Second Floor Bistro elevates comfort food to new heights

Let’s be honest—most of the time, there is something soulless about hotel restaurants. They aren’t trying to challenge weary business travelers with dazzling feats of culinary bravado, nor are they striving to create a warm, enveloping embrace for tourists seeking a sense of home. No, they just want to feed you waffles or Salisbury steak straight up, no surprises, no frills. If the food is decent, that’s usually good enough for their captive audience.

However, “decent” is definitely not good enough at the Second Floor Bistro at the Westin Galleria. Sure, it’s located in a hotel and within proximity of a mall to boot. But when you put a chef/partner like Scott Gottlich at the helm, you can rest assured, you won’t be treated to your grandmother’s Howard Johnson’s.

I sat down with Gottlich over lunch on a Wednesday to talk about changes in the works since Andrea Maricich joined Second Floor this last month as executive chef. The good news is that while Gottlich does want to pull in her ideas and freshen up the menu for summer, he has no intention of getting away from the restaurant’s original vision—elevated comfort food.

“When people come through the door, there are things you can’t control,” said Gottlich. “You can’t control what kind of day they’re having, or how they feel about the person they’re with. What you can try to do is create the most positive emotional experience possible with the food, service, and setting. “

I didn’t find it difficult to settle into a positive emotional experience as the server began to bring out samplings from the starter menu. My fork immediately reached for the oysters with their feathery-light cornmeal crust, oozing fresh, briny goodness as I bit into one. There I was trying to focus on a much-anticipated conversation with one of Dallas’ most gifted chefs, but at the same time, I was trying not to be too conspicuous in licking the house-made mayonnaise off my fork.

Sticking with the comfort food theme, there were also deviled eggs with smoked salmon and pickled fennel, and as any friend or family member of mine can tell you, I have serious deviled egg issues—as in, get me anywhere near them, and I lose all self-control. There’s just something about a deviled egg that recalls the church potlucks and family reunions of my childhood, where big-haired women slapped down trays of deviled delights alongside platters of fried chicken and bowls of buttery mashed potatoes.

And that’s exactly the sort of association Gottlich aims for. We talked a lot about the emotional connection to food, and what, exactly, does “comfort food” mean? It means deep memories of holidays and family gatherings where people sat down to special dinners, and the dishes vary from person-to-person depending on geography and cultural heritage.

For example, one of the entrées I sampled was flat iron steak frites with herbed fries and mustard pan sauce, and the chef must have scored a perfect ten on the comfort food scale because I swear, when I took a bite, tears practically formed in my eyes. And I’m not even French. It wasn’t the delicious spicy mustard sauce that evoked that response but rather the deep, mellow richness and obvious attention to technique that yanked at my culinary heartstrings.

That’s the whole thing about all the dishes at Second Floor Bistro. Gottlich has long experience with classic French technique, and when that finesse mixes itself up with shrimp and grits surrounded by tangy barbeque sauce or a juicy blue-cheese burger covered in carmelized onions atop a freshly toasted bun … well, that’s just food nirvana by anyone’s standard.

I think this is where I have to talk about love—stay with me here—love of food, love of entertaining, love of craft. All the really great chefs I’ve had the privilege to chat up have that same desire to create a memorable experience where people enjoy themselves, relish great food, and make shared memories. The whole team at Second Floor Bistro—the chefs, the wait staff, the hostess, and the managers—seem genuinely committed to delivering a blissful dining experience.

Now It’s even easier to find your bliss because they’ve changed up the entry way so it’s just a straight shot off the escalator and in through the door.

Just don’t fault me if you find yourself shedding a tear over your lump crab cakes.

Second Floor Bistro,13340 Dallas Pkwy, Dallas, (972) 450-2978