I had the opportunity to hang out with Jason Poole, the executive chef of Dawson’s last week, and learned that his restaurant is anything but an industry cliché. Located at 1209 L Street, Dawson’s is the Hyatt Regency’s in-house steakhouse. But don’t call it a “hotel restaurant.” Dawson’s stands on its own.
“We’re not a hotel restaurant. We’re better than that stigma,” Poole says. “Yes, we have rooms here, but we’re so much more.”
Unlike some hotel chains that implement uniform menus across all locations, Poole has free rein over 99 percent of everything that comes out of his kitchen. That translates into a delicious menu chock full of local items like SunFed Ranch grass fed beef from Sutter County and asparagus and other fresh veggies from the Delta.
With fresh local ingredients, Poole’s Chef de Cuisine Michael Grande has a wide variety of foods to work with, and he does so masterfully. The grass-fed beef bone marrow appetizer we sampled was luscious and buttery. We ordered the SunFed Ranch grass-fed flat iron steak and a California corn-fed flat iron from Brandt Beef for comparison. Both were delicious and cooked just to perfection, with sides of crisp asparagus as well as lobster mac-and-cheese. All these great flavors were delivered with incredible service (arguably the best I’ve had in Sacramento) courtesy of our awesome waiter, Ardy.
Beyond the great wait staff and cuisine, one particular source of pride to Poole is what used to be a cascading hotel fountain that’s now brimming with a variety of edibles like fragrant lemon thyme and ripening tomatoes. This is Poole’s vegetable garden, retrofitted by the hotel just for his use. Poole’s favorite plant is a hardy pepper plant that he likes to call, the “Charlie Brown pepper tree.”
“It’s the lone survivor of the garden’s first iteration,” Poole admits with a smile, touching the leaves of the plant. “It took some tweaks to get it right.”
To get the ingredients needed for Dawson’s beyond what his garden and the Charlie Brown tree provide, Poole says the best local foods are always just a phone call away.
“In Sacramento, it’s so easy, you just have to put in a request for whatever it is you want and it’s here,” Poole says.
Easy sourcing makes it even more fun for Poole to participate in the abundance of Sacramento Farm-to-Fork celebrations he enjoys, like BLT Week in July, Offal Day in August, Farm-to-Fork Festival in September and Baconfest in January. Poole says the events are great opportunities for him to showcase what Dawson’s has to offer Sacramento foodies.
“We’re out in the community,” Poole says. “We’re letting people know we’re way beyond just a hotel restaurant.”
Dawson’s
BAR: 4:00pm – 10:00pm Monday – Friday
5:00pm – 10:00pm Saturday & Sunday
Happy Hour: Monday – Friday, 4:00pm – 6:00pm
DINING ROOM: 5:30pm – 10:00pm Daily
Dine Downtown Restaurant Week at Dawson's
By Jake Ferguson and Sarah Hamblen
Thanks to Dine Downtown Restaurant Week, through January 17, 2014 you can visit 28 of Sacramento’s hottest restaurants and enjoy a delicious 3-course meal for only $31.
We were invited by Dine Downtown Restaurant Week to check out the Dine Downtown menu at Dawson’s Restaurant in the Hyatt Hotel, and we definitely left feeling more than satisfied.
In addition to the 3-course meal, Dawson’s offered a $12 wine pairing to go along with the first and second courses.
Everything from the first course was absolutely scrumptious! Here are a few of our thoughts on each item:
- Butterball Potato Bisque with Leek, Crème Fraiche and Sterling Caviar: this bisque was creamy and delicious, but not too heavy. The leek provided a good texture and creaminess of the soup balanced the flavor.
- Local Albacore Crudo with Sweet Potato Chips, Pumelo and Lemon Curd: the presentation of this dish was gorgeous and had a flavor to match. We loved the texture combination of the crunchy chips with the fresh albacore tuna, and the lemon curd was very tasty.
- Winter Greens Salad withHeirloom Beets and Maple and Mustard Vinaigrette: this salad was perfectly dressed and the combination of the beets and the blue cheese was delicious!
Our favorite: Butterball Potato Bisque
Lucky for us the second course was just as delicious as the first! Selecting a favorite course was no small feat and one can be certain that no matter which items of this course they select—it will be superb.
- Loch Duart Salmon with Lobster and Fingerling Potato Hash and Chive Buerre Blanc: the melt-in-your-mouth salmon was cooked to perfection and the hash was absolutely fantastic! We loved the sauce which complimented the dish perfectly.
- Sunfed Ranch Flat Iron with Saffron Cauliflower Puree, Roasted Brussels Sprouts and Peppercorn Sauce: the Brussels sprouts were quite tasty and a wonderful pairing to the steak and savory cauliflower purée. The peppercorn sauce finished off the tender steak and made this a very well-rounded dish.
- Roasted Kabocha Squash Lasagna with Scarmoza Cheese, Walnuts and Sage: this lasagna was hearty, packed with great flavors and the walnuts added an additional flavor profile and a nice crunch.
Our favorite: Loch Duart Salmon
A meal is never over until dessert has been enjoyed – that’s my motto.
- Mascarpone Cheesecake with Blood Orange Compote: this cheesecake was not as heavy as most other cheesecakes, making it the perfect dessert after a big meal. It was light and tasty and the blood orange compote gave it a little extra zing.
- Heirloom Apple Pie with Aged Cheddar Crust: if “apple and spice and everything nice” was a saying, it would be for this dessert. It was sweet but not overindulgent and the ice cream was delicious (and tasted homemade!).
Our favorite: Mascarpone Cheesecake
Thanks to Dine Downtown Restaurant week for inviting us – we had a great time! And an even bigger thanks to the staff at Dawson’s and our wonderful server Paulette for the exceptional hospitality and service.
Check out this full list of participating restaurants on the Dine Downtown Restaurant Week website.