Kosher Food and Drink

Another restaurant that I had the pleasure to visit in Dallas was Aderet Grill & Salad. Aderet (13410 Preston Rd J, Dallas, TX 75240; (972) 726-9800; aderetrestaurant.com; under Dallas Kosher supervision) is a Mediterranean-style restaurant with the usual smattering of proteins in pita/baguette, but also some Asian and salad entrees as well.

Aderet is easy to find, with plenty of parking. I was pleasantly surprised by the clean interior and home-y, modern ambience. There was also plenty of seating. Perhaps it’s a stereotype, but I’m so used to Mediterranean-style places having something of a hole-in-the-wall interior that a place that really puts some effort into it is very appreciated.

The service is sit-down. I didn’t think the service was particularly impressive; there was one person dealing with the entire restaurant front-end, and they were mostly interested in getting you in and out. That said, the server was friendly enough, and leaving a pitcher of water on the table was appreciated.

As mentioned, the menu is perhaps a little deeper than the norm. I personally thought it was somewhat eclectic, but surviving in a smaller community might require a bit more broad of a menu, too. I ordered the meat cigars and the schnitzel baguette. The food came out in a reasonable timeframe.

I’ll level with you, dear reader: the meat cigars were clearly just the ones I buy at the kosher grocery store. I suppose that’s fine, they taste good and were cooked properly. At $16, I suppose I was hoping for more effort, but it is what it is.

The schnitzel baguette was very good, and they actually warmed the baguette, which I’ve noticed not every place remembers to do. I would say it was on par with the better ones I’ve had, but, honestly, it’s hard to screw this up. The fries were unremarkable, but, again, at least cooked correctly (sad to say, I could tell you places which screw this up). I would have appreciated some ketchup, though.

I had to flag down the server to get my check and a box to go. The total was on the high side, especially with a tip, but that’s par for course these days.

I know some people love this place, but I didn’t walk away particularly blown away. I’d give it a solid “good” rating on the scale. Perhaps some of the other entrees are more impressive. Maybe it’s just a solid local choice in general. Nothing wrong with that. But for what I ordered, Aderet just didn’t really distinguish itself. I’ll give them another try next time I’m in Dallas, and see if a more adventurous menu choice puts them in a better light for me.