Critics Weigh In On Boulevardier, Monica's, More

DMN—Leslie Brenner awarded Boulevardier just two stars, nothing that the French neo-bistro was "one of the most auspicious openings of the year" but that "what's been coming out of the kitchen more recently has impressed considerably less." She found fault with clunky, over-garnished plates and unpolished wine service, but praised the crawfish beignets and cocktails. Meanwhile, Kim Pierce shared her go-to barbecue spot, Back Country Bar-B-Q at Greenville Avenue and Park Lane, and recommended the fatty brisket and "tender, juicy and good to the bone" ribs. (Back Country also received two stars, further proving that the arbitrary star system needs to go.)

OBSERVER—Scott Reitz found a lot to like at Monica Greene's newest Oak Lawn spot, Monica's Nueva Cocina; he's not quite a believer when it comes to the Asian-Mexican fusion dishes (and definitely not a fan of sake served in a wine glass), but has high praise for the Tex-Mex fare, saying, "The chili con carne enchiladas are a perfect rendition of the dish that defines Texas' native cuisine." He also finally found some chips and salsa to love, going so far as to call Monica's version "stellar".

DFW.COM—Andrew Marton reviewed Buffalo West in Fort Worth, calling it "equal parts Texas roadhouse and Austin inventive"; standout dishes included a "sublime pan-fried quail with fettuccine" and housemade truffled potato chips with an "unusually zingy, complex blue cheese sauce".

THE BLOGS—The Taco Trail found tasty but oversauced fish tacos at new Oak Cliff bar Pour House Dallas, and some delicious fried potato tacos from the Taco Party truck; The Dish on Dallas scoped out Terrace Bistro at the new NYLO Southside; Almost Veggie was horrified by the food and service at Ozona.

[Photo credit: Monica's Nueva Cocina/Facebook]