Flora Street Cafe is a beautiful new restaurant by chef Stephan Pyles near downtown. Pyles has elevated Dallas dining to a world class level with his decorative choices, outstanding service and amazing food. He still has the southwest influence in his cooking but it is toned down to allow a broader flavor spectrum to be offered to the diner. It is an a la carte menu but he does offer a 7-course tasting menu with wine pairings that includes “chef’s surprises” which our evening were another 5 courses. It is well portioned and nicely paced and according to the waiter changes with the seasons. I truly look forward to having another culinary experience there soon!
We started with a wild mushroom dish that was very nice. It included some puffed grain that gave it a wonderful crunch for texture and had a good depth of flavor.
The house breads were two tasty offerings but I would have been just as happy with a crusty white bread that you could use to mop up sauces, however that said these were both nice and I preferred the pecan.
A sea scallop dish was an addition to the menu and Chef Peter Barlow came out to pour the ‘sea essence’ around the dish. It was like eating ceviche on the beach. A wonderful fresh dish with just the right amount of theater.
This was followed by another addition, a squash blossom filled with phesant. It was perfectly fried and quite savory and seasonal.
The sea bass was adorned with delicious smoked octopus crisps – I could have had them as a side dish. This was a great combination of flavors and textures. A real winner.
Next was another surprise of shaved foie gras, pickled ramps and spicy poblano crisps. It was tart and spicy.
The rare wild boar was served with an incredible piece of boar belly, buttered peas and fava beans, and asparagus. It was all really good.
The poblano was filled with black bean mousse and served with a side of molé rojo which had a slight spiciness. It was nice but the flavors here were more mild and thus it didn’t stand out as well as previous courses.
The dry aged strip was served atop molé rojo with chanterelles and flavor intense peaches. A panna cotta was presented in the shape of an egg and flavored with the nectar of peach agave. It was served with a side cup of tea.
The verbena and sorrel in the next course were served in the form of soda with the smoked vanilla as an ice cream bar. It was not too smoky and the drink was very good.
Strawberry and rhubarb flavors were frozen into a sorbet that was formed in an incredible replica of a fresh strawberry. This yummy treat was served with pieces of green strawberry, almon and rhubarb, that was a tad woody. Overall it was very good.
The dessert on the menu was chocolate and hazelnut mousse with candied hazelnuts on top. There was also a grapefruit sorbet and candied kumquat. It was tasty but the strawberry was my favorite.
Lastly they came out with some extra candies and they definitely made sure my sweet tooth was satisfied.
