Restaurant AVA

So I have a confession followers. I am a "Dallas girl." And when I say that, it's not what you think. I haven't had "big hair" since 1991 (well, unless it's humid outside), I have had no silicone implanted anywhere in my body, I don't feel the need to wear much makeup and I could not give a flip what type of car my date drives (assuming I had a date). No, I'm a different breed of a Dallas girl. I'm the type of Dallas girl that hates going anywhere outside a 3 mile radius from my home. I don't know when it happened. When I moved to Dallas almost 10 years ago from Houston, where traffic was just part of life, I thought it was so weird how no one who lived in Dallas wanted to venture to 972, declaring it "too far." A fifteen minute drive? How on earth could that be "too far"? But the longer I lived here, I found myself becoming one of those people that did not want to venture outside her little circle. First, it was anything north of George Bush was "too far", then anything north of 635. Now, 10 years later, please don't ask me to go anywhere north of Northpark Mall unless transportation is provided. And, to make matters worse, now that I live in the Lakewood area, venturing west of Central feels like a chore. So when L and I decided to go to Restaurant AVA, in Rockwall(!) of all places, all I could think of was, "it's too far."

For the record, Restaurant AVA is not "too far." It is an easy 20-25 minute drive from Dallas on I-30 East and you should go.

Randall Copeland and Nathan Tate opened up AVA about 1 1/2 years ago. Dedicated to fresh produce and supporting small farms, AVA's menu changes daily. In a nod to Chef Randall's Green Room days, a chef's tasting menu is available. 5 courses for $50. If you are hungry, just order it. We did.

We started with an amuse of a crostini topped with goat cheese and grapefruit. It was a great, refreshing bite. Our first official course was a salad with house smoked salmon, along with all the sides you normally expect with bagels and lox (onions, egg, capers, etc.), just minus the bagels. The house smoked salmon was delicious. It tasted very fresh, without too much of a smoky flavor.

Our second course was a scallop on top of a risotto. I wish I could tell you what kind of risotto we had but I don't think anyone told us. The scallop was cooked perfectly but, unfortunately, it was over-seasoned. Too salty. L and I ate every bit of our risotto and both of us left half of a scallop on our plate.

No worries, because the next two courses wowed. They were eaten in almost complete silence except the occasional "yum", "so good" or "mmmm, bacon onion jam". You know the food is good when it can get me to stop yammering.

Our third course was grilled quail. This quail was so freakin good we both forgot about our table manners and picked up the little quail legs to suck every last bit of meat from the bone. Poor taste? Perhaps. Tastes good? Definitely. The quail was on top of a celery root puree and topped with something called bacon onion jam which was amazing. There was also foie gras ravioli that was so good I wanted more.

Our fourth course was a beef tenderloin topped with a quail egg, along with carrot puree and red wine jus. There was also roasted cauliflower. Again, home run. They were so good. The tenderloin was well seasoned and cooked perfectly. We actually couldn't finish this dish and asked for a doggie bag. Guess what I'm having for dinner? :)

But wait there's more! We had our "pre-dessert" pomegranate sorbet. Wait, wah? Pre-dessert? I would have been quite content to end there but we apparently still had an actual dessert to come. It was an apple upside down cake with granola and apple ice cream. The cake was a tad too sweet for me (but I don't have a big sweet tooth) but loved the apple ice cream with the granola.

Service was a bit spotty. A stainless ramekin of butter was put on our table when we first sat down but we did not get any bread until after the second course and then only after I asked. When L told our server that our scallops were too salty, he stared at us blankly and then quickly took our plates away, as if he did not know what to say. But I can forgive little service hiccups if the food is good and the food is definitely good at AVA.

Just go. It's not "too far." I promise.

http://restaurantava.com/


Well, followers, this is going to be my last post before Christmas and maybe my last post of 2010. Thank you so much for being on this little journey with me. Happy Holidays and I hope you will follow my little foodie adventures in 2011. Until then . . . Cheers!