The other night my husband and I decided to try out the Hotel Palomar’s restaurant, Central 214. (I didn’t ask, but one can only assume the name comes from the adjacent highway and the area code.) Because neither of us are hip to the Dallas restaurant scene, I had no idea the place was so popular. We showed up at 6:30 p.m. on a Friday night and were told no tables would be available until 9:30. But, the hostess continued, we could sit at the chef’s table, which is always left unreserved for walk-in guests.
Since we were hungry, we decided to follow her into the restaurant. The "chef’s table" turned out to be bar seating for four at the kitchen counter, where executive chef Tom Fleming and his team were whipping up yummy-looking dishes. Until they got slammed, they took time to chat and joke with us. Mario told us he’d be happy to fix us a Whopper; we told him we had heard the hanger steak was good (it was, by the way), and he quipped, "Yeah, that’s OK, too." The seats also provided a front-row view of the items on the menu and helped us decide to order the crab cake appetizer — melt-in-your-mouth scrumptious. Even though Fleming was trying to focus on 50 things at once, he was kind enough to ask how our food was, and told us thank you as we left.
My suggestion? Make plans to eat at Central 214, but don’t make a reservation.
