2009 Dallas Restaurant Design Awards

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The 2009 Dallas Restaurant Design Awards (29 December 2009)
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Home/2009/November_December/The_2009_Dallas_Restaurant_Design_Awards_3.aspx?p=1
http://snipurl.com/twi2r


The 2009 Dallas Restaurant Design Awards
The D Home editors found the prettiest particulars in restaurants all around town. Forget the food. This is all about the most delightful dining details.

By by the D Home editors
D Home NOV-DEC 2009

Best International Experience

(above) Dining at Tei An is like taking a trip to Japan—without the outrageous airfare and jet lag. Hatsumi Kuzuu of Kuzuu Design succeeded in bringing the best of Tokyo to One Arts Plaza. The atmosphere is decidedly chic yet natural—a sake cup installation mixes with the beautiful stonework arranged in the middle of the restaurant. The utilitarian—and somewhat sobering—uniforms come straight from the Japanese soba bars.

Best Lighting

(above) Dean Fearing knows women. Even better, he knows Dallas women. That's why it's no surprise that his namesake restaurant Fearing's boasts seven separate dining areas—each with its own distinct lighting scheme. Whether you're recovering from a little nip/tuck or feeling like a million bucks after a day at the Ritz-Carlton, Dallas spa, there's a table for you in the Johnson Studio-designed space that is sure to show you in your best light.

Best Acoustics

(above) Whether you're having the "It's not you, it's me" talk or proposing marriage, you won't risk being misheard at Salum. Not that it was planned that way. "We had no idea what it would sound like in there," owner and chef Abraham Salum says. So much for best-laid plans. In the end, though, designer Julio Quiñones created a sleek, sophisticated space that's ideal for those with a need to be heard.

Best Place to Have an Affair

(above left) Designed by local firm Plan B Group, The Stoneleigh Hotel's restaurant Bolla showcases rich colors and textures with a modern and glamorous appeal. The flattering lighting, chic chandeliers, and privacy panels make it the perfect place to sample forbidden fruit. The hotel rooms upstairs don't hurt either.
Best Tapestry

(above right) We've always coveted the tapestry on the east wall of Hattie's in Oak Cliff. No more coveting: turns out it is a digital photo printed on a
micro-fiber canvas, and anyone can use the technique to replicate the image of their choice. "The Legend of the Blue Willow" plate was created by Meisel in Dallas.

Best Wine Room

(above left) One could argue that any seat where you're sipping wine is the best seat in the house. We beg to differ. Experience the glass room in the middle of The Fish, designed by co-owner Michael Collins and built by Kevin Dinh. It holds 2,400 bottles of wine and seats 14 very comfortably. What was the inspiration? Collins wanted an exclusive private area—with separate climate and volume controls—ideal for birthday parties, bachelorette fetes, or even an executive lunch meeting.
Best Wall Coverings

(above right) Any Golden Girls fan worth his weight knows that the botanical wallpaper at Park is the very same used in Ms. Blanche Devereaux's boudoir. The Martinique "A" print by Beverly Hills Wallpaper is just part of the fun of the colorful Breck Woolsey-designed space, which is also filled with photographs by Allison V. Smith.

Best Presentation

(above left) We have a love/hate relationship with the desserts at Tillman's Roadhouse. We love the desserts, and we hate ourselves for not being able to resist them. Maybe that's why we love the "cookie paddle" so much. The R.W. Smith & Company-designed piece is perfect for meting out the appropriate punishment after we once again inhale one cookie too many.
Best Table

(above right) Admit it: the restaurant table often gets short shrift. You're so busy looking into your special someone's eyes—or into the bottom of your glass, depending on the day—to note the fine details of the dining surface. Not so at the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek. The tables chosen by design firm BAMO are a marriage that crosses state lines: bases are by Alabama merchant Table Topics, and the Macasssar veneer is from Dallas' Wood Gallery.
Best Silverware

(above at bottom) Dining at Hôtel St. Germain is a lesson in elegance. Just as the men don ties and jackets, the tables are dressed in their finest. The linen tablecloths, antique Limoges china, and crystal wine glasses set the scene perfectly, but what really pulls it all together is the antique silverware. The establishment's vast collection, which was two decades in the making, includes nearly a thousand pieces in more than 30 patterns. The flatware is so beautiful, you just might be inspired to start a collection of your own.

Best Concept

(above) There's just something about Charlie Palmer at The Joule that gets us excited. It's probably because the place is full of energy—literally. Designer Adam Tihany nestled six slowly rotating wind turbines in the ceiling as an homage to Texas wind energy, and artist Bram Tihany (Adam's son) created six wind-themed photo art pieces for the restaurant, with fantastical subjects such as The Wizard of Oz. You'll be blown away, we promise.

Best Checkout

(above left) Our friends at Shinsei encourage you to focus on a different time—the days of your youth—instead of that pesky bill. So they deliver the bad news in the pages of a children's book such as Goodnight Moon. The best part: it works. Plus, you can borrow this idea. Use your favorite literary works for place settings or name cards at your next dinner party.
Best Comic Relief

(above right) There's plenty of delicious pork on the menu at Smoke, but the pigs that really put a smile on our face are the ones on these quirky dishes the restaurant uses as bread plates. Part of the Les Cochons line by Jill Butler, the appetizer plates can be purchased as a set of four. Combine them with her matching glasses and "tidbit dishes," and you'll be in hog heaven.

Best Overall

(above) In our debates to the death regarding each category, one restaurant kept showing up: Rise No. 1. Why? Everything about this charming, authentic French restaurant is meant to contribute to a five-sensory experience. Even the bathroom is darling. Owner Hedda Dowd designed the space, and, luckily, she's willing to share. Everything in the restaurant is for sale: the silver, linens, even the chair you're sitting on. And feel free to borrow one of the books in the library, as long as you replace it with one of your own.

Best Booth

(above) Our crush on Craft owner Tom Colicchio has nothing to do with this proclamation. The intimate booths here, part of the design scheme by New York-based Bentel & Bentel Architects/Planners, win on their own merits. That said, we wouldn't be opposed to canoodling with the Top Chef judge in a corner booth after inhaling some of Craft's signature chocolate chip cookies.

Best Napkin

(above left) Snagging a table at Neighborhood Services is no easy feat. The restaurant doesn't take reservations, so your wait may include making a friend—or enemy or two—at the bar. Once you finally get seated, signal your good fortune (or raise your white flag, if necessary) with this adorable linen napkin from Admiral Linen and Uniform Service. The buttonhole even ensures that your new Tommy Bahama shirt will remain unsoiled.
Best Plates

(above right) Masterpieces by Nana's Anthony Bombaci are obviously a treat on regular china. But plan a private party of 20 or so, and you can experience a Bombaci creation served on Versace—Medusa or Russian Dream patterns. It's out of this world. Purchase your own set at Neiman Marcus, Bombaci fare not included.

Best Outdoor Furniture

(above left) Until recently, we never liked to think about eating in conjunction with trying on clothes. The veranda at Cibus at NorthPark Center changed all that. Eating al fresco at the mall feels downright cosmopolitan when you're lounging in a "Thayla" chair by Kartell, in all of its "almost feminine form" glory. Purchase
your own Kartell collection at
Scott + Cooner.
Best Place to Rest your Bum

(above right) At most restaurants, you don't spend much time admiring the spot where you put your tush. Not so at Screen Door. George Cameron Nash designed the "One Arts" chair for the restaurant, and the style has become a top seller. With their generous seating proportions, the chairs provide the ideal place to settle in for a leisurely brunch, lunch, dinner, or afternoon tea. Both pretty and comfy, these seats are just as stylish and genteel as you'd expect in a "modern Southern kitchen."

Best Bar

(above left) Is there a more sophisticated place to drink than Highland Park Village's Cafe Pacific? From the black and white tiled floor to the tiny tables and the marble-topped bar, every detail is perfection. The people-watching at this haunt, open for some 29 years, is surpassed only by the dizzying array of liquors stocked behind the bar. According to a source who knows: "It's the best-stocked bar in Dallas. They have liquors other bartenders have never even heard of."
Best Fountain

(above center) Close your eyes and listen to the soothing sounds of the fountain on the patio at Dakota's and you're sure to find some peace. Close your next deal, and you might even be able to afford a fabulous fountain of your own. In the meantime, close out the bar while enjoying this Akard Street fixture, designed by the late Keith Simmons of HKS Inc. in the early 1990s.
Best Art Collection

(above right) Server Tamara White and pastry chef Rick Griggs lead double lives at Abacus. Sure, White is happy to talk specials and Griggs makes a mean dessert, but both are also accomplished artists. Check out their artwork hanging around the restaurant and purchase pieces of your own at Nest.

Best-Looking Waitstaff

(above) The employees at the Park Cities Houston's could have come directly from central casting. Clad in black uniforms, dewy-eyed, and polite, these waiters and waitresses have faces fit for head shots and portfolios. Even better: the fine fleet combines good looks with great service. Trust us, you drink your water (or wine) a little faster here just for the punctual refill.

Best Entrance

(above left) When Liz and Jim Baron opened the Blue Mesa Grill on Northwest Highway, they faced a couple of challenges: how to create a dramatic entryway in a strip mall and how to avoid the second-floor "kiss of death." Architect Rick Carrell saved the day with this gorgeous oversize door that creates a canyon effect in the restaurant's entry. Once inside, you completely forget that you passed a Container Store on your way in.
Best Private Dining Room

(above right) Todd Fiscus and Rob Dailey created something out of a fairy tale in the back room at Tillman's Roadhouse. The dreamy, tree- and feather-filled private parlor can seat up to 24, and it's ideal for an elegant lunch, dinner, or cocktail reception. Choose from three set menus. Looking to bring some of this whimsy to your own backhouse? Hire party planner extraordinaire Fiscus for your next big bash.

Best Side Service

(above) At Rathbun's Blue Plate Kitchen, the side dishes are a main attraction—and not only because of the food. The serving dishes aren't bad either. While you're munching on veggies, grits, and other sides, the lovely pots from Le Creuset add a splash of color to your table decor. Lucky for you, the cookware company just opened a new signature space in Allen (see p. 24), so getting this look at home just became a whole lot easier.

Best Lip Service

(above) Wet your whistle with these gorgeous glasses: (from top left) Impulse! Enterprises Galaxy water glass at Villa-O; silver mint julep glass from Screen Door; hand-blown polka dot water glass at Stephan Pyles; La Duni water glass; Riedel beer stein at Neighborhood Services; and Schott Zwiesel Pure fine champagne glass at Charlie Palmer.


The 2009 Dallas Restaurant Design Awards (29 December 2009)
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Home/2009/November_December/The_2009_Dallas_Restaurant_Design_Awards_3.aspx?p=1
http://snipurl.com/twi2r


The 2009 Dallas Restaurant Design Awards (29 December 2009)
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Home/2009/November_December/The_2009_Dallas_Restaurant_Design_Awards_2.aspx?p=1
http://snipurl.com/twi4b




The 2009 Dallas Restaurant Design Awards (29 December 2009)
http://www.dmagazine.com/Home/D_Home/2009/November_December/The_2009_Dallas_Restaurant_Design_Awards.aspx?p=1
http://snipurl.com/twi3p