Head chef Cherif Brahmi State Texas Established 2008 Postal code/zip 75209 | City Dallas Postal/ZIP code 75209 Food type French cuisine | |
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Current owner(s) Hedda Gioia Dowd and Cherif Brahmi Street address 5360 West Lovers Lane #220 | ||
Rise no. 1 (stylized as rise n° 1) is a Dallas, Texas restaurant that serves French food, focusing on soufflés. The restaurant was founded by Hedda Gioia Dowd, who co-owns the restaurant with Rise’s executive chef Cherif Brahmi.
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Founding
In December 2006 founder Hedda Gioia Dowd was interviewed by Food & Wine Magazine, where she announced that she intended to open a soufflé restaurant in Dallas called “Rising No. 1”. In order to speed up to pace of service, she planned on using ovens intended to reduce the time for cooking soufflés by half.
Rise opened in January 2008 with a location in the Inwood Village shopping complex of the Park Cities neighborhood of Dallas, Texas. It was founded by Hedda Gioia Dowd who, previous to rise, had founded the online French vintage linen and silver collection store Antique Harvest. She also partnered with Rise’s executive chef Cherif Brahmi to produce the initial menu. Initially the restaurant had thirteen different soufflés on offer, in addition to other items including salads and sandwiches. Dallas Magazine described the restaurant’s décor as, “furnished with found objects and recycled materials: Drinking glasses are made from recycled wine bottles, and the plates are made from recycled beach glass. Wall sconces are made from antique French grates, old school desks serve as tables, and their inkwells have been turned into bud vases.”
The New York Times described Rise as “a charming bistro with a grass-green facade that serves up wonderful soufflés”. The establishment had 92 seats, and also served as a wine bar. Physically, the restaurant is made of renewable materials, including cork floors and walls made from mud. The cups are made from old wine bottles and plate ware is made from recycled glass. All items in the restaurant are also for sale.
Menu
Rise’s menu focuses on soufflés, including dessert, Italian sausage, ham and gruyère, escargot, crab, lobster thermidor, smoked salmon, blue cheese, wild mushroom and brie, and spinach soufflés. The restaurant’s marshmallow soup is composed of three goat cheese soufflés, carrot bisque, and pesto. The menu also has the Rise no. 1 salad, composed of baby greens, pecans, blue cheese, and Granny Smith apples. It also serves a soufflé infused oyster Rockefeller. The violet soufflé was featured on an episode of the Food Network show The Best Thing I Ever Ate. Rise has endeavored to ensure its menu is largely stable through the years, keeping to the same items and recipes. In 2011, Dowd and Brahmi published a book through Pelican Publishing with food writer Celine Chick based upon the restaurant’s menu and family recipes entitled Rise to the Occasion: A French Food Experience. The recipes in the book do not include that for the restaurant’s marshmallow soup. A nutritional analysis of the souffles on the menu showed them to be between 263 and 413 calories.
Patrons
Rise has been mentioned as a favorite restaurant for President George W. Bush. Both he and his former Secretary of State Condoleezza Rice have signed their names onto the President’s favorite table in the establishment, which is located under a bookshelf of biographies near the front window. He was seated at Rise when President Barack Obama telephoned him to inform him of the death of Osama Bin Laden in 2011.
Expansion
In 2014, Rise established plans to open a second location in Houston, and a goal of ten in the long-term. The group of restaurants will be controlled by Rise Soufflé Holdings, with $4.2 million in new investments.