Tired of seeing tiny microgreens strewn all over your food? Fed up with flourishes of frilly frisée? There’s a new garnish in town, and not a minute too soon: purslane. Omar Flores, the chef at Driftwood, uses small bouquets of it to garnish a gorgeous tuna tartare and a main course of King salmon, smoked corn, bacon and littleneck clams. Colleen O’Hare and Jeana Johnson are putting it on plates of fried frog legs and dropping it on giant chargrilled prawns at their modern Vietnamese restaurant, Mot Hai Ba. Tim Bevins, the new chef at the Front Room: A Park Cities Diner, pairs it with pecan-smoked duck breast and pickled corn relish. So what is purslane? It’s a nasty, pernicious garden weed, a wonderful salad herb with a bright flavor and succulent, squeaky texture or an amazing superfood high in omega-3 fatty acids and antioxidants, depending on your point of view. “I love the succulent tanginess of it,” says Bevins, “and also the fact that it’s a weed.” When his duck dish needed a little lift, he thought “everyone usually reaches for the frisée for this. I said, ‘Hey, maybe we have purslane!'” But it can be more than a garnish; it’s lovely in salads, too. Anastacia Quinones, chef at Komali, loves it “wilted, like spinach, with a little lime and butter” and finished with spiced pepitas. She’s been using it for years. It’s now on Komali’s summer menu, where it tangles with Texas redfish, chile de árbol and Texas peaches. Microgreens, it’s been real. Follow Leslie Brenner on Twitter at @lesbren. JUICY BITES The owners of Belly and Trumpet have opened Pakpao, a Thai restaurant in the Design District. Chef Eddy Thretipthuangsin’s menu goes well beyond the plug-in-your-protein formulas of so many Dallas Thai spots. Starters include ground chicken meatballs with coriander seed, kaffir lime leaf and yellow curry; braised pork belly with pickled daikon and mustard green, cinnamon and star anise; and young bamboo shoot salad with mint, red onion, toasted rice and bird’s eye chile. Main courses run from steamed prawns with Chinese celery, shiitakes, ginger and mung bean noodles to roast duck with bird’s eye chile, Thai basil, tamarind and garlic. Open for dinner nightly, with lunch to be added later. 1628 Oak Lawn Ave., Dallas. 214-749-7000. pakpaothai.com. Le Bilboquet, a transplanted restaurant from New York’s Upper East Side, has opened in the former L’Ancestral space. The menu is Americanized French bistro, with dishes like terrine of foie gras maison, cold poached salmon with cucumber salad, l’entrecote beurre maître d’hotel (you know it as rib-eye with garlic butter and french fries) and a signature dish, Cajun chicken. Oh, and “la salade Caesar,” of course. It’s open for lunch Monday through Friday, dinner nightly and brunch weekends. Le Bilboquet, 4514 Travis St., Dallas; 469-730-2937. St. Ann Court, the office tower of Harwood International, has a new place for steak frites, too: Mercat Bistro. Chef Jared Robinette’s menu proposes asparagus mimosa, frisée aux lardons, quiches, côte de boeuf for two, salmon koulibiac and more, with house-made croissants at breakfast. Breakfast and lunch Monday through Friday and dinner Monday through Saturday. 2501 N. Harwood St., Dallas. 214-953-0917. mercatbistro.com. Chef Norman Grimm and design firm Coeval Studio will collaborate to debut the first pop-up at Kitchen LTO, the “permanent pop-up” restaurant at Trinity Groves. The team effort is scheduled to begin its four-month run on Sept. 3. Until recently, Grimm was executive chef at Acme F&B. Rare has opened in the Shops at Park Lane, with a menu offering creative sashimi, signature sushi rolls, sous-vide steaks and more. 8052 Park Lane, Dallas. 214-306-4490. rareparklane.com. A makeover is in the works for JoJo Eating House and Bar. Dee Lincoln says she is working with the current owner to “reconcept,” with the idea of relaunching the restaurant in late August or early September. 2626 Howell St., Dallas. 214-754-4949. jojodallas.com. Naan Sushi’s Uptown location has closed. The Plano location, in the Shops at Legacy, is still open. Dallas Morning News, The (TX) LESLIE BRENNER RESTAURANT CRITIC LBRENNER@DALLASNEWS.COM Published: June 28, 2013 PHOTO(S): (Sonya Hebert-Schwartz/Staff Photographer) Texas redfish with purslane, chile de árbol and Texas peaches at Komali (c) Copyright, 2013, The Dallas Morning News
