Let’s start this one off with a very, very clear proclamation.  There is no rivalry between Dallas and Houston.  For years we’ve laughed at the seemingly unending desire to build some animosity and competition with our poor, unfortunate brethren down south.  Yeah, we’ve got friends and I’m sure you do too who scream that Houston is a decidedly superior city for the arts and even restaurants and bemoan that it’s a better place to live with people that are more low key and down to earth compared to all the nouveau riche, Aston Martin driving cash and flash types here (wait, isn’t that what they say in Ft. Worth too?).  Anyway, they’re wrong.  I mean, if the competition centers around number of illegal aliens, humidity that you can cut with a chainsaw, stupid zoning laws, or who sits in traffic longer – go H Town!!  Otherwise, puh-leeze!!!  And fine dining restaurants?  That’s like comparing the Beatles to Britney Spears. 

So, rest assured several years ago when we heard the well heeled Pappas family was making the 250 mile trek up I-45 to take a bite out of our beef kingdom, let’s just say our foodie feathers were a little ruffled.  Certainly, the Pappas name is well known throughout Texas.  The family owned Houston based empire owns some 80+ restaurants including the popular Pappadeaux Seafood Kitchen and Pappasito’s Cantina.  But they’re chain guys right?  Considering that focus, of course we were more than a little skeptical that they could parlay their upscale casual chain game into fine dining success.  Honestly, we were damn near rooting against them.  I mean, we’ve always had good experiences and have enjoyed their casual concepts so we knew, at a minimum, that their foray into an elite beef house would be a well-run and aesthetically pleasing restaurant with above average food.  Well, as it turns out these Houstonians do a pretty brilliant job with fine dining and prime beef too.

We’ve certainly hyped up several Dallas beef barns, so, within this elite meat genre what is it that separates Pappas from the herd?  For the most part all of these places have got the primest of prime beef, swanky digs, great wine lists and solid service, right?  Do you need some little something to differentiate yourself?  Well, not necessarily since apparently the DFW beef craving is beyond insatiable.  But if your superior beef is cut and aged in house, you’ve got a classically trained executive chef overseeing operations, you continually offer up some of the best wine dinners in the city, and you possess an astoundingly passionate commitment to your wine program with a master sommelier on staff, it sure doesn’t hurt.

Chef James Johnson oversees a fairly prototypical prime steakhouse menu.  There is nothing exotic or gimmicky at Pappas Bros.  Steaks are joined only by lobster, salmon, rack of lamb and a veal chop on their lineup.  And within their standard menu, there’s nothing glamorous about the beef offerings – no bone in filet, no Kobe/Wagyu, not even the beef of the moment Akaushi makes an appearance.  Filets, Strips, and Rib-eyes, okay?  This is a fine example of the less is more approach to prime beef.  Too many restaurants try to fashion themselves as being on the culinary cutting edge with these trendy cuts while others are confident enough that there are enough of us out there that subscribe to the theory of prime beef prepped simply with kosher salt, cracked pepper, and a little butter is really all you need.  In other words, there’s no shame in taking the traditional beef cuts and cooking them to sheer perfection and Pappas Bros undoubtedly succeeds in that regard. 

Appetizers that aren’t commonly seen on the menus of the other members of the local steakhouse fraternity are bacon wrapped scallops, caviar and an artisan cheese board.  Scallops are of the U-10 variety (read: large and fresh) and are simply pan seared in a crispy bacon wrap.  Flawless.  We’re suckers for artisan cheeses of (literally) any variety and though we prefer to dig into those after the meal, we’ve got no beef with Americanizing it a little and putting them in the starter category.  And caviar?  Sure.  It may seem a little contradictory for a straightforward steakhouse menu to feature those delicious little salty pearls but that’s the beauty of Pappas Bros.  You can dress it up with caviar or primo frommage or keep it down to earth with steak and taters and garner an equally enjoyable experience. 

On the side of the aforementioned stellar steaks, they do as good a job as anyone with potatoes be it au gratin, mashed, fried, or baked.  But the side that makes our taste buds dance (and made Dishes to Die For) is the roasted wild mushrooms.  Again, there’s nothing particularly innovative about this dish.  It’s just a perfect plate of earthy, heat wilted shrooms that literally make you envision the forest where they were grown with every bite you take.  Yummo! (we’re joking with the Rachel Ray reference – we’re no longer big fans and she’s got ‘man hands’…story for another day, let’s move on). 

Speaking of wine…drum roll please.  Have you ever had the pleasure of meeting a master sommelier and/or having them assist you with your wine pairing?  Chances are, no.  Considering there are only 124 in the entire world (80 some odd located in the US), more times than not you’re getting an aspiring master somm.  And, hey, that’s more than okay with us.  I mean, you damn near need a crystal ball and all you Claritin users need not apply because one mis-sniff will send you back to the cellar with your decanter between your legs.  But if you have even a moderate interest in wine education and have the opportunity, make sure to take advantage of it.  And, in Dallas, we’re lucky enough to have Barbara Werley uncorking greatness in the midst of Pappas Bros’ amazing temperature controlled cellar of over 2,000 labels and 25,000 bottles of wine.  Barbara received her designation in 1997 and just to give you a brief rundown of what is required to receive this designation from The Court of Master Sommeliers, their website says,

Earning the title requires an encyclopedic knowledge of wines, including the ability to blind-taste and identify by grape, region, vintage – and even vineyard – most of the world's wines. Only 10 percent of those who qualify to take the exam pass.

You go girl!

And, let’s dispel a few myths about dealing with a sommelier .  Sure, we’ve all dealt with wine stewards claiming to be sommeliers that earn a % of wine sales and rabidly push you to a higher price point than you’re comfortable with but among the restaurants on our site, we see very, very little of the pompous badgering that’s made diners afraid to call them over.  Okay, back to the myth busters.  Myth #1 – you need to know a lot about wines to ask your server to send the sommelier over.  WRONG.  Just the opposite.  Think of them as educators and don’t be afraid to admit what you don’t know.  Myth #2 – they will always steer you to a wine that is ultra expensive.  VERY WRONG.  Our experience with first class somms is that they get excited by putting you on to a wine that’s new and different and often times less expensive than ones you know.  Why bring them over to recommend a four figure Bordeaux?  Myth #3 – it’s not [somm-ee-yehr] or [summ-uh-lee-ehr], its [sùmm’l-yáy].  Hey, we really don’t care how you say it.  In fact, ‘wine guy’ has always worked pretty well for us so pronunciations be damned!  

The space at Pappas Bros continues down the path of make it as fancy as you want.  The requisite mahogany and leather is fancied up with massive marble pillars and wispy palm trees throughout the main dining room.  There are rooms for a corporate function or private dinner.  Even if you just rolled off the 18^th hole, you can duck in and sit at the chef’s counter for a steak while you watch the game on the plasma TVs above. 

Like their comrades across the city, the wait staff is comprised of skilled, seasoned professionals that have served more than a few fine meals in their day.  And just like their casual concepts, the service model here is extremely efficient  and unforced, as it should be. 

There is no doubt Dallas is the most competitive beef market in the U.S. which makes Pappas Bros’ success here even more impressive.    By our math, there are 25 or 30 steakhouses in Dallas metro beating the drum that they are prime time.  Of course, only a handful of those have made our emphatically snooty list thus far but that’s still a lot of top notch moo cows finding their fates on our plates.  We thought supply might finally be at a cross roads with demand when a couple of national chains had outposts here that flamed out (buh-bye Smith & Wollensky, see ya Fleming’s).  But in the past several months some have opened to take their place and we hear several more are on the way.  And while we here at snootyfoodie struggle mightily to rip off our national label of only being a great steakhouse city, we are also happy to embrace our reign over the kingdom of refined bovine.  It’s a ‘dance with the one that broughtcha’ kinda thing and we’ll two-step with Pappas Bros any time.