If it seems like we're always talking about Kitchen LTO, the Trinity groves "permanent pop-up" restaurant, it's because it's hard to ignore a restaurant that completely changes the concept every four months. Some chefs' short-lived tenures are more exciting than others, but no one's start have been as exciting as the concept's most recent winner, Blythe Beck, who debuted her menu at LTO last night.
Beck takes the reins from California native Brooke Egger, who came to Texas after winning the spot at Kitchen LTO. As the "naughty chef" told me in an interview earlier this month, her cuisine and Egger's are "diabolically different," meaning that you won't see any traces of the heavily coastal fare that Egger brought to the table. You can, though, expect a more refined version of the cuisine that made Blythe Beck one of the city's most popular chefs.
Beck's inimitable personality and decadent cuisine quickly earned her rave reviews and the loyalty of Dallas' diners in restaurants like The Mansion, Hector's and, most recently, the now-defunct Central 214 in the (since renamed) Hotel Palomar. The menu that Beck debuted at Kitchen LTO last night is very much a representation of her signature style, largely focused on comfort food that's full of her naughty influences.
Fans of Beck's time at Central 214 can also expect to see versions of some of their favorite dishes, like deviled eggs and the legendary chocolate-pecan waffle. Mixed in with these familiar faces, you'll also find Beck spread her culinary wings with dishes like a roasted duck pot pie and braised chicken thighs. If you really want the Naughty Chef to guide your culinary experience, you can splurge on a constantly evolving three or five-course chef's tasting menu.
Kitchen LTO opens for full service, including lunch. Beck's lunch menu is also entirely southern, featuring Southern staples like pimento cheese and meatloaf sandwiches, and a particularly delicious-sounding fried oyster salad. On the weekends, you can get a petite version of Beck's signature chicken fried ribeye stacked on sourdough with eggs and cayenne hollandaise sauce or a strawberry shortcake waffle topped with lavender cream.
No word yet on whether any of these dishes are accompanied by the appropriate blood pressure medications that will be needed to survive how often you may want to eat them.
