Savor's Food Takes a Backseat to the View, Says Brenner

Leslie Brenner reviewed Savor: The food at Klyde Warren Park's buzzy new restaurant doesn't quite measure up to the "fabulous setting" and attentive service: Deviled eggs and bourbon-cured salmon are overcooked, meatballs suffer from an out-of-sync sauce, calamari is "desperately ordinary," and a wedge salad is "weirdly tiny." Better options are a "well-executed" pork Milanese or seared scallops over a butter bean ragout; flat-iron steak is capably grilled but overwhelmed by a sticky-sweet sauce, and braised short ribs atop mac and cheese are merely "decent." Mini desserts are a cute idea, but mostly too sweet; best is an apple and goat cheese pop tart. Cocktails are "well-mixed" and the brief wine list has a few interesting selections, but Brenner didn't find much to her liking in the sub-$50 range. [DMN]

Scott Reitz checked out Tanoshii Ramen: The city's first ramen house has been "respectably busy" since its debut, but this critic isn't exactly impressed with the food: Housemade noodles "lack that springy, chewy texture" of authentic ramen, and the broth "can be inconsistent" (and needs to be served hotter). The tonkotsu is "a decent bet" but all the soups "suffer from a lack of identity and personality." Best is the tsukemen, or dipping ramen. Starters like undercooked bone marrow and "soft and mealy hamachi crudo" could use some work; better are the pork or chicken steamed buns. [Observer]

Heather Svokos went to Del Frisco's Grille in Fort Worth: The younger, more casual sibling of the steakhouse recently opened in Sundance Square, and it's already packed. Menu highlights include melt-in-your-mouth pepper jack tamales, "delectable" shrimp and grits that are some of the best in DFW thanks to a tasso ham pan gravy, and a chicken-fried ribeye ("a fine, kicked-up rendition of CFS"). Side orders of ries and mashed potatoes are "just ordinary" — better to leave room for dessert, particularly the buttery lemon doberge cake. Service is "impeccably polished" and overall, the newest Del Frisco's spinoff is running like a well-oiled machine. [DFW.com]

ELSEWHERE: TMBBQ went to Shorty's BBQ in Sunnyvale; Fort Worth Weekly was slightly less impressed by Del Frisco's Grille; Purely Thriving tried the new True Food Kitchen; SideDish ate cheap on the road in Napa Valley.

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[Photo: Garrett Hall/EDFW]