The Best Dishes Eater Dallas Ate in February

It is worth the trip to Fort Worth to eat at Duro Hospitality’s latest restaurant: It’s smaller inside than expected but just as chicly designed as all the rest. It was hard to pick just one dish to highlight from the meal. The oysters on the half shell with a Spanish mignonette, prawns over avocado and Kashimiri cocktail sauce, and a special appetizer with applewood smoked pork belly were all stellar. So was the butter chicken pie, which is a mix between a savory hand pie and butter chicken. However, a couple of people recommended the Akaushi New York strip and they did not steer us wrong. It’s a pretty near-perfect cut of steak served with earthy roasted mushrooms.

2330 Flora Street, #100

Musume is doing a seasonal omakase service to benefit Booker T. Washington High School, and it brought the students in on it. Along with your meal comes an illustrated guide to each dish, with art done by freshmen and sophomores from the school. That, plus the 10 percent of the cost of the meal being donated, is cool. The dishes themselves are a delight: This course of kanpachi sunomono stood out as a bite, thanks to the rose water-infused vinegar that pickled the cucumbers under the fish. It’s a delicate balance that is all too easy to get out of whack, but chef Yuzo Toyama, who headed the omakase that evening, did a brilliant job.

12300 Inwood Road, #180

Speaking of beautiful sushi, chef Jimmy Duke at this neighborhood sushi spot is no slouch. As you can see, he’s got a flare for dramatic presentation — this thinly sliced scallops and cucumber dish was the first thing that hit the table, and it set the standard for everything else that came out — an excellent way to kick off what would turn into a night of many clever, beautiful dishes.

7110 Main Street in Frisco

This James Beard Foundation-recognized restaurant in Frisco is known for its focus on high-quality local vegetables and meat, as well as its whole-animal program. Now, chef Rich Vana is stepping it up with a tasting menu that he calls Blackland Prairie cuisine, focused on foods from a thin strip of land that runs through northeast Texas and down to the area north of San Antonio. There were, again, so many wonderful dishes that it is hard to pick one, but this take on a pot pie, served atop sweet potato mash with mushrooms from Texas Fungus, was incredible.

965 Garden Park Drive in Allen

We’re not the first to get there and certainly not the last, but these two bites from Vaqueros BBQ deserve a mention. On the right is the barbecue birria taco, loaded with cheese and brisket, and, yes, good enough to make your eyes roll back in your head. On the left is a small bite of the al pastor pork belly burnt ends served with a pineapple salsa, which has a crispy outside and supple interior.