01 August 2009

being catty - 07.31.09

Interior of Parigi Restaurant, Artwork by Shane Pennington


The phrase “local and seasonal” has become such a standard philosophy (read: trendy tagline) among this city’s chefs, it has almost lost its appeal. But this is not the case with Parigi’s owner Janice Provost and chef Chad Houser. Once the menu is placed in your hands you become immediately aware that local and seasonal are not merely popular tags, but a reflection of the purposeful and deliberately chosen ingredients strewn across the following pages.

For over 20 years, Parigi has been delighting Dallas diners in their humble abode off Oak Lawn Avenue. It is easily and often overlooked, but after your first visit you will never pass by the Paris-inspired café without a pang in your heart and stomach. It is a narrow space, with an handsome bar and lounge at the entrance and a small strip of a dining room. The dining room is elegant and cosmopolitan, largely due to the abstract horizontal panels painted by Dallas artist, Shane Pennington. Pennington’s art is also on view at Steel, W Hotel in Dallas and private collections around the globe. Amid this modern interior, the amiable servers, eager to make recommendations, create a relaxed and intimate atmosphere. The service and ambiance set the stage for a lovely evening. And a lovely evening it was, indeed.

I took a quick glance at the wine list, only two of us ladies were drinking so we opted for wines by the glass. I chose a glass of Adami Prosecco, the wine list described Prosecco as “a wine to be enjoyed in the company of friends” and I thought it only fitting as I was doing just that. The Prosecco was a great value, citrus notes, acidic but a refined finish.

Glancing over the menu, the first page makes a point to recognize the local purveyors that supply the Parigi kitchen, the list includes: Lemley, Bluebonnet, La Cuesta Farms and Dallas Mozzarella Company. Also on the first page are the “special starters”, changing accordingly with the farm fresh supply. While waiting, our server dropped off a warm, assorted basket of breads and creamy beurre to placate our whetting appetites. If I had one complaint the entire evening it would be this: the kitchen was moving at a leisurely, Parisian pace. C’est la vie.

A signature element of Parigi’s dishes is the Eiffel tower outline, beautifully painted on the pristine plates. My tomato/feta salad was garnished with a balsamic reduced Eiffel tower. It was simply composed, almost a tower of casually tossed ingredients. But it proved to be a memorable summer salad, honoring the ripe Lemley pear tomatoes as tiny little gods, dressing them up with sweet basil robes and salty feta jewels. As much praise as my salad deserves, each of my dining companions felt the same way towards their own choices. As we concluded, Ninny’s salad described as “Chad’s Mom’s Award Winning Creation” was indeed the award winner around our table. It was adorned with the lightly fried okra (not the typical fried okra slivers, but whole pieces of tiny okra) with more fresh tomato.

Quite a bit of time elapsed between the departure of our salads and our main courses arrival; enough time to think we may have missed the flight altogether (read: server forgot to put our order in on time). Here comes the embarrassing part: I’ve forgotten what I ordered exactly, I just remember it was the grilled fish of the day and it was very good, but obviously not memorable enough! However, I do remember my companion’s Beef Tenderloin with creamy whole grain mustard sauce and smashed potatoes, not to be confused with mashed potatoes. As this is a nicer, more sophisticated place, it is important to remember not to lick your plate. And it is also important to remember that you must order dessert while dining at Parigi.

Famous for good reason, the Half and Half is a sweet yin yang of their renowned Chocolate Glob and Peach Cobbler. Chocolate Glob? The name makes me think of that black and white movie from the 50s, where the massive, gelatinous glob moved around and chases people. Gelatinous and massive? Yes, but the Chocolate Glob, a wonderfully undercooked, dense chocolate cake, lives up to all its hype- not always easy to do. The Peach Cobbler was teeming with sweet, fresh peaches (Georgia peaches, if I had to guess) and topped with a sugar flecked, butter rich crust. To top it off, literally, was a healthy scoop of vanilla bean ice cream from Henry’s Homemade Ice Cream, made in Plano. Three individually satisfying components, that could well stand up by themselves; they were sublimely combined for a great ending to a great evening.

La vie est trop courte pour boire du mauvais vin. “Life is too short to drink bad wine”, even if drinking good wines means you might forget what you ordered (which is a very bad thing if you are an aspiring food writer).


Parigi
3311 Oak Lawn Ave. Suite 102
Dallas, TX 75219
214.521.0295

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