Finally got to dine at Abacus

[planojim]

Very nice restaurant. I hadn't seen it's name mentioned as often as I'd had in the past, but, I guess we discuss more of the new than the tried and true. Anyway, here's what we had, and the full menu choices at the bottom.

dinner last night:

we had a coupon that enabled us to get a 4th course for free. It turned out to be 2 of those lobster shooters. they were brought out first:

Lobster - Scallion “Shooters”

they were pretty much like hush-puppies, with some lobster and scallions. They were put in a shot glass, and then a warm sauce of coconut milk, chili sauce, ginger, and some other stuff got poured over them. They were good, but you tasted more of the sauce than the lobster for sure.

Wife got the crabcake app: Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Texas Sweet Corn and Black Truffle Chardonnay Sauce. Good crabcake. Very little filler.

I got the pork belly. Crispy Seared Pork Belly with Spicy Sesame GlazeGinger Sunchoke Puree and Micro Cilantro. Mine was fantastic. Actually, it reminded me of a spare rib without the bone. It was not fatty at all like I'd feared it would be.

entrees were Wood Grilled Pork Tenderloin on English Pea Risotto

with Wild Mushrooms and Rosemary Port Sauce for me (they were out of the perch) and Grilled Beef Filet on White Cheddar – Bacon Potatoes

and Summer Tomato Demi with Mixed Baby Vegetables for her. My risotto was fantastic, and her potatoes were real good. Unfortunately, neither of us felt we got enough of the sauces for sopping up the last parts of the meat.

dessert brought me Dulce de Leche Banana Bread Pudding

Myers Rum Sabayon and she got Chocolate Brownie Pecan Tart

Espresso Caramel, Mascarpone Cream. Mine was fantastic. The best thing we ate. It wasn't anything like I thought it would be. Normally, bread pudding is kind of a mushy, jumbled mess. this had 3 layers to it....the top crust, a layer of bananas, and then the pudding. Yum-o. the wife's was good also, especially the espresso caramel.

The bill was $90 after tax and tip. A GREAT deal.

here's the full menu:

Small Plates

Jumbo Lump Crab Cake with Texas Sweet Corn

and Black Truffle Chardonnay Sauce

***

Wild Horse Chardonnay, Central Coast, 2005

Crispy Seared Pork Belly with Spicy Sesame Glaze

Ginger Sunchoke Puree and Micro Cilantro

***

Knappstein "Hand Picked" Riesling, Clare Valley 2006

Asian Surf and Turf Potstickers: Tiger Shrimp

and Buffalo - Shitake with Spicy Apricot Sauce

***

Wattle Creek Rose, Yorkville Highlands, Mendocino, 2006

Seared Diver Sea Scallop with Chilled Asparagus Soup

and Preserved Meyer Lemon Olive Oil

***

Wild Horse Chardonnay, Central Coast, 2005

Porcini Mushroom Soup

with Fresh Fava Beans, Tomatoes and Crème Fraiche

***

Capezzana Barco Reale di Carmignano, Tuscany, 2004

Asian “Field Green” Salad with English Cucumber,

Black Radish and Sweet Chili Lime Dressing

***

Knappstein "Hand Picked" Riesling, Clare Valley 2006

Wild Arugula Salad with Ruby Red Grapefruit,

Shaved Fennel, Goat Cheese and Cibatta Croutons

***

Kunde "Magnolia Lane" Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley, 2006

Intermezzo

Raspberry Limeade Sprizter

Big Plates

Wood Grilled Wild King Salmon on Tequila Lime Sauce

and Jalapeno Jack Cheese Grits

***

Wild Horse Chardonnay, Central Coast, 2005

Pan Seared Lake Victoria Perch with Basil Gnocchi,

Asparagus, Tomatoes and Champagne Butter

***

Wild Horse Chardonnay, Central Coast, 2005

Wood Grilled Pork Tenderloin on English Pea Risotto

with Wild Mushrooms and Rosemary Port Sauce

***

Green Point Shiraz, Victoria, 2004

Pan Seared Jumbo Prawns with Mushroom Dumpling

and Spicy Thai Basil Lemongrass Broth

***

Kunde "Magnolia Lane" Sauvignon Blanc, Sonoma Valley, 2006

Grilled Beef Filet on White Cheddar – Bacon Potatoes

and Summer Tomato Demi with Mixed Baby Vegetables

***

Souverain Merlot, Alexander Valley, 2004

Sides

Lobster - Scallion “Shooters” (6 pieces) 18.

Fresh English Pea Risotto 12.

Grilled Asparagus 8.

Steamed Edamame 6.

Pomme Frites 6.

Sweet Plates

Fresh Mint and Shaved Chocolate Ice Cream Puffs

Valrhona Chocolate Glaze

***

Cockburn's Special Reserve Port NV

Madagascar Vanilla Crème Fraiche Parfait

Chilled Strawberry Champagne Soup

***

Ceretto Moscato d'Asti, Piedmont, 2006

Dulce de Leche Banana Bread Pudding

Myers Rum Sabayon

***

Osborne Pedro Ximenez 1827 Sherry, Jerez

Chocolate Brownie Pecan Tart

Espresso Caramel, Mascarpone Cream

***

Cockburn's Special Reserve Port NV

|

Executive Chef Kent Rathbun

Chef de Cuisine Tre Wilcox

Sous Chef J. Guadalupe

Sous Chef Jermaine Brown

Pastry Chef Rick Griggs

Assistant Pastry Chef Kara Blair

Additional $25 Per Person For Premium Wine Pairings

jb

[hshiau]

I was there back in March. I don't know if Chef Wilcox was off filming Top Chef at the time but there were some issues.

The decor was nice although the music did seem pretty loud. One part of the dining room was about 2/3 full. Only 1 table in the other part of the dining room was occupied. Bar area was pretty empty the whole time I was there which was from 7:30pm until 8:15pm. I decided to just eat at the bar.

Bread service was decent. Spicy paprika flatbread, sourdough, wheat raisin, some kind of biscuit, and foccacia. I probably wouldn't have gone with a spicy bread. Kills the taste buds for the food. Butter served with a red salt...too much of it.

First item was the pan seared foie gras on blackberry-brioche pancakes with bacon wrapped dates and red currant sauce. Seared foie gras came out about 2 minutes after it was ordered!! In fact, before the bread! The foie came with some kind of small pancake, baby greens, and something wrapped in bacon. Wow! Talk about cholesterol overload! It was flavorful but FEELS like it came from the oven or microwave. Foie is a bit dry because of that. The plate was very hot.

Next came the open face duck confit ravioli with wild mushrookms, caramelized onions and lemon thyme honey. It came 3 minutes after I was done with the foie gras. The duck ravioli was interesting. Again, a very hot plate. Oddly enough, the plate was hotter than most of the duck. But the "ravioli" was a pasta with duck, mushrooms, etc on top and then covered with another noodle. Makes for a dish that is difficult to eat.

Crispy seared pork belly on ginger sweet potatoes with yuzu-soy glaze and cilantro-diakon radish salad. Again, it came within 3 minutes of the last dish. The restaurant is mostly empty so maybe the BOH has nothing to do. Again, the plate is very hot but the food is lukewarm. This dish was very flavorful.

All 3 items, while pretty looked the same: everything had some sprouts on top. Not very creative. Overall, the service was good. Again, the place was pretty empty so there were less customers to wait on. But the hostess was friendly and the attentive bartenders made sure my water glass was full and I didn't need anything. And they called a cab for me when I was done.

The food was a notch below the service and the pace was way too quick. I can't say for sure that the food was heated up in a microwave before serving but the dishes came out awfully quickly. Since the restaurant was mostly empty, I can't imagine why the kitchen would need to pre-cook the food and then deliver at the pace they did. There was no need and it really made for a rushed unsatisfying meal.

[Qwerty]

Are you kidding me? There is NO WAY that the food ever saw a microwave. Come on. I don't even see how you could attempt to microwave foie without it almost completely melting away.

How is an open faced ravioli hard to eat? I can't imagine it being any harder than a closed ravioli.

I have heard more than once that people feel rushed when they dine at Abacus. It appears to me that the food you ordered takes little time to pick up and, given the emptiness of the restaurant, the food came out a little quick.

[hshiau]

I said it FELT like it came from a microwave. I've no idea. However, you explain to me how I can get a foie gras dish 2 minutes after I order it.

[Qwerty]

It's probably just a quick pick up....throw pancakes and dates into the oven, sear foie. Sauce is probably held warm, so it's a quick plate. Foie doesn't take long to sear...doesn't need to rest. Like you said, they were slow, so you probably got order fired right away...I can certainly see how if they started the order right when it came in it is out in 2 mins.

You may have also got bumped. They had a foie that was supposed to go to another table but was waiting on another pick up or two from different stations. So they see a solo foie come in, fire another, and sell you the one in the window. Easy, fast.

Trust me, there is no way they used a micro.

[hshiau]

No doubt you're right. I can't imagine at a restaurant that has gotten the raves that it has. Next time I'm in Dallas, maybe I need to hit somewhere that a little more busy. It's just weird going through 3 courses in less than 1/2 hr.