When Henderson Avenue's Tried and True closed last year, its departure further reduced the stock of restaurants or bars with dedicated menus for whiskey. Scotch and Sausage has helped fill the void, but the need for whiskey-friendly joints is still in demand.
Hello, California-based Eureka.
With 36 small-batch offerings, West Village's newest tenant taps into the niche. Though the list isn't quite the alphabet soup like Tried and True's or impressive as Scotch and Sausage, their moxy is a welcoming savior for those in Dallas who revel in the great American beverage.
They also capitalize on the craft cocktail movement, with a list of Original Classics and Contemporary Creations. Eureka's mainstay is the Old Fashioned but the Sazerac, with all ingredients from New Orleans, stays true to the city that invented one of America's oldest cocktails. This falls into Eureka's philosophy of all things "American craft," which includes a housemade ginger syrup for their Moscow Mules.
Culinary Executive, AJ McCloud, searched for local resources when it came to piecing together their Dallas menu. For the bread, he chose Signature Bakery: "We used some of their recipes mixed with some of ours. In my opinion, the bread for the Dallas location is the best in the company." As for the items like the grits and beef, Waco's very own Homestead Grits found their way onto the menu, while the beef is brought in from a local supplier, using Texas cattle when possible.
Other local sources used in the menu come in the form of liquid from local breweries such as Peticolas Golden Opportunity as an ingredient for the Golden Ale Mussels and Revolver Brewing's Blood and Honey for the Cowboy Burger's barbecue sauce.
Although the menu is sandwich-heavy -- mainly dominated by burgers -- diversity is found with items like sherry braised riblets, Lollipop Corn Dogs, and Nacho Average Nachos. Signature dishes vary from Pan Seared Salmon and beef cheek tacos, to a massive All Day Breakfast Burrito.
McCloud mentioned they are currently working on a brunch menu catered specifically to the Dallas crowd, which is unique because brunch isn't as common in California.
Having an entire wall that can open as an indoor/outdoor patio, the eclectic use of rustic wooden décor throughout, a rotating tap of 40 craft beers, and live music on Thursdays, Eureka may have just found a new home in Texas, while waving goodbye to its west coast roots. Oh, and let's not forget the whiskey.
