1807 Ross Avenue Suite 200
Dallas, TX 75201
Every new year that comes along, big poppa and I find some new way to celebrate it. Big poppa and I went back and forth about our plans for almost a month. Spend it apart? He goes to Seattle/Vancouver with boys. Again?!? I go to New York City with girls. Woulda been my first time! Spend it together. Stay home and do nothing? Watch Anything Box with a bunch of AZNS? Go to Dallas dine finely? Verdict. We headed out to Dallas and indulged in a little fine dining. It's mos def not a typical thing for me and big poppa. We dem unclassy folk. But a friend of ours made reservations and asked us to come along. Having nothing better to do, we buckled in for the most boring four hour journey. Like ever. We would be spending our new years eve enjoying a seven course dinner at Chef Stephan Pyles restaurant named after himself. He's won many awards and his restaurants have been recognized by magazines such as Bon Appetit and Food and Wine. Unfortunately, due to my refusal to eat certain things, several of my courses were substituted with less extravagant items. It wasn't a big deal to me. I'm not much of a foodie anyway. Omar, our server was THE BEST! He was very accommodating to my pickiness and made sure the kitchen whipped up something for me. The dinner itself cost $150 per person. STEEP. I know! And that didn't even include all of our cocktails and bottles of wine. But you know what. It was such an amazing experience and well worth every penny to be able to spend new years with some amazingl people. It's a rarity to find a group of people who share the same definition of fun.
How lucky are we? We got seated in the private wine room. Super!
The restaurant provided us with new year's gear. Hats and noise makers.
Near the end of the night, big poppa was feeling friendly. Translation: He was buzzin' like light year. Soooooo. He went and treated everyone to a glass of Courvoisier XO. One of his favorites. Cost for seven glasses? $210 buckaroos. That's like another seven course meal!
Group pic with Omar, our server.
Group pic with Stephan Pyles. Although he's a big name chef, the executive chef for his restaurant was Tim Byres.
Our menu.
Finally, the food! They had: Curried Kumamoto Oysters - Three Ways
Yellow Madras Curry & Smoked Sea Salt
Fragrant Green Curry & Sweet Mirin
Thai Red Curry & Preserved Lemon
I had: This tart thing that tasted almost like an enchilada.
They had: Fresh Ricotta Gnudi With Lobster, Saffron, Aji Mirasol and White Truffle Foam
I had: This chunk of beef with some apples at the bottom. I gave the beef part to big poppa and nibbled at the apple.
They had: Kampachi Tiradito With Kaffir Lime Vinaigrette and Candied Cocnut Dust.
I had: This puny 'salad' with a slice of cheese. It was funny though cos as the server was describing this dish, I SWEAR, he said no less than FIFTY words.
We had: East Indian Spiced Quail With Fenugreek-Gorgonzola Croquette and Braised Winter Kales. Finally! I unite with the rest of the group.
We had: Foie Gras - Two Ways
Pan-Seared Foie With Apple-Celery Root Tart Tatin
Foie Creme Brulee With Brandied Chilean Blackberries
(Note: I gave up foie gras cos of the force feeding of animals to enlarge their liver. I gave mine to Transam. Also. I just realized that I did not take a picture of this.)
They had: Chipotle Smoked Loin of Veal With Chestnut-Chanterelle Confit, Spiced Sweet Potato Puree And Young Arugula-Parmesan Salad. I had another one of those enchilada tasting tarts.
We had: Champagne & Caviar. Champagne Mousse and White Chocolate Dome, Cranberry-Blood Orange Core and Dark Chocolate Caviar. We received dessert right before ringing the new year.
The big baller bill. Crazy. Mos def the biggest bill I've ever seen.
