There has been a near constant grumble emanating from Germany about the lack of content on this blog. Pretty much, if I\’m stuck in Dallas there\’s not much getting written about. The problem is largely that in order for something to be blogworthy, it must be awesomely awesome or abjectly awful. So the vast mediocre in-between gets no mention on these pages.

I spend a lot of keystrokes complaining about shit. I\’ll be honest. It\’s more fun that way.

So please be patient with me as I gush some praise on R&D Kitchen. Or is it R&D Café? It\’s called both, but I like the Kitchen better.

Since it was born from the minds that gave us Houston\’s, I wasn\’t expecting much. That\’s not a knock on Houston\’s. I\’ve never had a bad meal there. But it\’s always been nothing more than an Applebees done right to me.

R&D is no Applebees!

I immediately fell in love when told that their beers on tap were: Pilsner Urquell, Chimay White, Spaten Optimator and two or three equally worthy beers. Granted, this is not The Gingerman or The Flying Saucer. But most restaurants don\’t bother to have one good beer much less six.

The special of the day was a pan seared Barramundi with a butternut squash sauce on mashed potatoes. The fish was as fresh and delicious as I\’ve ever had in Dallas. For a few seconds I felt like I was in Seattle. The slight drizzle on the patio also helped.

I\’m very proud of my mashed potatoes. And these were worthy competitors to my mashed tater supremacy.

Since I need to complain about something, it would have to be their signature appetizer – deviled eggs. I\’m not a fan of deviled eggs in general. And while they were edible, unlike most, they did not seem to me anything special. The tuna mango roll was something special. Its freshness and lightness would make a delightful summer appetizer its own self.

So it really can\’t get any better than this, right? How about carrot cake with mascarpone icing? Yeah, it was as good as it sounds.

R&D Kitchen is what every restaurant should strive to be. Everything about the place was geared toward maximizing customer experience and maximizing deliciousness.

A stark contrast to Bella.

A

8308 Preston Center Plz
Dallas, TX 75225-5304

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