Looking for America’s Next Top Model or next year’s contenders for The Bachelor? How about a gaggle of finely dressed, “Porsche poor” gentlemen or long legged beauties that are convinced that shorter dress = marriage proposal from rich older man? Or maybe you’re just looking for some fantastic upscale American food, a stellar wine list, and an urban chic dining room? Well, Hibiscus delivers on all of the above and more.
Wedged into the mini entertainment hotbed of Henderson Avenue, Hibiscus is the brain child of Triston Simon of Consilient Restaurant Group – an entertainment conglomerate home to restaurants Fireside Pies, Cuba Libre and The Porch.
When I heard this team, who had repeatedly and successfully plugged into the metrosexual crowd, was going to attempt to parlay the success of chic casual spots Cuba Libre, Fireside Pies and the late Sense into an upscale chophouse, I have to admit I felt like it was more than a little ambitious. What could these guys do that hadn’t already been done and perfected by local stalwarts Al Biernat’s and Bob’s? As it turns out, they seductively carved out a niche as a great restaurant (that just happens to serve great steaks) that seemingly appeals to every business person, foodie, $30,000 millionaire, ear piece wearer, professional athlete, and A-lister in town. And instead of slugging it out with the aforementioned steak kings by opening ‘just another prime steakhouse’, they took the conventional chophouse playbook and spiked it with refinement. Led by Executive Chef Garreth Dickey, they have seamlessly incorporated a pacific influence into their menu giving them street cred as both a prime chophouse and an innovatively prepared seafood destination.
The restaurant design complements the neighborhood surroundings of antique and retail shops, fine dining restaurants, and urban living. The rustic hardwood floors, wrought iron light fixtures and understated elegance of the dining room bring a feeling of approachability and unpretentiousness. And even though the crowd is beautiful and dressed to the 9’s, don’t let that sway your opinion that this restaurant might be more about marketing than memorable food. It’s not.
One glance at the menu and you immediately realize this isn’t your run of the mill steakhouse compilation of shrimp cocktails, filets and baked potatoes. The offerings run the gamut from high end comfort food to Asian bistro to San Francisco seafood spot to prime chophouse.
Superstar starters include the wicked and immorally creamy Baked Dungeness Crabmeat Dip with wood fired house crackers. The sweetness of the pacific crab melds in flawlessly with the spiked cream to form a truly perfect concoction. Thank God there aren’t any Nutritional Facts on the side of this dish. On the lighter side, Chef Dickey offers up a Big Eye Tuna Tartare with fried corn chips. No question, tuna tartare is a mainstay on a lot of menus these days. Painfully fresh, ruby red, and delicious, this sashimi grade version is a decided notch above the others. If you’re planning on a seafood entrée, you’ll want to get your beef fix in with the Asian inspired Crispy Prime Tenderloin app. This small prime strip of beef comes glazed with hoisin BBQ and is served with Mango & Mandarin Salad. Sweet, spicy, and delectable. Perhaps my favorite, though, is the lump crabmeat with avocado, grated horseradish, and lime. A large avocado is halved, pitted, and hollowed out. The avocado is chopped, mixed in with the crabmeat and returned to the shell. A small shaving of fresh horseradish and squeeze of lime over the top completes this very simple and refreshing dish.
Salads shouldn’t be overlooked at Hibiscus, particularly the Bungalow and Grilled Asparagus Chop House. The Bungalow is Hibiscus’ take on the traditional steakhouse blue cheese salad mixing chopped Iceberg with tomatoes, avocados, apple smoked bacon, and candied pecans in a mustard vinaigrette. The Asparagus Chop House, again, takes the same old chophouse salad to the next level tossing in chopped asparagus with red onion, grape tomatoes, Sonoma jack cheese, and frisee all folded with a flavor packed toasted honey balsamic dressing.
Decisions, decisions. The biggest problem with Hibiscus is that the steaks and seafood are equally good. This creates quite the dilemma when deciding what to order but, fortunately, it also means it is “Ordering for Dummies” in that it is virtually a mistake proof ordering experience. You can’t go wrong.
The two prime tenderloins offered are unquestionably in the upper echelon in town. Grilled simply with olive oil, kosher salt, and pepper, there’s nothing overly sexy or ground-breaking about these but I really have no complaints about them either. The 18 oz bone-in prime “brick” is drizzled with roasted garlic butter just before serving giving even more flavor to the already flavorful cut. T-Boone’s Prime Tenderloin & Tomato (an homage to investor T. Boone Pickens) is a perfectly cooked tenderloin served with beefsteak tomatoes and Point Reyes Blue Cheese. I guess that’s what billionaires eat for dinner?
The other stellar meat selections include a Wisconsin milk fed veal chop with foie gras butter and a prime short rib served with a red zin ginger sauce over house mashed potatoes (where else would they be mashed?).
On to the delights from the sea…
Any of the fresh fish can be simply grilled and served over simmered cannelloni beans creating a fuss free, homey combo. You’ll certainly be happy with this selection but I always like to ask myself, ”could I make this at home?”. Certainly not as well, but I can grill fish and lay it on top of white beans. I'd rather branch out and take advantage of the kitchen's expertise.
Sweet and spicy, the candied pecan crusted mahi mahi is served with whipped sweet potatoes and creole mustard sauce. The whole grain mustard drizzle certainly brings a kick but the sweet pecans cut its pungency so the fish isn’t overpowered. Boring old salmon gets a karate kick in the ass with a spirited glaze of garlic soy and a tasty little shrimp rice with ginger citrus sauce as its plate companion.
Put simply, the Spicy Crab Crusted Sea Bass is one of the single best fish dishes I’ve had anywhere in the country. A delicate sea bass filet is smeared with a creamy crab mixture then broiled to a crunchy consistency. Surrounded by a shallow pool of roasted tomato salsa and broth, this is one of those dishes that bring you back to a restaurant over and over.
Both for presentation and taste, the showstopper of the entire menu is the Lobster ala Orange. A two pound lobster is boiled then deconstructed. The chunks of lobster meat are sautéed in an orange soy butter. Mashed potatoes are mounded on a platter and the lobster shells are reconstructed on top as if the poor little crustacean had never been plucked from the depths of the sea. The tail is inverted and piled full of the scrumptious meat. On more than one occasion we have ordered steaks and gotten one of these guys for the center of the table for all to share. This combination could very well be the most original surf and turf out there.
Side dishes again take the traditional steakhouse fare to a more sophisticated level. Your typical Au Gratins are Point Reyes Blue Glazed. Ho hum mashed are mixed with buttermilk and parmesan reggiano cheese. Instead of steamed, the asparagus are wood grilled. You get the idea. And Hibiscus may not have led the charge to put “adult” mac and cheese on their menu, but you can certainly make a case that theirs is the best.
If there were ever a chophouse dessert staple, it has to be crème brulee. Consistent with everything noted above, Hibiscus ramps this one up from the typical vanilla variety preparing theirs with a heavy dose of caramel and garnished with bramble berries (fancy term for raspberries and blackberries).
As you might expect from the menu descriptions, the wine list is heavy on chardonnays and cabernets – all of which come from California. That’s not to diminish its depth or quality. After all, this is an upscale American restaurant so there’s certainly no shame in stockpiling the cellar with west coast offerings. There is a trace amount of Sav Blancs for the Asian inspired seafood and they do have several viogniers (one of our personal favorites) and other white varietals if the buttery Cali chards aren’t your thing. On the red side, the collection reads like a who’s who of huge, bold new world Cabs – Caymus, Chateau Montelena, Far Niente, Heitz, Silver Oak, Staglin, and Stags Leap but they also have a nice mix of lesser known Cabs like Barnett, BR Cohn and Darioush. Beyond Cabs, the list of Meritages, Merlots and Syrah is most definitely worth a cursory glance as is the impressive list of Pinots which includes several from Oregon.
Like the restaurant and the menu, the wait staff veers from the conventional old school lineup but is still a sharp, seasoned, professional, and knowledgeable crew. They seem to navigate the always packed dining room with skill and ease. And in the absence of a sommelier, they do a more than adequate job of assisting with wine selections.
With the fanfare that led up to Hibiscus’ arrival a few years ago, it wouldn’t have shocked anyone and might have even been expected by many for this to be nothing more than an over-hyped, underwhelming restaurant that was more interested in serving cosmos than cranking out some of Dallas’ very best food. Quite the contrary, in a very short time span, Hibiscus has already established itself as a culinary anchor in the revitalized Henderson Avenue area and has made its mark as one of the elite dining halls in the city.
Hibiscus has already established itself as a culinary anchor in the revitalized Henderson Avenue area and has made its mark as one of the elite dining halls in the city.