8/14/2010 Lonesome Dove Bistro Ft Worth TX

this night was my 25th high school reunion. uh did i want to admit that? but i was excited because it was being held at tim love's restaurant in fort worth; the lonesome dove bistro. why was i excited? because this is supposed to be an upscale place in ftw, and because matt and i watched chef love on iron chef america a couple years back where he battled and beat iron chef morimoto; secret ingredient - chile. 


for the reunion post you'll have to visit my travel blog (i'm behind on that one as well so check back if it's not up.)




here's the menu that was decided on in january:

-Smoked Crab Enchiladas with Sweet & Spicy Ranchero Sauce
-Red Chile Marinated Jumbo Shrimp with Smoke Pina Salsa
-Heirloom Tomato, Texas Basil & Goat Cheese Tarts
-Anti-Pasta Platter: Grilled Imported Cheeses, Cured Meats, Marinated Cremini Mushrooms, Roasted Red Pepprs, & Spanish Olives
-Australian Lobster & Poblano Wontons with Whipped Parsnips & Serrano Chile Vinaigrette
-Smoked Salmon Canapes on Blue Corn Chips
-Beef Tenderloin Canapes with Borsin Cheese
-Braised Wild Boar Ribs with LD BBQ Sauce & Housmade Pickles


and there was a rumor of a spit-roasted suckling pig.


looks pretty darn good doesn't it? let's get started! 

smoked chicken enchiladas with sweet and spice ranchero sauce


these weren't bad. not much spice though. i thought they were a little on the bland side.


as i was eating them i was telling matt it was kind of funny crab. he corrected me and said it was chicken. ah. that explains it. guess they swapped the crab for chicken when attendance wasn't what they hoped for.

australian lobster wontons with whipped parsnips and serrano chile vinaigrette


matt and i agreed this was the best thing served. they were really good and i hear australian lobster can be hit or miss.


there wasn't so much heat you needed beer to tame the spice, but there was a little kick. the wonton themselves were perfectly cooked - crispy but not crumbling when you bite into it. just enough 'tooth' but not doughy.

red chile marinated shrimp with pina salsa


these were ok. mine was cool. i doubt they were supposed to be served at the temps that they ended up being served to us, so i wonder if it was supposed to be a hot dish that wasn't kept hot, or a cold dish that warmed up in the 100+ heat that day (the buffet was set up outside on the patio).


i'd be willing to try these again in different context.

charro beans


i don't like beans and didn't have any

roasted chicken


skipped this and went for the pork

roasted suckling pig


comments are below so they'll make more sense

the pig the pig came out of

a slew of toppings and sauces.


pico de gallo, 
creme fraiche, 
spicy tomato salsa, 
smoked tomatillo salsa, 
guacamole, 
sour cream, 
smoked cheddar cheese, 
jalapinos, 
goat cheese,
red pepper salsa
tortillas (not pictured)




now these are not how the spread was laid out. i put these pics in order of mains to sides, as it were. 








here's a photo of the table

notice the order, enchilada, chicken, pork, sides around centerpiece, beans. and on the other side of the beans is the shrimp and lobster, and that black thing on the far corner? that's the tortillas.

wow. there were a few things that really got me. the people laying out the table seemed to have no idea what they were doing. i was taking pics for this blog as they were making sure everything was out on the table. it took them the entire time i was taking photos to figure out the suckling pig was the centerpiece and went on the elevated box. 

i was the 1st person through the line and everything i ate was basically tepid. nothing was hot, and i doubt any of this was supposed to be cold. i learned after i was done eating this was supposed to be a 'make your own burrito/fajita/sandwich' type of thing. but the tortillas were at the very end of the table, not at the start where you need them to start piling stuff on top of. i totally didn't get 'it'. so i had everything out on my plate and grabbed a tortilla as i bread side.

the pork had next to no flavor and was a little on the dry side. now maybe all the spice and liquid was to come from the 'fajita-type' toppings, but as the staff didn't set up the table correctly i didn't realize this was what i was supposed to do with everything.

i want to recap - but keep in mind as i talk about the menu specifically i'm sure chef didn't know what he was preparing until a few days before the event, and the menu *choices* were planned by the reunion committee and possibly a representative from the restaurant to assist in how to save costs. the choices, substitutions and items cut had nothing to do with chef love.

here's what we did get

-Red Chile Marinated Jumbo Shrimp with Smoke Pina Salsa 

-Australian Lobster & Poblano Wontons with Whipped Parsnips & Serrano Chile Vinaigrette

-Roasted Suckling Pig

here's what was probably substituted out in place of a similar item:

-Smoked Crab Enchiladas with Sweet & Spicy Ranchero Sauce  - chicken instead of crab
-Braised Wild Boar Ribs with LD BBQ Sauce & Housmade Pickles - suckling pig instead of wild boar ribs

here's what we didn't get:

-Heirloom Tomato, Texas Basil & Goat Cheese Tarts
-Anti-Pasta Platter: Grilled Imported Cheeses, Cured Meats, Marinated Cremini Mushrooms, Roasted Red Pepprs, & Spanish Olives
-Smoked Salmon Canapes on Blue Corn Chips
-Beef Tenderloin Canapes with Borsin Cheese

to the menu in general - if i had seen this menu from the committee beforehand i would've voiced concern for the cost per ticket to the reunion for just the dinner and 'that's all we're getting?!?' - notice there's not a dessert, either. 

the swap of chicken for crab i was ok with. it wasn't what i wanted to eat but as we were a class of ~500 and had ~50 show up (that's students, add +1s for spouses/partners) the committee had to do something to cut costs. but man, they really slashed the menu. i knew there was something missing other than the crab issue, but until i checked the menu posted on the reunion event i hadn't remembered everything we were supposed to get! i was extremely disappointed to not get the boar, the heirloom tomatoes or the canapes. 

we did get a certain number of drink tickets included before having to pay for booze or cokes. with the dumbed down meal one would think the restaurant might spring for bottomless cokes in pity if nothing else but oh well. however i do give 1 of the barmaids and 1 of the hostesses kudos. the wine they had out for our event - i had a glass of the red and i don't remember what it was but it was totally non-descript. all i remember was it took me a while to get that glass empty. so later in the night i went up and asked if there was anyway i could get a 'good' glass of red wine. something much more robust and full-bodied. i have no idea what it was she brought back to me and it was no muton rothschild, but it was much better. thank you very much for doing that. i wish i could remember your names so i could give you proper credit.

well there you have it. a disappointing meal made much worse by the oppressive heat and a room that was too small to deal with the crowd; it was so loud we were screaming across the table to each other and as it was i still didn't hear 1/2 of what was actually being said. 


i guess eventually i had to write a negative review. i'm really sad it had to happen in conjunction with my reunion. will i go return to eat here? i'd like to give chef love a 2nd chance. we'll see what the future holds.














PS- after a couple surprised people and their comments on my FB page i think it needs to be re-said. perhaps i wasn't clear above. the condition of the food, the lack of the staff not knowing where the centerpiece did, the fact it was so hot out that most people were inside a small and loud room made louder by the number of people was, in no way the responsibility of the reunion committee. the only thing they did was to cut costs (and who wouldn't) when they found the attendance was much lower than they had hoped for and so the original published menu was drastically changed. that was their part in this. yes i was disappointed to not have the original menu, we all paid for the original menu and i was looking forward to tasting all the goodies and it is a shame more people couldn't make it and it came down to the committee having to cut the menu like they did, but they had nothing to do with the preparation of what was served. that's where the real disappointment fell. and that fell solely on the restaurant and chefs.


i will remind people that blogs are 1 person's opinion of that particular event, location or topic. you can agree or disagree with the stated ideas - mine or others. civilized and constructive debates on topics are always welcome provided they are just that, civilized and constructive.