Endurance Test

Arthur's has had more than its share of restaurant trials

Comments (0) By Mark Stuertz Thursday, Oct 4 2001

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Meat, too, is a big Arthur's staple, maybe bigger than those fish that seem to be everywhere. A long time ago, when Arthur's was owned by Bates, the restaurant was dubbed a fine-dining steak house, and Arthur's seems most at home with this lineup. The bone-in rib eye, a prime cut drenched in a shallot bordelaise sauce, was like butter, each bite brimming with the kind of richness that can only spring from a well-managed feedlot.

Mixed grill lived up to its name. It was three things: quail, rack of lamb and venison in a raspberry demi-glace. Venison was the best of the trio--tender and juicy with a slightly racy subtext. Quail was plump and juicy, but it had a slight trace of beef liver on the finish. Lamb was tender and perfectly done, rosy to the eye and silken to the tongue, but it had a slightly off flavor, one that was hard to pin down, though it carried a sweetish edge with it.

Location Info

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Arthur's Prime Steak and Seafood

15175 Quorum Drive
Addison, TX 75001

Category: Restaurant > American

Region: Addison

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Details

972-385-0800. Open 5:30-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday; 5:30-11 p.m. Friday-Saturday; and 5:30-9 p.m. Sunday. $$$

Salmon tartare: $12
Onion soup: $5
Soup du jour: $4
Hudson Valley foie gras: $15
Crusted Atlantic salmon: $18
Rib eye: $28
Chilean sea bass: $20
Mixed grill: $25
Assorted berries: $7

15175 Quorum Drive, Addison

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This is the thing about Arthur's. Its shortfalls are not about clashing flavors or dubious workmanship. They're about flavors that betray a lack of freshness. Sometimes trouble bedevils the textures, too. Hudson Valley foie gras with golden tomato, mushrooms and greens, was runny. Once forked, it flowed into a puddle, forming a pool of slimy grayish-amber. The flavor was good, though, as was that of the mushrooms, buttons that were marinated in balsamic vinegar, giving them the texture and flavor of pickled beets.

Soups worked well. On one visit, marsala wine mingled with pureed squash was like a bowl of silk. The flavor was mild and understated, very smooth. Five-onion gratinée was a tangle of onions in a perfectly balanced broth draped over with a gooey cheese cloak. This onion ensemble was well-balanced without strains of sweetness or saltiness clamoring for dominance.

Dessert finished well, too. The assorted berries contained fresh juicy blackberries, firm strawberries and, though technically not a berry, slices of kiwi spilling from a delicate pastry shell into a puddle of smooth Grand Marnier Sabayon.

Still, it's those meat flaws that give me pause. Yet once those are licked, this restaurant will go places. It's got the style and the pedigree. And Heidari, who operates St. Martins and San Francisco Rose on Greenville Avenue, has sure paid some dues.