Dallas Gluttony

One of my favorite parts about my job is the fact that I get to eat at some of the best restaurants around the country. I have been so fortunate to explore and taste some of the best eats around not just Seattle, but Orange County/LA, New York, Denver, Portland, and now Dallas...

My last week of meetings were brutal, but the saving grace was the couple of meals I got to experience outside of the boring hotel buffet food.

We had to fly in on Sunday, and the first thing I did when we landed was asked the locals where to go for some good Texas BBQ. We checked into the hotel and high-tailed it to Sonny Bryan's where we feasted on a family style spread of baby back ribs, pulled pork and chicken, and beef brisket along with coleslaw, mashed potatoes, mac and cheese, baked beans, and green bean casserole (a southern classic). I called this my last supper, because I knew the hotel food would be less than appealing and I needed to make sure that I had enough in my tummy to last through the week! I went with all my male district-mates, and I think they were impressed to see that a 4 '10" girl could keep up.


A couple of nights later we headed to Hibiscus, which was an absolutely amazing steak and seafood spot. Coming from the seafood mecca of the West Coast, we were all a little skeptical about seafood in Dallas, Texas; however, we were all pleasantly surprised to find out Dallas has much more to offer than smoked cows and pigs--their seafood is really fresh and delicious. Along with a whole slew of appetizers, I feasted on the bungalow salad with chopped iceberg, tomato, avocado, apple smoked bacon, candied pecans and blue cheese along with a mustard vinaigrette. I took a taste of the burrata and tomato salad which was fabulous. The Burrata mozzarella is creamy and softer than normal mozzarella and made for a wonderful paring with the fresh tomatoes. For dinner I had roasted duck breast with grilled sweet corn and a bing cherry sauce. It was scrumptious and sweet-savory (my favorite); at this point I wished I had ate less appetizers so that I could lick my plate clean, but I was full to the brim.



After another couple of days of hotel food, I had the best meal at Five Sixty, a Wolfgang Puck restaurant that sits at the top of the hotel I stayed at, 560 feet above the ground. Like the Seattle Space Needle, the restaurant revolves and is the best place to enjoy the Dallas skyline. It is also shaped like a large globe and has lights all around it, so it is a Dallas Skyline hallmark itself. We decided to again do family style so we could try more dishes and enjoyed pork belly dumplings, lobster and crab spring rolls, Shanghai style Maine lobster with crispy flash fried spinach, a whole fried Seabass, Steak "au poivre", and a seafood green curry. I am a big time snob when it comes to Pan Asian food, but this one met and exceeded my standards. What set the food apart from other similar restaurants was the sauces. Each dish either came with a small bowl of sauce to spoon over the food, or was perfectly coated in its own savory sauce. Plus, we shared a chocolate souffle and a baked Alaska, both of which were heavenly. See the below photo for the interesting and fun presentation the souffle came in.


I try not to be too food-geeky in a professional setting, so I didn't take my camera, which I regret now. I have included photos from the restaurant websites, which does not do justice to the great food I experienced.

If you ever get a chance to go to Dallas, try these places out!


Happy Eating,
Emi