Thursday, March 31, 2011

Dragonfly Gets its Buzz Back

Chef Dan Landsberg
If I went to a different restaurant every night, I don't think I could visit all Dallas has to offer in a year.  Competition in this culinary town is tough.  It's hard to get to the top of Dallas' most-talked about dining list and even harder to stay there. 

So how do you get the buzz back? Well, a complete face-lift, new chef and bold new menu changes don't hurt.  I visited Dragonfly this past weekend to check out their new chef and scope out the new decor to see if the hype was as good as the buzzzzzzzz.

Dragonfly at Hotel ZaZa has been recently remodeled to incorporate lighter colors, clean lines, bold fabrics and an art-infused ambiance that now spills out onto the terrace and around the pool for al fresco dining and cocktails under the stars.



New executive Chef Dan Landsberg has redesigned the menu, taking a playful twist on traditional modern American food classics. Landsberg brings a new menu using the freshest foods of the season from local suppliers, as well as incorporating specialties from the region. Many favorites remain on the menu, but have been reinterpreted under Chef Landsberg’s culinary direction.

Landsberg has a long track record in Dallas, most recently as chef-partner at Tillman's Roadhouse. He also worked with the Wynnewood Hospitality group (which includes Seventeen Seventeen at the Dallas Museum of Art), and he was the opening executive chef at Stephan Pyles.




(Left) My favorite part of the Afterschool Snack was the cold shot of milk rimmed in chocolate
(Right) The dining scene at Dragonfly


Dragonfly presents an new offering called Comida, featuring exactly what the kitchen staff is eating that night, from Bahn Mi Sandwiches to gourmet Tacos and Tostadas. Desserts have a particularly playful twist, such as the cleverly named the Afterschool Snack with a homemade chocolate Hoho, baked Twinkie and butterscotch pudding cup, and Who Put Their Peanut Butter in MY Chocolate with peanut butter mousse, chocolate bundt cake and fudge sauce.


Dragonfly is located inside the Hotel ZaZa at 2332 Leonard Street Dallas, Texas 75201
Reservations can be made by calling 214-550-9500 or online.