Sommelier abruptly departs Hibiscus restaurant in Dallas

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — Renowned sommelier Rudy Mikula has left Hibiscus restaurant, according to general manager Robert Brown.

"Yesterday was his last day with us -- it was unfortunate," Brown said. "He’s a very good sommelier. His table-side and guest experience is incomparable to a lot of individuals. I'm not sure if anyone has a deportment equal to Rudy's. But it wasn't a relationship that was working out."

Mikula, who was previously sommelier at Nove, and then Nana before that, was a critical favorite, earning gushing praise from the likes of the Observer and the DMN.

Hibiscus does intend to replace him.

"We’re going to sit down and plan for something aggressive and immediate," Brown said.

Meanwhile, the restaurant is unveiling its autumn menu featuring new items that include a steak tartare made with three selections of prime beef -- short rib, tenderloin, and rib eye -- with tomatoes, applewood smoked bacon, Point Reyes blue cheese, house-made BBQ potato chips, and roasted garlic aioli.

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They use BBQ potato chips in steak tartare? The other ingredients make it sound like a Cobb salad that accidentally got mixed with some ground beef. Have you tasted it, TG?

kirk Anonymous

2 years ago
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I suspect chips aren't in the steak tartare. A traditional side for the dish is pommes frites.

Catte_Nappe Anonymous

2 years ago
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Pommes frites, toast points or rye bread I can see; BBQ chips strike me as being about as appropriate as Doritos.

kirk Anonymous

2 years ago
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I could see it being good with plain potato chips, like ceviche & plantain chips. But can you really make steak tartare out of short ribs?

luniz Anonymous

2 years ago
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I hope they are boneless short ribs. But this apparently is a post-modern tartare, so who knows?

kirk Anonymous

2 years ago
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Gee...I may have missed my calling. I could have become the toast of Henderson Avenue serving couscous Crème Brulee made with potted ham and lentils, served atop a bed of red hots melted into a rhapsodic drizzle of soy grenadine. (Call ahead only, served for $27.50 with an as yet unidentified direct-from-Shanghai 'new-age Port' served by the glass for $40.)