Saturday’s opening preview of Samar Restaurant by Stephan Pyles was one of those nights

by Teresa Gubbins

DALLAS — In one of the bigger splashes of '09, Samar -- the new Moroccan-Spanish-Indian-Middle-Eastern, hookah-smoking, downtown-residing restaurant-bar from chef Stephan Pyles -- previewed its imminent opening with a charity-event party on Saturday night that drew an insane nearly-1,000 people.

The restaurant is on the corner of Ross and Olive, on the ground floor of what was formerly known as San Jacinto Tower (whose exterior figured prominently in Dallas, sniff) -- not far from Pyles' other restaurant, the still-popular Stephan Pyles, and also close to the new important-right-now Arts District.

Dallas being Dallas, it's hard to fathom diners trading out zzzz steaks and burgers for chutneys and baba ghanouj; but hope springs eternal and the party snacks were presented in quantities that were sufficiently (though not hatefully) limited that everyone eagerly seized whatever snacks might come their way, be they spiced chicken and lamb kebabs with tomato chutney and okra garnish or lentil wafer cones with potato-garbanzo-and-pomegranate or pico-de-gallo-with-lentil-sprouts.

The rush started shortly after the 7 p.m. start time, with lots of folks deciding simultaneously to "arrive early and beat the crowds." A red carpet was set up to make entrances feel special, and a young woman in a sari threw handfuls of rose petals on the ground as each party-goer entered. Pyles stood near the entrance and accommodatingly posed for photo after photo.

The restaurant seats 80 and has an open kitchen and large patio with canvas furniture and cabanas, where hookah pipes will be offered. Are we about to have another hookah surge? Urban Cafe, in the central business district, recently announced that it, too, is doing hookah.

At the party, they set up a buffet in front of the kitchen, where people parked themselves in front of various chutneys, make-your-own pita pizza, and blistered pimientos de padrone with smoked sea salt. The lines at the bar for the special "tini" drinks were similarly deep. However, this was the kind of crush that allowed people to squish up against each other and then apologize sincerely, so it had its own benefits.

As the night unfolded, they brought out belly dancers and hookah pipes which took the starch out of everyone's shirt. But what made the event vibrant was the cross-section of attendees: from PaperCity socialites to the Serious Food Crowd (hi Luniz) to chefs like Matt Dunn to restaurateurs like Kay Agnew to rockers like Paul Quigg. People you didn't know said hi, and how often does that happen?