Sunday, October 26, 2008

Hattie's Restaurant




418 Bishop Avenue
Dallas, TX 75208
214.942.7499


If you are a member of Gen X or earlier, then you remember the TV sitcom “Cheers” and its theme song which said, “Sometimes you want to go where everybody knows your name, and you’re always glad you came.” The beer at Cheers was not any colder than anywhere else and the nuts were not any fresher, but none of that was the point. They went there because they wanted to feel a certain way – comfortable and familiar.

That is sort of how I felt after dining at Hattie’s in the Bishop Arts District this past Saturday. The food was just average but the restaurant itself was so full of light and air and simple elegance that I did not want to leave. Hattie’s serves up “fancified” versions of country favorites like catfish and fried chicken. I had pecan-crusted catfish with lemon butter sauce, mashed potatoes, and a veggie medley ($12.95). I ordered low country shrimp with bacon tobasco sauce on a grits cake for my mother ($13.50 I think). Neither of us was impressed with her meal; it was just dressed up country cooking. Still, I would go back because I felt good while I was there. The table cloths and cloth napkins made the experience feel like an indulgence in a world filled with “casual dining” restaurant chains and their booths and paper napkins (I’m looking at you Chili’s).

I know the place seems empty in the pictures, but they were about to close; lunch ends at 2:30pm.

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