Silver Fox - Ft. Worth

My wife and I went to the Silver Fox in Ft. Worth to celebrate our 7th Anniversary and for an early birthday dinner for me.  I had booked a nice hotel in Ft. Worth so I wanted to go to a nice steak place that was close by.  I didn't know too many places in Ft. Worth so I looked online and read through reviews.  A couple of places I wanted to try were almost completely booked and we weren't too big on eating at 4:30pm.  So, I found the Silver Fox, read through the reviews, and made a reservation.

Since moving from Oklahoma last year to the DFW area, my wife and I were still looking for a good steak place that could measure up to our favorites in Oklahoma City.  After being disappointed at a couple establishments, we were very hopeful.  On my reservation, I noted that we were celebrating an anniversary and a birthday; the good places take note of these things and treat you accordingly.

Upon arriving at the restaurant, we were told Happy Birthday and Anniversary so that was a plus and a good sign.  We were immediately shown to our table which was set in the very back, alongside a large party of older women.

I was first taken aback a little by the decor; it seemed a little mixed and disjointed.  I felt like we were in the middle of an old Texas log cabin at one end complete with tattered flags and longhorns. On the other hand we were surrounded by bottles of wine and a finer steakhouse establishment feel.  The chairs were not comfortable at all being made of what seemed like wood branches.  The background music was also disjointed ranging from old timey Frank Sinatra songs to modern day Sting.  Anyway, enough about the atmosphere.

Our waiter was incredibly friendly and rattled off the daily specials without a hitch.  Even though we did not partake in it, we were informed that it was still restaurant week which meant there was a special three course meal which was quite affordable.  When I looked on their website before booking, I saw the restaurant week menu, but there were no dates anywhere to be found on when that week was; would have been nice to know.

I decided to start with the Lobster Bisque which really turned out to be the best part of my meal, unfortunately.  The Bisque was filled with little pieces of lobster and it tasted very rich and velvety.  My wife chose the Filet as usual and I decided to splurge by going with the Bone-in Ribeye for my main course which is my favorite cut of meat.  We also ordered a side of Hollandaise Sauce which we sometimes like to dip our steaks into.  Our meals arrived about 15 minutes after ordering, which wasn't bad considering they were quite busy.  They asked us to cut into our steaks to ensure they were done correctly.  My wife's was cooked properly which is not always easy since she always has to have it well done.  My steak was a little past Medium Rare which I asked for but not so much so I wanted a new steak.  Both steaks were covered in pepper which was alright but not the best of flavors.  The bone in my Bone-in Ribeye was not very big at all which was disappointing as well as the steak's flavor which was not bland, but close to it.  If all else fails, Hollandaise Sauce usually makes anything better but not so much in this case.  The sauce tasted differently than any other Hollandaise I had ever had, consisting of mass amounts of what appeared to be stone-ground mustard...odd.  It was also completely congealed by the time it reached our table...uck.  Our steaks were served with Duchess Potatoes (fancy way of saying mashed potatoes) with brown gravy which was not bad but nothing to write home about, no pun intended. We were presented with a huge piece of Chocolate Cake for my birthday which was really tasty, but for me it was too little too late.

All in all, the Silver Fox was not that bad, but way overpriced for the quality of steaks we actually received so we probably won't be going back there any time soon.

The search for our Steak Nirvana in DFW continues...

Smoke

Yes, this restaurant's name is Smoke.  The name is simple and for the most part so is the food, but in a quirky all-natural awesome way.  We heard about this place from another local blog, complete with mouth-watering pictures leading to menu perusing and much more salivating.

At its heart, Smoke is a BBQ joint but really so much more.  The initial picture of a succulent beef rib was what caught my eye, recently falling back in love with the gloriousness that is the beef rib at Black's in Lockhart Texas, but that is another story.  The picture led me to the menu or should I say menus since there are eight menus; Lunch, Midday, Dinner, Brunch, Breakfast, Bar Belmont, Wine, and Cocktails.  I always check out the Dinner menu of a new spot first since that is typically where a restaurant puts forth its best effort.  Being so tired of the humdrum that is the restaurant chain, I look for different, odd, quirky, or just plain awesome items.  As soon as I saw Foie Gras, Sweetbreads, and homemade pork rinds, I turned to my wife and said this is where we are going tomorrow to eat!  Don't let these items scare you away though if you are not ready for the Offal (organ meat), they are also famous for their barbeque, hand-crafted cocktails, and much much more.

So, we packed into the car one Sunday afternoon and headed towards Downtown Dallas through a huge rain storm to try it out.  As I was whiteknuckling the steering wheel driving through the rain I kept thinking this better be worth it or maybe we should turn around but we pushed through, and boy was I glad we did.

When we got there it was packed but they told us it would be about a 45 minute wait which was not too bad considering how crowded it was and how Sunday brunchers like to take their time.  I got my wife a Mimosa and I a Bloody Mary; my favorite brunch drink.  My drink came with pickled vegetables and a huge pickled jalapeno which was very good.  The Bloody Mary was not the best I had ever had, but it was quite tasty.

To our delight, they sat us at a table after about 25 minutes of waiting.  The atmosphere was very lively and fun.  My wife already knew she was going to get the Eggs Benedict; but of course this was no regular Eggs Benedict.  This was Pulled Whole Hog BBQ Eggs Benedict with Goat Cheese Potato Cakes.  Ya, that just happened.  I "settled" on the Smoked Brisket Cornbread Hash with Poached Egg, Green Chili Rajas and Pearl Onions.  My Step Daughter went all out and ordered the Kid's Cheese Quesadilla...I'm still working on her.  I also ordered Thick Cut Pork Belly Bacon and Cheese Grits.

We patiently waited for what seemed like an eternity for our food as we watched other happy Brunchers enjoy their meals....ok we only really waited about ten minutes.  

As you can see, the dishes looked and smelled amazing (no smellovision yet, sorry).  The Bacon was so thick it was more like ham.  It was perfectly smoked and very delicious.  The cheese grits were served in a piping hot little cast iron dish and were more than my wife and I could share.  They were covered in cheese and very very rich.  My Brisket Hash was amazing.  They formed the Brisket into a little patty and cooked it on top of a flat-top grill which caramelized the entire outside making it crispy and even more wonderfuller.  Of course the poached egg on top was perfectly cooked...I was a little perturbed at this since I still cannot make the perfect poached egg like this.  My wife's Eggs Benedict was really a surprising twist with the Pulled Pork addition instead of the usual Canadian Bacon.  The Pork was a great texture contrast to the dish and played off the richness of the Hollandaise perfectly.  Her Goat Cheese Potato Pancakes seemed a bit dry, but the cheesy taste seemed to help with that a little.  Oh, almost forgot, we saw a number of people ordering toast so we decided to order some as well.  Of course this was not normal toast, little did we know it but this was Buttermilk Dill Toast with homemade Blueberry Cinnamon Jam.  I am not a fan of toast or jam at all, but the subtle dill flavor really set off the jam which was outstanding.

Needless to say, we will be checking out Smoke for Lunch or Dinner to test out the rest of their quirky menu.  Although we've only been there for Brunch so far, I would highly recommend Smoke for their attention to detail and care of their ingredients.

Bacon!!!

Brisket Hash

Cheese Grits

Pulled Pork Eggs Benedict