Dallas Food - An Evening at the Tasting Room at Lola

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An Evening at the Tasting Room at Lola
Posted on Monday, March 07 @ 09:10:36 PST
Topic: Froufrou

In early June of 2003 I sat down for my first dinner at the Tasting Room. It was still fairly new and there were no local print reviews to go on. But on the strength of an enthusiastic Chowhound report from Doc, ExtraMSG (who was from Portland) and I decided to give it a try. My expectations were low. I was totally blown away. Since that early visit, I’ve been back a number of times and have yet to have a bad meal there. I recently had the chance to sample a menu Chef David Uygur had built around wines from Piedmont. It was, as always, fantastic. On to the food...

First Course: Wellfleet oyster with horseradish mignonette (pictured above).
If Uygur has a signature dish, this is it. And it encapsulates his style admirably. An excellent oyster was served in its shell with Champagne, cracked black pepper, and freshly grated horseradish. Simple, subtle, and perfectly balanced.

Second Course: Vitello tonnato.

Chilled slices of veal, broken up with lardons and topped with capers, rested in a puree of tuna, anchovy, lemon juice, and olive oil. I didn’t expect a meat course so early in the menu. But the brightness of the sauce and coolness of the meat made it surprisingly light and refreshing.

Third Course: Winter vegetables in bagna cauda.

Bagna cauda (a Piedmontese sauce of olive oil, anchovies, butter, and garlic) has appeared on Uygur’s menus before. On this night, it accompanied braised fennel and endive. The sweetness of the sauce took the edge off the endive’s bitterness. A mellow, likeable course.

Fourth Course: Littleneck clams with cucumbers and crème fraiche.

The clams, served in their shells over the crème fraiche sauce, were topped with matchsticks of cucumber and minced chive and shallots. This is another course that sums up Uygur’s style and particular genius. There are no sport ingredients in this dish. The components are few. Nothing is superfluous. Every flavor plays its role perfectly, making the whole greater than the sum of its parts. Very nice.

Fifth Course: Branzino with garlic, shallots, and fennel.

The sea bass, its skin seared crisp and sprinkled with a little sea salt to bring out the flavor, topped braised fennel, roasted garlic, sliced shallots, flat leaf parsley, and olive oil, making for an enjoyable combination of flavors and textures.

Sixth Course: Leek soup with chives.

The abundant chives added a sufficiently distinct note to the base to really round out the flavor. There’s not much to say, other than that this was a delicious leek soup.

Seventh Course: Gnocchi alla bava.

This was another Piedmont specialty, with the baked gnocchi served in a sauce of butter, fontina, and parmesan. This would have been much too rich as a large course, but was ideal in the degustation format.

Eighth Course: Risotto.

The al dente Carnaroli rice was a little soupier than I’d prefer. But the dark, rich combination of porcinis and veal stock made for a compelling flavor.

Ninth Course: Duck with endive and zabaglione.

Rosy slices of roasted duck were served over braised endive and topped with a Marsala zabaglione. The sweet zabaglione was unexpected in a savory course. But it played well against the rich saltiness of the duck and the bitterness of the endive. Great flavors.

Tenth Course: Brasato al Barolo.

As another Piedmontese dish, Uygur served a cube of wine-braised short rib simply with a few baby carrots and cippolini onions. A delicious, classic preparation.

Eleventh Course: Seared foie gras with apples.

Uygur often marks the transition from savory to sweet courses with a combination of foie gras and fruit. On this night, tissue-thin slices of slow-cooked apple were served with the foie (which was sprinkled with a few grains of sea salt). Very nice.

Twelfth Course: Palate cleanser.

A small ball of intensely flavored tangerine sherbet was the palate cleanser.

Thirteenth Course: Cheese.

A selection of Piedmontese cheeses were served with almonds and dried figs. I didn’t take notes, so I have trouble remembering the cheeses. Two were gorgonzolas, one piccante and one dolce. I can’t remember what the other two milder cow’s milk cheeses were. All were good.

Fourteenth Course: Necci.

The necci were chestnut flour crepes that had been filled with a fresh, house-made ricotta and plated with a sauce of butter and chestnut honey. They were light and delicately sweet. A delicious end to the meal.

Mignardises.

The final morsels were a chocolate truffle, round shortbread cookie, and a dessert terrine (the Italian name of which eludes me). All very tasty.

David Uygur is a remarkable figure in Dallas dining. He doesn’t slavishly follow the trends. Nor is he trying to set them by running amok at the fringes of tradition. While most chefs doing traditional cuisines lazily trot out recognizable standards, Uygur restlessly scours French, Italian, and Spanish culinary heritage for less familiar ingredients and dishes. His greatest gift, however, is a subtle palate. Nothing he does feels one-dimensional or clunky. Each component is delicately balanced with its neighbors for maximum effect. That’s what makes the Tasting Room at Lola the best place to eat in Dallas.

(PS I should note, again, that this was an unusually “themed” menu for the Tasting Room. Uygur’s menus rarely hew so closely to a particular tradition or region.)