Wednesday, April 15, 2009
Eating on the cheap at Aurora in Dallas
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DALLAS — After more than five years as one of Dallas' top-rated as well as top-priced restaurants, Aurora quietly changed its profile last year, by revising its menu and dropping its prices. The economy hadn't sunk like a stone yet, so it turned out to be a prescient move by owners Avner & Celeste Samuel.
My mother's salad at Aurora
Part of the do-over included a new lunch menu with a three-course prix fixe meal, for $18.95. Samuel says that it took customers nearly eight months to discover the deal, but these days Aurora is a hot ticket at lunch.
As a point of reference, three years ago, a friend and I had a 10-course or was it 12- vegetarian tasting menu at Aurora and it was $300 each. (It did include wine, which was about a third of the cost.) So how does that transform into "bargain lunches"? In some ways, the cutbacks are obvious. Samuel has trotted out "My Mother's Salad," consisting of chopped tomato, cucumber, and green pepper, dressed in olive oil and sprinkled with fresh parsley, a longtime favorite that's shown up at nearly all of his restaurants over the years. It's elegant and flavorful, but hardly costly to assemble.
Scallops with tomato at Aurora
However, a trio of seared scallops topped with roasted plum tomatoes seasoned with trendy piment d’espelette, and accompanied by pearl couscous, haricot vert, baby squash, garlic cloves, and oyster mushrooms, wouldn't be considered budget fare. And the service component of dining at Aurora remains a five-star experience, with servers in tuxedos, fancy flatware, and your choice of bottled sparkling water or still, free of charge.
Mushroom "cappuccino" at Aurora
A recent lunch began with a complimentary course: a cup of mushroom "cappuccino" -- basically a foamy mushroom soup with truffle shavings. Truffles don't do much for me, but the soup itself was light at the same time that it was hearty, with a woodsy mushroom flavor and a temperature that was hot-not-scalding. Points for the fine-china teacup vessel.
Artichoke soup at Aurora
Artichoke soup consisted of a vegetable puree with a small dose of cream to smooth out the texture; otherwise, just the sweat and blood of dozens of artichokes distilled to their essence. Creamy vegetable soups are often all cream and no vegetable, but this was the reverse. A spoonful of truffle-flavored foam and more of those same black truffles, julienned, added visual interest, and might have pleased a diner who under any circumstances always likes truffles, no matter what kind they are or how they are served.
Potato gnocchi with bolognese sauce at Aurora
The pick of the meal was gnocchi topped with Bolognese sauce. The gnocchi were soft, almost buttery, with a spongy resilience that made you want to keep eating them. The Bolognese was complex, with ground bits of tenderloin making you feel like you were one of the elite, and a whisper of cinnamon in the tomato base to provoke a little brain twist. Served in one of those small Staub cast-iron dishes, it didn't look like much food, but the portion was more generous than it looked, i.e. this alone would have sufficed for lunch.
Spaetzle with lamb meatballs at Aurora
It being winter when this lunch was consumed, they still had lamb meatballs with spaetzle on the menu -- another dish that was hearty, not heavy. The three large meatballs had a Mediterranean feel, with lots of oregano; the spaetzle were appealing, with their irregular handmade shapes and incorporation of still-firm green spinach leaves and baby squash.
Right now they're doing wild leek soup, butternut squash bisque, roast chicken with fingerling potatoes and local vegetables, fish of the day, and a trio of sorbets.
They've also added a whole list of tapas, inspired by a recent trip to Spain, with items such as spiced black olives, white anchovies, frittata with chorizo, mussels, oxtail, beef cigars (another Samuel signature dish), lobster and duck confit, oysters, tuna with pan-fried quail egg, razor clams in marinara sauce, eggs and truffles, wild mushrooms, foie gras (big-time Avner favorite), octopus with potatoes, scallops, red mullet, merluza, Kobe beef, "sea & land" (with pork belly), and quail, priced from $4 to $15.
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Comments
Russ Vandeveerdonk Verified
This is a TRUE sign of our economy. Avner is in survival mode! I never thought I could go back to Avner's "AURORA RESTAURANT" and enjoy his spectacular dishes, at such a low cost. I like it. But it is a sad comment on what has happened to our great country.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Billusa99 Anonymous
Hey... those elbows look familiar!
Well done~!
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Pavel Lishin Verified
The artichoke soup looks like a grasshopper struggled and died in a tiny sink full of dishwasher detergent.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
alexander troup Verified
Pavel dont worry, you can get your money back at this cheap place,by not going back, besides... this is Green food we will have to soon eat, Soilent green soup...A/T, Chef Charlton Heston to the rescue..
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
I'm thinking I'd much prefer reading a TGubb review than a Pavel one....
They don't let you do brochure copy either, do they?
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Alex Bentley Staff
I don't know, Jason -- I think J. Peterman could use writing like that.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
alexander troup Verified
The photo's look good Rice, and you could be right,but somthing is fishey.....what is fishey....Pavel hit a good green nerve...A/T, Inspector food palet..
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
Alex - I'd like to see him try his hand at descriptions like my fave online brochure EVARR -- http://www.woot.com/
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
luniz Anonymous
I'd like to eat there some day. I could do without dessert at lunch tho.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Scott Anonymous
Looks like a lot of value for the money. (Artichoke soup with black truffles at Guy Savoy: $68.)
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Billusa99 Anonymous
That soup was to die for!
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Pavel Lishin Verified
Jason: well, now I'm going to see if I can do an actual "on the cheap" review, just to spite you.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
::just to spite you.
"Win" criteria: At least two people have to think it's appetizing enough to follow suit.
Rule of thumb: "Struggle" and "Die" are not generally held as appealing attributes of food.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
then again - you didn't say "Eat" - "on the cheap"
That's a wide open field then
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jesus Valadez Verified
Screw this fancy eating!
continues to eat Chick-fil-a
I can be fancy too!
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Travis Bush Verified
Hahah Chick-fil-a and Jesus...the guy who owns them would be quite pleased...ever wonder why they aren't open on Sunday?
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jesus Valadez Verified
I always do wonder because that's when I want some the most! Aholes... can I say aholes?
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Jason Rice Verified
::I always do wonder
Church thing.
::I can be fancy too!
Your fancies are probably out of bounds if your avatar's oral fixation is any indication.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Pavel Lishin Verified
"I always do wonder because that's when I want some the most!"
This is precisely why I don't eat there anymore. Sunday is the only day I ever want any, and I slip into a rage every time I remember that they're closed.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
nina_chawla Anonymous
I def a church thing. Even in the malls, it's still there in the food court like a black hole on sundays! WHY?????????????
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
CitizenKane Anonymous
I can top Aurora's cheap eats...check out what Per Se in NYC is doing to attract rececssionary diners.......
http://www.bloomberg.com/apps/news?pi...
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
Russ Vandeveerdonk Verified
CitizenKane---"recessionary diners",..wow what a great new term to use! I like it!!!
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
adkim Anonymous
Wow! It looks as if this might be the best bargain in town.
6 months, 3 weeks ago ( Link to this comment | Suggest removal )
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