Steelin' my heart in Dallas

My first evening spent in cowboy town was not what you think- no big hunks of meat and bull riding. Instead it was a lovely night with a group of amazing ladies at Steel -an Asian fusion inspired restaurant with hints of Vietnamese, Korean and definitely Japanese on their menu. Steel is trendy and very lively with a latina flavour in the decor -it's dark and intimate but definitely has the right energy about it and the deliciousness never stopped coming... This was a case where our eyes were bigger than our appetites!

We were greeted by a very knowledgeable and accommodating host- James- he was wonderful with his service and expertise and told us not to worry and he would come up with our appetizers. While we conversed and got into the groove of the evening starting with a delicious amuse bouche and edamame - our first set of plates came out which was a delicious beef tartare(one of my favourite appetizers) with was done with a Vietnamese flare- we couldn't get enough of the flavours as it came with a ginger dressing which was so complimentary of the flavours and oozing with goodness! Then another beef appetizer came out -which was the beef tataki (the Japanese style of tartared beef thinly). This dish was a very different experience as it was very spicy with hot jalapenos that had their fiery seeds in them - and crisp red onions and was a favourite of our host's. I forgot the Texan's sure can take their heat and wow- we were sweating buckets after eating a little slice of the beef and we are ladies who don't shy away from a little spice! This particular dish was very hard to swallow and eat more of without something to cool us down.
Then out came a platter of delicious sushi rolls highlighted by the firecracker roll which was very yummy -spicy tuna, w/ avocado, crab & jalapeno- we were ambitious and had 2 orders of it amongst our platter of rolls and other dishes we ordered. I am always looking for new sushi rolls and was very impressed with the freshness of their fish, and some of the innovation and flavours of the rolls on top of the plating and presentation of the platter. James recommended that we should do more tuna so we ordered a tuna tower which came with avocado and crab in a tower which was such a good blend of flavours and textures together and this was a highlight of the dinner as well.
Dinner is still not over at this point - we still have our mains to go- *le sigh*- and at this point - we are getting very full and wondering where our appetites had gone.
Out came a platter with a very tender and light Chilean Sea Bass- which was very delicate and really good. We also had the calamari which is lightly breaded and comes out with options of 3 types of sauces (red chili pepper, chili paste/sirachi/sweet spicy to compliment them which was nice. Oh that's not all - we end up ordering the lamb filet with mashed potatoes as well - it was done perfectly and very flavourful but at this point - i was stuffed and felt terrible about not being able to finish or even look at the dessert menu.
I had a terrific night here and wished we could have enjoyed everything fully! I guess I'll have to come back again... Yee-Haw!!!
*** 1/2 stars
Steel 3102 Oak Lawn Ave, Dallas