Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek spoon-feeds the media dishes from new chef Bruno Davaillon

by Teresa Gubbins

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Time to jump on the Bruno bandwagon.

DALLAS — With something like the media dinner hosted by the Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek to introduce new chef Bruno Davaillon, there are two ways to go: Take the high road, decline the invitation extended by the PR folks, and hope to scrounge up the time and money to go on your own; or line up at the free-meal trough and hope to convey a shred of data or a photo of a dish not offered elsewhere.

Thus we found ourselves at the Mansion on Tuesday night along with The Brad and the Snooty Foodies, the DMN's Kim Pierce and Mark Vamos, D Magazine's Jennifer Chininis and James Tidwell, and more, eating a comped dinner worth $135+ for food alone (the sum at my table), not counting wine pairing, tax, or tip.

Servers deftly highlighted items that were "new from Chef Bruno," dwelling an extra minute or two on dishes "I think you'd like to try," such as Maine lobster salad and prime rib eye. Most followed the recommendations; no point at an event like this in ordering an old staple like the Mansion's tortilla soup.

"Chef Bruno, that's what he likes to be called," said one server, winking, his dig against Davaillon's predecessor left discreetly unspoken. And then Chef Bruno came out and stood at the table, looking smaller and more vulnerable than he does in his photos. Trying to make conversation with Davaillon, a native of France, was so strained, it was almost funny; maybe it's easier if you're, say, the rare dining critic who parle français, oui? Chef John Tesar may have been a controversial hire but he did the Mansion a big favor by wiping the Dean Fearing slate clean and paving a smooth path for his own successor, making Davaillon's low-key demeanor seem a relief instead of an anticlimax.

Davaillon also has credentials: While executive chef at Alain Ducasse's Mix at THEhotel at the Mandalay Bay in Las Vegas, he scored Michelin stars in 2008 and 2009.

A number of his dishes at the Mansion incorporated lobster, including the amuse, a miso-flavored broth with chunks of lobster and mushroom, served in a tiny teacup, to be consumed shooter-style; and the Maine lobster salad ($32), a careful composition with precise chunks of lobster on an avocado and tomato confit. No matter how it was served, the lobster was always just-barely cooked to be tender, not rubbery.

A woman at a nearby table whispered that she wanted to suck up her butternut squash soup ($18) with a straw. The soup had halved chestnuts, like nuggets of gold, and a spring roll filled with shards of tender King crab, both decadent and witty. Wild mushroom risotto ($18) had porcini mushrooms for sure, plus maybe oyster and chanterelle, capped by a crisp-edged duck confit.

Day boat scallops ($32) eschewed the usual crusty treatment with a subtler sear that better emphasized the scallops' flavor. They came with thinly-sliced cauliflower and a cauliflower puree, plus an unusual "ice wine vinegar emulsion." Atlantic cod ($34), with skin on, fell apart in large firm flakes, but the cod-and-potato "brandade" on which it sat made me wish for plain boring mashed.

Among the seafood options, chorizo-crusted halibut ($40) had the most zing, with its piquilla pepper stuffed with green bell pepper, and white-bean puree. The big 'n meaty meat dish was a duo -- not one but two meats -- of prime rib eye and braised short rib, with potato "fondant" that reinforced how careful the side dishes all were.

Not observed: Moroccan lamb ($45) with couscous, baby turnips and honey-lamb jus.

Davaillon also has input on desserts, which is fortunate since it's an excellent place for him to showcase his French training. The "Mansion candy bar" was a cunning ground-nut-and-chocolate rectangle coated with ganache and sprinkled with coconut slivers, that looked exactly like a candy bar. It came with a scoop of sorbet that turned out to be a mind-bending lemon-and-Thai-basil -- an unexpected pairing with chocolate. An apple dessert combined half a dozen apple treatments in a single, artfully presented dish, from paper-thin dried slices to clouds of intensely pert apple-y foam.

Later in the night, managing director Duncan Graham breezed through the restaurant, confiding that he'd just gotten off a plane from New York, where he'd gone for the day to help receive the hotel's five-star five-diamond rating from the Forbes Travel Guide (formerly Mobil Travel Guide but renamed under a new licensing agreement).

"The problem with being at the top during bad economic times is that we don't have anyone trickling down to us," Graham said, joking. About Davaillon, he said, "We're so happy to have him. And with chef Eric Brandt in the kitchen, and Jason Maddy, they make such a good team" -- something you never heard said about Tesar.

Getting anyone to actually move to Dallas is a coup, and we definitely don't have any many chefs in town who've worked with Alain Ducasse. No one place can stay on top forever, but it's good for the local dining scene that the Mansion continues to try.

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