Our little orbit is shrinking, and even though we’d love to be across the lake experiencing new restaurants and meals, we just have to mostly stay close to home. But last week I just wanted to have something better than our regular casual places like La Caretta.
Dakota came to mind. It was exciting when Dakota relocated so close to our house, and in really glamorous new digs. But glamorous new digs are expensive, and that’s what I keep telling myself when I see the menu prices. Dakota is the most expensive restaurant I know other than places like August and R’evolution in New Orleans.
Our waiter friend Chris always takes care of us there. He has made the rounds in restaurants as we do, and our paths cross often. We were delighted to see him at Dakota and wish we visited more often.
So why don’t we? Dakota set the standard for first-class restaurants on the north shore. They arrived there the same year we did. We loved Dakota for many years, but just speaking for myself I tired of the menu which never changed. The food is always delicious, but the menu was never a list of favorites of mine, so after a few crab and Brie soups, I was done.
As more and more restaurants appeared in our orbit, we gravitated to them. We forgot about Dakota for years. Then just from sheer boredom with our small circle of nearby places, we went back to Dakota one day. The same great food made me ask why we were gone so long. We went a few times for lunch and had that great burger and housecut fries with garlic aioli. There was an unbelievably fantastic steak frites lunch combo for $22. The steak was better than any steakhouse filet I’d had in a while. We ran into people we knew and loved seeing, and kept going back for great meals. Then the rumor of their closing surfaced and I was sad that I had fallen in love with Dakota all over again and it was closing.
Many months went by with rumors swirling about where they were relocating. After a while, I ceased to believe them. A move just didn't make sense to me. Kenny was busy with his event and wedding planning business and Kim at retirement age, so why start all over again? But then they did, opening 18 months later in a gorgeous redo that combined two industrial buildings downtown.
We went shortly after they opened and loved it, but the same menu endures. I was never a big fan of the lamb nachos and while I liked the Brie soup I was looking for more. The burger was not on the original reopening menu but arrived later. The last time we went for lunch we had the burger and a fish sandwich plus the great fries. On the patio on a lovely day, it was a wonderful experience.
So wonderful I didn’t mind the $90 bill including tip. But it’s not something I want to do a lot. So it was a while before we returned.
Last week we went back hoping for some new things, or just a softshell crab special, or even the burger. Not surprisingly, there were no new things, but there was a softshell crab special, and the surprising twist that the burger was gone. At least their fantastic housecut fries were there.
Dakota was the first to do the “Hallelujah Crab,” a softshell crab fried with the claws held up like one would to shout “Hallelujah!” It is indeed a striking presentation. I wanted a photo of it so I ordered the softshell crab special. It was served over rice pilaf. Okay.
Tom got the Drum Amandine and I ordered the fries as an afterthought. Contrary to Tom’s career-long advice to us, I didn’t inquire about the price of the softshell special until the waiter mentioned the half-softshell. Huh? I would have half a “Hallelujah” crab? At that point, I asked how much it was. I was told the HALF crab was $38. I asked how much more for the other half and was told $42. He came back and said $43. I wanted a whole crab, so I okayed the upcharge, only to learn that it was really $47. A $47 lunch special can’t even be found at R’evolution. With rice pilaf???
When the crab came to the table it didn’t say “Hallelujah.” More like an exhausted “Uuuuhhhh.” No claws in the air. Not greaseless or especially crispy. Just tired-looking. It was fine cutting into it and tasted normal, but those expectations strike again. I have seen and had this crab in its heyday and those days were clearly long gone. The rice pilaf was fine as was the Hollandaise.
Tom’s drum was also just fine. Coated more heavily than I expected, it had a thick classic Meuniere sauce which I like less than a clear brown butter version. This came with their buttered green beans with a little squeak to them. Tom loved this, as he always does.
The fries I ordered as an afterthought app were excellent as always. The aioli with them is gloppy, and I thought that was an aberration when we first saw it, but it is not. There is a lot of it, and it is good.
When the waiter brought the bill he said he was charging me for the price he quoted, not the real one at $47. The real one is actually $48. I was happy about that because I would have been disappointed to pay $38 or even $35 for what it was. My card was charged $107 for this meal, which included the tip. We are off tea since the dehydration issue, so there was only water at the table.
I do very much enjoy the sumptuous surroundings at Dakota, but I can go to Tchefuncte’s and sit in luxury for much less, and we can go to Keith’s or Pardo’s and have a lunch special under $25 for two courses, all lovely places to dine.
Dakota would become a special occasion place, but I don't like the menu enough. For old times sake and because it pleases me so much visually, we’ll check in once in a while just to see if anything has changed. And that makes me sad.
