi Cocina on Forest Lane,
which opened in 1991 with 12 tables and nine employees, Mico cooked
while his wife Caroline waited on customers. His goal was to pay back
his investors in five to 10 years. Instead, he paid them back in five
months.

Since then, the man who had never been to Mexico when
he opened his first Mi Cocina has extended his reach well beyond
Tex-Mex. His M Crowd restaurant empire includes some of the most
successful—not to mention popular—restaurant concepts in Dallas: Mi
Cocina, The Mercury, Citizen, The Chop House, Taqueria Cañonita, Taco
Diner, Bianca Elena, and the new Paris Vendome in West Village. Judging
by the crowds at his restaurants and the nods of his peers, the man is
doing something right.

BREAKOUT TALENT OF THE YEAR: Doug Brown, The Landmark Restaurant
BEST PASTRY CHEF: Jason Foss, The Landmark Restaurant
Doug Brown is back—big
time. Several years ago, he created quite a stir with his innovative
New American cuisine at (then) Nana Grill in the Wyndham Anatole Hotel.
Then, much to the dismay of Dallas diners, he left for California.
(Perhaps California is where Brown picked up his show-stopping version
of Caesar salad, which won top honors at this year’s Caesar Salad
Competition, held by the local chapter of the American Institute of
Wine & Food.) Now he’s landed comfortably on his clogs in the
kitchen at The Landmark, where his dramatic flair can be tasted in his
no-guidelines cuisine, featuring progressive American dishes with
Asian, French, and Italian accents. Brown is currently the executive
chef for the Landmark restaurants in the Melrose hotels in Washington,
D.C., and New York City.

Joining him in the Landmark kitchen
is Jason Foss, chosen by his peers as the best pastry chef in Dallas.
The two also worked together at Nana. When the restaurant closed for a
redo, Foss escaped to Las Vegas and honed his skills in European pastry
design with Jean Claude Canestrier, the renowned pastry chef at the
Paris hotel and one of the top 10 pastry chefs in the United States. We
can’t argue with the votes—we found Foss’ spring berry and vanilla
crème brûlée so pretty, we featured it on the cover of our April 2002
issue, the first time that food has graced a D cover. Melrose Hotel, 3105 Oak Lawn Ave. 214-224-3152.

BEST CULINARY EVENT: Star Chefs of Dallas
In Dallas,
we treat our chefs like rock stars. And rightfully so, because they
love to perform. There’s hardly a charity function in town that doesn’t
include a wine tasting, cook-off, or menu sampling. Chefs are asked to
leave their kitchens and donate their time to so many organizations
that one recently remarked, “I could spend 365 nights a year cooking
for charity.” So it’s a great honor that the chefs of Dallas have voted
Star Chefs as their favorite function. Held in more than 200 cities to
raise money for the March of Dimes, this annual event has proven to be
the most successful of its kind, raising more than $2.5 million in six
years. Visit the March of Dimes’ web site to get in on next year’s
party, where sampling dishes from the best chefs in Dallas is not only
fun for you, but it’s also fun for them. www.modnt.org.

BEST VALUE RESTAURANT:Cheesecake Factory
Our local restaurateurs
agree that more is more. This upscale, casual-dining chain started as a
small cheesecake shop in Detroit in the late 1940s. Then owners Evelyn
and Oscar Overton loaded up their successful bakery and moved to
Beverly Hills, where they established their first full-service
restaurant in 1978. Now, at each of the 55 Cheesecake Factorys
nationwide, diners can choose from 36 varieties of that glorious
cheesecake (Oreo, Snickers, Key lime, and blueberry, to name a few) or
200 menu items (pizza, salad, burgers, pasta, and more). But here’s
where the value comes in: order one entrée and four forks—the
Cheesecake Factory is all about sharing. Lincoln Park Shopping Center, 7700 W. Northwest Hwy. 214-373-4844; 2601 Preston Rd., Ste. 2601, Frisco. 972-731-7799.

BEST RESTAURANT DESIGN: The Mercury at the Shops at Willow Bend
Smart restaurateurs
know that a dining experience begins as soon as a guest opens the front
door. So smart restaurateurs hire smart designers like Zero 3 Profile,
the firm responsible for the classic blend of mid-century modern
furnishings and high-style fun at The Mercury at Willow Bend, this
year’s winner for Best Restaurant Design. The whimsical, zippered,
white leather barstools have a go-go-boot look, and the splashy
colors—from bright gerber daisies on the tables to the stylish
paintings on the walls—add to the mod feel of the dining room. Imagine
LA without the snob appeal, where the ambience is as fresh as the food.
What the voters love about this restaurant is that there is never a
clothes crisis when dining here: whether you want to dress up or go
casual, a groovy table for two awaits. Shops at Willow Bend, 6121 W. Park Blvd., Plano. 469-366-0107.

BEST WINE PROGRAM: Lola, The Restaurant
When he opened
Lola almost three years ago, owner Van Roberts was a restaurant rookie
and wine novice. But he knew a thing or two about service, thanks to
his car dealership, Point West Volvo, which he still runs by day. But
at night Roberts becomes one of the finest sommeliers in town.

His
dedication to learning—late nights on the Internet, subscriptions to
every wine publication in print, and attendance at wine auctions—has
certainly paid off. He now stocks 14,000 bottles, including 2,400
vintages, in the tiny space on Fairmount Street. He knows the qualities
of each wine and, more important, where the wine is stashed among the
nooks and crannies of a 1923 Victorian home-turned-restaurant. Although
his book is formidable, the process selection is user-friendly—just
turn to “Van’s Picks,” “Twenty $omethings,” or choose from a lengthy
list of wines by the glass. Still confused? Look up. Chances are he’ll
be standing by your side, waiting to help. 2917 Fairmount St. 214-855-0700.

BEST SERVICE/BEST AMBIENCE: Nana

We can understand
why Nana took top honors in both of these categories. Once the elevator
doors open on the 27th floor, nearly life-sized jade horses from the
Trammell Crow museum greet you at the threshold. As you make your way
to your table, your eyes are drawn to other priceless statues and
vases, each elegantly lit. Once seated—no matter where your table is in
the restaurant—your view of the Dallas skyline is simply spectacular.
And the Versace china? We could eat a Lean Cuisine off of these plates
and feel like royalty.

There is also something to be said for
a restaurant that offers an exquisite 10-course tasting menu, designed
by chef David McMillan, and the coveted plates slip on and off the
table without intrusion. Each course is paired with a glass of wine,
and somehow all the bait-and-switch moves involved in this complicated
serving task go off without a hitch. Dallas restaurant industry veteran
Paul Pinnell is the man behind the scenes—and his being on the
selection committee has nothing to do with Nana’s victory. Everyone
knows that Pinnell’s influence makes the service at Nana as artful as
the décor. Wyndham Anatole Hotel, 2201 Stemmons Fwy. 214-761-7479.