Sugarbacon Proper Kitchen — Restaurant in McKinney

Hoo boy. So, we came here because of rave reviews from a friend, and we had pretty high expectations because this guy, as far as we know, has good taste.

We walk in and it's pretty slow. It's a Tuesday night, so that's not overly surprising, but the vibe was a little awkward. The place is clean, I'll say that. We're seated promptly, and order drinks, which were pretty good and reasonably priced. Our waiter is attentive and professional, and takes our appetizer order - the namesake sugar bacon, of course. It arrives in a timely manner and it's pretty tasty. Overall we're still having a positive experience at this point, and my wife even remarked that if the rest of the food was as good as the appetizer, we'd definitely be back.

How I wish it were.

I ordered the burger with fries, medium, and my wife orders the short rib but substitutes the collard greens for macaroni for an upcharge (par for the course, no surprises yet). The food was a little slow coming out, but the minor delay was nothing to write about.

What I'm writing about is the food itself.

The meals arrive and we're immediately taken aback by the plating of the short rib. It's not what you're thinking when you think "short rib." It isn't a lateral slice from a rack of short ribs, nor is it that slow-braised type with no bones left in it at all. It's actually just a humongous, ungarnished, unwieldy Flintstone rib plopped onto the plate with a small bowl of mushroom gravy beside it and the macaroni in a separate dish. This plating catastrophe could be partially chalked up to the macaroni substitution, but I can't imagine this rib would be easy to wrangle in any configuration on this plate. My wife mentioned this in passing to the gentleman who brought our food, and he said "yeah, I always thought it was weird that they called it a short rib."

What's more, it has literally zero flavor except for the beef itself, not even salt on the exterior of the rib. I'd contend that it is 100% deliberately unseasoned, because even being near salt would give it more flavor. It hasn't been cooked nearly long enough to render out any fat, so the thing is at least 2/3 chewy, un-delicious fat. It's like your aunt's pot roast that you only eat because it's rude to refuse. The gravy is unremarkable, and the macaroni and cheese is an actual scientific marvel because, while it clearly contains some type of cheese as evidenced by its texture, it, too, has utterly no flavor other than the taste of the actual noodles themselves, not even salt from the cheese that I can SEE is in there.

My burger is by no means medium - it's entirely well-done, though I will concede that it was not dry. The bacon on it is yet another miracle of science, having all the appearance and taste of raw bacon but the texture of only slightly undercooked bacon. To call the onions caramelized (as they do on the menu) is borderline criminal - they were just barely cooked enough to not be crunchy, but not enough to have any color or grill flavor (or, you know, actual caramelization). The fries, while not offensive, were obviously Sysco or some other frozen french fry, and the ketchup was the most flavorful thing on the table.

To the place's credit, they gave us a 25% discount, which was more than we asked for (which was just to let the chef know). However, we will not be back.

This would have been a 1-star review, but our waiter was actually quite good. So, if you do perchance stumble into this place, ask for Greg. He'll...

Updated 7/5/22 in response to the owner and after another recent visit:

We dined there again last week to give you guys the benefit of the doubt but my ratings and thoughts about the dishes has not changed. But as usual the staff was excellent. One of the best staff in the area and is what makes me come back. Yes you are correct, it was the short rib. But we didn't just order the short ribs. We usually go with a party of 6 and we like to try various things on the menu. We usually order 5-6 different entrees and several apps and share. The Short Rib was not the only dish that the recipe changed for. Your signature menu "Sugarbacon" also changed. The reason we liked this restaurant so much is because, it infused some Korean ingredients and flavor profiles in a very new and exciting way. We were amazed at how the typical greens in korean dishes found it's way to some of your recipes. This is no longer the case. Some still have that asian fusion to it but it is no longer executed as well as was done prior. I guess we are just disappointed in what made Sugarbeacon's dishes so unique and special has turned into another bland cookie cutterish affair. After living in midtown Manhattan all my life and moving to the Dallas area few years ago, i was very excited that we found a restaurant with recipes so unique and exciting and on par with what you would find in some of the major establishments in NYC. When we first dined there I had compared it to 11 Madison Park with my wife saying how some of these flavors are so bold and unique. Hopefully you guys can get back to that state again. As someone who still hopes that it will, we will continue to visit seasonally and hope you guys can change back my rating around.

Update since Dec 12,2021 I gave this place 5 stars before but now dropping it to 3. I think they changed management or the chef changed. Went in on a sunday evening for dinner and ordered our usual favorites. Prime Rib and some sugarbacon. The recipes changed. They use different ingredients and the dishes were also over cooked. I truly felt that it was a waste of money to dine here especially with all the other options in the area. The staff was still great, just the food is no longer what it use to be. Our family was heart broken that such a wonderful place would turn so terrible. Chef is a jewel. Definitely one if the best restaurants in the area. We enjoyed everything we ordered and was amazed by the complex flavors. Definitely...

Wow. Just wow! This was a flavor experience I’ll never forget. I am truly so glad we dined here tonight instead of somewhere else. Highly recommend to anyone and everyone. Bring a healthy appetite so you’ll have room for the generous portions of every menu item. Don’t skip the craft cocktails. They have an award winning Old Fashioned that you can order either classic or “smoked. For the “smoked” one they bring out your glass with everything in it but the bourbon. The bourbon is in a Mason jar containing an ice sphere and literal smoke swirling around before it gets poured into your glass. I don’t even like Old Fashioneds but this was incredible. So balanced and smooth and flavorful. I also had the Pinky Promise-bubbly, mellowly sweet but still lively on the palette. But hands down, if you’re going to indulge, finish your dinner with the Espresso Martini. I will never forget it and I can totally see myself showing up just for that-drinking it on the patio with a good book. The scallops were perfectly cooked, served atop the best cream corn I’ve ever tasted. The short rib was soooo tender, all you needed was a little pull with the fork to get an incredible bite. The Sugarbacon appetizer was a surprising, creative blend of flavors. Topped with a watermelon chutney that brought brightness and subtle complexity to an otherwise heavy meat. The crabcake appetizer was bursting with flavor. We finished with the White Chocolate Raspberry cheesecake. The texture was smooth and soft, more delicate than cheesecake I’ve had before and I found it better by far for that and for being perfectly balanced-not too sweet, not too rich, just flawless. I have to say that every single thing I tasted here was an experience, it was not just eating. My highest regards and compliments to the chef and his back-of house team, as well as to the front man who greeted us (also the man responsible for the killer music that was being played) and to our server who was well versed in the menu, ready with suggestions for each course and so accommodating. I can’t wait to come back for more of whatever Sugarbacon...