Greenville Gets Beachy
Greenville Avenue nets ceviche and tequila bar from seasoned Dallas chef
Former Rosewood Mansion on Turtle Creek chef Randall Warder has doubled his commitment to Greenville Avenue, with a new beachy concept called C'Viche Tequila Bar, opening this fall next-door to his exciting new Clark Food & Wine Co.
Warder was chef de cuisine at the Mansion during the Dean Fearing days; most recently he was chief concept officer at Romano's Macaroni Grill. Clark Food & Wine Co., which he began to work on in May, is his earthy, meaty restaurant concept with an American menu but European attitude where he'll serve oysters; bone marrow with truffle salt; wood-fired flatbreads; and house-smoked meats sold by the pound, including turkey, brisket and pulled pork.
Chef Randall Warder will spotlight four ceviches — Peruvian, Mexican, Asian and tropical — and use those as the basis of a menu that expands in many directions.
C'Viche will be a simpler, super-casual spot featuring ceviches, tacos, quesadillas and salads.
"I have some history there," Warder says. "First of all, I love Mexican food more than anything on earth; it's 90 percent of what I cook at home. But this goes back to my days at Las Ventanas al Paraíso, the Rosewood property where I worked in the '90s. I did a similar concept there.
"This was in Baja, so it had to be seafood. It was ceviche and tequila, and it ended up being so popular, so fun."
He'll spotlight four ceviches — Peruvian, Mexican, Asian and tropical — and use those as the basis of a menu that expands in many directions. Customers can order their ceviche straight, or tossed into a salad, or get it with tacos or quesadillas.
"Peruvian will have lemon and lime juice, shaved red onions, chiles, sometimes you see cucumber, but clean, no color, just the fish and ingredients," he says. "Then we'll do a traditional Baja-style, with a little tomato."
The bar will be similarly minimal, with three spirits only: tequila, rum and cachaça, the Brazilian version of rum made from sugar cane. They'll make mojitos, caipirinhas and margaritas. The beer selection will include a few South American drafts, a few Texas drafts and a few bottles. There will also be two wines, one white and one red, which will be the basis of a house sangria.
The space is small, with 1,300 square feet and seating for 30, consisting of bar stools, community tables and picnic benches outside.
"The entire place will be open. There's no back area, so you can see everything," he says. "It doesn't even have a walk-in refrigerator. But one of the cooler elements is that we'll have a sushi case where you can see your chef making ceviche right in front of you.
"We'll put four seats in front. They'll be the hottest seats in the place."
