Steakhouse News
Medium Rare steak frites restaurant debuts on Dallas' Greenville Ave
A restaurant with one thing on its mind is debuting in Dallas: Medium Rare, a D.C.-based concept that specializes in the French bistro dish steak frites, is opening a location in Dallas’ Lower Greenville neighborhood, at 5631 Alta Ave. in the former Standard Service space.
According to a release, it'll open on May 29.
Medium Rare is a buzzy concept famous for its dedication to steak frites, which is pretty close to all it serves. Diners get basically one choice: a three-course prix fixe meal for $29.99 featuring a mixed green salad, bread, and sliced Coulotte steak, accompanied by their "secret" sauce with 18 herbs and spices, served with fresh-cut fries.
This secret sauce is not the usual Russian dressing that "secret sauce" implies, but more of a spin on the classic Bearnaise traditionally served with steak frites. Medium Rare's has been described as "a combination of au poivre and steak Diane with a little fettuccine Alfredo mixed in." (And they'll also sell it by the quart.)
They offer a concession on the menu for vegetarians: a grilled portabella mushroom in place of the steak. With such a limited menu, they fixate on each ingredient, striving for the "perfect French fry" via a 24-hour process of cutting, soaking, drying, blanching, refrigerating overnight, then frying.
Medium Rare was founded in 2011 by Mark Bucher, a long-time restaurateur, Taste of the NFL host chef, and World Burger Champion; and his business partner Tom Gregg, who were inspired by the French restaurant Le Relais de L’Entrecote, a place that also only serves steak frites and offers seconds. There are currently seven Medium Rare locations but they're on a big growing spree, with openings slated not only for Dallas but also Houston, New York, and Watertown, Massachusetts, right outside Boston.
"We keep things simple," Bucher says, traveling in an Uber from the airport to the opening of the Dallas location. "We have one cut of steak but it took us a year to narrow it down to a cut that appeals to everyone, has great flavor, and can be done consistently. It's the cap of the ribeye, at the top of the rib - the best, most succulent steak there is."
One area they do offer choices is dessert, with a 7-layer chocolate cake, a 7-layer carrot cake, and a hot fudge sundae. They also feature an expanded menu at brunch with eggs and French toast, mimosas, bloody marys, and screwdrivers, for $39.99.
Bucher and his partner are bullish on Dallas and know it well.
"My business partner graduated from SMU — Dallas is also where my college girlfriend lives, and I wanted to show her my success," Bucher quips. "No, the reason we're here, we're rollng out across the country, with one location per NFL city," he says, which also sounds like a quip.
"Dallas is an incredible food town, I feel it's underrated," he says. "It should be in the top 5 dining cities in the country. [This guy really knows how to win over Dallas!] The talent of people available to work from culinary to front of the house is incredible. And we feel lucky to get our location on Greenville Avenue, where we'll be surrounded by great restaurants and bar operators."
"I think that when people hear about a restaurant with steak frites … and the opportunity to get a meal for 29.95? And I get seconds? And bottomless brunch? I feel like we'll be part of he neighborhood," he says.