Five years ago, the Richardson Hotel was living high on the hog. The Telecom Corridor teemed, and the hotel gorged on business from Nortel and other technology giants. Its restaurant specialized in rotisserie chicken, but life was so good, it almost didn’t matter what was served.
These are different times. Last year, the Richardson Hotel was bought by Destination, a Colorado company that gave it an $8 million makeover. The restaurant got a silly new name, Boots & Brix, and the chicken theme was replaced with steak. A name-brand chef was brought in: Brian Dietz, formerly of Oceanaire Seafood Room, who oversees dining and catering, including the restaurant.
“Boots” stands for cowboys; “brix” is a system that measures the sugar content in grapes. In other words, wine drinkers are welcome, too, though what the place really pines for is locals. But progress has been sloooww. Three months after Boots & Brix had its soft opening, the concept was just starting to coalesce.
One problem has been a case of mixed messages. It wants to be a steakhouse, but it needs to be a hotel restaurant, too. That’s its identity during the day, when it serves standard bacon-and-egg breakfasts and club-sandwich lunches. There’s also a Sunday brunch with eggs Benedict, omelets, and waffles.
But its profile as a steakhouse is subtle, with only four cuts of steak on the menu; there is also fish, lamb, and chicken. And while it touts “Prime steaks and chops,” for its first three months, only the sirloin was Prime (the best, most expensive grade of meat). Management promises that it has since contracted with a new supplier and that all the steaks are Prime as advertised.
There is also the matter of image. If you’re going to call yourself a steakhouse, you better have some macho energy, some sex appeal, or, at the very least, a few pinkie rings. Boots & Brix had none of the above. This is no slam. It had a pleasant atmosphere, good food, and nice service; it simply did not paint a steakhouse picture.
Steak wasn’t even the best thing on the menu. Both the sirloin and the New York strip were cooked proficiently and as specified, but they lacked the juice and sizzle that make steak exciting. And neither was served hot enough to melt the maitre d’ butter, a cold, herb-flecked disc that sat precariously on top of the steak.
Opening courses, on the other hand, were really good. An appetizer of dill-crusted goat cheese, barely warmed, came with firm, glistening sheets of smoked salmon and capers sprinkled all around. That’s three big flavors right there, but each elbowed its way up front without pushing aside the other two.
Salads sparkled. The kitchen got all crazy-innovative on the standard iceberg wedge by replacing the usual crumbled bacon bits with two strips of crisp bacon and by tossing on a couple of thick tomato slices. Blue cheese was as you’d want it: big chunks piled on wantonly. Rocket salad was even better, with a thrillingly generous heap of arugula leaves, slices of sweet ripe pear, and toasted almonds in a fruity vinaigrette.
A vegetarian plate, described by the server as “whatever the chef has in the kitchen,” looked like a nothing-special medley of cauliflower, broccoli, carrots, and zucchini—nothing trendy, but nutritious and seasoned with herbs and butter. Moist, tender rainbow trout, crusted in chopped pecans, excelled—hardly a surprise, given Dietz’s background cooking fish at Oceanaire. He’s good with bread, too. Complimentary rolls were yeasty and warm, some topped with shards of cheese.
Boots & Brix does observe steakhouse style by offering a selection of à la carte potatoes and sides. Thumbs up to the whipped Yukon golds as well as the au gratin, a dense square of thinly sliced spuds baked with cream and cheese and enlivened by a dusting of nutmeg. But avoid the “pommes frites,” which are nothing more than plain old french fries. Skip the dessert cake, too, unless you like yours dry and stale.
Even as the kitchen has found its footing, the wine program is—how do you say?—still a work in progress. For now, the list is dominated by the usual snoozers: Kendall Jackson, Mondavi, Beringer, and the like. There is talk of adding more Texas labels, such as the Pheasant Ridge offered already. There is talk of wine tastings, too.
The new brick-and-rust color scheme definitely improves on the pink-and-teal décor it replaces. But Boots & Brix is not a room that grabs you. 701 E. Campbell Rd., Richardson. 972-231-9600. $$-$$$.
