Fearing's

[Kevin72]

Bill Addison reviews Fearing's today:

Guidelive Review

I usually don't partake in the whole "star" and star system debate, but the four star rating seems too generous here, particularly since the food was only three stars. I'm sure it's been copiously debated elsewhere, but I think that a restaurant can't get more stars overall than the food is rated. Again personally, I'll overlook service and decor if the food is outstanding, but the reverse isn't true.

Anyways, if you've been, share your thoughts here as well.

[jsmeeker]

Bill Addison reviews Fearing's today:

Guidelive Review

I usually don't partake in the whole "star" and star system debate, but the four star rating seems too generous here, particularly since the food was only three stars.  I'm sure it's been copiously debated elsewhere, but I think that a restaurant can't get more stars overall than the food is rated.  Again personally, I'll overlook service and decor if the food is outstanding, but the reverse isn't true. 

Anyways, if you've been, share your thoughts here as well.

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haven't read the full review yet, but I believe the Mansion (when Dean was there) was pretty much 5 stars across the board, wasn't it?

[Kevin72]

The last Guidelive review from December 06 (w/o Fearing) was 5/5/4.5.

[jsmeeker]

The last Guidelive review from December 06 (w/o Fearing) was 5/5/4.5.

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I got a chance to read the review for Fearing's. Looks like the supposed issue with the food is his attempt to cling to much to the past. At least, that's the way it read to me.

I'm sure it's gotta be tough for a chef like Dean, who was working at one places for a long, long time and doing a style of cooking he became very well known for. When you move onto a new place, do you continue on, or change styles?

as far as the current Mansion is concerned, wasn't the menu largely revamped when the new chef came in? (I think just a few old menu items remain like the tortilla soup and the lobster tacos)

Edited November 17, 2007 by jsmeeker (log)

[Kevin72]

Yes, they just did a big relaunch. If you check out The Dallas Morning News' excellent food and dining blog, they track the changes.

[Andrew Chalk]

Just went there. It was the best restaurant meal I have had in DFW for a long time.

I have started treating Bill Addison reviews as being as relevant as Sudanese government policy on Teddy Bears. He belabors reviews of burger places (where reviews are barely relevant) while coming to baffling and unsupported conclusions about more substantial restaurants. Fortunately, old media (newspapers in particular) is dying. eGullet and other user-driven sites are replacing the corrupt and unqualified field of 'professional restaurant reviewer'.

Now, some specific comments on Fearing's:

The 'reference' menu is here http://www.ritzcarlton.com/en/Properties/D...arings/Menu.htm, but Dean has tweaked it in several respects.

Appetizers:

Foie Gras. Perfectly prepared and superb with the Sauternes by the glass;

Bob White Quail. New appetizer. Recommended by Dean. The combination of the quail and the black pig bacon was brilliant. We know how small birds can be dry. Well, the bacon contributes flavor and moisture to the quail. This is new, and recommended.

Mains:

Pheasant w Oregon Truffles (new): Juicy and conforting. Oregon doesn't get the recognition that it deserves for its truffles despite the professional following of James Beard award winning author and chef Jack Czarnecki (http://www.joelpalmerhouse.com/Script... This dish showed them at their best.

Scallops: "Griddled Wild Sea Scallops on Wilted Brussels Sprout Leaves

and Smoked Virginia Ham with Tangerine Essence". The scallops were recommended by Dean Fearing as being particularly good. He was right. The flesh was sweet. I am going to steal the idea of a base of brussel sprout leaves. I have always been part of the 0.00001% of humanity who loves brussels sprouts and this adds a whole new use for them.

Dessert: Banana Pie. Perfect ending. Try the Tokai after this.

Wine: Well chosen list that doesn't force you to spend a fortune to get a good bottle.

Recommend the Taittenger Brut and Schaffennerger Brut by the glass to start. The Sauternes by the glass with the Foie Gras (see above). The Tokai with non-chocolate desserts.

[jsmeeker]

I just got back from dinner at Fearing's.

My companion and I had an early reservation (6:15). It's all we could get for a Friday night when booking on Tuesday afternoon.

I had yet to go to the new Ritz-Carlton, so I was looking forward to just checking out the place. Warmly greeted by people opening the doors. Nice lobby. Guy there playing guitar. a chef was there next to him making fresh guacamole (I suppose just as a little treat for the guests).

Walk through one of the bars to get to the restaurant. It's just past 6:00 PM, so the place isn't yet packed, but a nice crowd is developing. It's a very nice, large bar/lounge area. Through a door, the outside bar is under a large, clear plastic tent. It's winter in Dallas, but with some heaters, you can keep a place like that nice and comfortable. Looked nice.

We let the hostess know we were ready. We were lead to the "main" room. I think they call it Fearing's Kitchen. ( I think that is what Addison called it in his review). We walked past what is the "formal" room, where most (but oddly, not all) of the tables had white linen table cloths. The main room had booth and tables. All nice wood. Placemats. No linen here. The open kitchen is in this area, and this is where the action seems to be. This is a very nice room. People in suits. People in business casual. People in jeans. Very comfortable. We sat in a "booth" (really, nicely padded benches with a table. They are actually moveable if needed, it seems. I saw them re-arrange one in such a way to accommodate an extra chair on the end).

Waiter uniforms really don't look like uniforms. They are very nice. Runners have more of a uniform look. Service here is really good. An example: Even something as simple as iced tea is done up right. a LARGE glass, full of ice is brought to the table, along with a silver (really, I'm sure it's polished stainless steel) with a good sized carafe of tea, along with lemons and limes, the artificial sweetener selection, and a tiny pitcher of simple syrup. This is a great touch, IMHO. This IS Texas, after all, and we like our iced tea. Great to see it served in a LARGE glass, that consumes about half of the carafe. At about the halfway point during the meal, a runner removes the pitcher (still half full), and returns moments later with a new, full pitcher. I guess what was there went "stale" Details like this are great. (I had a Manhattan. Brought out by a runner in a small shaker. poured into the glass at the table. Pretty common. But this was a good Manhattan)

Onto food. An amuse of pheasant confit (IIRC) on some sort of puree (apple, I think) was presented. It was OK. The meat seemed a tad dry to me. For a starter, I had the barbecued oysters. (Barbecued Bluepoint Oysters with Creamed Spinach, Artichokes, Applewood Bacon and Gulf Crab ). The oysters themselves had been removed from the shells, deep fried, then placed back onto of the spinach, artichoke, bacon, crab mixture. The barbecue was in the form of a sauce that was smeared on the plate above each oyster. (three in total). The oysters were perfectly deep fried. Crisp on the outside, but very lightly cooked on the inside. The spinach, artichoke, bacon, crab mixture was OK. My friend had the Tortilla Soup. Now, I never dined at the Mansion, so I've never had Dean's famous soup before. But this was pretty good, and my friend really liked it. I had debated getting the Foie Gras.. If I had read Worzel's review prior to going, I probably would have order it instead of the oysters. I loves me some foie gras.

For the mains, it was fish.. I had the Soy Glazed Black Cod with Hijiki Jasmine Rice, Carrot/Diakon Threads, Tempura Herbs and Miso Clam Broth. My friend ordered a salmon dish. Now, she likes her fish well done (yeah yeah), so it was tough for me to really judge it well. But it was OK. Obviously cooked more than I would like fish to be cooked. My cod, on the other hand, was great. Very nice. Lots of components in this one, but I thought it worked out really well.

Dessert was a home run. Started out with a nice dessert amuse of a mini Dr. Pepper float. (yeah baby, you know you are in Texas!!) We ordered THREE desserts. I just could not resist. Banana cream pie, a caramel custard with apple fritters, and a duo of chocolate. Chocolate semi-freddo plus a warm brownie. The apple fritters were incredible. Best thing on the table at the time. One of the agreed with us. It was his favorite as well. The banana cream pie was pretty good, but the filling seemed a tad soft to me. The meringue topping was really good, though. My chocolate duo satisfied my chocolate cravings. Pretty good.. But "chocolate semi-freddo" just seems like a fancy way to say "chocolate ice cream". After we polished off those fantastic fritters, I picked up the glass that held the caramel custard and started to just dig in and pig out. My friend wondered how it is that I wasn't as big as a house.

There was a glass of wine for each of us in there, plus I had coffee with dessert.

What a great meal. Really, I can't find a single mis-step with it. The worst part of the evening was getting in and out of the place. They really need more valets to handle the cars. (that, and the entry driveway is much to small for a place that is going to get a lot of locals hitting the bar/restaurant)

[ulterior epicure]

Has anyone been more recently than January?

[jsmeeker]

Has anyone been more recently than January?

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Had lunch at Fearing's on a HOT Saturday afternoon in Dallas.

Started off with a cocktail. Several tequila based drinks on the small cocktail menu. This is the one I went with.

La Paloma

Tequila Cazadores Reposado

House-Made Grapefruit Syrup,

Grapefruit Flavored Soda

I didn't want anything "hot and spicy", so I decided on this.

Crab Salad

with Avocado, Sweet Pepper Confit,

Shaved Fennel and Smoked Carrot Cumin Vinaigrette

Nice way to start. A good amount of sweet crab meat.

Our waiter highly recommended this dish, so he was pleased when I ordered it.

Coriander Crusted Georges Bank Sea Scallops

on Coconut Rice Cake with Asian Greens and Spicy Watermelon Broth

Scallops were sweet and were cooked well. The watermelon broth added a nice flavor element to them. I wasn't sure what to make of the rice cake, though. That was only so so. The greens were pretty tasty, though.

The cocktail was to be my only one for the meal, so I needed some additional liquid refreshment. What better to order in Texas in the Summer?

Iced Tea

I like the iced tea service here. They do it right. BIG glass. Carafe of more tea. Tall and slender, so it doesn't really take up too much space. "Garnishes" brought on a tray. I always like to see simple syrup with iced tea. It mixes in oh so quickly with a proper long handled iced tea spoon.

Why not go for my favorite summer fruit for dessert??

Peach Duo

Upside down peach cake and mini fried peach pies with vanilla ice cream

Once again, dessert here at Fearing's are great! I really liked this.

[ulterior epicure]

Here is a digest of a (very) long blog post review of my recent two lunches at Fearing's at the Ritz Carlton. You can read the entire enchilada and see the photos at the ulterior epicure.

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...I had planned on having only one lunch at Fearing’s (with a friend). Arriving early in Dallas offered the unexpected opportunity for an extra mid-day meal. Happening to walk by The Ritz Carlton on my way to the Dallas Art Museum, I dropped in for a sneak eat...

Despite (or maybe because of) the seemingly ceaseless praise for the design, I was underwhelmed by the restaurant’s interior. My favorite aspects were the lofty high-ceilings, the artwork (some of which, a few paintings in particular, is quite beautiful); the woodwork; and the stunning back-lit panels of glowing honey onyx employed throughout the restaurant.

What is perhaps most significant about the design of the restaurant is its departure from the formality of Fearing’s former home at The Mansion on Turtle Creek. Diners have the option of experiencing the same high-level of food and cooking in four different settings: padded and classy (“Gallery”), sunny and semi casual (“Sendero”), en dehors (“Ocasa,” or outdoor patio), or completely casual (“Dean’s Kitchen”). This is some cause for some celebration if not mild schizophrenia.

In many ways, the restaurant seems over-conceptualized. I’ve seen ugly banquettes and I’ve seen pretty banquettes and I prefer either to an uncomfortable settee. Though they arguably contribute a home-like feel, I found the settees in the Sendero Room extremely low and uncomfortably soft. For the thrill-seeking interactive diner, you’ll be disappointed to discover that sitting in “Dean’s Kitchen” – the dining room with a generous view into the wide open kitchen – gets you nowhere near the line, or the action, as Chef Fearing claims. Even if you sit at the spacious counter – the seating closest to the kitchen - where I perched for my first lunch, you have to strain to catch a glimpse of the expediting line. If this were a sushi bar, they’d be importing your imported fish from the kitchen.

And I bet that the food served (and/or the special attention he got? Check out the second paragraph.) at the “Chef’s Table,” and not the table’s situation or the table itself, was principally responsible for it – table 321 – being named the Top Table of the Year by Mariani. Otherwise, the table – a high top which seats up to 8 - sits squarely in the spillway between the kitchen, the patio exit, and the dining room, and seemed ill-placed and entirely undistinguished. Although one of its biggest selling points is its elevation - 20 inches higher - which supposedly affords the diners a better view of the kitchen (really, the pastry dispatch), one side sits with it back to the kitchen. But Mariani is a different man with his own opinion, and more significantly, a more important food writer than I, so he’s entitled to highlight whatever table he wants.

I had originally requested to be seated in the Gallery Room – the most plush and “formal” of the three dining rooms - for lunch with my friend. But, it was a lot darker than I had envisioned (from the video tour on Fearing’s tricked-out website – it, in fact, has no windows to the outside as it appeared in the video) when I peeked in on my first visit. The Sendero Room, on the other hand, right across the hall, was a bright solarium with a gorgeous “school of fish” chandelier. It was much less formal than the Gallery Room, but no less pleasant – if not more pleasant to a light-seeking diner like me.

But the Sendero Room appeared closed during my first visit. When I inquired whether it was used during the day, the restaurant’s manager, Justin Beam, reassured me that it was used, alternating, with the Gallery Room, but more often as a spill-over space during unusually busy lunch services or, as Frank Bruni discovered, as a private party room. Noting that I had requested the Gallery Room for my subsequent reservation, but sensing that I liked the Sendero Room better, he asked whether or not I would prefer to sit in the Sendero Room the next day. Although it was a lovely room, I told him that he needn’t bother the staff with opening up and prepping a room just for my friend and me. Of course, when I returned the next day, my friend and I were shown into the Sendero Room and offered our pick of any table. The Gallery Room saw no diners that lunch.

This touches upon what was, perhaps, the highlight of the Fearing’s experience: service.

No request, big or small, felt out of ordinary. Whether sitting at the counter in “Dean’s Kitchen,” or in one of the two more genteel dining rooms, I was treated like I owned the place.

Over the course of two lunches, I got a wide sampling of the restaurant’s mid-day menu, thanks in part to an accommodation by the kitchen for a request to do a five-course tasting menu on my second visit.

Actually, I’m not sure that the tasting format was an accommodation (they said that they do have a lunch tasting available upon request), but I’m fairly certain that allowing us to choose the five courses we wanted was an accommodation even though they didn’t make us feel like it was one.

Many of the lunch items are also on their dinner menu – these tended to be Chef Fearing’s “signature dishes.” I tried to stick to these.

I can sum up the food in one word: BIG.

Chef Fearing serves up bold flavors and Texas-sized portions.

Although the main courses are a notch cheaper at lunch than at dinner, the sizes couldn’t possibly differ by as much. My friend and I balked at the size of the main courses coming out of the kitchen which seemed obscenely large for lunch portions. Even though they split our five courses on the tasting, my friend and I were straining toward the end – though admittedly we did choose some of the heavier dishes.

The prices are also big. Lunch main courses skirted the thirty dollar line and dinner main courses flew far north of two score apiece. Couldn't I pay less for something a little more reasonable in size?

Fearing pushes his Southwest agenda with regional ingredients and techniques. Sometimes, his culturally-inflected approach is aggressive yet sensible (like the “Tortilla Soup” and “Lucian’s Crab Salad” – both signature dishes). At other times, he seems to push the agenda a little too far with over-enthusiastic saucing (not an issue of quantity, rather an issue of too many different sauces on one plate) and superfluous garnishing.

There wasn’t a single thing that I tried that I didn’t like, although none of it was terribly exciting beyond being very good. (You can see all of the photos from Fearing’s by clicking here and here.) Seasonal specials achieved equal footing with Chef Fearing’s classic dishes.

Not one to gravitate towards soups, I was pleasantly surprised by the “Tortilla Soup” which Fearing made famous at the Mansion on Turtle Creek (it was still on the menu, non-attributably entitled “Mansion Tortilla Soup,” when I had lunch at The Mansion on Turtle Creek just a couple of days later). Thick but smooth, like the best tortilla soups usually are, it possessed immense zest and zing, laced with acid and a late-blooming heat. The bowl contained a commingling of shredded chicken, cheese, and cabbage, diced avocados, and jalepenos topped with a tangle of crunchy strips of fried corn tortilla that rose to top as the warm soup was poured in table-side. The flavors were convincing and the textural elements playful. This was the best thing I had (the recipe is on the restaurant’s website).

Everything else paled slightly in comparison.

Of the two appetizers we tried, I preferred the “Barbecue Shrimp Taco,” which found plump segments of grilled shrimp lightly dressed with smoky citrus vinaigrette and rolled inside a toasted flour tortilla. More of a wrap than a taco, it was warm, soft, and comforting. Despite my instinct and urge to pick it up, I’m convinced that the half taco was meant to be eaten with a non five-fingered utensil. How else would you get some of the chopped pecans that were strewn across the plate into each bite? The combination there was unique and surprisingly successful. Of course, that didn’t mean I didn’t try eating the taco with my hands. It was buried under a haystack of bright and tart cabbage and pickled red onion slaw (which would show up on a number of our dishes). After one bite, I put it down and picked up my fork.

The “Buffalo Taquitos” were exemplary if not entirely uninteresting: crispy double-rolled layer of deep fried corn tortilla encasing a molten filling of shredded buffalo meat (which managed to stay soft and moist like nicely treated short rib meat) and cheese. Despite being accompanied by (perhaps one too) many “salsas” and topped with more of that wonderful slaw, the dish didn’t excite me the way that others did. Maybe I’m not a taquitos kind of guy (I don’t think that’s the problem). Or, maybe two fat taquitos, halved and stacked, was just too much taquito for one person on a five course lunch. I got tired of eating it after having just one half.

The two meat dishes on our tasting were less exemplary and even less exciting. The “Carolina Barbecue Pork Tenderloin” was a let down if only for the fact that it didn’t match my expectations of “Carolina barbecue.”

I was expecting that loose, tart, and vinegary sauce of the Southeast that I adore above all others. Instead, the dark syrup, which looked much more like demi glace than Carolina barbecue sauce, was a touch spicy (not a bad thing, per se) and two shades too sweet. The accompanying cocotte (enameled Staub, for those who are curious) of *piping hot* jalepeno creamed corn, coated in crunchy breadcrumbs, was more cream than corn and probably more butter than both combined (this too, is not a bad thing, per se – unless you’re laboring under the weight of too much food already). I thought the round of fried green tomato – a rare treat for me - hot and tart on the inside, crunchy with a golden bread coating on the outside, was the best thing going for the dish.

I can tell you two things about the “Chili Braised Shortribs:” the portion was way too large (my friend and I split one of our tasting portions and had the other boxed up) and the meat was awash with a beautifully rich molasses-colored braising sauce. Otherwise, flavor and texture was entirely unmemorable, including the queso fresco corn whipped potatoes, which even now seems like something I ought not to have forgotten about.

All three of the salads I sampled, two of which made my first lunch, were done well. But here again, there wasn’t anything terribly creative. Putting roasted beets – both gold and candy striped – with mesclun and fried drums of breaded goat cheese (from Dallas’s own Dallas Mozzerella Company) was not new or novel (”Summer Vegetable Salad“). It was your garden variety beet and cheese with sherry vinaigrette.

Neither did the summer showcase “Heirloom Tomato Salad” with Point Reyes blue cheese creative enough to merit much discussion. I’ll admit that topping the tomatoes with thick donut-like onion rings offered an unexpected twist, but the crusts were thick and loveless which made the rings as superfluous as they initially seemed. (Maybe the onion rings were meant as an additional complement to the creamy basil dressing on the plate - think basil meets Ranch dressing?) The joy in both of these salads was the freshness and expert treatment of the vegetables and ingredients.

“Lucian’s Crab Salad,” on the other hand, occupied a unique corner of the Southwest by putting creamy with heat and adding a touch of sweet. The round of crab salad, more wet than dry and spicier than not, was topped with silky thin shavings of fennel and buttery diced avocado. A slightly crisp tuile offered textural contrast while carrot-cumin vinaigrette completed the flavor circle with smoky sweetness.

I wish I could have tried more than one of Pastry Chef Jill Bates’s desserts. Saving up for my dinner at York Street, I skipped dessert at my first lunch. Despite buckling under the weight of too much food, I felt the need to try at least one dessert on my second visit. I naturally gravitated toward the frozen desserts. Faced with a dilemma of choosing between the Trio of Berry Sorbets and Vanilla Malt Ice Cream Sandwiches, I defaulted to the lighter-sounding one, since it was hot and I’d be having a large dinner that night at Lola’s Tasting Room.

The “Trio of Berry Sorbets” presented a deconstructed model of three sorbet cones: a scoop each of “STRAW-berry, (pause)… rasP-BERRY, (longer pause with eyes flashing)… and BLOOO-bry sorbet” (that’s how it was affected by our awkwardly affected server) with playfully arranged whipped cream-filled cones, lying on their sides. The three cones were over and underscored with a row of pastry dough crumbs and rainbow assortment of berries, ranging from tiny golden raspberries to larger blackberries. It was pretty and cool (in more ways than one), but mostly straightforward, which is what I was expecting. The rest of the desserts sounded great, but seemed like total gut busters at the time.

Servers were gracious, if not a bit clumsy. One of those cocottes of molten creamed corn almost landed on my friend’s head. Thankfully it didn’t. And there was certainly some affectation going on with our “berry” comical friend. I don’t need that much personality out of my server.

Does Fearing’s deserve to be named as one of America’s best new restaurants? I’m not sure. I certainly haven’t eaten as extensively across our nation in the past year and a half as Bruni and Mariani have. I also didn’t have dinner at Fearing’s, when the dynamics and atmosphere, I’m sure, is different than during the day.

But I question Mariani’s tireless exuberance over Fearing’s.

I know that only a handful of very good restaurants open each year, so it’s not hard to believe that an over-achiever like Fearing makes the cut. Of Bruni’s top picks, I’ve been to three: Michael's Genuine Food + Drink (Miami) and Tinto (Philadelphia) being the other two. I would agree with Bruni’s assessment that Fearing’s and Michael’s Genuine Food + Drink outperform Tinto (more on Tinto in a later blog post). But that doesn’t mean that Fearing’s deserves to be on that list too.

For the local food set - those familiar with Fearing’s cooking and place on the Dallas food scene as executive chef at The Mansion on Turtle Creek - Fearing’s at the Ritz Carlton is probably more of a revelation and breath of fresh air than I can appreciate. There’s no dress code (I took advantage of that lovely perk – being a “tourist” in a city with 100+ degree temps), the servers go untucked (there was some table discussion about the designer (Alexander Julian) uniforms - untucked butter-yellow button-up and grey slacks), and you don’t necessarily need reservations. The food isn’t bad either. That’s pretty much my formula for a good meal. And I had two good (but not great, and expensive,) ones at Fearing’s.

But I didn’t walk away with a strong urge to return.

Edited August 22, 2008 by ulterior epicure (log)

[Nathan]

I hated this restaurant. yes, the space is nice...and Fearing came by our table pressing the flesh...yes, the kitchen is competent...everything is cooked properly...but would it be too much to ask for lamb that tasted like lamb? instead of inoffensive meat? or for the service at a restaurant where every entree plus one is over $40 to pass the napkin test? if I'm paying NY prices I expect NY service....

the food is boring...the contemporary restaurant food with some southwestern ingredients that can be found all over the place. heck, Bobby Flay was doing it 20 years ago and his restaurants have been tourist traps for a long time now.