What a difference a year makes. Last December, Dallas restaurants were struggling to stay alive. Today, the scene is vibrant with new and exciting restaurants and tastes. D devotes a lot of time and energy into bringing you our opinions, but, once a year, we mail out ballots to more than 800 area restaurant owners, chefs, and industry leaders so they can vote for their favorites.
Only one ballot per restaurant was accepted, duplicates were not counted (nice try), and self-nominations were tossed aside. This year, the voting was so close that we’ve posted the runner-up in each category. But enough of the rules. The envelopes, please!
Best Chef: Chris Ward, Restaurant Life
Runner-up: Kent Rathbun, Abacus and Jasper’s
If Chris Ward, executive chef for and partner in Restaurant Life, isn’t in one of his four kitchens (Mercury Grill, Paris Vendome, Citizen, or Chop House in Fort Worth), he’s in his car on the way to one, checking last night’s “covers” on his mobile phone. He began his career as a sous chef at Arthur’s before moving in the early ’80s to the kitchen at Old Warsaw, where he received classical French on-the-job training by the French masters Gerard Vullien (Maxim’s in Paris) and Jean Lafont. He’s been applauded by such publications as Food & Wine, Bon Appétit, Gourmet, and the New York Times. Now, Ward’s peers in Dallas are applauding his passion for food. Mercury Grill, 11909 Preston Rd. 972-960-7774. Paris Vendome, West Village, 3699 McKinney Ave. 469-533-5663. Citizen, 3858 Oak Lawn Ave., Ste 145. 214-522-7253. Chop House, 301 Main St., Fort Worth. 817-336-4129.
Best Signature Dish: Ginger beef at Dragonfly
Runner-up: Lobster shooters at Abacus
What a battle: Stephan Pyles’ ginger beef edged out Kent Rathbun’s ever-popular lobster shooters by one vote. Pyles conceptualized the dish when he was in the kitchen at the late Fishbowl on Knox Street. When he joined forces with Jeffrey Moschetti to design the menu at Dragonfly, the duo took the simple Chinese dish, fragrant with ginger and lemon grass, and transformed it from a basic stir-fry into a more refined version by infusing a veal demi-glace seasoned with sweet rice wine and shiitake mushrooms. Oh, and then there are those wasabi mashed potatoes beneath. Hotel ZaZa, 2332 Leonard St. 214-550-9500.
Best Restaurant: Lola the Restaurant
Runner-up: Abacus
Best Wine Program: Lola the Restaurant
Runner-up: Smith & Wollensky
Van Roberts knows his Vouvrays as well as he knows his Volvos. By day, he runs Point West Volvo. By night, he oversees diners at his charming Victorian home-turned-restaurant, Lola. This is the second consecutive year that Roberts has won Best Wine Program—his passion for the grape is one of the reasons Lola now joins the ranks as one of the city’s elite restaurants. As sommeliers and cellar masters disappear in fine-dining establishments, Roberts appears on the floor every night, delighting customers with his recent finds (he may have only three bottles) or tailoring a wine choice to a patron’s price point. Last April, Roberts added another kitchen and dining room so diners have a choice: order from the prix-fixe dinner menu, or enjoy a 10- to 15-course tasting extravaganza. Whatever you choose, you’ll always feel at home. 2917 Fairmount St. 214-855-0700.
Best Service: French Room
Runner-up: Nana
Great service is synonymous with the French Room. Why? Because the restaurant’s mantra is that the fine-dining experience is as important as the food. Who likes to pay for service with poor attitude? The only attitude accepted at the French Room is meticulous, professional, personalized service. And the restaurant serves food to match. Adolphus, 1321 Commerce St. 214-742-8200.
Best Restaurant Bar: Nick & Sam’s
Runner-up: Cuba Libre
This sexy watering hole (and steakhouse) is always hopping. Maybe it’s the complimentary caviar trolley that pulls in the trim and trendy. Or perhaps the see-and-be-seen crowd hovers over Grey Goose martinis in hopes of getting a glimpse of regulars like Bill Parcells or golfer Tommy Armour. Nick & Sam’s recently added a 42-inch, plasma-screen TV, and complimentary port is offered to diners. A seat in front of the cozy fireplace is a destination of its own—Nick & Sam’s takes reservations for this lovely spot months in advance. Our chefs reported that the wine selection, noshes, and clientele make this the perfect locale to unwind away from their restaurants. 3008 Maple Ave. 214-871-7444.
Best Restaurant Design: Jasper’s
Runner-up: Abacus
When you reduce it to black and white—or light and dark—ambience is all about lighting. A candle stuck in a Chianti bottle makes red sauce romantic; the right light can make you fall in love with a face or a plate of food. Jasper’s, Kent Rathbun’s new restaurant in Plano, is an understated room. Its slate floors and restful green palette are designed to recede, to serve as a comfortable and unpretentious background to a meal. Jasper’s pools of light and shadow create intimate spaces in a public place, coziness in the middle of a crowd. Except for a few stellar pieces of art, this is not a crane-your-neck interior. So why do Dallasites love it so much? The same reason they love Neiman Marcus: it makes them look good. 7161 Bishop Rd., Plano. 469-229-9111.
Best Culinary Event: KRLD Restaurant Week
Runner-up: Star Chefs
Dallas is blessed not only with a diverse dining scene, but also with a hard-core group of chefs and restaurateurs dedicated to giving time, money, and product to charity. Six years ago, the folks at KRLD-AM 1080 started the highly successful Restaurant Week: for one week, restaurants offer a special, fixed-price, three-course meal for $30—the price of an appetizer in some places. Six dollars from the price of each meal goes to the North Texas Food Bank in Dallas and the Lena Pope Home in Fort Worth. Everybody wins: diners can eat in such high-end haunts as Abacus, Nana, Del Frisco’s, the Mansion, and III Forks for an affordable price; restaurants win new customers; and, best of all, in 2003 more than 90 participating restaurants raised $175,000 for charity. www.krld.com.
Best Restaurateur: Monica Greene, Monica’s Aca y Alla, Ciudad, Pegaso Cafe Mexicano y Taqueria
Runner-up: Teiichi Sakurai, Tei Tei and Teppo
Monica Greene must never sleep. If she isn’t in a waiters meeting, cooking, or setting up a food station at a charity event, she’s opening a new restaurant. And her efforts don’t go unnoticed by her peers: this is Greene’s second victory as Best Restaurateur. Her three diverse restaurants have something for everyone. Monica’s, her Deep Ellum cafe, is a sexy destination for eclectic Mexican cuisine and salsa music. Ciudad, a joint venture with chef and co-owner Joanne Bondy, features sophisticated Mexico City-style cuisine. And her new downtown spot, Pegaso, is a casual, authentic taqueria—especially now that the Mexico City-born Greene is back in the kitchen. That sets her apart for sure. Monica’s Aca y Alla, 2914 Main St.
214-748-7140. Ciudad, 3888 Oak Lawn Ave. Ste. 135. 214-219-3141. Pegaso Cafe Mexicano y Taqueria, 1302 Main St. 214-742-7777.
Best Ambience: Local
Runner-up: Dragonfly
Breakout Talent: Alice Cottrell and Tracy Miller
Runner-up: Tre Wilcox, Abacus
Many a restaurant has failed because the right man wasn’t in charge. Or woman. In the case of Local, the hopping, hip restaurant in Deep Ellum, owners Tracy Miller and Alice Cottrell let their personal talents drive their responsibilities. Cottrell, who owns a successful hotel interior-design business, created Local’s neighborhood-friendly interior and runs the front of the house. Miller, a former caterer and general manager at the DMA’s Seventeen Seventeen, runs the back. The result is a match made in culinary heaven. The design is delightfully “un-Dallas,” that is to say that it isn’t tricked-up or glitzy. Set in what was once the Boyd Hotel (the oldest hotel still standing in Dallas), the hollowed-out space—with the original hardwood floors from 1908—has been divided into three dining areas, with black leather banquettes circling the room. It’s a sophisticated yet comfortable interior. The menu also reflects the comforts of home—Miller buys quality, organic, hormone-free ingredients and turns out delicious, simple food such as beef pot pie, Niman Ranch pork tenderloin, and free-range chicken. Her desserts are divine—everything from tangerine cheesecake to blueberry cobbler. This talented duo is the talk of the town. 2936 Elm St. 214-752-7500.
Best Value Restaurant: Primo’s
Runner-up: Sevy’s Grill
It’s no small wonder that this popular McKinney Avenue Tex-Mex spot grabbed top honors as Best Value Restaurant—Primo’s has long been a favorite watering hole for Dallas chefs. Pick a late night—any night—and you’re likely to find Stephan Pyles chatting with Dean Fearing, still in his chef pants. Fearing, a longtime regular, met his wife Lynnae at Primo’s when she waited tables here. Lawyers, post-game Stars and Mavericks fans, and a group of prestigious architects who meet on the patio every Monday night round out the crowd. The Yucatan margaritas are lethal, and the Tex-Mex is classic hangover-helper fare. 3309 McKinney Ave. 214-220-0510.
Best Pastry Chef: Dunia Borga, La Duni Cafe
Runner-up: David Brawley, Aurora
A large, wooden table filled with decadent, Latin-inspired desserts resting on silver cake stands and surrounded by Columbian roses makes you want to skip dinner and go straight for a sugar rush. Pastry chef and co-owner Dunia Borga, whose nickname was the inspiration for the restaurant’s name, creates some of the most inspiring sweets in town. Her cuatro leches cake has caused many a customer to swoon in delight. And her Venezuelan triple chocolate truffle cake with caramelized roasted hazelnuts is addictive. Her creations blend perfectly with her husband Espartaco’s exquisite Latin cuisine. Don’t miss his picanha beef, or Dunia’s fresh, eye-opening, Danish-style pastries for weekend brunch. 4620 McKinney Ave. 214-520-7300.
