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Allirght kids, it's time for our first ever Law Reviewers(TM) blog review (yea!). Since The Dicta only comes out once a month and there are a whole lot of restaurants out there in this sprawling mass of suburbia we proudly call "Big D," we plan to use this blog as a way to discuss (ok, critique) all of the places we may never get around to writing a full review on (or maybe we will, so watch out!).
We figure the purpose of the print reviews is to check out the hot new places in Dallas or places that you may not have heard about and let you know about them (or in some cases, warn you about them). These blog reviews will cover places that are either already known, have been around for a while and/or that we've just revisited. Also, these blog reviews are in most cases going to be written by only one of us and based on the experiences and opinions of only that one of us, and if you can guess which one is the reviewer (and you're not related to us) you'll win a year's supply of turtle wax and a restraining order to stay the heck away from both of us! So, with all of that out of the way, let's get to the first blog review.
Il Sole Restaurant and Wine Bar, like many of its contemporaries that started up in the late 90's, isn't the packed-to-the-gills "hot spot" that it once was when it opened in 1999. Since here in Dallas any place that's been open more than six months is as forgotten as last month's dental appointment (I really need to get a check up), it can be hard for an adolescent restaurant to continue to survive and not to lose what made it a great place to start off with. But Il Sole showed that it hasn't missed a beat when I went there with my wife for dinner recently.
To start with, the service was flawless. Everyone remembers when they've had bad service -- like when the waiter follows you into the parking lot to get his tip (actually, that was a Soprano's episode and it didn't end well for the waiter, so bad example) -- but the epitome of good service is when you don't even notice it and when your food and drinks are brought to you so quickly that you say to yourself, "Wow, I just ordered that! (And why am I talking to myself!)" That was exactly the level of service Il Sole gave us. They should open up a waiting service academy, only without Steve Guttenberg and Michael "I can make machine gun noises with my mouth" Winslow getting involved in wacky capers, to teach other restaurants how it's done. Our waiter kept our water glasses constantly full and was experienced enough to realize that when I hadn't picked up the wine list, I probably wasn't going to order wine so he didn't need to ask. He politely took our orders and brought the food out as soon as it was ready; the only time he disappeared was after he had processed the check and we were left to linger as long as we wanted. After several recent experiences of having to practically waive a white flag to get our waiter's attention, it was nice to see that there's a place that still knows how to do service right.
And the food, which has always been excellent from our past experiences there, didn't disappoint. It's a good sign when a restaurant inspires an Italian (in this case my wife, who's no slouch at cooking) to try new things. The tuna carpaccio, while maybe not as thinly sliced as you would expect, was perfectly matched with some sesame crackers, goat cheese and a truffle oil enhanced white bean dip. And our entrees were even better. The special was a type of pan-seared spearfish on a bed of mashed potatoes mixed with (we think) prosciutto and topped with an apricot chutney. The fish was a little bit rarer than I prefer it, but my wife loved it, and the mixture of tastes with the potatoes and the chutney worked wonderfully. But I've saved the best for last. I had the lobster risotto for my entree, which was pure creamy, chewy comfort food bliss with crisp roasted asparagus mixed in to provide a nice textural counterpoint. I know some purists out there (my wife again) say you can never mix cheese with seafood, but they clearly made that rule up before this dish was created. I say rules like that, and the rule that you can't burn your pants, were made to be broken!
The only area where Il Sole shows its age a little is in the ambiance category. The cream and tan stucco walls evoke California-meets-Tuscany, but the lights are kept low enough, even when it's still light out, that you can't really get the sun-drenched feel they're going for. Also, the live music was a nice, new touch, but it basically amounted to smooth jazz karaoke with a saxophone, so adding another instrument and expanding the musical repertoire wouldn't hurt. All in all, though, our experience was a memorable one and demonstrated that here in Dallas some things can keep going strong, even without plastic surgery. On our Tuscan-inspired, Venetian blind five gavel scale (TM), Il Sole gets a near perfect four and three-quarter gavels. |
