So for all of the hubbub, predictions of disaster, and even rumors of the Mansion shutting their doors (give me a break), it turns out not all that much has changed in Dallas’ Dining Room.  Oh sure, Tesar is gone but let’s be real.  The Mansion is bigger than any one chef.  It survived and thrived after Dean’s departure and is purring right along in the aftermath of JT’s exit as well.

And why?  Well, 4 things really leap to mind.  First, it’s the Mansion.  It is an institution, the grand dame of Dallas fine dining.  It has rightfully earned its spot as the most famous restaurant in Dallas dining history and remains a fixture for local gourmands and out of towner foodies too.  Second, the staff.  On our most recent visit, our server Susan told us she had only been there for 14 years.  That’s like 138 years in restaurant waitstaff terms.  And, she’s still one of the rookies!  That kind of loyalty among the waitstaff is unheard of and speaks to the commitment from Rosewood to maintaining a quality staff.  #3, Sommelier & Beverage Director Michael Flynn is one of the very best somms in town.  Approachable, knowledgeable and very passionate about his craft.  His demeanor and adeptness with wine pairings is a huge asset to the restaurant.  Finally and perhaps most importantly, Executive Sous Chef Eric Brandt deserves bundles of credit for keeping this ship steady as it charts its next course and makes quite a case for being at the helm.

Question, how many chefs do you know that have a double major in Computer Science and Philosophy?  Exactly.  But, you can see how that type of analytical yet abstract background could be a blueprint for culinary success and we certainly saw and tasted both on our last visit.  Now that we have his diplomas out of the way and before we get to the food, here’s a few other things you need to know about Chef Brandt.

He was with the Ritz-Carlton in Washington, DC when he got a call from Dean Fearing asking him to come join the Mansion team.  It was basically a lateral move within the kitchen ranks but he jumped at the chance.  He worked a year under Dean before he (ironically) left to start his namesake restaurant at the Dallas Ritz-Carlton.  During the search for Dean’s replacement, Brandt manned the stoves and continued to cook Dean’s southwestern classics.  Once Tesar was named Execuchef, it was Chef Brandt that stood at his side as they took the kitchen in a very new and different direction.  And, of course, one of the realities of having a noted chef in your kitchen is that between charity gigs, appearances, special dinners, etc there are many nights out of the month when the chef who has his name on the menu doesn’t do any of the cooking at all.  In other words, when JT was gone, Chef Brandt ran the kitchen.  Maybe now you realize why there was very little panic within the Rosewood family when Tesar left.

So, let’s get to the food.  They now offer 3 main menus in the dining room – normal Lunch Menu, the $29 Taste of the Mansion Lunch menu, and Dinner.  With advance notice, they will happily prepare a chef’s tasting menu for you as well.  Realizing we wanted to try as much of Chef’s Brandt food as we could, we called ahead and requested a tasting menu.  Let’s start the show…

Amuse Bouche was a rustic house made sausage with roasted purple potatoes, a lightly braised turnip, and a parsley pureé.  A wonderful starter.

House cured salmon was “cooked” in onion juice giving it a very gardeny taste.  On top?  A tangle of frisee propping up a paneéd duck egg with a spoonful of sturgeon caviar.  One jab from the fork and the yolk seeped over the lettuce and salmon.  Rich, wonderful salad.  A glass of “Gordo” Rosé of Monastrell from Spain cut the richness perfectly.

Flash seared Ahi was blood red rare and served over a smoky eggplant pureé and wilted grape tomatoes.  A lovely Barbera from Vietta in Piedmont harnessed the smokiness of the roasted tomatoes very well.

Foie Gras was served atop a sweet square of cornbread and a roasted plum.  The plum was pan roasted sitting flesh down on thyme sprigs.  Wow, what an unbelievable taste this had.  Thyme (along with a dash of white pepper) immediately hits your taste buds but then dissipates allowing the flavor of the plum to shine through.  A swirl of coriander honey completed this magnificent dish.  What else to serve with Foie Gras?  We are still fans of a Champagne pairing but never turn down the sweet wine either.  Chateau Guiraud Sauternes did the trick.

Sous vide pork belly was simply to die for.  Chef Brandt previewed this at Savor Dallas and it was even better in his own dining room.  It is a hunk of Niman Ranch pork belly sealed and cooked in its own greatness.  Duos of pureé – celeriac and apple surrounded the pig tummy and a pinch of micro greens finished the dish off.  I’d remarked to Mr. Flynn at the beginning of the evening how I’d become a big fan of Gruner Veltliner.  He perked up and agreed that they are one of the most versatile and overlooked wines out there.  He poured “Singing” (and I honestly can’t read my writing for the rest of the name. what can I say, we had a few..) but it was, of course, from Austria and pulled the fattiness of the pork belly and richness of the pureés together, just like Michael said it would.

Risotto came with al dente sprigs of both white and green asparagus, lemon zest and shaved parmesan reggiano.  We can never get tired of a perfectly cooked bowl of risotto and love the springtime versions with vegetables and citrus.  Au Bon Climat out of Santa Barbara makes a lovely Pinot Gris/Pinot Blanc blend and was the wonderful foil for the creamy yet citrusy rice.

A lovely sunchoke soup.  If you’re unfamiliar with sunchokes (sometimes called Jerusalem artichokes), they are neither from Jerusalem or artichokes.  They’re basically a unique tuber with a potato like texture with a delicate flavor similar to jicama.  Chef Brandt served his with a center of roasted wild mushrooms and a swirl of herb vinaigrette.  A Miner Viognier (one of our very favorites) was a wonderful match.

Chef Brandt remarked that salmon is one of the few fish that work well with the sous vide cooking technique due to its density.  This came out so flavorful with a melt-in-your-mouth butter consistency, it will change any anti-salmon sentiment out there.  He poured a fabulous 1er Cru Bouchard Red Burgundy to wash this down.

In stark contrast to the soft texture of the SV Salmon, a filet of halibut was crusted crispy resting atop a very flavorful mound of curry scallion rice with toasted cashews.  We really hadn’t even dabbled in Asia at this point in the meal so it was a pleasant surprise to get a little Orient Express going.  He re-poured the Au Bon Climate Pinot Blanc with this.

The final savory courses were two meats – Colorado lamb and crispy duck breast.  The lamb loins were crusted with black trumpet mushrooms and cooked to a perfect mid rare.  Perfect lamb doesn’t need much fuss and this version didn’t disappoint with only a simple white bean cassoulet as a plate mate.  The duck breast was served with a couple of beautiful duck confit tortellini over braised red cabbage.  Interesting pairing but the cabbage’s acidity cut through the rich duck preparations.  A soft and atypically refined Napa Cab called Trespass helped us wash down this delicious course.

Dessert brought us their new evilly delicious 7 layer chocolate cake and the unbelievably refreshing lemon tart.  We, of course, asked for a cheese tasting as well and later learned it was Chef Brandt who put the cheese cart concept together when they used to wheel it over in the Chef’s Room.  Without question that was the best cheese course set up in town and now that has simply moved to the main dining room.  The hokey candy store presentation has left the building.

The one and only question we asked Chef Brandt during dinner service was, “what one word would you use to describe the kitchen under Dean, under John, and now under you?”  His answers came many courses apart but he finally answered:  Dean – Iconic.  John – Progressive.  Me – Intuitive.  We applaud him not only for how careful his words were chosen but also in capturing our sentiments to a tee. 

Chef Brandt said his goal with his food is to give the diner small explosions instead of a massive fireworks display.  Not sure if that was aimed at his predecessors but we were undeniably happy with the series of bangs we got during our meal. 

So is there really anything lost in transition?  Well, if you had notions of the Mansion just giving the tongs to some toque-ster to keep Tesar’s menu going, throw those out the window.  Sure, Chef Brandt will keep old (tortilla soup) and new (King crab with 2 butters) classics on the menu for their loyal customers, but expect a slow progression toward his intuitive style as time goes on.

Rosewood is in the midst of their very methodical search for a permanent replacement of Chef Tesar.  The list of names, as you could guess, is quite impressive and it includes Brandt.  Based on our dinner there last week, a prolonged search is a waste of time.  The perfect replacement is and has been right under their noses for over 5 years now.