RESTAURANT REVIEW: The Conservatory in Dallas has a menu that steals the show
Special to the Star-Telegram
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Popping into the newly revamped Conservatory in the Rosewood Crescent Court in Dallas last weekend, my family figured we'd find a good place to have a lovely lunch. What we didn't count on was going home with cricks in our necks.
That's because the bonus of dining at the Crescent last week was a bit of sky-high stargazing. The hotel played host to the visiting New Orleans Hornets, towering young men who roamed the lobby restlessly, eager to whip the Dallas Mavericks again; we couldn't help but stare way up at them as we worked through a leisurely afternoon meal.
The professional-jock distractions eventually gave way to the distractions of a very pretty setting, that of a glass-enclosed sunroom that overlooks a beautiful, flower-filled courtyard. And soon our focus turned, as it should, to the mostly simple, mostly elegant food.
That comes at the hand of newly anointed executive chef Gianni Santin, whose promotion comes after several years of work as the Crescent's pastry chef. His new menu uses a number of locally sourced products, including organic produce and items from sustainable farms.
One dish starring such goods is the vanilla shrimp ($14), an appetizer that would make a suitable entree, too. Sitting atop a bed of wilted, baby organic spinach leaves, a mound of shrimp that Santin sauteed in a butter laced with vanilla bean offered sweet flavors and firm texture.
Our favorite dish was surely the sesame-crusted scallops ($16), an entree salad that shone with simplicity. A fluffy frisee-greens salad, dressed in a balsamic-pancetta dressing, sat to one side; three plump, thick white fish discs scattered with white sesame seeds bore just a trace of the balsamic treatment.
Interestingly, it was yet a third fish dish that offered still more reward: The blackened tuna steak ($22) was among the most interesting tuna entrees I've tasted in a while. Seared on the outside to seal in the red-chile rub, the fish was ruby and cool inside, pairing nicely with a pineapple-black bean salsa and a supple bed of Jasmine rice.
The weak link in our meal was the prime rib sandwich ($16). There wasn't a trace of the promised organic shiitakes, only a smidgen of the advertised "quattro formaggi" cheese and crispy onions, and only a hint of the horseradish sauce.
High marks go to the service and to at least one somewhat-reasonably priced wine, a glass of Montes chardonnay from Chile's Casablanca Valley ($7) that was ideal with the fish dishes -- and a bit of stargazing.
The Conservatory
At the Rosewood Crescent Court
400 Crescent Court (Maple and McKinney avenues)
Dallas
214-871-3200
Hours: Open for breakfast 6:30-11 a.m. Monday-Friday, 7-11 a.m. Saturday-Sunday. Lunch 11:30 a.m.-2 p.m. Monday-Saturday. Sunday brunch 11 a.m.-2 p.m.
Cuisine: Upscale American with international influences
Essentials: Major credit cards; full bar; smoke-free; wheelchair-accessible.
Entree cost: $10-$25
Signature dishes: Vanilla shrimp, blackened tuna
Recommended for: A break in shopping and gallery-hopping, and the occasional star-sighting
Good to know: Seating in sunroom or flower-filled patio; casual dress OK; no kids menu
