Savory By Jim White Coffee shop by day—gourmet restaurant by night.  This split personality destination is one of the more interesting restaurants we have. You’ll find it tucked in the Lakewood Shopping Center in East Dallas. During the day the place is Legal Grounds.  It offers coffee, tea, scones, sandwiches and more for breakfast and lunch.  When the lights go down, Savory appears with a full range of creative and tasty new American dishes, candlelight and a handy dandy wine list to compliment the fare.  Savory has no relationship to Legal Grounds other than leasing the space.  The Savory proprietors Jonathan Calabrese and Joseph Hickey also share the cheffing, the hosting and, I suspect in a restaurant this size, a number of other duties.  Savory is hardly bigger than two postage stamps on the corner of an envelope.  Eight to ten tables, some old overstuffed easy chairs—all the jurisprudence décor of law books and journals that give Legal Grounds that funky, edgy, coffee-shop-as-attorney’s-office motif.  Savory has oomph and service and style.  It’s been one of our most enjoyable meals of late. We started with a two-tone vichyssoise, hand spun in the bowl to appear like the yin and the yang symbols.  This delicious two potato and leek soup was rich and creamy. House made paté, full of texture and flavor, is another starter at Savory, along with various cheese boards and salads, including a warm pancetta wrapped radicchio wedge with Balsamic reduction, one time, and Panzanella, Italian Bread Salad, another. The Savory menu changes every couple of weeks.  Entrées, or “fillers” as they’re called, feature comfort food dressed up as fine dining experiences.  Everything we tried was rich, flavorful and well balanced.  I challenge you to leave morsels untouched on the plate! Roasted Cornish game hen with wild rice, Edamame and Shitake Miso was succulent and bursting with flavor.  It was a perfect, but unexpected, match for the Cambria Pinot Noir we selected.  We really had chosen that tasty  California Central Coast varietal for the Barbecued Atlantic Salmon served over the most delicious concoction of homemade baked beans and Asiago coleslaw with Espresso BBQ sauce.  Umm! On any given evening you’ll find lamb, seabass, beef tenderloin, pork, and always a vegetarian specialty included, too, like eggplant marsala or tomato and mushroom ragout. Desserts are housemade, too.  Tart Tatin with rosemary ice cream was perfect for sharing as our Savory finale. Savory is located in the Lakewood Shopping Center at 2015 Abrams Parkway, near Gaston and Abrams.  Good news!  Savory has started serving nightly.  Still, I highly recommend reservations at 214-887-1919.  Sit back with some blues or jazz, depending on the musical selection, savor a Port and some cheese, and enjoy an evening of good food and friendly service at Savory in East Dallas.  On the KRLD Restaurant Show Review Scale of One to Five Forks, Savory rates 4 Forks. Food is 4 Forks. Service is 3 and a Half Forks. Atmosphere is 3 and a Half Forks. The price is moderately expensive, with entrées ranging from 12 to 19 dollars.    See all of our KRLD Restaurant Show Reviews online at EatsandDrinks.com.       Send me an Email: jwdineline@aol.com