The Fifth

The concept for The Fifth is an upscale neighborhood restaurant with a from-scratch kitchen and a big bar with strong cocktails.

The dining room is of modest size with some deep spacious booths, which makes for a not-too-busy experience. It's anchored, however, with a large bar and an even larger climate-controlled stone patio with a fireplace. When the weather is in the Goldilocks belt — give or take 20 degrees either way — it's surely a nice place to dine.  While the space is appealing, the details in the menu are what really shine here.

Start with a charcuterie and cheese board filled with house-cured meats and cheese, some local. Expect to see seasonal items, like grilled peaches when we visited a little earlier this summer. This board all alone would make for a substantial meal.

But, be sure to get the blue cheese fondue, which may make you pause, but turns out that melted and sizzling blue cheese is killer. They use a blue cheese mousse, which is made with blue cheese crumbles mixed with heavy cream and cream cheese, and toss it with a garlic puree then top it with Worcestershire. They add well-roasted tomatoes and garlic cloves along with thick chunks of bacon. It's served sizzling with a side of grilled focaccia from Richardson-based La Casita Bakeshop.

The corned beef melt ($16) is worth a trip alone, even if never find yourself in north Richardson. They brine their Angus corn-beef brisket in-house for five days in a mix of Prague powder, juniper berries, allspice berries, mustard seeds and bay leaf, all of which soaks in chicken stock and Shiner Bock.