Second Bar + Kitchen at The Crazy Water Hotel — Restaurant in Mineral Wells

The hotel’s restaurant Second Bar & Kitchen is run by Executive Chef and James Beard nominee David Bull. Bull and his family moved to Mineral Wells after twenty-plus years of owning and operating many leading restaurants in Texas. In 1999 he shaped the Driskill Grill into one of Austin’s best restaurants and competed on the Food Network's "Iron Chef America”. The restaurant is part of La Corsha Restaurant Partners responsible for managing the Stoneleigh Hotel and its Bolla restaurant in Dallas and the St. Anthony hotel in San Antonio, where Bull was Executive Chef. I started the evening meal with a Passionfruit Paloma made with the fruit, lime, grapefruit soda, and rosemary agave switching the Mescal to vodka. Sitting next to me was a friendly newlywed couple from Oklahoma who gave me all sorts of sightseeing tips for Mineral Wells. This was the wife’s second trip to this town, and she recommended the mineral baths at the Bath House and Spa down the road. Alas, they were booked solid and due to close the following day because of the incremental freezing weather. It was 27 degrees when I arrived. I normally don’t keep red meat at home, so I splurged on a NY Striploin, served on a wooden cutting board. Made to medium perfection, the 14 ounces were gone in no time. My server recommended Troublemaker, a red mix of Syrah, Grenache, Mourvedre, Zinfandel, and Petite Sirah. The smoothness and full-bodied flavor blew me away. I never heard about this wine; now it’s on my “to buy” list. The chef made me crispy rounds of hashbrowns, reminding me of my grandmother’s potato latkes on the inside, crunchy and stringy with just the right amount of chew. For the side, I had the farm-to-market veggies: cooked butternut squash and broccolini and a dash of fresh arugula mixed with a dijonnaise sauce. That worked surprisingly well for warm vegetables. For dessert, I had chocolate cherry cheesecake. It tasted like billowy mousse chocolate with bits of dark chocolate. The real cherries on top were glazed in gelatin sweet enough not to interfere with the cake's richness. The restaurant is open Thursdays...

Every thing looked great but not everything was great. Good Things: Crispy Brussels Sprout appetizer was well executed, if a touch undercooked but a perfect mix of flavors and textures. The Spinach Caesar salad was surprising but the homemade dressing really sealed the deal. Even if it arrived extremely late to the table. (As did our entrees) Apologies and a complimentary dessert offered and accepted. The salmon with carrot & fennel ragout was pretty good and cooked just right and per order. The complimentary dessert, which we didn’t get to choose, was Lemon Bars, which I love. These were as good or better than any I’ve ever had. But a tiny portion. The Pork “Ribeye” was beautifully seared and perfectly seasoned. But sadly overcooked and subsequently a disappointment. Our neighbor got a perfectly Medium Rare steak. The bone in pork loin chop? Not so much. Pulling off a medium rare (and therefore juicy) pork loin chop is not that hard, but it does require attention to detail. The polenta side was served in a jaunty little cast iron Ramiken, topped with toasted Parmesan and a healthy sprig of parsley. In my experience, polenta often struggles to rise above the level of flavorless mush. And this concoction did not disappoint in that regard. Our server was enthusiastic and was obviously proud of the David Bull inspired restaurant. Truly a diamond in the rough for Mineral Wells. The Crazy Water Hotel is worth return visits. They know what they’re doing. David Bull is the executive chef of Second Bar. He may want to get his hands on the kitchen a bit more often. Oh, and the Pao Robles red blend, which I have enjoyed on multiple occasions was corked, I think. I sent the glass back half drunk and ordered something else. No questions were asked. I don’t like to complain. I’ve worked in...

Our Server was excellent and the menu looked great BUT don't order a salad! Unless you're not expecting much. They definitely are not entree salads more like small side salads. It's like they punish you for ordering something healthy. ... I took my father here for Father's Day Brunch and he ordered the Farm to Market salad $14. I guess they forgot to go to the market. It was so sparse and lackluster I was seriously embarrassed that they served it to him. It literally had a few misc pieces of lettuce in a bowl. It was the saddest salad I have ever seen. I ordered the Roasted Beet Salad ($14) with salmon ($10). I requested to have it without the red vinegar dressing as I prefer my salad dry and felt that it wouldn't pair well with my choice of protein. It came drenched in a big bowl of bitter liquid (dressing). There was about 1 cup of liquid in the bowl. The salmon was overcooked and the chickpeas, that were supposed to be the crunch element, were soggy blah.As people who really enjoy a great salad, this was the opposite and hugely disappointing for my dad and me. If we hadn't started with the truffle fries for the table, which were very good and a decent size to share among our group as an appetizer, we would've left as hungry as we came in. Our spouses both ordered the Waffles (cleverly shaped like Texas) and enjoyed...