As a countdown to the Dallas Observer's "Best of Dallas" 2010, City of Ate is serving up 100 of the favorite dishes we crave, savor and hope to scarf down again soon. These dishes are in no particular order. Some are little known, others celebrated. Some are pricey, others can be eaten on the cheap, but all are delicious to the extreme. Don't hesitate to share your own nominations in the comments. More of the dish's tasty details are after the jump.
No. 33: Quail Salad at Fearing's at the Ritz Carlton
With so many ill-conceived riffs and twists on classic dishes mucking up menus, a traditionalist stance seems awfully appealing.
Until, of course, a talented chef has the audacity to tinker with a standard and actually improve it. That's the case on the plate of quail salad at Fearing's, a bold mash-up of Buffalo wings and Cobb salad that's among the city's best lunch dishes.
Fearing's, a restaurant known for its strong Southwestern bent, has taken two disparate regional traditions from Upstate New York and Southern California and unified them under a common blue cheese banner. Even better, the perfectly balanced salad -- featuring pungent blue cheese, smoky-sweet bacon, ripe tomatoes, avocados and eggs -- bears the signature Texan stamp of a delicate Bob White quail that takes gracefully to the cayenne sauce.
The server who introduced me to the salad told me she'd never seen anything else like it. Perhaps it's time for this iconoclast to become a new tradition.
Fearing's at the Ritz Carlton 2121 McKinney Ave. 214-922-0200
See the full list below:
No. 100: Oatmeal Pancakes at Legal Grounds No. 99: Shanghai Buns at Jeng Chi Dumpling House No. 98: Mashed Tater Parfait at Cowboy Chow No. 97: Chicken and Waffles at Victor Tango's No. 96: Colorado Lamb Osso Bucco at Hibiscus No. 95: Flatbread Pizza at Dish No. 94: First Chinese Barbecue in Richardson No. 93: Elotes at Fuel City No. 92: Summer Platter For Two at Big Shucks No. 91: Chicken Gizzards at Sushi Yama No. 90: Bob Armstrong Dip at Matt's Rancho Martinez No. 89: The Angry Dog at Angry Dog No. 88: Sliders at Dish No. 87: Spaghetti Bolognese at Urbano Café No. 86: Vietnamese Pork Panini at Lumi Empanada & Dumpling Kitchen No. 85: Cheese Fries at Snuffers No. 84: Tres Vasos at Samar No. 83: Quatro Leches at La Duni No. 82: Pad Pak at Bangkok City No. 81: Brisket Sandwich at Maple and Motor No. 80: Lunch Express at Dream Cafe No. 79: Apple Crisp at Salum No. 78: La Vaca Loca at Good 2 Go No. 77: Shrimp and Grits at Screen Door No. 76: Meatball Sub at Jimmy's No. 75: Baja Chicken at Mattito's No. 74: Fried Port Salut Cheese at The Porch No. 73: Lobster Roll at Rex's No. 72: Fried Green Beans at Local No. 71: Shaved Ice at May's Ice Cream No. 70: Shredded Pork Sandwich at Mojitos No. 69: Tom-Yum-Gai at Bangkok City No. 68: Paella at La Calle Doce No. 67: Bacon Cheeseburger at Wingfield's Breakfast and Burgers No. 66: Original Nachos at Fuzzy's Taco Shop No. 65: El Aragón at Tortas La Hechizera No. 64: The Cheeseburger at The Grape No. 63: Dungeness Crab Dip at Hibiscus No. 62: Sweetbreads Made Two Ways from Restaurant AVA No. 61 Asado De Puerco Rojo at Chitos No. 60: Basil Chicken at Genroku No. 59: Capricciosa Pizza at Il Cane Rosso Truck No. 58: Shrimp and Chicken Curry Clay Pot at Mai's Vietnamese Restaurant No. 57: The Grilled Cheese and Chili at Highland Park Pharmacy No. 56: Meatloaf Blue Plate Special At Norma's Cafe No. 55: Carne Asada Plate at Taqueria El Fuego No. 54: Pork Carnitas at Matt's Rancho Martinez No. 53: Lacquered Chinese Duckling at Five Sixty No. 52: Fritto Misto at Cibus No. 51: The Californication at Buzzbrews Kitchen No. 50: Enchiladas Suizas with Off-The-Menu Salsa at Veracruz Café No. 49: The Steak Bomb at Kenny's Burger Joint No. 48: Prosciutto-Wrapped Figs at Hattie's No. 47: Truffle Butter Popcorn at Tillman's Roadhouse No. 46: Hamburger at Adair's Saloon No. 45: Bone-In Short Rib at Stephan Pyles No. 44: Ricotta Cheese Blueberry Pancakes at Villa-O No. 43: 911 Roll at Oishii No. 42: Fried Chicken at Babe's Chicken Dinner House No. 41: Sausage Pizza At Oak Cliff Pizza No. 40: Black Truffle Pizza at Neo by Olivella's No: 39 Pastrami Sandwich At Deli-News No. 38 Mussels at Neighborhood Services No. 37 Double Cheese Potato Cakes At Red's Patio Grill No. 36: Chocolate Cake at Al Biernat No. 35: Fried Tofu with String Beans in Lemongrass Sauce at Caravelle Chinese and Vietnamese Restaurant No. 34: Pollo Con Mole at Carolina's Mexican Cuisine
