A portrait of Tom Vandergriff greets you at the door of The Vandy, and it belongs there. The longtime Arlington mayor spent his career insisting the city would be the center of North Texas, then went out and landed the ballclub and the amusement parks to back it up. The restaurant that bears his name now sits a short walk from both stadiums, on the ground floor of the rebuilt Caravan Court at 205 N. Collins St.
The hotel opened in June on the site of the old Caravan Motor Hotel, a 1961 motor court whose sign made it through the rebuild intact. Chef Yimara “Yia” Medina had been on the job only a matter of days when the doors opened, cooking from a starter menu handed to her by the hotel group. Fall is the first time the menu reads like hers.
Her path to an Arlington hotel kitchen did not run in a straight line. She started out as an elementary school teacher, then worked her way into restaurant management. When an emergency left the kitchen short one night, she stepped onto the line with no formal training and never stepped back off. By 2007 she was co-owner of Yia’s by Chef Tino, a restaurant that drew enough attention to put her and her mentor, Tino Feliciano, on Food Network and Cooking Channel.
The hurricanes of 2017 ended that chapter. She sent her three children to the mainland to finish the school year and followed them to Texas with little more than a backpack. In Dallas she went back to work at the Ritz-Carlton, and her résumé here grew to include executive chef at Jasper’s Uptown and chef de cuisine at Eataly Dallas.
The fall menu keeps the mid-century supper club frame the room was built for. Start with the Seafood Tower, stacked with lobster tail, crab salad, oysters on the half shell, cured salmon and shrimp cocktail. The Foie Gras Torchon comes with cognac-compressed pear, strawberries and toasted brioche. For something warm, there is Onion Soup Gratinée under a lid of Gruyère, or a Lobster Bisque finished with sweet corn foam.
The Glazed Pork Belly from the opening menu stays put, bright with orange, fennel and pistachio.
Mains lean rich and unapologetic. The Lobster Thermidor is butter-poached Maine lobster tail in a cognac-tarragon cream, a dish most Texas dining rooms retired decades ago. The 16 oz. Ribeye gets a coffee rub and a finish of Garrison Brothers bourbon butter. There is Wagyu Beef & Truffle Ravioli with parmesan fondue and crispy sage, and an Ora King Salmon with crisp skin, yuzu butter sauce and chili oil.
The dish that gets talked about most is the fried chicken. It is a full 2-pound bird brined in ginger, lemongrass and star anise, served with kale-cabbage slaw, pickles, hot honey and the house Van’s sauce. Bring someone to share it with.
Fridays and Saturdays, the kitchen adds Beef Wellington, layered with mushroom duxelles, foie gras and prosciutto inside puff pastry and finished with demi-glace. It is worth building a Friday night around.
“Food has a unique way of bringing people together, especially as the weather cools, and our new fall menu is built entirely around that sense of gathering,” Medina said.
Desserts stay close to home. The Warm Apple Pie “Crumble” arrives with caramel sauce and vanilla ice cream. There is a plate of warm cookies, chocolate chip, peanut butter and oatmeal raisin, and a Double Chocolate Chocolate Cake with chantilly cream.
At the bar, The 1961 is the drink to know. It blends Still Austin bourbon and Still Austin cask-strength rye with house bitters, then rests in a barrel. The Day Tripper goes the other direction with Cimarron blanco tequila, passion fruit, pineapple, lime and spice. The list also carries spirit-free cocktails, a deep wine selection and local craft beer.
Medina will also be outdoors next month. On November 15, Caravan Court hosts a Tailgate BBQ in the courtyard from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m., with live entertainment, the games on TV and an Argentine grill station she will run herself. The event is part of a hotel stay package.
The Vandy serves breakfast, lunch and dinner daily, with dinner from 5 to 10 p.m. Valet parking is complimentary, which matters on a game day in that part of town. Reservations are available through thevandy.com.
