The old Cliff Cafe' next to Bar Belmont took a bit of a vacay and in step with Dallas tradition got a face lift, a chic monosyllabic name- Smoke, and a new man(ager).
I first visited Smoke, located at 901 Fort Worth Ave., during its evening bar hours; I always say meeting new people is best done with a little social lubricant. I got a text from a friend saying it was "bumping" so my gf and I decided to kick off our chucks and put on some pumps for the occasion. By the time we arrived, all of 11:30 p.m., there were only a few recently cut bar staff from Bar Belmont, and one or two pasty black-clad hipsters smoking languidly on the patio. This was their first official night open, other than their buzz-making grand opening VIP party.
I will give super kudos to our awesome bartender for the killer dirty martini. I wish I could remember his name. You have no idea how difficult it is to get a good martini in Oak Cliff on a weeknight (suggestions welcome!). I liked the lighting and the patio; despite the drizzle that night it seemed like the patio had a lot of potential with a cool little performance area in the corner.
One of the first things I commented on was the pool table in the middle of what seemed to be a dining area. A few guys were shooting pool while sipping scotch. I asked my friend if the table stayed during brunch and dinner. He said "Yep".
I wasn't sure how that was going to play out but it seemed to work for the evening since it felt awkward to sit at the dining tables without dining.
We went for brunch the next weekend and absolutely LOVED most of the food. Our server on this particular trip was awesome. Dante, a leftover staff member from the former Cliff Cafe days, is a pro. We were seated next to the pool table during this busy Sunday brunch. We watched as server after server almost lost their load to 4 terrorist children wielding pool sticks while their parents pretended not to notice their precious hellions were wreaking havoc. I thought that at some point the management, which appeared to be some guy in black Prada glasses wearing overalls and a suit coat, should have stepped in, but he didn't. He also didn't seem to be managing much of anything. I finally managed to shame the father of this brood to at least stand next to the children while they practiced their batting skills on the wait staff.
As far as the food was concerned overall it was lovely. I wasn't too keen on paying almost 5 bucks for a single slice of droopy, fatty bacon, but the Smoke brisket cornbread hash was perfectly spicy and the poached egg atop this mound of pearl onions, beef, and green chili rajas was delectable. And it should have been. It took about 55 minutes to make its way to the table. A few of our friend's had the baked eggs. They must've been delicious because these ordinarily loud-mouthed divas kept their mouths full. The goat cheese potato cakes left much to be desired though. They were dry, bland, and a bit over-cooked.
On our next visit we requested to not be seated near the pool table. After the girl huffed (because I'm sure that she was assigned the pool table section and no one seemed to want to be there) she seated us in the opposite section. We waited, and waited, and waited. After seriously 10 minutes of isolation my girlfriend went to the front and got some menus for us. Finally the water dude offered us some water and told one of the waiters that we'd been there awhile. When the server finally decided to say something to us we were so hungry and over the place that we told him never mind and got the hell outta there.
We haven't been back. I like their food, and may order it to go, but until they get a real professional running the front end and that damn pool table is gone I'm going to stick to Hattie's. The food is good but I'd phone an order in and get it to go until they get it together up there.
And I hope they do, get it together that is.
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