OpenTable.com (OpenTable.com user on 06/22/2010) view more
I've been to The Ranch several times and always been so impressed with the level of service, the great atmosphere (great local bands on the porch) and the fantastic food. The rib eye is to die for, truly the best steak I've ever had! The lump crab cakes could stand up against any in Boston!
Most recently I took my dad there for the Father's day brunch, what a feast! Food delights around every corner! From the ribs to the chicken fried steak to the dessert station, there was nothing to disappoint.
Special Features: fit for foodies, good for groups, great for brunch, great for outdoor dining, neighborhood gem, notable wine list, special occasion, great for lunch
Food (Outstanding)
Ambiance (Outstanding)
Service (Outstanding)
Restaurant Experience:
Noise Level (Energetic)
By an OpenTable.com user who dined on 06/20/2010 (review submitted 06/22/2010)
YELP (David D. on 06/14/2010) view more
Another great time at The Ranch was had on Saturday night. Walked in with no reservations and was immediately seated. Waiter was attentive, informed and knowledgeable about the food. Couldn't ask for anything better.
We had the appetizer sampler and was very pleased with everything. I had the ribeye and my wife had the shrimp pasta. Both were perfect. I prefer my steak rare, it was tender and flavorful. The shrimp pasta was also very good.
We decided to stay and listen to the band and we were treated to a very talented trio. The lead singer had the talent to both play some great blues and pull off the vocals that many cannot. I thoroghly enjoyed the evening.
What I am impressed with is that the food has a local flavor and is done fresh. Each time I visit the ranch it has been a great experience.
Radar Range: Judd Fruia, one of Dallas' best GMs, is back
(Mike Hiller on 06/07/2010) view more
By Mike Hiller
"Honestly, I don't know of another fast-casual restaurant in Dallas as committed to using as many homegrown ingredients as the Ranch. With most entrees priced between $11 and $20, this isn't fussy, sophisticated food; it's high quality, well-made, tasty, creative cooking. No question: the road from farm to market runs through this Ranch."
TRIP ADVISOR (VaBelle on 05/20/2010) view more
This is a beautiful restaurant. The decor, the layout, the outdoor bar area and indoor bar area, it's just beautiful and is great for guys who want a steak place or a bar with a tv or ladies who want smaller but filling meals and singles who just want a nice bar scene and live music. There's something for everyone here.
Our server was very attentive and great about explaining items on the menu, giving suggestions and explaining the concept of the restaurant and where the food comes from. Much of the food is local and everything is made fresh on the premises.
I had the wild boar chops and the crab and shrimp campechana. For dessert we ordered 2, banana bread pudding with a rum caramel topping and a chipotle chocolate layer cake with a side of vanilla milk. Don't let the chipotle scare you, you don't taste it at all it just makes it a very very rich moist chocolate cake. It's not to be missed.
If you're here for business, this is the place for dinner.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS (06/03/2009) view more
As a native Texan, I've about had it with stereotypes. The giant belt buckles and cowboy hats. The twangy accent that turns every word into a three- or four-syllable ordeal. The predilection for rhinestone bling and big hair. OK, so that last one might be mostly true, but it still raises my hackles when a big, brash joint like Cadillac Ranch moseys onto the scene and lays it on thicker than the haunches of a Dallas Cowboys lineman.
The Texas Kobe flat-iron steak comes from an even closer neighbor. Briggs Ranch, just about 50 miles down Interstate 45 in Rice, is the source of this prized beef. Tender and well-marbled, the slab of meat was robust with a pronounced minerality and buttery texture that made this now-trendy cut worth its $34.95 price tag. A side of potatoes and fat stalks of asparagus added value to the plate.
There were no split opinions on a starter of onion rings. The giant bangles came piled high atop an iron stake, the wide, sweet vegetable slices sheathed with a perfectly seasoned crust that matched well with dipping sides of smoky chipotle ketchup and creamy black pepper-buttermilk ranch.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS (02/08/2011) After very slow start, Super Bowl ends up being super for local businesses By Cheryl Hall, Staff Writer
The Ranch at Las Colinas, Whiskey Cake Kitchen in Plano and Ojos Locos Sports Cantinas in Dallas and Sundance Square got early liftoffs as setup crews arrived.
Then came terrible Tuesday, followed by even-worse Wednesday, says Judd Fruia, director of operations for Front Burner Restaurants LP. By Thursday, the restaurants were running at two to three times normal.
The 500-seat Ranch reached hour waits at peak times with per-head tabs running $80, up from the usual $40. Plus, they were good tippers. "Staff got triple, sometimes four times, what they normally make."
DALLAS MORNING NEWS (01/28/2011) By Leslie Brenner, Restaurant Critic
view more
IRVING - When the Ranch opened in 2008, it was called Cadillac Ranch; the name was changed in late 2009, shortly before Troy Walker took over as chef de cuisine.
The New York-born chef may be a Yankee, but Walker has a real flair for Texas cooking, and he sources great products from all around the state: grass-fed beef from Red River County, gulf shrimp from Brownsville, wild boar from Devine, bobwhite quail from Lockhart.
Those quail, "chicken-fried," make a worthy appetizer: three hot, crisp, meaty little half-birds each set on a mound of lacy, locally grown arugula.
Out of a blazing Wood Stone Oven came a gorgeously blistered flatbread topped with goat cheese, a touch of smoked tomato sauce, crumbled house-smoked sausage and pretty rings of searingly hot yellow and red Fresno peppers; a generous heap of that beautiful arugula ran across the middle. This couldn't feel less like corporate food.
I love the fact that at dinner, you can order a half-portion of many of the main courses. It made sense for the waiter to insist I do that with the meatloaf - sliced, grilled and stacked, nicely flavored with chipotle and served with whipped potatoes and a dusky smoked poblano salsa. But I don't know why he'd suggest that for a strapping teenage boy, who could easily have put away twice that much chicken-fried steak, a nicely crisp version that was tender inside and topped with sausage cream gravy.
AVID GOLFER view more
The crabcake offered fresh lumps of crab with the non-traditional but welcomed flavor of the chili aioli, contrasted with the texture and taste of slaw. Cooked to perfection, it was an excellent start. The oysters were cornmeal crusted and topped with smoked chili butter and tomatillo pico de gallo. Sheer genius. Although a professed non-oyster eater, I highly recommend this appetizer for both the oyster averse and oyster fan.
Next up were the soup and salad. Both the spicy, tomato-based tortilla soup with roasted chicken, avocado, Monterey Jack cheese and crispy tortilla strips, and the CR House Salad with local greens, carrots, hothouse cucumbers, tomatoes, egg, spiced pecans and queso fresco, with a light tarragon vinaigrette were hearty with enough bite to hold my interest. The CR House Salad was true to its commitment of fresh ingredients, and provided both the right combination of flavor and texture and the right amount of vinaigrette dressing.
For main entrees, we went with the Tri peppercorn Texas Wild Boar Chops and the Pan Seared Mahi Mahi topped with sautéed shrimp, avocado and pico de gallo in cilantro butter. The presentation of both was very appealing and unexpected given the prices.
DALLAS OBSERVER Best Fried Oysters 2009 view more
Chefs sometimes try too hard with these little critters. The trick, however, is to let the flavor of the oysters course through everything else-the crust, the dipping sauce, even through the beer you wash it down with. Hence the genius of the fried oysters at this massive Las Colinas shed. The shell releases a crispy-sweet background and the sauce...oh, the sauce: just a dollop on each, exploding for a moment in bright tomato, yanked to earth by root vegetables, scored by pepper-and then it all subsides, leaving you with the taste of shellfish. Nice.
DALLAS MORNING NEWS view more
"What I like about it, I support him, a local farmer, and the microgreens change as the months go on ..."
What else?: Dublin Dr Pepper, made with cane sugar per the original recipe, is Frankie's No. 2 favorite. He also likes the fact the Rocco Tassione brings it to him. The Dublin plant can distribute only within a 44-mile radius, so Tassione picks up bottles and bag-in-box fountain soda for Frankieat the Patillo Grocery and Feed on his way to Dallas.
MODERN LUXURY DALLAS (September 2010) - Ranch Style (pg 126) view more
Chef Troy Walker is remixing regional cuisine on his new fall menu at the Ranch at Las Colinas (857 W. John Carpenter Fwy., 972.506.7262, theranchlc.com), where he sources most of his ingredients from
small farmers, ranchers and suppliers from across Texas. For one appetizer, Walker riffs on fried chicken by serving three battered Texas bobwhite quails with housemade peach barbecue sauce. For another, the chef takes small, savory waffles loaded with local herbs, adds a spoonful of mashed sweet potatoes, a breast of fried chicken, jalapeño-spiked creamy gravy, and a drizzle of Texas honey or maple glaze. Nightly specials tread even farther down the modern regional path of Texas farms: wild boar chops from Devine, grass-fed prime rib from Stephenville, grilled quail from Lockhart. It's farm-to-fork cooking, all grown up.
URBAN SPOON (Rod Montrose on 09/05/2010) - Texas Food Done Right! view more
Really likes it
I often tell foodies that if Gordon Ramsey had a Texas restaurant it wold be like the Ranch at Las Colinas. They follow his mantra - simple food, made with only fresh ingredients, cooked to perfection. Gordon always tests a restaurant's crab cakes since so many of them burn them or make they out of frozen crab. Their crab cakes are the best I have tasted - fresh, an excellent red chili aioli sauce with a unique flavor, and the crispy micro tortilla strips give a unique texture to the cakes . A bonus is if you ask your server they will e-mail you the recipe they use - the crab cakes, though they look simple, are an amazingly complicated dish to prepare with the sauce. The Kobe beef tacos (special item) are really outstanding, just as is the chicken fried steak. Definitely a great place for any special occasion.
Recommend
HAUTE LIVING MAGAZINE (11/03/2010) - Haute Secrets Dallas: John Franke view more
The Stats: From Nick's Fish Market in Chicago to Pappas Restaurants in Dallas, John Franke now serves superb cuisine as Executive Chef of The Ranch at Las Colinas
John Franke makes your food look good. He makes it pretty tasty, as well. From Nick's Fish Market in Chicago to Pappas Restaurants in Dallas, Franke has been tantalizing taste buds for years. Now serving as the Corporate Chef for Front Burner Restaurants, Franke may spend most of his time acting as Executive Chef of the upscale eatery The Ranch at Las Colinas, but he also works to keep the kitchens at several other restaurants in top shape. This includes the Twin Peaks chain, where he took a menu of prepackaged foods and upgraded it to almost all made-from-scratch recipes. The bottom line here is Franke strives to bring guests fresh, farm-to-fork food that simply make Texans happy, whether you're dining on Chicken-Fried Quail or Buffalo Wings. See more on John Franke's favorite local spots at Haute Secrets.
NBC-DFW AROUND TOWN (November 2010) - The Ranch At Las Colinas view more
Gulf jumbo lumo crabcakes are served with micro-greens dressed in a chili aioli and a crisp and tangy slaw. Yum!
The Deep Ellum Burger has RLC steak sauce, arugula, red onion, tomatoes, peppered bacon, Deep Ellum Bleu cheese (from the Dallas Mozzarella Company, of course) and buns from Empire Bakery. It's a local burger from start to meaty finish!
Chargrilled Gulf shrimp and spinach salad is served with smoked mozzarella, grape tomatoes and a warm maple dressing.
Chicken and waffles are served with whipped sweet potatoes, crispy fried chicken topped with creamy jalapeno gravy and ancho maple glaze.
This lovley starter of Texas Redfish and crab ceviche is acidic and delicious for diners who like it raw.
ESCAPE HATCH DALLAS (11/15/2010) - Cornbread Stuffing from John Franke view recipe
As far back as I can remember, Thanksgiving has held a special place in my heart. My grandmother was the Julia Child of our family. Thanksgiving at "Meemaw's" house seemed like what it might feel like dining at Windsor Castle. She pulled out all the stops, never stopped cooking and barely took a break putting out platter after platter of turkey, ham, stuffing, green bean casserole, potatoes, gravy, cakes, pies, and on and on. She died when I was just 10, but I will never forget the years I spent celebrating Thanksgiving at Meemaw's house. She inspired me to become a chef and I am thankful to her for the too few years I knew her and for allowing me to cook side by side with her at such a young age.
ESCAPE HATCH DALLAS (11/19/2010) - Brussels Sprouts with Bacon from Troy Walker view more
While growing up in Western New York in late November was a special time. The cows were in the barn, most of the garden had been harvested, and for almost a full month by then, apple cider production was in full swing. There were brussel sprouts still in the ground and a few hard squashes were left to be harvested. Dad would be out hunting white tail deer. Most likely, there had been a few "snows," some of which might really be sticking on the ground by Thanksgiving.
Grandpa & my Uncle Bill would come in from the barn, usually by 1 pm, just in time for dinner, which Gram would have been fixing for the past couple of days. Cooking for Thanksgiving dinner would be an almost two day affair.
With the sounds of the Macy's day parade or the the post-game show in the background, the aromas of pumpkin pie and roasted turkey melding were magical. Here's one of my family's favorite dishes.
ESCAPE HATCH DALLAS (04/28/2012) - State Fare: May issue of Bon Appetit Magazine features the Ranch at Las Colinas' chipotle meatloaf view more
There are so many reasons I'm a fan of the Ranch at Las Colinas, a F2T temple if there ever was one. I've talked about them here, here and here. And here. Nearly every ingredient on their menu is grown or made in Texas. Their chefs, John Franke and Grant Morgan, are rock star cooks; their food follows a from-scratch sensibility that you don't expect to find in a restaurant in the middle of Las Colinas, a corporate headquarters better known for cubicle farms than vegetable farms. I also admire and respect the Ranch's management team — Judd Fruia, Jack Gibbons and Randy DeWitt — as a group, they are one of the best in the business.
Know what else they do right? Meatloaf. Chipotle-spiked meatloaf good enough to make the pages of the new issue of Bon Appetit magazine. Flip to page 16 if you want to see it. (Go ahead. We'll wait.)
Don't have the May issue? Okay, here's a link to the online version.
HAUTE LIVING MAGAZINE (11/19/2010) - Fork to Farmers at the Ranch at Las Colinas view more
The "Farm to Fork" movement has been catching on around the Big D, making our beloved nights dining out that much more fresh, organic and locally grown. Monday night, the fine folks at the illustrious Ranch at Las Colinas showed their gratitude to these local growers, farmers and bakers by inviting them along with some media guests to partake in The Ranch's incredible cuisine, and show them where all the hard work is really paying off.
At the entrance of The Ranch that evening, attendees were greeted by an animal farm of sorts, including two horses, a chicken and the world's most genetically perfect bull. Inside, guests mingled around vendors from all kinds of local companies, from Copper Shoals Red Drum fish and Dripping Springs Texas Vodka to the Deep Ellum-based Mozzarella Company and Franconia brewery. "A lot of restaurants use several vendors for their products. The Ranch uses 18," said PR representative Lindsey Miller. "That's why we wanted to do a night like this, to show these people where their goods were going."
WB 33 Night Cap (05/13/2013) - How's Food at This Las Colinas Restaurant? view more
"You want real Texas food.. made with all Texas ingredients? Pull up a chair as we check out a food critic's take on dinner at The Ranch." - NightCap