Every once in a while, if you’re really lucky and a lover of French food, you’ll come across (or look for!) a chef as talented as Jean-Marie Cadot, the charming and very talented boss from the eponym Cadot Restaurant at 18111 Preston Road in North Dallas, located in a beautiful space on the northwest corner of Preston and Frankford.
cadotIt is, in my opinion, now without a doubt one of the top half dozen French restaurants in North Texas, a place of consistent excellence run by a man who has spent three decades perfecting his craft. It’s also an unassuming, no-nonsense place. He’ll find snow-white tablecloths on his table, flowers, an impeccable setting decorated in a way that transports him to the Champs-Élysées in spring, but without irritability, posturing, or affectation. And the prices are remarkably low, I guess in part because the overhead isn’t as big as it would be in downtown Dallas.
Jean-Marie Cadot is real, a native of Paris who is descended from a family in the hospitality business since the 18th century. Jean-Marie began training him as a baker at the age of eight in his father’s house. bakery. He later learned at the famous lasserre in Paris (three stars in the Michelin Guide). He also trained in ferrandi and the Grand Mills of Paristhe famous pastry and bakery school, before coming to Dallas in 1982.
Dallas diners who know their way around will remember that he was the executive chef at Washing upthe well-established French restaurant operated by Pascal Cayet a mile north of cadot, also on Preston Road. With thirty years of experience under his belt, Jean-Marie started his namesake company four or five years ago. Friends in Los Angeles recommended that I visit cadot more than once on my next trip to Dallas, and heeding that advice, I dined there three times on a recent stay in Texas that kept me there for several weeks.
I went for lunch with a friend in the middle of the week and arrived around noon. About half the tables in the front dining room were already taken (Jean-Marie has cleverly divided her huge restaurant space into three or four rooms, each of which exudes a sense of intimacy and casual French elegance. It seems to me that the dining room is too big). the rooms spoil my food, there is too much noise and movement around me. cadot is the correct size).
To start I ordered a duck terrine with pistachios and truffles, a kind of country pate which is lighter than the traditional goose liver pâté so popular in France. Jean-Marie does it himself in his 1,500-square-foot kitchen. It was delicate and delicious, served with mustard and picklesthose tiny French pickles that no country pate should be served without.
A friend from Highland Park had suggested I have one of Jean-Marie’s special salads for my main course, three large shrimp served with a mix of mesclun, green beans, baby potatoes and citrus bits in a vinaigrette, but I was tempted to a wish that day for something cadot is justifiably famous for: chicken crepes served with mushrooms velvety and garden vegetables. These look simple and refreshing, but it’s easy to overcook them and it takes a light, skillful hand to produce them to perfection. They arrived at my table piping hot with a light sauce, delicious morsels of chicken breast wrapped comfortably in pancakes, I haven’t found them better done anywhere else.
My partner that day, a true Francophile who flatters cadot and goes there once a week, ordered a pacific snapper to the nicoise, which came with fresh tomato, a white wine sauce with basil and olives, and a side of mashed potatoes. She pronounced excellent.
This is the kind of simple, beautifully executed French food that too many chefs in America, even if they were trained in France, eschew in favor of extravagant and exotic dishes you’ll rarely find in Paris. The lovely food and atmosphere made for wonderful conversation and we also had a lively chat with Jean-Marie himself, who often visits his guests to make sure they are happy. This is a man who takes his job seriously. And now, after all, it is his own name that is on the door!
For dessert we both do the homemade Catalan cream with some raspberries on top, a wonderfully rich vanilla flan encased in an armor of caramelized sugar. I finished my meal with an excellent espresso, which I ordered to be served with a couple of slices of lemon peel. Perfectly done. My lunch partner had a cappuccino.
This is a restaurant that is a treasure for those who live in the north part of Dallas. For those who live downtown, they will find the trip worthwhile, and to their delight, they will also find ample parking right in front of the restaurant, a benefit that will more than offset the cost of gas they use to get from downtown. from the city. No valet fees at Cadot! It’s like visiting a very posh North Dallas residence, inside and out. I urge you to go there soon.
cadot has a very informative (and quite nice to use) website where you can research the menus before your visit. You will find Cadot Restaurant at 18111 Preston Rd, Suite 120 in the northwest quadrant of the intersection of Preston and Frankford, Dallas, TX 75252.
It is always advisable to make a reservation: (972) 267-5700
