by Steven C. Newcomb, Editor-in-Chief
Wood Fire Kirby’s could certainly be said to have a heritage of “re-invention.” Since the opening of Kirby’s Steakhouse in 1995 just down Greenville Avenue from the location of its namesake, Kirby’s Charcoal Steaks (1954-1987), the team behind Kirby’s has shown an admirable willingness to fine tune their concept. Kirby’s Prime Steakhouse is still going strong in Southlake as well as The Woodlands and San Antonio. However, the Greenville Avenue location underwent another transformation this past fall to become Wood Fire Kirby’s, and this past Sunday Wood Fire Kirby’s took another huge step: opening for Sunday Brunch.
Anyone familiar with Kirby’s knows that they open for dinner every night at 5:00 PM, sitting closed and silent during the day, as is the case with many fine dining restaurants. If this past Sunday is any indication of what is to come, then I think you can count on Wood Fire Kirby’s being anything but silent on Sundays from 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM.
The atmosphere at Wood Fire Kirby’s is really perfect for Sunday Brunch. I think they have managed to perfectly define rustic elegance. The combination of modern metal curtains and hanging decorations with the traditional Kirby’s Cowboy and a large stone fireplace sounds odd when you hear it, but it really works. The cuisine, under the leadership of Executive Chef Daniel Nemec, rivals the quality of what you would find in any of the top steak and seafood establishments, although missing one ingredient common to most fine dining experiences, pretense. There is absolutely nothing pretentious about the atmosphere, service or cuisine at Wood Fire Kirby’s. Although smoke seems to be a developing trend of the time, they do an incredible job with their wood fire grill culinary adaptations, and I would venture to say they are doing a good job of situating themselves as the leader in the Dallas area for the concept.
That’s enough about the general concept. The question of the day really revolves around their ability to pull off a successful brunch in a restaurant where the servers have never before uttered the word, “Good Morning! Welcome to Kirby’s.” We have spoken often in the Dallas Life Newsletter of the incredible flood of new brunch offerings in the last year or two, and several restaurants have proven that they just really do not know how to step outside the formal evening meal. The once popular tradition of a single price meal of unlimited servings during brunch time had seemed to all but disappear in our area until recently, except for the required offering of such on holidays like Mother’s Day and Easter, and I was not complaining too loudly. It was not too many years ago that we seemed to be inundated with endless all-you-can-eat buffets filled with heaping troughs of poorly cooked food, and I have been grateful to see that trend diminish.
However, the opportunity we now have is for top chefs to prove that an all-you-can-eat brunch concept can actually be done well with incredible food. For some reason, such a brunch seemed to have been delegated to those specializing in Mexican Cuisine. Blue Mesa has continued their highly successful buffet brunch and added several stations where specific dishes are prepared as you order. Iron Cactus has launched a very similar concept. My favorite tweak of the concept in the past few years has come from Chef Brandt Evans in his Blue Canyon Kitchen & Tavern locations, including one in Rockwall. His combination of a small batch buffet and carving station with table service of small plate breakfast dishes really elevated the level of cuisine and allowed for a higher level of personalized service.
With a very similar idea, Wood Fire Kirby’s busted brilliantly into the brunch scene just yesterday. They have chosen to call their self-serve offerings, the “Butcher’s Block” and have included a manageable selection of salads as well as breakfast and lunch offerings. Much to my surprise, the Dilled English Cucumbers were actually the object of some conversation at our table. This dish, well known on upscale salad buffets for being a watery dill sauce that slides off slices of flavorless cucumber actually turned out to be a delightfully flavorful and cohesive salad offering. As a lover of almost anything in the realm of “Mac & Cheese,” I was very much looking forward to the Tillamook Cheddar Mac & Cheese, which was indeed good but overshadowed by the magnificent perfection found in the Boursin Cheese Grits. Chef Nemec’s Corn Beef Hash was also truly exceptional. The star of the block was easily the House Smoked Prime Rib, which really seemed to fully embody the concept of Wood Fire Kirby’s. It was perfectly cooked and full of a delicious naturally smoky flavor.
There are several items you can order from your server. They will happily bring you eggs cooked to your liking, including an omelet or a truly classic benedict. Also available is “Biscuit ‘N’ Gravy” on which is served a delicious pork sausage gravy that I was very pleased to see served fresh and not turning to warm glue on the buffet. The gravy was so tasty that I could almost forgive the cold dry biscuit upon which it was served. We said last year in our search for the best brunch items in Dallas that any good brunch should have a version of steak and eggs. At Wood Fire Kirby’s, this takes the form of a very well prepared chicken fried steak served with peppercorn cream gravy and a fried egg. For me, the best offering in their table service selections was the Texas French Toast. I am not normally a huge fan of sweets, especially as an entrée. However, the toast was light and fluffy with a perfect crust, and it is served with a perfectly balanced combination of whipped apple butter and maple syrup.
Dessert has its own self-serve station including homey Neiman-Marcus Bars, elegant Belgian Dark Chocolate Truffles (espresso, coconut, or cocoa) and confusing fruit kolaches that would be better placed with the breakfast foods. There would be a perfect place for them if the biscuits and cinnamon buns were moved to be kept warm in smaller batches.
The price is hard to beat for this “all you can handle” meal at $19.95 per person, plus tax and gratuity. For only $5 more, you can add bottomless mimosas that will be constantly refilled by the attentive servers. The Wood Fire Kirby’s Bar also offers full bar service including the ability to make your own Bloody Mary from a variety of ingredients. As always, parking by their incredibly friendly valet attendants is free of charge, and you can expect to be greeted by a smiling face as soon as you pass through the door. For some reason known only to the management, they have chosen not to accept reservations for brunch. Instead they offer the far inferior option of “call ahead seating.” This seems to give the advance feel of a casual dining restaurant, which would not normally be my choice for Sunday Brunch, and I’m sure it will somewhat discourage those of us who normally choose not to go places where one must ask “how long is the wait.” However, brunch at Wood Fire Kirby’s is an experience worth having. It’s actually an experience I intend to repeat in the future, so I hope to see you there.
