Texas~Loft 610 and Sambuca

As I mentioned in a previous post, a few weeks ago I had the opportunity to fly to Texas for a second-round interview at a company. I'm new to the whole "Job Search" process and was impressed by the well planned and organized visit. Here's some highlights of the trip: meeting students from other Universities, interacting with current (happy) employees, stretch hummer limo, crab cakes with lump crab meat, a car and driver waiting for me at the airport, tours of the labs and a processing plant... Anyhoo, we were wined and dined during our 3-day stay in Texas and got to check out some trendy restaurants in Dallas.

On the second night in Texas, we all dined at Loft 610 which opened earlier this year. It's quite a posh restaurant with a slight nightclub feel. I was not planning on taking pictures at the restaurant (to avoid being labeled the "weird girl" who is interviewing), but since I was in the company of other foodies, I was encouraged to take pictures. *Click on the images to see larger versions of the food.

The dinner started off with some appetizers.
*Cucumber tuna roll with wasabi mayo, sweet soy reduction and ginger paste
*Beef Tenderloin Flatbread-Roasted tomato sauce, grilled beef tenderloin, roasted garlic, truffle oil, Italian parsley and three cheese blend
*Greek Potstickers Lamb and beef potstickers served with lime yogurt and fig compote
*Margherita Fresh roma tomatoes, basil and mozzarella

Cucumber Tuna Roll, Greek Potstickers, Wedge Salad

We were given a choice between the following salads:
*The House-Texas field greens topped with smoked seeds, seasoned croutons with house
vinaigrette
*The Wedge-Quarter of an iceberg lettuce, topped with tomatoes, bacon, and an avocado dressing
I chose the wedge salad. To me, this was a lettuce salad. The avocado dressing was interesting, but nothing to write home about.

Our choice of entree included the following:
*Arancini-Lemon risotto cakes with oven-roasted chanterelles and thyme-cured tomatoes
served with vegetable de jour
*Asian Rain Salmon-Grilled ginger and lemongrass marinated salmon served with orange scented jasmine rice
*White Wine Dijon Marinated Chicken-Boneless airline chicken breast marinated in dijon and white wine served with parsley risotto and vegetable de jour
*Shiner-Malbec Hangar Steak-Grilled hangar steak accompanied by shiner bock and malbec reductions with potato and parsnip roisti

The salmon was my pick. When given a choice between a vegetarian option, meat, chicken with bones, or fish, I'll almost always choose the fish dish. I was disappointed with the fish because it had that slight pasty overcooked texture. I started contemplating that maybe I am not a fan of "New American" cuisine. Everyone around me seemed to be indifferent about the food too, so it wasn't only me.

The dessert choices:
*Grand Marnier cream brulee
*White chocolate bread pudding with caramel and strawberry
*Molten chocolate cake

I'm a sucker for molten chocolate cake, so if it is on the menu, I usually have tunnel vision and see only one option on the dessert menu. Again, I was disappointed in the cake and took one bite and stopped. It was pretty much an chewy brownie with no molten middle.
Mmm....Bread Pudding. This was by far, the best dish served at the restaurant (that's why it deserves its own picture). I ordered the molten chocolate cake, but was fortunate enough to sit by a really nice guy who let me try his dessert.
Loft 610
Granite Park 5760 State Hwy 121 Suite 175
Plano, TX 75024
972.377.2500

The next night, we were treated to another night out and had dinner at Sambuca. Did I mention that during my trip, we were constantly fed? We never had to question if we were receiving a meal and felt like we ate more than 3 meals a day!

The food tasted much better at Sambuca. After spending a few hours that day being interviewed, all of us were able to unwind at a nice dinner. Quite a few bottles of wine were opened, and I treated myself to a mojito.
Again, we all grazed on shared appetizers and chose from a prix fixe menu set-up for us. The company's name was even printed on our menus. I chose the tortilla soup, Mediterranean lasagna, and creme brulee.

Chicken Samosas

Spanakopita-So Delicious!

Bruschetta with fresh mozzarella, tomatoes, basil, and balsamic vinegar.

Tortilla Soup

Parmesan Encrusted Chicken -linguini with asparagus & cherry tomatoes in basil-pesto cream sauce; laced with chili oilShrimp Capellini-sautéed shrimp, sun-dried tomatoes served with marinara & Alfredo sauces

Mediterranean Lasagna-roma tomatoes, artichoke hearts, spinach, black olives, feta cheese & mozzarella;with marinara & drizzled with balsamic glaze
This picture does not do the lasagna justice. The balsamic glaze gave this dish an added sweetness that brought all the flavors together.

Chocolate Mousse

Creme Brulee

Sambuca
2120 McKinney
Dallas, TX 75201
214-744-0820