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Tapas in Dallas -- New Restaurant Si


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6 replies to this topic

#1 bobag87

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Posted 06 June 2009 - 01:57 PM

I stopped in and had a glass of wine and a couple of tapas at Si this afternoon in the State Thomas area of Dallas. The food was great and I was able to visit with the owner, who is from Madrid. This place is the real deal with traditional tapas. The menu contains a good selection of tapas and a few larger courses. They had a good wine list, focused on Spain with great prices. The owner indicated that they are planning on doing Sunday brunch with large paellas made outside on the back patio.

For what it is worth I had the croquetas de jamon and gambas al ajillo. Both dishes were very traditional and good. Hopefully, next weekend the wife and I can go and try more dishes. This is definitely a great addition to the meager Dallas tapas scene.

#2 Andrew Chalk

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Posted 11 June 2009 - 11:20 AM

I have not been yet but certainly will. The proprietor, Ildefonzo Jimenez, used to own Hola! on Cole which was a fun tapas joint.

I approach it in two minds however. If only he had decided not to repeat tapas (which we already have) but to do the kind of cutting edge cuisine that is making Spain the leader in global cuisine at the present time. We have nothing of that ilk in Dallas. It's a monster-sized hole in the dining scene. He would have the market to himself.

#3 bobag87

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Posted 11 June 2009 - 11:31 AM

I have not been yet but certainly will. The proprietor, Ildefonzo Jimenez, used to own Hola! on Cole which was a fun tapas joint.

I approach it in two minds however. If only he had decided not to repeat tapas (which we already have) but to do the kind of cutting edge cuisine that is making Spain the leader in global cuisine at the present time. We have nothing of that ilk in Dallas. It's a monster-sized hole in the dining scene. He would have the market to himself.

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He would also have to find a chef that could pull it off. My wife continually debate whether a restaurant like that could survive in the Dallas dining scene that is too often style over substance.

#4 ariggsby

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Posted 12 June 2009 - 09:17 AM

\I approach it in two minds however. If only he had decided not to repeat tapas (which we already have) but to do the kind of cutting edge cuisine that is making Spain the leader in global cuisine at the present time. We have nothing of that ilk in Dallas. It's a monster-sized hole in the dining scene. He would have the market to himself.

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This is a problem, and in the whole state, not just Dallas. In that context of lowered expectations, however, you could do a lot worse than Nana in Dallas, where we had an excellent dinner (the lacto-ovo-vegetarian tasting menu) last week. Not super-avant-garde, but very, very good.

Maybe some day...

Andrew
Andrew Riggsby
ariggsby@mail.utexas.edu

#5 Kevin72

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Posted 13 June 2009 - 05:39 AM

I have not been yet but certainly will. The proprietor, Ildefonzo Jimenez, used to own Hola! on Cole which was a fun tapas joint.

I approach it in two minds however. If only he had decided not to repeat tapas (which we already have) but to do the kind of cutting edge cuisine that is making Spain the leader in global cuisine at the present time. We have nothing of that ilk in Dallas. It's a monster-sized hole in the dining scene. He would have the market to himself.

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Selfishly of course I'd love to see something like that in Dallas. But in this economy?

Plus, I worry that to quite a bit of the Dallas dining scene, "tapas" has come to mean certain set dishes in people's minds. Rouge, for example, offered really, really good and innovative tapas, but it never caught on.

#6 bobag87

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Posted 13 June 2009 - 11:36 PM

I have not been yet but certainly will. The proprietor, Ildefonzo Jimenez, used to own Hola! on Cole which was a fun tapas joint.

I approach it in two minds however. If only he had decided not to repeat tapas (which we already have) but to do the kind of cutting edge cuisine that is making Spain the leader in global cuisine at the present time. We have nothing of that ilk in Dallas. It's a monster-sized hole in the dining scene. He would have the market to himself.

View Post


Selfishly of course I'd love to see something like that in Dallas. But in this economy?

Plus, I worry that to quite a bit of the Dallas dining scene, "tapas" has come to mean certain set dishes in people's minds. Rouge, for example, offered really, really good and innovative tapas, but it never caught on.

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We had dinner at Si tonight and I would say that all of the food was great. This is not an innovative or fusion tapas joint. It is traditional tapas prepared well and I thought it was actually a great addition to the Dallas dining scene.



#7 Richard Kilgore

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Posted 15 July 2009 - 04:27 PM

While I was disappointed to see Rouge close after only a few years (2? 3?), I am not disappointed to see a new place that serves traditional Spanish food, including a large number of tapas. I'll look forward to checking it out.