Interesting new Restaurant Ava with lots of foodie signifiers to open in Rockwall on Tuesday

by Teresa Gubbins

ROCKWALL — Rockwall Town Square is about to get itself an important foodie-style restaurant on Tuesday when Restaurant Ava opens on Tuesday April 7 in the space previously occupied by French Pear Tea Room.

The restaurant comes from chef Randall Copeland and partner Nathan Tate. Tate is a third-generation Rockwallian while Copeland's background includes stints at the Park Cities Hilton, the Green Room, Bradley Ogden in Las Vegas, and most recently Bolsa in Oak Cliff.

Here's the summary statement from the restaurant's Web site:

Copeland says that what he and Tate are doing at Ava is unique.

"There's nobody doing exactly what we’re doing -- everything in-house, all of our own butchery, grinding our own burgers, curing our own bacon," he says.

Their menu includes tempting-sounding starters such as spring pea soup with braised bacon, pea tendrils, and creme fraiche, while entrees range from steak and fries to goat cheese torteloni made with "Paula's cheese," with asparagus, morels, and fava beans. They'll change the menu frequently but usually offer 7 to 8 entrees and 7 to 8 appetizers.

They've remodeled the formerly-quaint tea room space by adding a lounge, with its own casual bar menu; building a showpiece all-glass wine room in the center of the dining area; and opening up the kitchen, with the addition of a small room that holds a concrete "chef's table".

"We did the chef's table out of necessity, because it's an odd little space," Copeland says. "Rather than put two to three tables out there all by their lonesome, it seemed wiser to open up the kitchen and put in a chef's table."

Copeland has an above-average interest in desserts, but is starting slowly with a trio that includes strawberry-rhubarb buckle, a fallen chocolate cake, and a pineapple upside cake with coconut ice cream. His interest is strong enough that he acquired a PacoJet machine, known for creating uniquely creamy sorbets and ice creams.

"I'm still playing with it a little bit," he says. "You can do other things with it besides dessert -- I'll do some cauliflower ice with caviar, where you can make a cauliflower puree, that's almost like a granita. A good ice cream machine is really expensive. I knew it was much more versatile."

The twist: He got it on eBay.

"I got it from a guy in Florida, and it was almost brand new -- it had all the attachments," he says. "And I got a good deal on it."

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