I would check out Local in deep ellum - very short cab ride. Great food with an emphasis on, you guessed it, local ingredients. www.localdallas.com

Thanks very much. Heading to Nola tomorrow and staying at IH.

I posted on here a few months ago about how horrible my experience was at Commanders for dinner. I've been many, many times but this was the first post K. Food, service, you name it was very disappointing. I emailed the GM and go no reply which was equally disappointing.

That being said, the turtle soup was fantastic as always. EVerything else was just okay. Unless you are dead set on CP's, I would seriously consider other places. And it pains me to say that!!

Hi BPASWA, Bob's on Lemmon, Al Biernat's on Oak Lawn, and NIck & Sam's are all less than a 10 minute cab ride from Love. Wine list at Bob's is no more expensive than the others and I've never found it noisier than Al's or N&S. Any of those 3 and you'll leave happy.

Unless you are at least 75 and are looking for extremely average and overpriced food, definitely pass on Old Warsaw.

You guys were very helpful a few months ago when I was re-visiting New Orleans. I'm headed back again and need help with the best wine list in town - so winos speak up!!

My friend I'm visiting with is quite the wine expert so I'm not looking for that "small, but interesting" list. I'm looking for depth and rare finds.

Oh yeah, and if the food happens to be stellar at the restaurant, even better.

Cheers!

Tom Fleming definitely counts as well known.

214 would seem to be a lateral at best move for Casey Thompson but we'll see.

fyi, Central 214 recently lost their chef too.

The shrimp salad at S&D Oyster Co is wonderful. Tons of chopped shrimp, mayo, with leafy lettuce. The grilled chicken salad at Houston's is my go to quick lunch meal (eat at the bar, and always ask for the cheese toast). Then, my new favorite was from Nonna the other night. 5 ingredients. Halved cherry tomatoes, chopped green olives, pine nuts, basil, and honey vinegar. Wow.

PWORD - not sure where you get your word but Craft is absolutely not on the way out. That rumor has been squashed by many within the media. And Stephan Pyles has tex mex flair?? There's not a single thing Tex Mex about his menu. And Nobu is alive and well, also not going anywhere - that rumor is over a year old.

It's a pretty short, yet interesting list. And almost everything on it is under $100 with most in the range you're describing. Not a lot of mainstream stuff (which I like) with a solid contingency from Spain, Argentina, and Chile. Unless you've got some knockout wines you're planning to bring, a $25 corkage fee is pretty stiff. The wines on his list match up well with the food though they're not stored at cellar temp - if that matters to you. Love Suze, have fun!

We've been to NOLA many times and I used to go there a lot on business. We're returning in late August for a long weekend. You're not going to be able to talk me out of Sun brunch at Commander's but, other than that, we're open to whatever. So, here's my run down of fine dining places we've been:
-Emeril's probably 10 times (back in our more novice days)
-Nola and Delmonico twice each. Nola - very avg. Delmonico - 1 amazing dinner, 1 whiff.
-Commanders. 5 times, 5 stellar experiences.
-Arnaud's. Only once. Very rich food but overall very good experience.
-Antoines. Disappointing considering the price tag.
-Clancy's. Very good to great.
-Peristyle - but it's been 7-8 yrs. Can't even recall what we ate.
-GW Fins - Great seafood but not all that New Orleans to me.
-Brennan's - went 1 time for biz function. Good not great. Touring the wine cellar was cool
-Mr. B's - high marks but heard it went downhill post K?
-Restaurant August - fabulous but there's 10 places just like it in Dallas
-Brigtsens - relaxed, incredible food, maybe our fave of the bunch.
-Dickie Brennan's Steak. I live in Dallas, still wondering why I went to New Orleans and went to a steakhouse :)
-Gallatoire's - underwhelmed but we were a little drunk and probably had "out of towners" written all over us.
-Upperline - enjoyed this a lot. wine list pretty disappointing though.
-Lillette - went right before Katrina and was really impressed.
-QSR - it was okay. crowd was very interesting.
-Rene Bistro - solid but nothing memorable

Most likely, we'll hit one or two of these again but I would love to hear if there are any glaring omissions on our list for great creole cuisine. And, if there's a "next big thing" chef that's opened a new creole-ish place, I'd be very interested in that too.

We've also enjoyed Snug Harbor for jazz on previous trips. Any recommendations there would be appreciated too!!

Thanks so much for your help.

I would check out Arcodoro - fantastic authentic Italian place in the Galleria area (assuming Italian meets your criteria of appealing to many palates). It's definitely nice enough for a special occasion but not so dressy where jeans are out of place. And the food is phenomenal.
www.arcodoro.com

Right in your area, try Sushi Sake. Arguably the best sushi in Dallas metro.

Two Guys from Italy is great for the pocketbook. My 3 favorites are Ferrari's on Midway in Addison for the Americanized Italian done better than anyone else, Arcodoro for something different and authentic, and Nonna for simple yet traditional.

I'd call it okay for a birthday celebration. It's in the W Hotel which is great people watching. They just changed chefs and the wait staff has been hit or miss on a couple of my visits but the food has always been fabulous.

Steel is solid but not even close to the best sushi in town. Others on Oak Lawn worth your time are Al Biernat's (steak) and Aurora (high end French American) - neither of which particularly fit your criteria. If a cab ride downtown (10 mins from Oak Lawn) is no big deal, your options open up quite a bit. Check out the site below...they've got the most in depth Dallas foodie recommendations I've found. You can make reservations there too. Good luck!

www.snootyfoodie.com

Was in town the other night and had a great meal at Biga's on the Bank. An app called game packets - sort of like lettuce wraps but with finely diced wild game, very tasty. BBQ Lamb Shank and Axis Venison for mains were also outstanding. There's plenty of great seafood options too we just happened to order game.

Fine Dining. Neither distance or price is a concern. No allergies. No chains. Don't care if its dressy or not. Thanks.

Will be in SA next week and need a fine dining spot for Sun night. Wanted to make it to Le Reve but they're not open. Was told to check out Bigas on the Bank. Is that my best option on a Sunday?

The Bob's in Dallas and Houston are affiliated in name only. Pappas Bros is the best steak in Houston.

I didn't think the Perry's in Houston and Dallas were affiliated?

Heard he was partnered up with Paul Pinnell on his upcoming restaurant in One Arts. But that was a couple of months ago...so he's probably already moved and had 3 stops since then....

Nick hadn't been truly behind the stove for quite sometime so I doubt there's any drop off since your last visit. Garreth Dickey has been manning the ship for a while and Nick was Corp Chef. Agreed on both the crab dip and the sea bass (but there's really no such thing as crab overload is there???) :)

Can definitely recommend Savor Dallas! If you only want to go to part of it, the International Grand tasting on Sat night is fantastic. 60 chefs and plenty of wine! We've gone the last 2 years and it was money well spent and calories well gained!!

Umm, you do realize macaroni is pasta right?

Went last night. We just had the boring old chocolate souffle but it was fantastic. Very light and fluffy. We also had the bordeaux wine fight. I saw your post on Charlie Palmers so you know your wine. That's a good thing. It was painful to listen to our server try to pronounce the wines as she sat down the glasses but there was no information sheet or anything offered with them so you have to just remember what is what. They did say the wine list was under construction and they've only been open since Tues so I'll give them a chance to train their servers. Other than half dozen or so sweet souffles they have a short but interesting menu of savory dishes (as well as souffles) and cheeses. The space is very cool and bistro-ish. We met the owner and she seemed very passionate about her place.

No brainer, Arcodoro Pomodoro. www.arcodoro.com

Brothers that own it are from Sardinia and it's as close to an authentic experience as you're going to have close to downtown. Wine list is solid as well.

Purely on food, York St.

Trendy with a San Francisco-esque feel, Abacus.

Hotel St. Germain requires jacket and tie for men but is anything but trendy. Very romantic and food is incredible.

I wouldn't let my dog eat at Old Warsaw (even if he was wearing a coat & tie).

He's not going anywhere. And a lot of people have "drove off" Markel. He's one of the best but certainly has a gypsy mentality. And didn't Pellini leave to do his own deal?