
A editorial by Rod Dreher of The Dallas Morning News
Friday, February 6, 2009
Deep into what was without question the best meal we had ever eaten, my wife, giddy with pleasure, grinned and said, "This food makes me want to be good."
We laughed at the peculiarity of the sentiment, but I knew exactly what she meant. I've eaten some pretty great meals in my life, but this, this was sublime. It was both supper and sacrament, an aesthetic experience that did what high art is supposed to do: enlighten, uplift, transform.
How do you get from aesthetic delight to moral transformation? You first walk in the door of Aurora, Chef Avner Samuel's acclaimed Dallas restaurant. If you're anything like us, your usual public dining experiences involve crayons, not candles. It's hard to justify splurging at one of the city's finest restaurants when your rattletrap old house needs repairs. Besides which, how do you live down having to valet-park a minivan that doubles as a stale Cheerios habitat?
April 28, 2009
Avner announced he was off to Spain. I thought... "this should be good, and as it happens... I'm due back at Aurora after a bit of a spell." Soon enough, Avner returned from Spain... with a fresh perspective, and ideas on how to share his particular penchant for excellence with an evolving clientele, in a challenging marketplace. I made a call and booked in for a recent Friday service. Neither for good nor bad, Aurora has evolved. A bit less austere, warmer, rather inviting in fact. Gone are the white tablecloths - instead handsome woods set the tone, while service remains impeccable. I happen to be enamored of this particular incarnation. Happily, the new comfortable decor retains a favorite feature of mine...