Ryan's Tables and Travels

Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen

I had lunch at Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen the other day.  It was my first trip back since I visited for lunch a few days after they opened.  I liked the dumplings I had during my first experience, so I thought I'd come back to try something new.   

I noticed they added some lunch specials to the menu, which definitely made ordering simple and dining more affordable. I opted for the Wonton Soup and Fiesta Crab and Shrimp Empanada combo. 

The first thing I noticed when it arrived was that the portion size was much larger than I was expecting for $9.  It wasn't as large as the body-builder carb-load portions served at Maggiano's and Al Biernat's, but it was definitely more than I could eat.  I guess this is to be expected these days, though.  Every restaurant in town has taken a "better give them more than they can eat, just in case" approach.  Seems a bit wasteful unless you are in the habit of eating restaurant leftovers on a regular basis.  I'm not.

The Wonton Soup was fantastic.  The shrimp and pork dumplings were on par with those found at the best Asian restaurants.  Each was about two mouthfuls.  They were tender, but not mushy, and didn't overpower the simple flavor of the broth.  I hate putting a spoonful of soup into my mouth only to find out that the chef felt saltier was better.  This definitely wasn't the case here.  The broth was a wonderful compliment to the dumplings, but its flavor didn't dominate.  

The Fiesta Crab and Shrimp Empanadas were up next.  They were like the broth's evil sibling.  They were everything the broth wasn't--heavy, deep-fried and heavily-seasoned.  The flavor was tasty, but mostly in a greasy, bar food kind of way.  It seemed as if they put cheese inside of it.  I'm a huge fan of fried cheese, but I think it should be advertised as such.  Fried cheese masquerading as shrimp and crab was a bit of a disappointment.  I would have preferred empanadas about a third of the size of these, deep-fried in a light crust and stuffed with fresh shrimp and crab, sans cheese.  Nevertheless, I could find myself craving these at 2am.  Hint, hint... 

Overall, the experience was a good one.  For a $10ish lunch, Lumi is definitely one of the better choices around and a departure from the regular Tex-Mex outings responsible for clogging my arteries and inducing afternoon desk naps.  

By the way, Urbanspoon rocks!  Check it out.

Meddlesome Moth - Dallas

I had dinner at the Meddlesome Moth (love the name) last night.  It was the first night of the soft open, but it didn't seem to have any trouble drawing a crowd.  

I've been waiting for a true gastropub with really good food and a great beer selection to open for a long time.  The owners of The Flying Saucer have hit the mark with this spot on Oak Lawn and Hi Line in the Design District.  There are 40 beers on tap and another 75 in the bottle.  I only tried two, but the selection is sure to please even the most discerning beer aficionados.  

Most of the food items on the menu are shared plates designed to be served tapas style.  I tried the Veal Sweetbreads, Moth Balls, Rabbit Meat Pie and Five Spice Pork Belly.  

The Moth Balls are ricotta cheese balls encased in a mochi-like shell and covered with a rich butter and cream sauce.  The flavor was very straightforward and simple, yet somehow enjoyable.  

The Veal Sweetbreads arrived second.  They were lightly deep fried and served over a bed of "bacon jam".  The sweetbreads were tender and delicious, but the jam was the real star--a gooey compote full of bacon flavor.  I think I'm going to ask for a jar of it to take home for peanut butter and bacon jam sandwiches--YUM!

Next was the Rabbit Meat Pie.  It was served in a crock and had an incredible pot pie-type crust on it. Unfortunately, the appearance was the best part of this dish.  It simply lacked the flavor necessary to balance out the very dominant flavors in the Rogue Hazelnut Brown Nectar I had paired with it.  A little black pepper would have gone a long way for this one.

The Five Spice Pork Belly arrived last and was my favorite item by far.  The pork was loaded with Chinese five spice and served over three silver dollar-size johnny cakes, a perfect match for my Avery Maharajah IPA.  

For those who prefer traditional pub-grub, don't fret.  A burger, fish and chips and steak frites are available, and all looked fantastic.  I'll be back soon to try the burger and work my way through the intimidating list of quality brews.   

New Restaurants Coming...

The lousy economy has fueled quite a drought of new restaurants over the past few months.  For those like me that eat out twice-a-day, every day, it makes our lives very monotonous.  Alas, there are a wave of new dining options coming available.

Neighboorhood Services Tavern, a smaller, less-expensive offshoot of the Lovers Lane original, quietly opened on Henderson Avenue a few weeks ago.  I've been a few times and it's great.  Call ahead, though, as it can get really busy on weekends.

Eddie V's Prime Seafood opened up it's first Dallas location on Oak Lawn in the Equinox center this week.  I haven't been yet, but I've always enjoyed my visits to the Austin location, and Dallas is in desperate need of quality seafood.

Perry's Steakhouse of Houston is bringing it's concept north, opening it's first Dallas location at 2000 McKinney Ave., adjacent to the Ritz-Carlton on April 26th.  Everyone knows we've been starved for a good steakhouse. 

Meddlesome Moth is the most interesting of the bunch.  It's a new gastropub slated to open late-April at the corner of Oak Lawn & Hi Line in the Design District.  It has the same ownership as The Flying Saucer and the ex-Exec Chef from Oceannaire, so it's bound to be good.  According to the website, they will "have a full bar and will feature 40 draught beers with a few live ales and at least 75 bottles to help us round out our selection of the city’s best beer menu. Chances are if you’ve seen it on a commercial, we won’t serve it."  I like that!    

Rusty Taco - Dallas

Did lunch at The Rusty Taco today.  It's a new fast casual spot housed in a former gas station on the corner of University and Greenville.  They did a great job on the decor.  It's simple, but fun.  The overhang that used to cover the gas pumps now creates shelter for a large outdoor patio, which was packed as the weather was so nice today.  In fact, the whole place was packed.  By the time I left at noon, people were lining up out the door to sample the menu of Mexico City-style tacos.  

I opted for the #2, Roasted Pork, the #4, Chicken, and the #7, Grilled Fish.  It didn't take longer than 5 minutes for the tacos to arrive, and with them came my first frustration:  they stacked all of the tacos for everyone in my party on one tray with no identifying marks of any kind.  We were left to sort through them on our own, which was no easy task.  How am I supposed to tell roasted pork from brisket from achiote pork?  A quick trip back to the counter for some advice and I was ready.  

The chicken taco was up first.  I bit into it expecting the juicy, highly seasoned chicken that made this type of street food famous, and what I got was dry and bland.  The tortilla itself was perfect, but the filling was like a sponge in my mouth.  About that time, I eyed two large squirt bottles of red and green salsa on the table.  Aha!  They want us to use the salsas to season the tacos to our liking.  After a generous application of the red salsa, I took another bite.  Now, I had a wet, bland taco. 

I moved on to the pork and fish tacos with the same result:  dry and flavorless.  Too bad.  I really wanted to like this place.  After all, it's a relatively healthy choice with cool atmosphere that's really close to my office.  C'est la vie...

First Chinese BBQ - Richardson

I'm not sure why the authentic Asian restaurants in Richardson are so unloved by mainstream critics, but they shouldn't be.  I had dinner at First Chinese BBQ on Greenville Avenue tonight and it was fantastic.  It didn't take long for me to realize what I've been missing by eating the generic crap I've become accustomed to in Uptown.  Maybe shortly after I passed the whole ducks hanging by hooks on the way in the restaurant and just before I spotted "marinated pig intestine" and "ducks feet" on the menu.    

It took awhile to comb through the 100+ items offered, but I finally decided to go with the Fresh Shrimp Wonton Noodle Soup, Barbecue Pork & Roast Duck, and Orange Beef.  

The pork and duck arrived almost immediately.  It had obviously been pulled from the hook and butchered with bones and all, reminiscent of a trip I made to a Chinese lunch hall while in Singapore.  The meat was barely above room temperature, but incredibly moist and flavorful.  Both the pork and duck had a wonderful sweet glaze that made you crave another bite long after it was a good idea.  

The soup arrived in a large bowl with no less than ten golf ball-size dumplings, each stuffed with large chunks of fresh shrimp, not the processed mincemeat stuff you see so often.  The flavors were very delicate, but perfectly balanced so as to not overpower the shrimp.

The Orange Beef was last to the table, and it was a good thing.  The smell of fresh orange, garlic and ginger dominated the table from that point forward.  Once again, not your average Chinese delivery-quality beef here.  These were 3-inch long and 1/2-inch thick slices of steak that required a knife to trim down to bite-size pieces.  The decadent orange sauce blended perfectly with the flavor of the beef and kept you coming back for more and more.  

I didn't quite leave room to try the desserts, but I did grab a menu on the way out.  It's a bit of a hike up to Richardson, but it may just be worth it for some great authentic, Chinese takeout.  

Farnatchi

So, I had lunch with my brother at Farnatchi today.  It's a small, intimate spot tucked away in the shopping center at Knox and 75 that houses Pei Wei.  When I saw the name, I automatically expected middle-eastern cuisine, which left me a bit perplexed given it's proximity to Fadi's.  In fact, the food is almost exclusively Italian.  There are a smattering of Mediterranean dishes, but most of the menu real estate is occupied with pizzas and pastas.  

We opted for the Farnatchi pizza, which includes a mix of sausage, cheese, roasted peppers, onions and olives.  We also selected a less-obvious choice, the Farnatchi burger.  It's basically a regular burger, but the clever folks in the kitchen have stuffed the patty with peppers, onions and mozzarella cheese. After reading a great review on the DMN eats blog, I couldn't resist trying it.  

The pizza was good.  Not great, but good.  It's about what I've come to expect from a well-made Italian oven pizza. The sausage was definitely the prominent flavor.  It's fennel overtones dominated nearly every bite, almost to a fault. 

The burger was cooked to a perfect medium, which left plenty of juices to flow (just the way I like it), but still managed to hold together and put a nice melt on the mozzarella inside.  I think I would have been more impressed by this burger if I had ordered it by happenstance rather than seeking it out. I'm not sure its of the caliber that I'd go out of my way for, but when I find myself back in the restaurant, it will certainly be on my short list.  

Farnatchi may not be the best casual Italian I've ever had, but it is definitely a solid choice in the Dallas market where the Tex-Mex- and steak-loving populous sends quality Italian spots to the grave at a two-a-week pace.    

Blog Intro

I find myself spending very little time either sleeping or eating at home and seem to answer endless requests from friends and family for travel and dining advice (perhaps at their peril), so I thought I'd make myself useful and offer up my opinions for all to enjoy, comtemplate and criticize. 

This blog will be mostly devoted to dining in the Dallas area, but as I travel quite frequently, I'll try to include my thoughts on restaurants and hotels in other cities and anything and everything travel-related. 

I hope you enjoy.  I'd love to hear your feedback.