Dining

Catering to Your Tastes
Delicious by Design
Wendy Krispin
by Kim Harwell

GET SERIOUS: For some one who says she doesn't take her restaurant "too seriously," Wendy Krispin turns out some seriously good food. Ms. Krispin opened the lunch-only spot, a complement to her successful catering and event planning business, about eight years ago after working as a catering sales executive for Daryl's By Design, which occupied the cozy Dallas Design Center space. When Daryl's moved out, Ms. Krispin moved in, relocating the kitchen of her then-fledgling catering firm from the Quadrangle into the Design Center. (A subsequent venture, Table Five, has been transformed into Krispin To Go, a takeout spot for boxed lunches.)

A WOMAN'S TOUCH: As you might expect of a restaurant in the Design Center, Krispin's dining room is smartly turned out. Elegant walls striped in rich gold and beige tones support handsome paintings of floating fruit. Striking cobalt blue water glasses accent glass-topped tables. An elegantly upholstered banquette runs alone the back wall. The smoking section and a few tables straddle the open doorways into the Design Center's lobby, where a pianist provides music to lunch by.

SOUPED UP: Meals begin with a complimentary demitasse of warm, rich consommé. Should this whet your appetite for a similar starter, be forewarned: Krispin's tortilla soup ($2.50 cup, $4.00 bowl) is not the broth-based variety common in these parts. Its creamy base is tomatoey and saucy, and it's thick with pieces of chicken, avocado and cheese. After eating a few spoonfuls, we dubbed it "enchilada soup," but that didn't stop us from devouring every drop.

BREAD SPREADS: The menu boasts an array of salads and sandwiches - along with some dishes that combine the two. A restaurant favorite, fruited chicken salad, is available as a side dish ($4), as part of the three-salad plate ($7) or spread between slices of toasted sourdough or wheat bread ($7.25). Our sourdough sandwich was a lush expanse of chicken studded with sweet chunks of apricot working against the mild crunch of nuts and celery. Served with a side of lovely Mandarin orange wild rice and a dish of fresh fruit, this classy rendition gives pause to the notion of chicken salad as simple comfort food.

A BETTER BURGER: The grilled tuna burger ($8) was a moist slab of flaky fish topped with melted mozzarella, lettuce, tomato and onion on a fluffy bun. The sun-dried tomato ketchup mentioned on the menu was absent, and the accompanying french fries were standard. Still, this two-handed sandwich was quite a catch.

PLATE LUNCHES: A daily special of chicken curry rice ($8) featured two of the plumpest, juiciest chicken breasts ever to come from a bird. The meat was resting in a pool of delicate citrus sauce and nestled next to a generous portion of perfectly cooked curried rice. A side of veggies included full-flavored mushrooms that could have been a meal in themselves. The same vegetables also accompanied the turkey meatloaf ($8), the only dish that disappointed. The grayish block of meat was bland and dry, and the sauce - billed on the menu as Jack Daniel's mustard sauce - tasted more like unremarkable mushroom gravy. A side of shallot mashed potatoes was tasty, but it came to the table luke warm.

TEA FOR TWO: A full bar is available if a two martini lunch is in order, or diners can opt for an oh-so-civilized glass of wine. Our beverage of choice here, however, has to be the spiced hibiscus tea ($1.50), served iced with a squeeze of lemon.

BUSINESS SENSE: Ms. Krispin, who says she considers herself a caterer "first and foremost," says that running Krispin The restaurant is the harder part of her two-pronged career. She admits that she doesn't spend much time working in the restaurant, and she credits her staff with keeping things running smoothly. "We've been a team here for a long time," she says. "I'm still very much involved. We meet everyday [to discuss specials]." While she doesn't rule out concentrating full-time on a restaurant someday, for now she's focused primarily on Wendy Krispin Caterers. "I'm a natural for catering," she says. " The restaurant brings business to my catering company. I'm very fortunate."