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Seventeen Seventeen, the Dallas Museum of Art restaurant that has had rising-star chefs such as Kent Rathbun and David Uygur in its past, has a fresh roster of talent in its kitchen, thanks to a new partnership with Sodexo Inc. (The international management company works with, among others, Alain Ducasse at the Eiffel Tower's Jules Verne restaurant in Paris.) Executive chef Jason Ferraro (formerly at Envoy, the contemporary American restaurant at the Ambassador Hotel in Milwaukee) is now in charge at Seventeen Seventeen, as well as overseeing the Atrium Cafe and all of the DMA's food service. Jason's only been in town for about a month and a half, but he's getting a strong assist from a DMA neighbor who has 30 years of experience with Dallas diners: Stephan Pyles (pictured), who has been consulting with Sodexo on this project since last fall. Today the DMA gave a media-preview lunch that offered a look at what diners can expect, starting tomorrow, from the reinvented Seventeen Seventeen. The new menu aims to be a culinary representation of the scope of the DMA's international art collections. It includes aspects of Southern cooking; for example, a soft-shell crab sandwich was served. But it was wrapped in garlic naan for a Middle Eastern twist, accented with smoked-duck bacon and mango-Meyer lemon mayo. The starter was a sweet pea soup inspired by East African tradition, but in the center of the bright-green bowl was a dollop of cardamom lobster. One of the most interesting dishes was the second starter, described as "virtually smoked" salmon terrine with watermelon, cucumber and saffron "caviar." Those quotation marks had us all wondering what the heck to expect. What we each got was a plate of salmon with a side of applewood smoke, trapped in an overturned wineglass. Then the servers ceremoniously turned each wineglass over and wafted the smoke over the salmon. The plate was highlighted in the center with a scoop of golden beads that looked like caviar but were in fact, Jason explained, a synthetic twin made of liquefied saffron. "No fish eggs," he said -- just an example of the molecular gastronomy that fascinates him. The rest of the meal included entrees of tamarind-cured beef tenderloin with three farmstead cheeses, micro-greens, spiced marcona almonds and macerated berries; and Pacific halibut with littleneck clam stew, preserved lemon and fennel brandade. There were two desserts: mango and pistachio clafouti with green-tea anglaise and "fried" ice cream, plus a sort of deconstructed banana split. The DMA's new iced tea, by the way, is a delicious blend called Bolero, made from Sri Lankan tea leaves and lightly infused with notes of peach and mango. It's from the Cultured Cup, whose Kyle Stewart is consulting with Jason on presenting some exotic tea services at Seventeen Seventeen. Much more is on the DMA's new culinary agenda, including -- for the upcoming King Tut exhibit -- dinner for 10 in a recreated Egyptian tomb. We're sure you'll be hearing more about that in the weeks and months to come.
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Comments
Posted by Kim Pierce @ 9:13 AM Tue, Jul 15, 2008
The virtually smoked salmon was a killer effect, and the terrine itself was simply layered salmon and butter that melted in your mouth.
I was equally impressed with one of the new wines presented by general manager Brenna Hudson, who comes from Bob's Steak & Chop House.
She poured a haunting 2006 Jermann Pinot Grigio, made by Silvio Jermann who, I later learned, is famous for his whites. More like an Austrian wine, it kissed you briefly with fruit, then quickly developed into this full-on, steely, wet-stone mouthful, trailing off to creamy elegance.
She told us there were 11 allocated six-bottle packs available (presumably in Dallas), and she had grabbed up three. Her enthusiasm and knowledge of wines is another reason to believe the DMA is serious about ramping up 1717's profile.
The new menu, by the way, rolls out today.
Posted by Joyce Saenz Harris @ 10:27 AM Tue, Jul 15, 2008
Kim, I agree that Brenna's expertise bodes extremely well for wine lovers who will lunch (or dine at special events) at the DMA. She also chose a summery red for the entrees: Bridlewood Reserve "Arabesque" Central Coast 2005, a light blend of five grapes. To finish the meal, the self-described "Champagne girl" picked Veuve Clicquot Ponsardin, Brut, a non-vintage Champagne.
But that first wine was a lovely surprise. She had us at pinot!