Inside My Table #37 | Restaurant listings
Open-Door Policy
Where to eat at the noon hour on Saturdays is a question that pops up with regularity. Legions of us drive around looking for an open sign at our favorite restaurants, only to find a great majority shuttered. But take heart, grumbling stomach. With stoves fired up, these Saturday-friendly spots eagerly await the weekend brunch lunch bunch.
AMAZON GRILL, 5114 Kirby Dr., 713-522-5888. Bravo to chef/restaurateur Michael Cordua for bringing us some of the jazziest food this side of Managua. With culinary rhythms of Latin America influencing the profusive fare, Cordua has scored solid hits with reasonably priced “small plates” and “full plates.” Try the gallo pinto (beans, rice, beef tender), causa de tuna (stacked tuna salad), gamburras (shrimp with plantains and chipotle). $
ARCODORO, 5000 Westheimer at Post Oak Blvd., 713-621-6888. Restaurateurs Lori and Efisio Farris have a personal joy of life that they’ve sprinkled over their business life, so that the corner-tucked ristorante located in the Centre at Post Oak fairly beams with good taste and good humor. Reflecting—in mood, in aromas, in welcoming graciousness—the sun-kissed island of Efisio’s native Sardinia, Arcodoro is renown as much for hospitality as for cuisine. $$
BISTRO PROVENCE, 13616 Memorial, 713-827-8008. By Georges, we think he’s got it! When French master Georges Guy cooks, watch out world because the bon mots are going to fly. Our lunch choice: luscious Provencale pizza—yes, it has anchovies, but you can handle it—or a simple plate of grilled fish of the day. And always, a glass of wine. $-$$
BLACK LABRADOR, 4100 Montrose, 713-529-1199. If you haven’t stopped by lately, remember this bully pub next Saturday when the noon whistle blows. Step into the Black Lab and take an authentic step across the big pond. This is the spot where we’d take members of the defunct House of Lords to help them get over having their pedigreed seats snatched out from under them. Any Britisher worth his fish and chips will find succor here. So will hungry Texans. $
ESCALANTE, 590 Meyerland Plaza, 713-663-7080, and other locations. If you are an avocado lover, there is nothing in wide world that compares with the guacamole made fresh and at tableside. We applaud the idea first, and call for seconds second. This is upscale Mexican food, which means fresh is the name above the title. Wanna take a dip this summer? Scoop your tortilla into the fresh picante and your head will swim with delight. $-$$
KENNY & ZIGGY’S, 2327 Post Oak Blvd., 713-871-8883. Old-timers who remember Alfred’s with fond thoughts, and perhaps a tear of loss, should rush their deli-loving tummies over to the new kid on the block. New to Houston, but not to the world, tradition in this kitchen had its beginnings in 1927, when the original founders began building corn beef on rye in the environs of both Los Angeles and NYC. Triple-smoked pastrami catches our imagination and our order. $
MAGGIANO’S LITTLE ITALY, 2019 Post Oak Blvd., 713-961-2700. Is there a sunnier, lovelier place for patio dining in town? If he were still on the planet, we’d expect to see Cary Grant stroll to an umbrella’d table (dressed in that blue and white striped pullover and red scarf that he wore in To Catch a Thief). Cary would of course order mozzarella marinara and a cold glass of Pinot Grigio. So can the rest of us. Get out the red scarf, go to Maggiano’s, and do Saturday al fresco. $-$$
MAI’S, 3403 Milam, 713-520-7684. The spring rolls are so good here that some high-profile eateries order bushels of them when catering high-profile parties. Actually, everything’s so good here that it’s hard to find a table even at 2 in the morning. If it’s Vietnamese food you’re craving of a Saturday noon, head downtown young man (and woman) and enjoy the ambiance of a restaurant where everybody’s well fed and happy. $
MICHELANGELO’S, 307 Westheimer, 713-784-9900. Thirty-plus years of Italian comfort food and still in there kicking. Lingering over lunch has never felt so good. Another glass of wine and thou—another perfect Saturday with thou and Michelangelo’s consistently delicious dishes. A relic of lower Westheimer’s restaurant heyday in the 1970s, this relic is grand enough for a spot in the Smithsonian. $-$$
ROYER’S CAFE, Hwy. 237 & FM 1457, Round Top, 877-866-7437. Get out of town! Drive that 75 miles west over to Round Top and take the country roads while you’re at it. To get deep in the heart of Texas of a Saturday sounds like a soul-healing, mind-soothing idea. Plus, Bud’s got those pies waiting as a reward for those who want to slough the city—for those of us who take the time to stop and smell the mesquite. $-$$
RUDI LECHNER’S, 2503 Gessner, 713-782-1180. Kudos we throw like parade confetti upon Rudi, his team and his kitchen. Staying power is always backed up by skill. Therefore, the longevity of this favorite German/Austrian restaurant must be due to one pertinent truth: The food is damn good. If Hansel and Gretel had stumbled across, not the witch’s cottage, but Rudi Lechner’s, they’d have eaten better, gone home full and still been alive to talk about it. $-$$
VIETOPIA, 5176 Buffalo Speedway, 713-664-7303. Pretty interior defies the cliche that says Asian food must be served in stark surroundings. Walk in and to your left there’s a good-looking, welcoming bar. Upstairs seating as well as down—with the decor a real eye-catcher. We wonder if Sir Thomas More meant to write about Vietopia instead of Utopia? Eats are appealing too—especially the lunch specials, which are good and plenty.
