Up until last Friday, I had never heard of Neighborhood Services in Dallas. It’s surprising I even ventured to that side of the metroplex, I’m a Fort Worth kind of gal. “Neighborhood Services” doesn’t exactly sound like the name to a restaurant but I’ll tell you right now, it’s one hell of a place. No wonder it was voted D Magazine’s #1 Restaurant for 2013.

Nick Badovinus is owner / chef to a few restaurant’s in the Dallas area. Many of you may be more familiar with him than myself. From what I gathered on Friday evening, this man prides himself greatly on what he is presenting. The menu selection at NS is varied. Pork, veal, chicken, steak, seafood galore made with only the freshest ingredients. Each night, there are various new specials on the menu, which is what people go for and smart people they are! Whatever suits your fancy you will find here, just be prepared for a wait and to pay a higher price.

As mentioned, I really wasn’t sure what to expect except that “this place is phenomenal”. We walked in and the place was packed… and an hour wait (at least). That’s fine. We headed to the bar. The bar needs a little more space. Tight fit, we ran into some really nice people and one not so nice person that elbowed one of my friends in the head, then when we pointed it out he said “You know how people get elbowed… they walk into elbows.” This is why some people in Dallas get a bad name… moving on.

The Bar. A PBR draft will cost you $7. So will a Shiner draft. (A PBR draft in Ft. Worth will cost $1.50… just saying). My immediate thought, this food better be damn delicious and I don’t want another beer. On the other hand, they serve microbrews and that’s a love that I enjoy.

(I apologize for iPhone photos… I wasn’t prepared.)

Finally seated, we ordered a couple appetizers. Roasted Green Chile and Jonah Crab dip. Both dips were savory and delicious although I will say I favored the Jonah Crab dip…huge chunks of crab meat!

Butchers Meatballs in a voodoo peppercorn sauce. The meatballs fell apart as soon as you tried to lift them off the toothpick and then melted in your mouth.

Entrees. It was my birthday last week, I had the “go big or go home” mentality. The waiter also found out about my love of seafood and how I had never had swordfish and talked me into one of the specials of the evening. Let me introduce you to one of the best meals I’ve had…

Swordfish topped with Dungeness crab seated on top of mashed potatoes with grilled asparagus.

Holy mother. Best, meal, ever. Hands down / hands up – however we do it. Savor it! Savor it!

We also decided to split macaroni and cheese among the table. Baked mac and cheese?! The noodles were just floating in cheese goodness.

I’m not really sure why we decided to do this because I don’t think any of us had room for dessert (we were already set to roll right out of there) but here came dessert. We couldn’t pick one or two options, for five of us ladies, we picked three.

Butterscotch goodness. Slightly thicker than pudding but two bites of this and you’ll be delighted with your sweet tooth.

I think the next was Key Lime Tres Leches. Yum! Savory Tres Leches cake with a hint of key lime.

Lastly, a chocolate ding-dong with chocolate ganache topping.

Needless to say, we had to roll ourselves out of the restaurant. Now that I look back on the experience, this also explains why they have valet for vehicles…

If you’re looking to treat yourself to a well deserved evening, set some time aside for a good 3-4 hour meal and enjoy a bit from each course. It’s well worth it. Your belly will thank you!