Meet The CM: Mercat Metup

This was my first Unilocal event, but it will surely not be my last! What a meal?! The event, people and food included, exceeded all of my expectations and I cannot wait to get more involved with Unilocal.
As soon as I sat down, I knew I was in for a real treat. Mercat Bistro is such a cozy venue, with an intimate setting, perfect for a date or get together lik this one. The staff was very helpful and did a wonderful job of taking care of our table. By the time our waiter was done describing all of our dishes, my mouth was salivating and my eagerness level was at an all time high! Heli is just as nice as she seems online, and was a please to finally meet in person. Truly a great host!
Now onto the food! To begin, we started off with a cheese plate fit for kings. It included a creamy roquefort cheese, a creamy brie, and a hard goat cheese, which was my personal favorite. Following that was a pan fried cobia fish, which was served in a champagne buerre blanc and lump crabmeat. This was my personal favorite and defintiely in my top 3 fish dishes of all time.
Next on menu was a braised short rib. Per the waiter, the meat is braised for 9 hours. It is served with an green apple salad on top of a celery root purée, and I think the same sauce that came with the fish. The meat was so tender, but honestly, my favorite part of the dish was the celery root purée. It was so creamy and had an inherent sweetness to it. Very good!
Just when I thought I was too full to eat anymore, our served brought us out a rotisserie chicken. I believe the chicken was farm raised and it was seasoned perfectly. This was served with fried and a house-​made mayo, similar to what you would find in Europe.
Last, but certainly not least was dessert. For this, we had a cheescake served with a whiskey caramel sauce. Words cannot describe how perfect this dish was; truly a perfect ending to the night. How can I say it was so goo you might ask? Well I’ll tell you how. As soon as everyone took their first bite, there was a loud, collective «hmmmmmmm». Yeah, nuff said.
Thanks to Mercat Bistro, the staff, and of course Heli for putting this event together! It was a wonderful evening.

What’s better than an amazing meal — where every bite makes your shoulders drop and your eyes roll, where you can’t stop telling everyone around you how delicious it is and you want to shower the chef and server with compliments and you know you’re going to leave so satisfied physically and a bit euphoric? What’s better than that is all of these things in the company of wonderful people — and meeting them for the first time but finding them warm and lovely and easy to talk to.
I was so happy to meet everyone — our gracious host, Heli, is such a gem. I can imagine that being CM comes with a lot of pressure and a hectic schedule, so taking the time to intimately meet and get to know new Dallas Elites was such a thoughtful and appreciated gesture. And — aside from being our CM — she’s just the type of lady you just want to get to know and call friend!
I can’t say enough about this little jewel, Mercat Bistro. I never would have found it were it not for this event — and it’s right up the road from me, so they can expect to see me again very soon!
I’m racking my mind for the elements of the dinner that demand praise in detail…
First would be our server — what a gentleman.
Second would be the wine — what a selection.
The ambiance, the intimacy, the glow of the atmosphere here speaks romance. The open kitchen adds some excitement and connects you to the chefs. The patio is sweet and quaint, there is bar seating available too.
Moments after I arrived, we were served a fish — I want to say it was swordfish and I want to say it was served with a fantastic beurre blanc that was silky and buttery and lightly acidic. The fish was perfectly cooked, juicy and nicely seared on top, flaky and white all through and served atop warm frieze.
Second was a braised beef which was so good I can’t remember anything about it but ecstasy.
A third protein, a chicken, cooked whole, served halved on a family style platter with a a tray of pom frites and housemade mayo… First, there had to be truffle oil on the frites, and second, that mayo explains why people dip anything in mayo. If they sold it by the jar I would have taken it home.
All in all — I met wonderful people, got to connect with our lovely CM, and discovered a new date night spot.
Thank you Mercot for hosting! Thank you Heli for arranging! And thank you everyone for being so welcoming and sweet!

I really liked the intimacy of the dinner and getting to know other Unilocalers. The fish and the cheesecake were also heavenly. Thank you so much Mercat Bistro and Unilocal for hosting this delicious dinner!

It was great meeting several Unilocal members in a more intimate setting! It was fun, the food was phenomenal (check out those photos!), and service was fantastic. I loved how our servers explained each dish; It helped me appreciate the meal more. I didn’t even know Mercat Bistro existed until this event. According to people who work there, the restaurant has only been in business for about a year and a half. It’s definitely the perfect place for a date or for a small group. Thanks again to Heli for organizing another fantastic event! I can’t wait for another Unilocal event.

Came in not knowing what really to expect but I left the place happy and excited and wanting some more events like this. It was fun to get to know new Unilocalers, Elites and of course our CM Heli.

What a wonderful intimate get together! As usual Heli comes through with a great event at a perfect location! Food was classy and amazing euphoria course after course! Wine was wonderful and customer service was top notch! Loved meeting a new group of awesome Unilocalers that I can’t wait to see again! Dallas Unilocal is as heartfelt as it leader! Thank you Heli for a wonderful event!