Chain Leader

Lane Cardwell

And the Winner Is....
March 17, 2008

If you spend much time in this industry you are destined to do an eatathon. You know, going to an obscene number of restaurants in a short period of time eating an obscene amount of food. Everyone’s definition of obscene differs (“I’ll know it when I see it”), but in my book 28 restaurants visited in a two day period will probably get you into the qualifying rounds with the Supreme Court. Granted, only half of these are dining visits but still...

A colleague and I had the occasion to tour some Canadian restaurateurs through the Dallas restaurant scene last week. I learned one thing immediately. It used to be a lot easier to impress Canadians with our plethora of restaurant concepts. Not any more. The gap has narrowed or vanished. On our last visit to Canada we were forced to admit that there is a lot of innovation going on up there. On their visit last week it was clear that we were really going to have to dig deep to show them something that would make an impact.

Their interests were varied but had a common theme. Because they were in Texas, they wanted to see concepts that represented Texas, Tex-Mex, seafood, cool decor and unique design elements, and concepts that they have read about that are hot, but don’t have in Canada.

Even though my colleague and I had been to these 28 concepts before, some quite often, you always see a restaurant differently when you are showing it to someone who is in the business. It’s amazing how a favorite can look a little tarnished, or a once-in-a-while concept can look a lot better when it is being scrutinized for ideas, not dinner.

Those of you who have done this before know that the ability to get in and out without being hassled by management is in direct proportion to the number of people doing the looking. One or two, no problem. Three or four, not too easy. With the six in our group, downright impossible. The only thing that saved us was that the sixth person in our group was a 10 year old boy. That really confuses people. I’m going to remember that in the future.

We visited fast casual concepts that were small and regional, and those that were national. We visited casual dining concepts that were local, regional and national. We visited a couple of fine dining concepts. All had something good going for them. Maybe not the whole concept, but enough to make it worth the visit.

One concept stood out among all of the others. It is an independent restaurant on a street of independent restaurants operated by one individual. That concept was Cuba Libre, operated by Consilient Restaurants and its founder, Tristan Simon. Within a one block area are three other concepts that they own: Hibiscus, Fireside Pies and The Porch. Each is different and each is wildly popular. 

Cuba Libre, which opened in 2000, was the first of the bunch. Usually, concepts with an active bar scene and a young clientele fade after a couple of years. Not this place. What keeps it in the limelight is their fresh approach to food. Clean flavors, high quality ingredients, and innovative combinations of tastes. From their website: 

Cuba Libre proudly features "Pan Latin" cuisine pioneered by Chef Nico Sanchez. Drawing from the explosive and heterogeneous flavors of island cooking, the menu combines the exciting sweet-hot contrasts of Latin cuisine with a bold, distinctively American style.  Affordably priced--appetizers, salads, sandwiches and taco platters range from $4.00 to $10.00, while entrée prices range from $10.00 to $16.00--Cuba Libre's cuisine has been showcased in numerous publications, including several national magazines such as Bon Appetit and Southern Living. 

Let the Canadians try and top this one. It’s clearly a winner.

Posted by Lane Cardwell on March 17, 2008 | Comments (0)