I kind of wanted to hate John Tesar for putting his fine-dining seafood restaurant in the middle of the Preston Center. While the people that live nearby are no doubt grateful, I don't like driving that far to park near a DSW and look out the window at a guy running on a treadmill while I'm slurping down oysters with a stunning Sancerre.
See also: - This Week's Review: Style By The Spoonful
I thought about Driftwood, Oak, Lucia and FT-33. These places stick out for their quirky locations. Spoon sits caddy-corner to a Chipotle.
When I interviewed the chef though, and he told me about the lease and it's terms I started to feel a whole lot better about things. Tesar called it a "deal of a lifetime." He told me about all the creative freedom the space had granted him and that he signed an eight-year lease.
I hope both John Tesar and Spoon sit right there in Preston Center for at least that long. It's the first Top Chef restaurant I've patronized in Dallas that's compelled me to return.