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This week in Dish we look at Rack’s Downtown Eatery and Tavern, the newest restaurant from self-made restaurateur Gary Rack and Mizner Park’s latest multimillion dollar addition. Clocking in at a staggering $4 million, Rack’s is a gorgeous, state of the art restaurant serving classic American food. It’s posh decor — highlighted by a series of interweaving white rope chandeliers — is extravagant without feeling overly pretentious. But does the food, an eclectic mix of comfort dishes, fresh seafood, and pizzas, live up to the hype? Here’s an excerpt from the review:
If you do start with the drinks-and-appetizers route, there’s definitely a whole lot to try. Bar bites like apple-smoked barbecue ribs ($11), Buffalo calamari ($11), and gourmet fries with Bearnaise sauce ($7) share space with retro-themed snacks such as fried goat cheese salad ($12) and deviled eggs ($5; shades of the Office, anyone?). More interesting options tend to be pricier, and in some cases, spottier. A series of four potato chips topped with cedar plank-roasted salmon and a dill-forward sauce ($11) would’ve been fine eating had the chips been crispier. Tuna tacos (three for $14) employed a similarly flimsy fried shell, but fared better thanks to a generous portion of succulent raw tuna and plenty of textural contrast from a crisp green apple slaw on top. Rack’s mac and cheese ($8) is some of the best you’ll find; a crisp-crusted gratin of elbow noodles made indulgent thanks to seven kinds of cheese and a faint whiff of smoky bacon.
Read our full review of Rack’s Downtown Eatery and Tavern.
