From GuideLive: http://www.guidelive.com/feature/328/
Unconventional wisdom
The top new restaurants of 2005 break rules or defy stereotypes
By Dotty Griffith / The Dallas Morning News
Which words best describe the area restaurant scene circa 2005?
A. Mexican renaissance
B. Italian power play
C. American homogeneity
D. Asian nonconformity
E. All of the above
F. None of the above
Answer: E or F.
If that sounds contradictory, it is because the restaurant year itself felt oxymoronic.
Start with Lanny Lancarte II's "high Mexican kitchen." Who'd ever have thought the year's best new restaurant would serve gourmet Mexican food in Fort Worth? Or that No. 2 would be in suburban Colleyville?
Practically every restaurant on the list breaks rules or defies stereotypes (including No. 10, a three-way tie).
One thing that hasn't changed: All the restaurants mentioned here were reviewed since Jan. 1.
1. Lanny's Alta Cocina Mexicana
3405 W. Seventh St. (at Boland), Fort Worth; 817-850-9996
Lanny Lancarte II, of Fort Worth's famed Joe T. Garcia's Tex-Mex restaurant family, opened his "high Mexican kitchen" midyear. On his first solo venture this 30-year-old chef-entrepreneur crafted a remarkably mature restaurant. Everything is first-class but casual. The cuisine from this classically trained chef takes south-of-the-border flavors to new heights with sophisticated techniques and mastery of the elements of taste. Wines are carefully selected and well-presented. He plans to begin serving lunch early in 2006.
2. 62 Main Restaurant
62 Main St., Suite 200, Colleyville; 817-605-0858
David McMillan's California wine-country bistro elevates the restaurant scene in the Northeast Tarrant County suburb of Colleyville. The subtleties of his decor, menu and wine list are as refined, but considerably more casual, than the virtuoso dishes that earned the chef a following during his years at Nana in the Wyndham Anatole hotel. He uses a brick oven for roasting, burning a "wood of the day." The wine service and list are excellent.
3. Go Fish
4950 Beltline Road, Addison; 972-980-1919
Seafood, particularly finfish of all kinds, is Chris Svalesen's forte, and he's in fine form at his newest restaurant. This chef has had his ups and downs in a tough business. A lounge and bar scene no doubt provides some cushion for his relatively small restaurant along Addison's teeming dining strip. This is a place to get good basic seafood as well as the kind of innovative dishes that made chef Svalesen famous in previous endeavors. The wine selection offers some good values.
4. Hibiscus
2927 N. Henderson Ave., Dallas; 214-827-2927
Part steakhouse, part chef-driven restaurant, this highly anticipated location by the dynamic duo of businessman Tristan Simon and chef Nick Badovinus has been hot since it opened. The cocktails are well-chilled and the atmosphere is sexy. Some dishes are knockouts, others are similar to what can be found on any menu featuring thick cuts of heavy beef. Still, this restaurant has made the already-sizzling North Henderson corridor in East Dallas even hotter and more congested on busy evenings.
5. Asian Mint
11617 N. Central Expressway (southwest corner of Forest and Central), Dallas; 214-363-6655
What a pleasant surprise this small fusion restaurant turned out to be, starting with nontraditional desserts such as green tea ice cream cake and coconut ice cream on sticky rice. Part dessert-coffee bar and part Asian restaurant, this North Dallas gem is a find that has caught on and keeps a steady following. The menu is heavily Thai, with lovely soup specials that make it a standout in a crowded genre. All that makes it a good choice for lunch, dinner or just dessert.
6. Tutto
2719 McKinney Ave., Dallas; 214-220-0022
Luxe ingredients used in unusual ways mark the fare at chef Joseph Gutierriz's newest venture, where he cooks Italian with a Spanish accent. Dishes are complex, and the decor is dramatic. The wine list is international with selections from Italy, California, Spain and South America. The name means "everything," and the restaurant offers such dining surprises as black truffle ice cream.
7. Nobu
400 Crescent Court (in the Hotel Crescent Court, Maple at Cedar Springs), Dallas; 214-252-7000
Dallas wasn't in the first tier of cities to get a clone of the 1994 New York original. But we're glad to have it nonetheless. Famed Los Angeles-based chef Nobu Matsuhisa spearheaded much of what is called Asian fusion today with his South American-Japanese interpretations. The sushi bar provides a particularly memorable experience, as does the omakase, or chef's tasting menu. Be prepared to spend a bundle and enjoy doing it while the sushi chefs explain what's freshest on the menu.
8. Cafe San Miguel
1907 N. Henderson Ave. (at McMillan), Dallas; 214-370-9815
Earthy dishes reflect the regional flavors of the Mexican city for which the restaurant is named. The menu also suggests chef Fernando Marrufo's native Yucatán. Fine tastes begin with a trio of salsas and continue with authentic Mexican cocktails and beers. The menu skews toward Tex-Mex at lunch, with traditional fish, game birds and steaks at night. Decor is bright and casual, and the restaurant houses one of the city's more imaginative ladies' rooms.
9. Fuse
1512 Commerce St., Dallas; 214-742-3873
In the historic Dallas Power & Light building (now a residential-retail complex), this spare restaurant has lit up downtown since last summer's opening, when the water garden patio immediately became a Dallas landmark for the hip-and-happening set. Chef Blaine Staniford's Tex-Asian cuisine hits its target most of the time, impressive but not too contrived.
10. Three-way tie
• Daniele Osteria
3300 Oak Lawn (at Hall), Dallas; 214-443-9420
From Palermo, chef Daniele Puleo prepares a mostly Sicilian menu at his Oak Lawn restaurant, where fresh pastas and caponata are superb. Mr. Puleo's intensely personal and personality-driven restaurant offers some unusual dishes in a city where northern Italian cooking has long dominated.
• Salum
4152 Cole Ave, No. 103, Dallas; 214-252-9604
Abraham Salum's sleek, clean and understated restaurant offers a cleverly crafted wine list and a menu with attention to detail that characterizes chef-owned and -operated locations. Mr. Salum is confident enough to color outside the lines on occasion. The result is a restaurant that is fashionable without being cloying.
5800 Legacy Drive (in the Shops at Legacy), Plano; 972-608-4455
Relocated from the Galleria Dallas to new, much larger digs and with an additional chef, Nicola's reaches out with special ingredients such as mozzarella burrata (imported leaf-wrapped buffalo mozzarella), so fresh it can be imported only during cold winter months. Ingredients like that, and the addition of Sascia Marchesi to the chef lineup alongside veteran Vincenzo Indelicato, make Nicola's worthy of notice.
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