Inside My Table #35 | Restaurant listings
1999’s Best New Restaurants
Restaurants come, and restaurants go. But sometimes they come and don’t go. The restaurants that survive seem to be doing something right to please quite a few people most of the time. The crop of 1999’s outstanding newcomers listed below are graduated now into the senior class, and with our congratulations, we present well-earned diplomas.
AMAZON GRILL, 1800 Post Oak Blvd. in the Pavilion, 713-599-0020. Michael Cordua’s newest concept (he has Americas and Churrascos) is a casual spot that took over a Cafe Express location and works much the same way with counter ordering and self service. The highly original menu—prices are in round dollars and include tax, for example—features pasta dishes with grilled meat, entree salads and plenty of “small plates” that are just $3 each. $ (Moved to 5114 Kirby Dr., 713-522-5888 as of 2003.)
CAFE MONTROSE, 1609 Westheimer at Mandell, 713-523-1201. Fictional detective Hercule Poirot always had to explain that he wasn’t French, but of Belgian descent. Same applies to this plain little spot that specializes in French-sounding dishes, but truly finds its inspiration in the fair fare of Belgium. No mystery to the fact that Andrew and Catherine Klarman’s cafe indulges your taste buds. Must-try: the bucket of steamed mussels with fries and a Belgian beer. $-$$
CLOSED/*CAFE NOIR*, 2606 Fannin at McGowan, 713-659-5409. Like a champion track star who has to stop mid-race to tie his shoelaces, the restaurant venture of famed Carl Lewis left the starting line in a burst of speed and glory, lagged at the turn, got a second wind, and there’s still hope it will score in the money. The wildly uneven but bodaciously ambitious kitchen is balanced by a controlled and beautiful interior. When and if the two come together, bet a win ticket. $$-$$$ (CLOSED)
CLOSED/*CAFE PERRIER*, 4304 Westheimer at Midlane, 713-355-4455. Chef/owner Fréderic Perrier has revived the delicious tradition of lingering in a restaurant well-beyond the stricture of the hour-lunch. If you would eat in the French manner, both lunch and dinner are orchestrated so that there is time for conversation between courses. Fin de siecle has never felt so right. $$$ (CLOSED)
HOT WOK, 20798 Gulf Freeway at NASA Road 1, 281-338-7910. Way out Houston’s oldest freeway, where the denizens get the gulf breezes, sits Andy Tat’s “fresh Asian cuisine” restaurant. The food is as the sub-title promises, fresh and exotic. Innovation rears its inviting head with the “create your own stir-fry bar.” Open only a short while, Hot Wok already has a contingent of loyal customers. $$
MASRAFF’S ON POST OAK LANE, 1025 S. Post Oak Lane north of San Felipe, 713-355-1975. As Houston’s dining cornucopia seems of late to be filled with talented French chefs, we welcome chef Georges Masraff to the culinary horn of plenty. At the door, the gracious Tony Masraff invites us to dine in a setting designed for comfort. (We’re crazy about the Murano glass chandeliers.) If veal shank lasagne is on the menu, don’t miss one of the most flavorful dishes encountered in many a moon. $$$
McCORMICK & SCHMICK’S, 1151 Uptown Park at The West Loop, 713-840-7900. The throng throngs into this seafood mecca. Crowds of people found it about two seconds after the doors first opened. The hook is baited with excellent foodstuffs, and fish devotees are content to wait their turn for a table in the over-sized bar. Energy level is high—in the kitchen, in the service, in the enthusiasm of diners. $$$
MIA BELLA TRATTORIA, 320 Main at Preston, 713-237-0505. Trot downtown to enjoy a trattoria in the best tradition of small establishment, big heart—modestly priced, grandly executed. Pamela St. Cyr oversees the front of the house, and chef/owner Youssef Nafaa’s salads, pasta and veal marsala rivals that at the big ristorantes. $$
CLOSED/*OSTERIA D’ALDO*, 301 Main at Congress, 713-224-2536. Imagine the wine room in a monastery located high in the snowy mountains of northern Italy—its prototype would be this wood-paneled osteria nestled among the glass and steel peaks of downtown Houston. Aldo El-Sharif’s slate of appetizer-sized offerings are enhanced by superb wines. Prepare to walk into a different world: This is not your ordinary cafe. $-$$
CLOSED/*RUGGLES BISTRO LATINO*, 711 Main Street near Rusk, 713-227-9141. We include Bruce and Susan Molzan’s third Ruggles in this group, not for its spotty performance so far but for its obvious potential. Once the kitchen learns to curb its excesses and the waitstaff smoothes out (we know, we know: the labor shortage), this ugly duckling will become a swan. $$-$$$
CLOSED/*SCOTT CHEN’S*, 6540 San Felipe at Voss, 713-789-4484. Elegance pervades the space as enticingly as a whiff of $1,000-an-ounce perfume. Classy stuff happening here, with a East-meets-West fusion menu that shatters the old stereotypes. Chef/owner Scott Chen orchestrates a brilliant kitchen and one of the most professional service staffs in the city. The setting is to sigh for. $$$
CLOSED/*SONOMA*, 1415 California at Commonwealth, 713-522-7066. Coming on strong, the restaurant with the big view takes in not only the downtown skyline, but has some big ideas about what’s hot on the cooking scene. Portobello nachos, lobster “popcorn,” a big ol’ pork shank and onion beignets are a few of the uncommon dishes we’ve sampled here. Patrick Zone is the conceptualist; Kirk DeLoach the chef. $$$
THE RAVEN GRILL, 1916 Bissonnet at Hazard, 713-521-2027. Sara and Rob Cromie spent 18 months researching the area before opening this casual neighborhood spot—the name is a tribute to nearby Poe Elementary—and their efforts are well on target. Slouchy upscale West U. ambiance, smart pricing and a menu that covers it all, from pot roast to spicy Yucatan Oysters to grilled tuna. $-$$
CLOSED/*TRAVIS CAFE*, 208 Travis, 713-223-4073. With a menu designed by Richard Pignetti, Ronnie Marks’ neat eatery takes cosy to its most minimalist form in seating, yet for a self-described “sandwich shop,” the food’s to the max. Nice spot to visit for lunch, even nicer at night when music draws you to sit at a sidewalk table. $
