8220 Westchester Dr
Dallas, TX 75225
Neighborhood: University Park
(214) 368-8220
Service: 5-star
Food: 5-star
Atmosphere: 5-starBar: 3.5- star
It pains me to write a five-star review. But as I am saving and salivating every bite of this tiny piece of Skate leftover while writing this, I'm afraid Spoon is getting all five stars.
Atmosphere was very nice- very Highland Park. Perfect for a dressy date night or a nice girls night out. The bar welcomes you upon entering, with the bartender giving you an ipad listing all the drinks available (cannot order from it). Not that many interesting cocktails. Was a little disappointed when I asked the bartender to make me something vodka based, not too sweet and he made me a "vodka soda with lemon"... no comment there.
Sat in the small area behind the main dining with about 6 bar seats lined up to the kitchen where you can watch the chefs (and the real John Tesar) in action. I think these seats are for prix-fix diners only. we sat awkwardly in the only one-sided 2-seater booth behind the bar seats. I say best seat in the house.
I was nervous before we came- No prices on the menu online. This is going to be painful... and indeed it was pretty painful. Did not like the prix-fix menu so decided to order separately.
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| Amuse Bouche |
Food: Amuse bouche was a tuna tar tar in a curry cone. BEST Amuse Bouche Ever! The cone was perfectly seasoned and filled..overflowing with fresh tuna.. (sorry.. no chocolate ending at the end of the cone).
Next, we got 3 each of the Raw Oysters. Kumamoto and a special from Seattle/Canada. Very fresh. ($2.50/$3 each I think?)
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| Singaporean Style Chili Lobster & Texas Toast |
1) Singapore Style Chili Lobster & Texas Toast because of all the raves on Yelp. Same as everyone has said - well cooked. I usually don't like lobster, but this was pretty good. Nothing like the singaporean chili crab if anyone is wondering. soup was good for dipping.
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| Raw Surf & Turf (Scallop + Kobe) |
2) Raw Surf & Turf: Nantucket scallop tar tar, Texas Kobe, caviar, served with pomme souflee things. -- was totally wowed by this dish. I've had steak tar tar at many places and this was the first time I've seen it paired with scallop. Delicious!! The freshness of the scallops lightened up the steak, and I couldn't taste the "raw meaty-ness" at all
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| And my sweet sweet Janitor says: "Babe, I saved this piece for you" |
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| Sea Urchin: Coffee Infused Potato Puree, Sea Urchin, Tobiko, Some Kind of Foam |
3) Sea Urchin: Coffee Infused Potato Puree, Sea Urchin, Tobiko, plus some kind of foam. I usually LOVE love love uni. I dream about Tei Tei's Flounder wrapped Uni. Sadly, here I was extremely UNDER-whelmed. This was indeed very inventive and had great presentation, but the fancy coffee-flavored mashed potatoes = too overpowering and took away from the delicate uni. What's more, the uni was watery!
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| Faux Cuttlefish Pasta |
Entrees:
1) Faux Cuttlefish Pasta, Iberico Pork, Caviar: Not sure what I was expecting, but after the waiter's heavy pitch on this dish, we ordered the $36 crunchy fake squid pasta. Tasted a bit like the Zero Calorie Noodles that I buy from the Asian market for $0.99: slimy, sorta crunchy, and fishy. The pork was just fancy bacon and the teaspoon of black caviar didn't add much but presentation. Flavor was ok, but definitely would not get again.
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| Sauteed Skate |
2) Sauteed Skate, pineapple, lemon, tomatoes, capers & brown butter - great fish dish. 2 Thin fillets of white fish, pan seared to perfection- Crunchy outer layer with a soft tender inside. I only wish I could do this at home. Topped with pineapple salsa over a bed of polenta or mashed potatoes (something mushy can't remember). Goodness my mouth is watering..
By the end of our indulgent dinner, we were stuffed to say the least, so did not order dessert. But they did bring out a couple tiny tiny macarons and a peppermint thing with the Spoon logo. Good ending to the meal. But I have to say My best ending was taking a picture with sweaty John Tesar! And of course-- with his glasses sitting on his forehead (we tried that at home.. and impossible I say). Here's a picture of him in action.
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