Dakota's Steak House?

Dakota's Steak and Chop House
5377 South Broadway Avenue
Tyler, TX 75703-3724
(903) 581-6700
www.dakotastyler.com



 
I went to Dakota's for the monthly business meeting from work. We were placed in a nice meeting room just off of the bar. The restaurant is definitely better looking inside and from the outside. It is located in an unassuming strip mall just next door to the OfficeMax off of Broadway/I-69 a little south of the loop.

The spread: They have your typical steakhouse fare, steaks, chicken, pork chops. Their appetizers are fairly standard as well, crab cakes, tuna, calamari, etc. I started with a seared tuna, had some of the crab cake, and finished with a bone in rib eye (the biggest they had - hey it's not my money). They had a fairly limited beer by the bottle selection and a standard steak house wine list. I had a glass of cabernet recommended by my server.

The verdict: Well, the service was one of my main issues with the night (the other being the steak). I arrived and they seated me, however, I sat there by myself with no interaction with my server for a good fifteen minutes (by the way I was on time, everyone else was late for the reservation). I would have loved to order an appetizer and a glass of wine while I waited, but alas, for whatever reason, no service was offered. Once the whole party arrived, the service was much improved, but they had already set the tone. The tuna was probably my favorite of the night, seasoned and cooked perfectly. The crab cake was okay, the crab didn't taste fresh and light, it was probably frozen. The breading was also a little gummy. Then came my huge bone in rib-eye. I was pretty pumped. I ordered it medium-rare. The steak came out looking great, it was at least two inches thick, a beautiful bone coming out of the side and it had a nice char. I cut into the steak and it is raw. Not rare, raw. I called the waitress over who agreed it was raw and threw it back on the broiler. By the time it came back to me it was cooked medium rare, but I was no longer hungry. I would have refused to pay for the steak if it was my dime. So the night started with a bad experience and ended with a steakhouse not being able to cook a steak.

Edible Tyler Roses: 2 of 5, sorry they have to be able to cook steaks appropriately and provide better service for the prices they are charging.

Lonesome Dove Cafe

The Lonesome Western Bistro
2406 North Main Street
Fort Worth, TX 76164
http://www.lonesomedovebistro.com/

The Lonesome Dove is a restaurant in the Stockyards of Forth Worth. I took my wife there for her birthday, followed by a Lyle Lovett concert. The place has a pretty good reputation, the chef, Tim Love, went on Iron Chef America and beat out Morimoto in a "Chile" battle. He has various accolades and TV appearances. I can't remember how I heard of the place. According the the website, the place specializes in Texas cuisine, so I just had to try it. Don't tell my wife, but I think going to the restaurant was more of a present for me than a birthday present for her.

The spread: The menu is definitely unique. There were varied choices in the appetizers, salads, entrees and desserts with unique ingredients and preparations (rattlesnake sausage, lobster hushpuppies, kangaroo tenderloin nachos, etc.). The menu changes with the seasons and there were a couple of off menu items. We started with the barbeque wild boar ribs and elk sausage sliders. We followed with a butter lettuce with applewood smoked bacon lardoons, chili pepitas, chili buttermilk dressing salad. My wife had the Roasted garlic stuffed beef tenderloin western plaid hash and syrah demi-glace and I had the Wagyu skirt steak, pomme frites and bernaisse. For dessert with had the warm ancho chili chocolate cake with pepita ice cream.

The verdict: Wow. This was a great culinary experience from start to finish. Not only was each dish unique with ingredients I hadn't tried before, it was delicious. The wild boar ribs were tender and perfectly prepared with a hint of "game". The elk sausage sliders were phenomenal. The jucy burgers were heightened by the foie gras and jam. Most surprising was that the 'strange' ingredients were absolutely delicious to my wife. The salad was also well prepared with the richness of the buttermilk being balanced by the salty lardons. The Wagyu skirt steak was out of this world delicious - so juicy, so full of beef flavor, just outstanding. My wife's tenderloin was perfectly prepared, juicy, tender and delicous (with the garlic complimenting the flavor rather than overpowering the dish). The ancho chili cake was a big hit with the wife, but it was a little too rich and dense for my taste. Definitely one of the top five best meals I have had in my life.

Edible Tyler Roses: 5 of 5, worth the 2.5 hour drive from Tyler to Ft. Worth.