5. FEARING%26#8217;S
Ritz-Carlton hotel, 2121 McKinney Avenue, Dallas; (214) 922-4848, fearingsrestaurant.com
On the phone making a reservation at Fearing%26#8217;s, I had to search my epicurean soul. What did I want from my dining experience?
A white tablecloth? I was told that I could have that in the Gallery, the most formal of the chambers in this dazzling labyrinth.
The scents and sizzle of the chef Dean Fearing%26#8217;s haute Southwestern food as it was being made? I could have that in Dean%26#8217;s Kitchen, a dining room that abuts, yes, Dean%26#8217;s kitchen.
Or I could choose some split-the-difference sweet spot of half-calm, half-commotion: a glass enclosure like a winter garden. Communing with my inner Goldilocks, I asked for that.
In addition to big fun and big flavors, Fearing%26#8217;s presents a modern parable. It%26#8217;s an unusually elaborate answer to the pesky question of how, under one roof, to please diners with vastly different appetites when it comes to d%26#233;cor, dress, sound level.
Although there%26#8217;s just one full dinner menu, it%26#8217;s available in three distinct settings %26#151; four if you count a patio that%26#8217;s open when the weather cooperates. These areas and additional niches for drinking spread across a sizable chunk of the first Ritz-Carlton in Dallas; it opened last August.
Mr. Fearing was a real catch for the Ritz. He%26#8217;d developed a national reputation and an ardent local following over the two decades he spent cooking at the Mansion on Turtle Creek, the grande dame of Dallas%26#8217;s upper-crust hotels.
That made his departure a major event, underscored by the millions lavished on Fearing%26#8217;s. In the front bar area the plush couches are leather and antique velvet; the throw pillows, silk.
In several rooms, rectangular onyx arches are illuminated from within. The good-looking patrons glow as well, in a well-heeled way that suggests a debt of thanks to their personal shoppers at Neiman Marcus.
Mr. Fearing, a giant striding through the restaurant in calfskin boots, deserves thanks for evenings as irresistibly flashy and meaty as Texas itself.
I went for the meatiest meat: buffalo tenderloin, which had been marinated for two days in maple syrup and black peppercorn ($46); and mesquite-grilled rib-eye, which had been brushed (or %26#8220;mopped,%26#8221; in the parlance of the verbally resourceful menu) with a mixture of molasses, beer and vinegar ($50).
Both were fantastic, and both were the centerpieces of plates with a whole lot else going on. Tender bites of the buffalo could be dragged through a red pepper aioli that leavened the dish%26#8217;s sweetness with heat; nearby were a squash-filled taquito and jalape%26#241;o-spiked grits. The rib-eye came with a light, crunchy asparagus tempura.
There%26#8217;s no dearth of seafood, including a terrific soft taco of four big, juicy shrimp from the Gulf of Mexico ($18). The barbecue sauce coating them, the accompanying salad of mango and pickled red onion, and other effects and seasonings did justice to the whole spectrum of the Southwest: fruity, tangy, fiery, smoky.
There%26#8217;s no holding back. The requisite chocolate dessert presents the chocolate in two guises, a rich cake and a creamy semifreddo, with two favorite accomplices: banana and peanut ($10).
Short on nuance, Fearing%26#8217;s can be overwhelming. So can the tab. An expensive wine list, coupled with the entree prices, makes this restaurant a costly romp, no matter where you ask to sit.
I ended up in Dean%26#8217;s Kitchen. How? Oddly, Fearing%26#8217;s doesn%26#8217;t guarantee you the setting of your choice %26#151; a slight betrayal, I%26#8217;d submit, of the restaurant%26#8217;s central promise %26#151; and the winter garden was apparently rented for a private party sometime after I made my reservation.
I was irked. But then I took a few more sips of the restaurant%26#8217;s signature margarita, shaken vigorously and at length with ice, so that the crystals break into the drink. Irritation drowns quickly in frosty tequila.
4. MICHAEL%26#8217;S GENUINE FOOD %26#38; DRINK
130 NE 40th Street, Miami; (305) 573-5550. www.michaelsgenuine.com
The adjective, admittedly, is off-putting. You were expecting disingenuous food? Devious cocktails?
asparagus
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