It’s really hard to remember when that mod looking building on McKinney was Big Shots Pool Hall & Sports Bar. It’s really hard to remember what THE spot was before Abacus came to town. Who can remember when the Lobster Shooters were an unknown to the Dallas foodies? And it’s certainly hard to remember the Dallas fine dining scene pre-Kent Rathbun.
A foodies’ worst nightmare is when a popular chef hits it big, has fat funding behind them, and seemingly abandons the stove to “sell out” for fortune and fame. I can’t blame said chefs for turning their craft into mucho greenbacks but as a loyalist to chef driven, fine dining restaurants I selfishly wish they were chained to their Viking ranges. So when Abacus gushed onto the scene in 1999 and immediately challenged the Mansion and Star Canyon as the obligatory fine dining site in the city, smart money suggested Chef Rathbun would parlay that success into expansion and over exposure diluting the allure of the original.
Well, no question Chef Rathbun has mushroomed his brand over the last decade, turning Abacus into the most nationally acclaimed restaurant in Dallas history, being a perennial contender for the James Beard Foundation Southwest award, spinning off the more casual Jasper’s concept in Plano, Austin, and Houston, publishing cookbooks, making cameos on national cooking shows, touring the country with city officials soliciting convention business, establishing wine dinners and tasting menus as a citywide fine dining mainstay, headlining celebrity chef getaways, leading the highly coveted Dirty Dozen cooking classes, and becoming the most charitably focused chef we’ve ever seen (literally, how does he find that much time?). Most recently, Kent and his brother Kevin roasted Iron Chef Bobby Flay on Food Network's Iron Chef. (Kent's beloved blue corn grits were in the rotation). Bravo boys!
Fortunately, despite the continual flurry of PR commitments and ‘coming soons’, Abacus hasn’t missed a beat. Until January of this year, Tre Wilcox was the Chef de Cuisine. Chef Wilcox, best known as the good looking black guy on Bravo’s Top Chef TV show (where he got screwed, by the way) dominoed his successful run in Abacus' kitchen to a cookware deal and perhaps his own restaurant down the line. But fear not loyal fans of Abacus. This just means the Main Man will be in the kitchen overseeing things until he names a successor to Chef Wilcox.
When we have guests come in from out of town, Abacus is always in the rotation. Though we obviously go to great lengths to dispel the nasty rumor that Dallas is only good for steaks and Tex-Mex, there is still that hint of doubt particularly from guests that come in from San Fran, Chicago or New York and have dined at some of the top spots in the country. After dining at Abacus, the most typical response we get is something to the effect of, “Wow, this restaurant could hold its own in any city.” Not quite the resounding thumbs up that we usually give but an authoritative nod of approval none the less.
The menu truly spans the globe including Southwestern, American, Mediterranean, Pacific Rim, and even Creole flavors. It is broken up into soups/salads, small plates (appetizer size portions), big plates, sushi, and sweet plates. With an ever-changing menu, I don’t know that we’ve had the exact same dish more than once (with the exception of the lobster shooters). But the menu swings aren’t that dramatic, meaning there is usually salmon, sea bass, tuna and some type of shrimp and lamb, pork, and beef on the big plates. So, by changes it is maybe a mahi mahi instead of sea bass due to availability and/or freshness and you might see a buffalo tenderloin in place of the lamb. Or maybe the variations are just in the preparation of the dish based on the season.
On our most recent trip, we began our meal with the Lobster Shooters, just as we have our last dozen or so trips. I’ve read some local reviews that characterize these as fussy or over the top or even overrated. Having gone through the task of making these at home a couple of times, I can tell you tracking down the ingredients and putting in the hours to assemble and simmer the broth and rolling up the lobster dumplings is a colossal pain in the ass. I do have to say they were worth the effort but it is quite a bit easier just to show up at Abacus and have them do in 5 minutes what it took me half a day to do. In case you’ve been under a rock, the shooters are deep fried lobster dumplings served in a shot glass filled with a broth of coconut milk, sake, mirin, ginger, red curry paste, shallots, kirin leaves, etc, etc. It’s a touch spicy but the flavors of the broth just explode in your mouth and yet the sweetness of the little lobster nugget creeps its way through too.
Though the shooters are a no brainer, there are so many other tempting small plates we always feel compelled to get several for the table. In addition to the shooters, we started this particular meal with Duck 3 Ways, Sunday Sushi Roll, and a lovely Vichyssoise Soup.
As a huge fan of duck, the 3 Ways delivered a perfect diversity in texture and taste. The piece of breast was seared medium rare, the confit was concentrated with a crunchy skin, and the foie gras medallion was seared crisp with a perfect flavor and consistency.
Abacus offers a fairly extensive menu of sushi and we have never been disappointed in the freshness of the fish or the preparation. The Sunday Roll is their most popular roll and consists of fresh salmon rolled with fine crabmeat and topped with a dollop of wasabi aioli and chimichirri sauce.
Vichyssoise is a soup usually seen on French menus, though it is somewhat of a debate if it was a French or American invention. In any event, it is basically a potato and leek soup and can be served warm or cold. Abacus served there’s in the traditional cold manner – ideal for a summer dinner - with diced potatoes and a charitable dribble of truffle oil.
Off to the usual phenomenal start, we debated and finally selected the Berkshire Pork Loin, Sea Bass, and Buffalo Tenderloin as our big plates. By the way, don’t let the Big Plates moniker mislead you. The portions are ample but also appropriate for a restaurant that doesn’t aspire to render you miserably full.
The Berkshire pork loin came with a spicy fig demi-glaze, had a nicely singed crust, was cooked to their recommended and our desired medium, and was served with purple whipped potatoes and sautéed baby artichokes. Realizing the Pork Loin is the most popular dish at sister restaurant Jasper’s, it’s fair to say Mr. Rathbun knows how to cook a pork loin.
For those that don’t know the Chilean Sea Bass story, here’s the Reader’s Digest version. Actually named the Patagonian Toothfish, the name was changed to Chilean Sea Bass for marketing purposes even though it is not technically a bass or from Chile. It worked. CSB took over salmon as the most ordered fine dining restaurant entrée several years ago until, like salmon, it became over-fished, over-exposed, and started popping up on every chain restaurant menu in existence. Since CSB was a marketing term, let’s just say a lot of restaurants used the term recklessly (read: Chilean sea bass at fine dining restaurant may not be the same type of fish they are serving at Bennigans). Fine Dining restaurants started shying away from it more until the last couple of years when the harvesting of the fish became more regulated. The CSB at Abacus was the quintessential luxurious, delicate fish we’d come to love. Fresh, fresh, fresh, it was served with two tiger shrimp dumplings, blood orange broth, and a chiffonade of spicy thai basil. Again, simply a perfect dish for a hot summer night.
Six or Seven years ago, I had perhaps my very favorite single dish at Abacus – a medium rare lamb T-bone served over maytag blue cheese grits. It was flawless. So, whenever I’m at Abacus I am always drawn to whatever their lamb preparation is but I opted for the Buffalo tenderloin on this visit. Like venison, buffalo is extremely lean dictating a rare to medium rare doneness. Served as requested, the simple tenderloin was served over truffle mashed potatoes and glazed baby vegetables.
Desserts are engineered by pastry chef Rick Griggs. Griggs’ relationship with Chef Rathbun goes back 17 years to their days at the Mansion and he’s been in charge of the sweet plates at Abacus for a over 5 years now. Like the dinner menu the lineup rotates quite a bit over the course of the year but there is always a lengthy selection of interesting house made ice creams and sorbets (think lemon & tarragon ice cream and coconut yuzu sorbet) as well as homemade cookies and a bread pudding and crème brulee of some type. Our favorite has to be the Godiva Chocolate Soup. Sinfully rich, the bowl is centered with a nut rolled brownie then surrounded by the chocolate lava goodness.
In a recent poll of fine dining restaurant diners, almost 60% said their biggest turn off at a restaurant was poor service and that they would be more likely to return to a restaurant with average food and great service as opposed to one with great food but average or below average service. Fortunately, at Abacus you don't have to make that choice. They've assembled a waitstaff team that is very professional, courteous and knowledgeable. We’ve also noticed the turnover is much lower than many other places having seen the same waitpersons time and time again in the past 8+ years.
Abacus’ wine list is as broad as their menu and has been given Wine Spectator’s Award of Excellence every year since 2001. It runs the gamut of power American brands as well as premier bottles from France. They are also one of the very few restaurants in town that has a Sake program. Through constant training and tastings, the seasoned waitstaff has been very well trained on their wine offerings as has General Manager Jeff Yerger insuring you’ll have all the help you need in your wine choices.
Cool just got cooler! Abacus has just re-opened after closing their doors for a 3 week decor redo. We never had a problem with it, but some say the main dining room was showing its crow’s feet and could use a face lift. It would've been easy to just keep with the old look, but Chef Rathbun stayed true to his ahead-of-the-curve-self with a brand new digs. Go by and check it out!
In a crazy time when food has become sexy and chef’s have become rock stars that have traded their passion for TV shows and fat funding, it is refreshing to find a chef that still thrives on pleasing the diner while simultaneously juggling the multitude of offers and commitments that summon their attention. Even with the emergence and re-emergence of several top flight restaurants in town, Abacus remains firmly rooted in the upper echelon of Dallas’ fine dining eateries. When it opened its doors, it set the bar for excellence and began to establish Dallas’ identity as a fine dining city. Now, we can only hope Abacus is what all the newbie foodie destinations aspire to become.