We visited McRae’s in March of this year and were anxious to get back and try more of their foods.  Our reservations were on a Sat. night and they were very busy, enough so that we went around the back to park.  That also allowed us to check out the patio but it was not getting much use till later in the evening – it’s pretty hot outside in Dallas now.  Inside people were enjoying cocktails and conversations while music played in the background.  Service was good and efficient but when it’s busy, order your drinks right away as the bar gets backed up.  Our server was quite savvy though, and encouraged us to order drinks and appetizers while we looked over the menu.  The tables are on the small side but it worked and the close seating offered the chance to chat with your neighbors and check out other menu items.  It was great fun, good food and fine service – you can’t ask for more than that.  We went again 2 weeks later and tried some different items and also found some new additions and deletions to the menu.  Hope you’ll give it a try when you’re in Dallas.

Set-Up

 

Food

We enjoyed a round of their martinis and started with the Texas Jalapeño Pimiento Cheese with spiced butter crackers and pickled red onions.   It also came with nicely fresh carrots and celery sticks. The cheese dip was tasty and also had a good heat kick.  Both crackers were great and crisp with the round ones being slightly sweeter.  They were both perfect with the spicy cheese and a slice of pickled onion.  I tried mixing the vegetable sticks with the cheese but found them better alone and used the crackers with the dip.

 

The Grilled Quail was brined for 5 hours, then marinated 4 hours and seasoned and grilled to perfection with smoked gouda grits.  There were 2 quails on the plate and we substituted French fries for the grits (at no extra charge).  The quail was cooked perfectly and the meat was juicy.  They came with some nicely cooked and seasoned green beans.  My husband enjoyed the plate, but this one was dropped on the new menu.

 

The Pork Chop was a 16-ounce cut that was marinated for 3 days then grilled and served with mango chutney and roasted garlic mashed potatoes with beef gravy.   The server assured me the pork would be moist and he did not mislead me.  It was lovely and the chutney was great with it.  I also substituted French fries for the mashed potatoes – it seemed odd to put beef gravy on a plate with pork.  The fries were crisp and good.  This plate also had the same nice green beans.  Another good option.  I’m looking forward to our next visit.

 

The Margherita pizza can be ordered plain or you can add ingredients at different prices.  I added mushrooms for $1.50 and Jimmy’s (local Italian market) sausage for $2.50.  The crust was nicely puffed around the edge and browned on the bottom but remained doughy in the center.  The mushroom pieces were in thick slices and had great flavor but I would have liked more sauce.

 

The Tuscan Chicken Sandwich comes with grilled chicken, applewood smoked bacon, provolone, pesto, tomato, red onion and arugula on a ciabatta roll.  It comes with matchstick fries.   It was a huge sandwich -way more than one person could eat.  You couldn’t taste the bacon as much as the arugula but the chicken stayed nicely moist.   The pesto gave it flavor.  The pickle slices were a bread and butter variety.