Ever since it appeared weekly in the opening credits of the hit TV show Dallas, the twinkling Ball atop Reunion Tower has been the star of Dallas’s skyline. The Ball continues to glitter 45 years later and a new steak and seafood restaurant that already had 10,000 reservations even before it opened has set up shop inside.
The journey to The Ball is easy, thanks to valet parking (a relief in busy Downtown) and the Ranch Water Welcome Drink (tequila, lime, and Topo Chico) the host offers for the ride up to the top.
Crown Block is the latest venture of Blau & Associates, the consulting firm of famed restaurateur Elizabeth Blau and her husband, chef Kim Canteenwalla.
Blau is best known for her spate of successful Las Vegas dining establishments—currently, Honey Salt and Buddy V’s Ristorante—and Canteenwalla has helmed hit restaurants across the globe, including Raffles in Singapore and Le Meridian in Dubai.
In a city that can never have too many steakhouses, Blau and Canteenwalla are excited to add one with their own flourish—360-degree city views, plenty of seafood alongside the steaks, and an array of playful dishes (think mac n’ cheese waffles and one-bite “tuna cones” that look like tiny ice cream cones filled with bluefin tuna and truffle oil with caviar as sprinkles on top).
Crown Block showcases regional ingredients—oysters from the Gulf, wines from William Chris and other Hill Country wineries, and meat and produce from local farms and ranches, including Rosewood Ranch, a family-owned business in Ennis that’s famous for Wagyu.
“It’s Texas,” Canteenwalla says. “Texas has great-quality beef.”
To that end, expect choice prime rib and fifty-pound tomahawks, as well as sides both traditional and innovative.
“They’re steam-blanched first,” Canteenwalla says about one of his beloved side dishes, triple-cooked steak fries. “Then they’re put in the fridge for eight hours, then blanched again in a fryer at a low temperature. Then they go back in the fridge for a few hours, then into the freezer, and then they’re cooked à la minute from the frozen state.”
The result of this elaborate process is jumbo fries served crispy on the outside, mashed potato-like on the inside, and brought to the table with truffle aioli.
Other stars on the menu come from the seafood side. A sushi chef works the sushi bar at the center of the restaurant, preparing sashimi, crudo, and aburi-style (flame-torched) nigiri. Mussels and clams cooked in a steam kettle show up in a cioppino-like seafood dish made for sharing. The crab cake comes with a curry dip and a sea bean and fennel salad.
Along with an extensive wine and sake list, and a tequila and mezcal program, diners can expect cocktails split into four categories: martinis, stirred drinks, talls, and sours.
The Midnight Rambler combines bourbon from Waco-based distillery Balcones with honey, orange bitters, and burnt orange peel.
Other favorites include the Wild Honey with mezcal, lemon, and ginger honey and the Crown Blockberry with tequila, blackberry, and aquafaba.
While waiting for your table, belly up to the bar and enjoy the stunning views of Dallas through the 360-degree wrap-around windows. The interior walls host works by Texas artists, including drill-bit sculptures by Alejandro Luna, as well as a floor-to-ceiling wine bottle display.
Diners have a full view of both the sushi bar and the pastry station. The pastry chef might whip up crème brûlée doughnuts–doughnut holes filled with cream, rolled in sugar, and blow-torched for that satisfying crack. The dessert comes topped with a big tuft of cotton candy, made from maple sugar instead of cane, and a dusting of 24-karat gold. “We love whimsy,” Blau says.
The Ball is whimsical, too. It changes colors against the night sky, the lone sphere among dozens of sharp angles, sparkling like an evening gown in a sea of business suits—and inside is a restaurant worth traveling into the sky for.
Crown Block is open for dinner daily, Sunday to Thursday from 5 pm to 10 pm and Friday and Saturday from 5 pm to 11 pm.
