There are times you look at buildings and wonder what goes on inside. Last year, as I sat outside at Starship Bagel in downtown Dallas, I looked across the green plaza with the giant eyeball and gazed up at the adjacent building. What happens there, I wondered. One of the best brunches in Dallas, that's what.
Located in the penthouse of luxury boutique Forty Five Ten, Mirador is eclectic, with influences, including Japanese, Latin, European and New American. The restaurant itself is a pastiche of floral pastels, leaning heavily towards pinks, oranges and golds. The large windows give the space a light and airy feel, and the patio is a delightful spot to dine as the weather cools, with views of Main Street and the Giant Eyeball.
This is a good-looking restaurant, I think. A delightful place to eat. But there are many good-looking restaurants in North Texas.
I have a theory: Judge a restaurant on the simple stuff. If they put effort into that, then they no doubt are doing the same on the more baroque dishes. As soon as I took a bite into the pancakes with lemon ricotta and blueberry, I thought the rest of the brunch was going to be delicious. I was right.
The French omelet, the chia bowl with coconut, raspberry and granola, the gravlax with Mirador tots, capers and cured egg, and the wagyu short ribs with steak and eggs followed. Everything was great. The drinks, too, whether that's the house margarita, the berry elixir or the paloma. Mirador has not one, but two old fashioneds: their signature "high fashioned" and a truly wonderful banana bread old fashioned with bourbon, banana, brown sugar, black walnut and chocolate bitters.
Right now, Mirador is doing a special back-to-school brunch promotion, and that's a great excuse to go. But you know what's an even better one? Mirador's delicious food and drink.
"We really want to get the word out," Channing Johnson, the general manager, tells me after the meal. I remember back to that time at Starship Bagel, looking up and wondering what was going on below the vaulted windows above. Glad I found out.
The new Saturday brunch is from 10:30 a.m. to 2 p.m.
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