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Dear Law Reviewers: Catalina Room Rocks!
Dear Law Reviewers,
I was reading D Magazine's June issue on Dallas-area salaries and I have two questions for you: one, do your firms have in-office tailoring and, two, do you get paid for writing these incredibly hilarious, yet informative, reviews?
Sincerely,
Hungry for Answers
Good questions, Hungry (Is that Swedish?). The answers are (1) No, and (2) HAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAHAAAAAAA…. No. We firmly believe that lawyers should never have their in-seam measured at work, and we review restaurants as a service to you, our faithful readers, and because we really, really, really like to eat at different kinds of places and then tell everyone we know about where we just ate – it's like a form of therapy except it’s not therapeutic and its amorphous (Get it? “Form” of therapy? Honestly, we don’t know why we try anymore.). And this month's restaurant is definitely a great example of something different.
Catalina Room defies easy categorization. The menu, the d?cor and the overall mood have a little bit of everything, but that's definitely a part of its charm. The dark wood and low lighting evokes a definite Houston's kind-of vibe as does the eclectic, American-style menu, but no Houston's we've ever been to offers you a glass of champagne when you walk through the door (even at lunchtime for all you lushes out there). And, since we're always impressed by multiple TV's (See, i.e., our review of Ten), we were very pleased to find that Catalina Room has a whole row of booths with personal flat screen TV's in each one. These booths could make for either the worst first date experience ever or the best married couple’s night out ever. Add leopard skin print on the booth seating (rrrrrow!), an open air kitchen and a large circular bar-lounge opposite and you have all the makings of… something that Three's Company’s Larry Dallas might have designed if he had the jack, but it works, trust us. The Room also has live music on weekend nights. The funky-cool atmosphere is aided by the super-friendly service and the presence of hip, cutting-edge young attorneys such as ourselves. Our waitress anticipated our requests more than once and handled them all quickly with a smile on her face. But it all don't mean a thing, if the food ain't got no zing, so let's get to the food, shall we? Ba-dap-dap-doo-wee-dop.
The menu has a little bit of everything from everywhere, but somehow it works. Starting off with the appetizers, which run from $5 to $11, the Texas Style Onion Rings are not only the cheapest appetizer, but they might replace J G's Hamburger's for the best onion rings in town (we'll present them with their Gavelie if we ever do that again). The rings come stacked about a foot high on a plate, piping hot in a crispy golden brown batter that has a nice hint of seasoning to it. Not only do the rings pull off the difficult feat of not falling apart when eaten with a knife and fork (or with your hands, if you’re into that kind of thing), but they are also still tasty after they've cooled off. For entrees, the Room has everything from wood-fired pizza to steak and prime rib, which all cost in the $10's and $20's, but their signature dish is the Fresh Catfish. It's fried whole, which means you get the whole fish with the head and everything, so if you've ever wanted to talk back to your food, now's your big chance. Start with a joke and compliment something it’s wearing to break the ice. Again, the fish was perfectly fried but also light and flaky. It comes with tartar sauce and delicious homemade coleslaw. Another highlight was the prime rib, which is cooked exactly to order; you can get it bloody and still mooing if you want. Go ahead, moo back, the catfish won’t mind. The sandwiches, which run between $9 and $12, are a cheaper lunch option. The Rebuen satisfied a craving, and the heap of tangy sauerkraut was right tasty. The fries that come with the burgers and sandwiches are excellent, and of the fries we’ve had recently, they are second only to the gas station grub from Philly’s Finest (See last review). One disappointment was the soup. The seafood gumbo was thinner than the real New Orleans deal and needed some hot sauce to give it some kick. Also, the grilled ahi tuna was a little too overcooked. Still, order the right stuff here and you won't be disappointed. Finally, the Room is under the grip of the Valet Mafia, as are many Dallas restaurants these days: for only $2, someone will park your car 10 feet from the door. We predict that in five years, there will be food valets, who will spoon the food into your mouth for $2, $5 on weekends.
Catalina Room is further proof that thinking outside the box can pay big dividends on the Dallas restaurant scene. It makes for a great place for business lunches, family get-togethers or even as a place to show off to visitors from out of town. Just don't sit at one of the TV booths if you're thinking of popping the question, unless the question is, “Have we seen this My Name is Earl episode already?” On our crazy, groovy five-gavel scale, where five gavels is John Travolta in Saturday Night Fever and one is John Travolta in Battlefield Earth, we give Catalina Room four gavels, a solid Get Shorty effort, and hope it keeps on grooving for a while to come. He was in Look Who’s Talking Too as well. Oh, and Lucky Numbers. And Face/Off. And Swordfish and Michael and Domestic Disturbance. Wait, we almost forgot Look Who’s Talking Now and The Experts. Basic was pretty bad too, and so was The General’s Daughter. And don't even get us started on Broken Arrow.
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