Christopher N.
Yelp
Road trip to DFW this weekend and for our big night out we chose Ellerbe based on its great reviews and the credentials of its chef. It's a lovely little space in a hot part of Fort Worth. Free valet. We were welcomed warmly upon arrival and seated immediately.
Our waiter was, to put it mildly, very energetic. Everything was explained in detail -- many of the dishes (what was new, what was not) including how the preparations had changed in recent weeks. We explained we'd never been here before, but still we heard how the pork chop used to have a different side, and now it had brussels sprouts and dirty rice. He even explained how the butter served with the bread had a higher fat content so it was creamier than we might expect. OK... at some point, there's such a thing as too much information.
Cocktails -- which are new to the restaurant -- were solid. When we moved on to wine, I asked for a taste of the barbera, which is served by the glass, because we were considering buying a bottle. No can do, I was told -- I can bring you a glass but not a taste. That was probably a first for me at a fine dining establishment, where most are happy to bring out multiple tastes to ensure you are getting what you want. Eyes rolling, I ordered the glass -- which turned out to be fine.
We shared the green salad -- perfectly fine -- and our entrees were hurried out a few minutes after the plate was cleared. Red fish was outstanding -- a thick fillet off the bone, though the sides of half a potato and a chunk of corn on the cob were uninspired. Picking up an ear of corn to gnaw on it is not my idea of five-star dining.
But the pork chop is where things fell apart. It's a huge hunk of meat, served medium (we were warned on that front), but tough on one side, stringy on the other. The bed of rice and sprouts it was served on was cold. Not "room temperature" but literally cold, which is just plain wrong. We hated to do it, but we sent the dish back with that comment. It was returned with "fresh rice and sprouts," but the same chop on top, by a different waiter. A bit warmer, but still not really up to an ideal temperature -- and I've never had "dirty rice" like this... which turned out to really be just undercooked wild rice. That second server checked again to ask if it was "more appropriate" and while really it wasn't, we let it go. We ate about half of it before giving up. No one inquired as to why the fish plate (sans the corn) had been devoured but the pork had basically been ignored.
Our server went through a 3 minute monologue about the various desserts, for which they are known, but we made up our mind to cut losses at this point and move on from there. I was left wondering as we left, however: For a restaurant that makes a big deal of sourcing all of its ingredients within 100 miles of the restaurant, how is it they have Alaskan halibut (or any saltwater fish) on the menu?