by Steven Doyle
That incredible space once occupied by Eddie “Lucky” Campbell’ The Chesterfield, located at 1404 Main Street in downtown Dallas, has been converted into yet another opulent cocktail lounge, The Mitchell. With a complete revamp consisting of new wallpaper, chandeliers, seating and a few other kicked up beauty tricks, The Mitchell is set to soft open tonight, and the crowd is expected to be large0. Owned and operated by a group called Buffalo and Hare, The Mitchell is overseen by their new corporate chef Brian Zenner, formerly exec at Oak and Belly & Trumpet.
The exec chef duties at The Mitchell will be handled daily by Rudy Mendoza who worked with Zenner at Belly & Trumpet and was lead line at the Mansion. The menu looks pretty exciting and features several beautiful oysters which are currently East Coast Duxbury’s and Bagaduce’s. Along with oysters the menu also features a classic caviar service replete with accouterments. You may select from four varieties including a domestic Spoonbill, Italian Giaveri White Sturgeon, a Belgium Gold Label Osetra and a Sterlet White Pearl. Prices for caviar service range from $45 to $290.
chefs Zenner and Mendoz
The menu reads on with a charcuterie or cheese board, a delicious poached pear salad, fried duck rilletes and several more items to entice a hungry bar patron. If the caviar and charcuterie are not your thing, the menu also features a pretty terrific classic cheeseburger. We are also eager to taste the root beer float made with butterscotch ice cream.
The cocktail menu isn’t as grandiose as the building’s former tenant, but you will find plenty to satisfy your inner Mad Men. Look for an entire page devoted to gin cocktails and a slew of wines and sparklers.
The feel should b inviting to neighborhood guests, and travelers looking to escape their hotel, but not especially wanting a pub feel as hey might experience next door at City Tavern. It is an upscale experience, but isn’t necessarily eager to fend off the guy looking for a good drink in sexy digs.
Zenner has developed the menu at the next bar to open for the Buffalo and Hare group, which will be On Premise opening soon in Deep Ellum at the former Lemongrass location at 2711 Elm. Zenner will take advantage of the woks and offer Asian street food, which is certainly a popular offering this year. Zenner hired his former Oak sous chef, Ann Marie Romero, who also worked with him at the Mansion on Turtle Creek.
The On Premise menu will be much heartier and will take advantage of the late night crowds looking for more than just pizza, which is predominantly what is available at midnight in Deep Ellum. A sneak peek at the menu revealed items such as crispy artichokes & red chermoula, mushroom fried rice & duck egg, eggplant & paneer with masala, all which will play up to a heavy vegetarian and vegan crowd. There is also a heavy source of proteins with items such as pork belly & mole verde, quail with jalapeno jelly, chicken wings & cilantro mint chutney, crispy octopus, and a surf n’ turf with Bearnaise. This is a preliminary menu, but said to be a good representation of what we might expect. Asian cuisine is also deep within the wheelhouse for chef Romero a she also worked at Pakpao.
Zenner told us last evening that he wants to sway away from the fine dining gigs and concentrate on just serving great food presented well. Look for at 3 or 4 concepts dotted across downtown and other areas in 2015 with more promised for the following year.
