Graham Dodds is returning a F2T seasonal sensibility to Hibiscus, and you’re gonna like it

Since Graham Dodds took over the kitchen at Hibiscus a few months ago, he’s managed to transform a once ambitious restaurant into a newly ambitious restaurant. In a dining room plucked from a 1990s Napa Valley playbook – dark woods, wood beams, honey-hued lighting with a peekaboo kitchen – Dodds proves he’s never seen a plate he couldn’t fill with local meats, produce or baby goat.

Remember his goat brisket at Central 214? The crispy, tender lamb ribs glazed with tangy mustard, brown sugar and sherry that he’s now serving at Hibiscus are even better.

The roasted duck breast he serves on his charcuterie board sparkles with nutmeg, mace and Chinese five-spice powder that melts into the buttery slick layer of duck fat. Sliced thin, the pink dominoes need no flourish.

The menu changes seasonally – Dodds had added eight items the day of my visit – so be prepared to be surprised.

“The menu is almost fully my own,” Dodds told me, which also means he’s removed a few dishes he felt were dated. That means the mac and cheese is gone. So are the crab dip and the chocolate cake.

But take one bite of his walnut-studded carrot cake – made from organic, locally grown, purple, yellow and orange carrots, of course – and all is forgiven.

 2927 N. Henderson Ave., Dallas; 214.827.2927