After making Abacus the first restaurant I visited for KRLD’s Restaurant Week, I’m happy to report that great food is the answer - at least - the answer I’m concerned with today.

The decor of Abacus is breathtaking. Of all the places I’ve been to in Dallas so far, I would say this is the nicest. A well-established style is ever-present throughout the building, and dark woods rule the show.

I started at the bar. I’m not a huge cocktail drinker, or I don’t yet know what I like, so I stick with Vodka tonics to keep it simple. The bartender was friendly and gave us a little snack plate with some very tasty wasabe peas. In retrospect, I wished I had asked the bartender if they had a “house special” cocktail. Maybe next time.

Ok, enough blabbing about that, on to dinner! Since this is restaurant week, our menu choices were limited, and that may have been a good thing. Choosing dishes from even this smaller menu was challenging, as they all looked superb. But, in the end, I ordered with confidence and here’s what I got.

The Appetizer
I felt like trying some of their Asian cuisine that night, so I opted for the Buffalo - Shitake Mushroom “Potstickers” with Spicy Apricot Glaze. I don’t know if buffalo meat is a big Asian flavor, but man oh man were these delicious. I’ve had about ten different preparations of potstickers in my life, and these by far were the best. In fact, myself and my company at the table figured they were the best appetizer of the night. From the plates of my friends, I got to sample a wonderful diver scallop and a lobster-scallion shooter. Looking at their “small plates” menu, I must say I look forward to return trips to try the kobe carpaccio and the duck confit ravioli.

The Entree
Sticking with my evening’s preference for Asian cuisine, I ordered the Soy Seared Beef and Spicy Jumbo Prawns on Thai Flat Noodle Stir Fry and Pineapple - Sake Sauce. I admit, I have a relatively inexperienced palette for complex Asian cuisine, so while I can whole-heartedly say I loved this preparation, I’m having difficultly explaining why. Would this be my favorite item to order at Abacus? No. From trying morsels of the entrees my dinner companions ordered, I’m certain Abacus has many dishes I could love even more than I did my own. And as much as I enjoyed my choice, I don’t feel a strong urge to rave about it.

The Dessert
The dessert menu had one clear choice for me. I was so grasped by it’s allure I developed tunnel vision and I honestly don’t remember what else they even offered that evening. A chocoloate souffle. And boy did this sweet treat deliver. A perfect example of the paradox that is the souffle: extremely rich and delightfully airy. Yes, I doubt that a chocoloate souffle would appear on the dessert menu of an authentic asian restaurant, but I didn’t care. It was fantastic.

The Wine
For the evening I shared a bottle of Montecillo Crianza, a red from the Rioja region of Spain. This is not the first Rioja wine I’ve had the pleasure of imbibing in recent weeks, and I hope it’s not the last. They are spicy and fully bodied with a fantastic nose - I almost feel obligated to inhale their aroma before every swallow.