by Steven Doyle
HG Sply Co. opens for dinner service beginning tomorrow, May 21, 2013, and Dallas will finally get a taste of Paleo. After sampling several of the dishes during pre-opening festivities the word ‘diet’ should hardly come into play. The restaurant is made up of ingredients that have actually been hunted and gathered from neighboring farms and ranches, a practice performed by many new, up and coming restaurants in our area.
The restaurant takes advantage of the original charm of the building after having stripped away the sheetrock and years of abuse, exposing a beautiful and rugged patina.
Owner Elias Pope enlisted Chef Paul Niekrasz, who hails originally from Chicago, and made his way to Dallas via Santa Fe, New Mexico. Niekrasz developed his chops by working his way through restaurants, and eventually opened his own bistro in Sarasota, Florida. The chef was imported into Dallas by Restaurant America, who opened many restaurants in this area.
“I have never really done Paleo before. The type of food I like to cook is hearty peasant food, be it Mediterranean, French, Northwest Italy, and by omitting just a few ingredients we are able to easily come up with what we have,” said Niekrasz.
The result is this dynamite menu divided by those that are hunted and all things gathered which is accessed by flipping the menu around. We sampled the pork belly adorned by thin strips of crispy pig’s ear and glazed with blood oranges. A stunning dish that is priced well at $11.
The roasted beet salad went beyond what you might normally find and had a healthy amount of bibb lettuce, whole Szechuan pecans, and a house-made green goddess dressing that the chef prepares so well.
Also enjoy a mix-and-match bowl option that allows you to build your own dish with a myriad of ingredients. We sampled up the seared ahi tuna with a parsnip and celeriac mash and a side of Brussels sprout chips. The dish was both filling and flavorful at the same time for a mere $13.
The cocktail hour is greeted by a list of signature drinks concocted by Emily Perkins who most recently worked for The Porch, and we now here she is behind the bar across the street on Henderson at Victor Tango. You may recall hearing her name some months ago at a cocktail competition we covered. She does wonderful work, and the drinks are bright and spirited.
On the beer front, think all things local, and this list was assembled by the spunky brew gal Stephanie Roethlisberger who manages the neighboring Bottle Shop on Lower Greenville. Stephanie’s beer enthusiasm comes out clean with this well rounded list she created, and will continue to rotate.
Look for the menu to change often, as should one created using heavily seasonal ingredients. As for this First Look, we see good things coming from the energy created by the new addition to a quickly growing neighborhood. Within walking distance Trader Joes will be opening August 9th and will feature a smallish food truck park. There are more restaurants and pubs slated to open in the burgeoning section of Dallas very soon.
jealous! i want one of these in my area! 🙂
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