Steakhouse Magic in Old Town Lewisville in DFW

If you’re a steak LOVER, do I have a story for you! Here’s some deliciousness with a historical background you will surely enjoy.

About three months ago, I heard about this new steakhouse in Lewisville, Texas that was opened in an OLD 1886 FEED MILL. A Chef I met Chef Johnathan Pauley was extremely passionate about his baby J2 Steakhouse as he explained in detail about the new restaurant venture. Being in the food business, I hear a lot about the openings of new restaurants. You get all the information about the new restaurant buzz but sometimes you miss out on the NEW CONCEPTS in the Texas market. You say to your self, “I’ll get there when I can. It’s a steak restaurant in Texas. That’s nothing out of the ordinary in the Texas restaurant market.”

Well, friends, I should have made the trip to J2 Steakhouse much SOONER than later. I waited over three months before making the chow down trip to J2 in Lewisville.

Chef Johnathan and J2 state on their website,  “J2 Steakhouse is a new restaurant in a familiar space. Opened in the Spring of 2018 by a family who was just as fond of great food as they were of preserving the past. After operating since 1886, the Lewisville Feed Mill at 119 E. Main St had seen its fair share of history and reinvention. There is something special about what the Polser family created over 100 years ago that lends itself to preservation. It’s rare to find a restaurant that feels so comfortable in its own right and place – so written into the lore and landscape of a neighborhood and it seems it has always been at that address.

Today, J2 Steakhouse serves elevated Texas fare with a wonderful selection of dry aged beef in the heart of downtown Lewisville. It is kept up by a staff who strives to maintain an unobtrusive sense of hospitality & service.”

When I pulled up to J2 I saw the historic building and old machinery displayed around the building. I started to get excited! I love Texas history, especially farming and ranching history. The building was originally constructed in 1886 as a feed mill. It’s a very large building with lots of character and charm. When they purchased the building it had been locked down for decades. What they found inside was a large number of Texas treasures. They found old machinery, bottles, cans, and all kinds of historic items. Simply said, what they found was amazing.

As they prepared to remodel the old building and construct the new J2 Steakhouse they decided to display all the old equipment inside, outside, and around the building to create a true Texas historic steakhouse vibe. They did a masterful job with the exterior, and the interior, looking spectacular. I walked around for an hour looking at the old machinery, tools, and items they have displayed. They even made old individual  lighting covering the cozy booth areas. They have a big display case up front that contains cleaned up old bottles and artifacts.

They built an old cozy style bar to drink cocktails and enjoy socializing with Texas folks. They also have a second, and separate, TEXAS WHISKEY BAR where you can enjoy a vast array of Texas Whiskey. This bar is cozy and constructed from one BIG tree. They have some old lighting over the bar, and the backdrop for the bar is the old metal top of the feed mill. It’s cut in half and displayed as a wall piece. It is massive. They have old items displayed everywhere. It’s truly the best feel to stroll around and see the history. I enjoyed drinking a glass of TX Whiskey and looking around at all of what J2 Steakhouse has to offer to each visitor.

They have a private dining room they call the boiler room, which is also amazing. The long table is made of a single piece of a BIG tree trunk and can seat 20 or more people. At the end of the table, there is a big old metal boiler top covering the wall. This top had to be cut in four pieces then reassembled/welded on the wall for display. The boiler room would be fantastic for parties, family or business events. It’s not only private, but it’s also TEXAS sized.

Chef Pauley took me on a kitchen tour and I loved what I saw. They have a new beautiful kitchen complete with a separate pasta and dessert creating room. The use a 100 year old chopping block table in the pasta room to roll and create the custom pastas. I could’ve watched that for hours. The side area has a row of three coolers. One cooler is full of only locally sourced fresh vegetables. The second cooler is a DRY AGE cooler which is full of deliciousness. The third has a variety of deliciousness. There’s a meat cutting area where a young man was preparing and wrapping some beef items in yet another side cooler. Being the restaurant business all my life I was impressed with the cleanliness, organization, and how fresh everything looks in the coolers. I was also extremely impressed with how the kitchen and prep areas where so clean and organized during a dinner rush.

When we sat down to eat they offered us several menus to view for dinner. They also have some customhouse prepared craft cocktails that looked amazing. We tried so many dishes I thought I was going to need a dolly to wheel myself outside lol! We tried all the items listed below.

Foie gras 3 ways  -seared, torchon, mousse. Herb salad, brioche, and rose mountain apples

Ribeye Meatballs – stone ground grits, veal tomato reduction, and cotija

Seared Wagyu – green harissa, black garlic aioli, 7 chili demi glacé, micro cilantro and chili oil

Wedge salad – bleu cheese, heirloom tomato, candied bacon, and red wine gastrique

Bleu cheese salad – candied pecans, pomegranate and citrus vinaigrette

60 day dry aged Tomahawk ribeye -7 chili demi glacé and bone marrow butter

Wet age NY strip Stilton ice cream, bone marrow, seared scallop, and Fresno ferment

MAc-N.Cheese / House-made garganelli Bechamel, Parmesan, and gruyere

Asparagus – green harissa

Trumpet mushrooms – red wine, Parmesan

S’mores cheesecake

Mocha sundae

Chef Pauley prepares everything in-house with farm fresh locally sourced products, always with creativity. Each dish was packed with flavor and was so delicious. I seriously had trouble putting my fork down and NOT eating anymore. Chef Pauley is creating steakhouse magic by offering creative flavor-packed dishes that everyone can and will enjoy. There is something for everyone at J2.

The creative menu, combined with the Texas historic atmosphere, and wonderful friendly staff make it a pleasure to give J2 Steakhouse a perfect score of ( 10 Cowboy hats out of 10 on the Trey’s Chow Down foodie scale). In closing, I’m honored to extend J2 and Chef Pauley a perfect score.

I would suggest everyone visit J2! It’s worth the drive from anywhere in the DFW area. 45 short minutes from Fort Worth and 35 mintues from Dallas. They are open for lunch and dinner, so check out their website and make plans to chow down at J2.

Trey’s Chow Down Side Note: If you plan on sharing the desserts take some boxing gloves. DO NOT SHARE that’s my advice!

Oh yea, and tell’em Trey sent you!

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Trey Chow Down Chapman