Restaurant review: Manuel’s Creative Cuisine in Dallas

by Katie & Emily Garrett of The Dish On Dallas

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Try everything on the menu. We can't pick one favorite thing.

Next to the former Silver Fox and inside the space that was formerly Bengal Coast is a new little gem for Dallas' dining scene, Manuel's Creative Cuisine. From start to finish, every detail was well cared for.

They started by bringing us little towels that were as small as breath mints. They added warm water tableside, and the towels grew to life -- perfect for refreshing our hands before getting started.

First order of business: beverages. We tried the agave margarita and were impressed by the presentation. Look at this lime work! The margarita was strong -- definitely a one per meal limit for us! It wasn't too sweet but had a crisp and fresh taste.

The amuse bouche was up next. It blew us away. A tempura battered Mahi mahi on top of a bed of chopped fruit and served alongside an apple shooter soup, this was a fantastic way to start off our dining experience. We were already impressed.

For dinner we debated over the appetizer menu, as it has some great options. We knew we wanted dessert, so we skipped forward to the Caesar Salad and the Mushroom Cappuccino.

The Caesar was a beautiful presentation. Served inside a bowl made of Parmesan, the lettuce was fresh and accompanied by corn, tomato, avocado sprinkled with sesame seeds, and pumpkin seeds. This salad was so good, we squabbled over who would get the last bite. This is definitely something to try.

The Mushroom Cappuccino was such an interesting concept, we had to try it. Served in a glass mug (like a cappuccino), there was rich mushroom broth on the bottom, a garlic foam on top, and it was served alongside a skewered and fried Portobello mushroom (for swirling). The presentation of this dish was so intriguing and the flavor combination was equally so. Points for creativity on this dish.

For dinner, we split the avocado risotto topped with shredded flank steak. The chef was kind enough to split the dish for us -- and the portions were huge. Along with satisfying chunks of avocado, the risotto had spinach and an amazing punch of flavor. The flank steak was tender and seasoned with something akin to cinnamon, then gently topped with shredded cheese. Every single bite was sensational.

We finished up with the beer battered brownie. At this point, we were ridiculously full. The brownie was warm and melty, the beer batter was flavorful without being too pungent ... but the vanilla custard style ice cream definitely stole the show.

Chef Manuel visited with our table, thanked us for coming, and was extremely gracious. We had such a pleasant dining experience that we are planning a revisit next week. The menu is seasonal, so it obviously changes; the menu posted online is from December, and the one in house on Tuesday was completely different. Whatever the menu, you won't be disappointed.

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