Inside My Table #65 | Restaurant listings
2004’s Best New Restaurants
If 2003 was the year of comfy American bistro dining in Houston, then 2004 was the year that restaurateurs felt it time to take down the safety net and simply go for it. Hugely expensive renovations and lively menus were the hallmarks of this past year, from a gorgeous Moroccan restaurant to a “cafe” that looks like fin de siecle Vienna to a naughty steakhouse famous for its strips. Here are the year’s 10 best newcomers, plus a selection of the year’s noteworthy closings.
BANK, 220 Main at Congress at the Hotel Icon, 713-224-4266. Jean-Georges Vongerichten opened this grand cafe just in time for the Super Bowl. Set in the opulent downtown Hotel Icon, chef Bryan Caswell’s menu plays with food in fanciful ways: ravioli stuffed with charred corn, slow-baked salmon, ribeye for two, watermelon gazpacho. The setting may be equal to the menu, with soaring ceiling, oversized arched windows and stone columns (thanks to the building’s first incarnation as a bank). The restaurant won two Culinary Awards—Best New Restaurant and Best Interior Design—from My Table’s readers in October. $$$
BISTRO MODERNE, 2525 West Loop South at Westheimer at the Hotel Derek, 713-297-4383. Walking in, we gasped with delight at the deliciously retro setting. Opening just before Christmas, this is a group effort by NYC restaurateurs Rick Wahlstedt and Jean Denoyer and chef Philippe Schmit (Orsay, La Goulue and Le Bernardin). The menu is classic French fare, such as hanger steak, lobster beignets with endive and mesclun salad, foie gras two ways, bouillabaisse and braised lamb shank. The sexy dining room goes far toward erasing all memory of the awful Ling & Javier and whatever that cowboy concept was that each briefly occupied this space. $$$
GRAND LUX CAFE, 5000 Westheimer west of Post Oak Blvd., 713-626-1700. We include this restaurant as a “best of 2004” not for its kitchen but for its amazing decor. Houston hasn’t seen anything quite like this before. It’s soaring and oversized, richly embellished and, well, simply grand. Think Gustave Klimt, think old Vienna, think Cheesecake Factory (its owner) taken to warp fantasy level. The menu is oddly incongruous to the setting: burgers, Asian nachos, pizza, pastas and, yes, cheesecake.
JULIA’S BISTRO, 3722 Main St. at West Alabama, 713-807-0090. A pan-Latin accent infuses the menu at this new downtowner by Carmen Vasquez. The kitchen is adept with duck taquitos, pan-seared ahi tuna with guayava ginger sauce, Cubano sandwiches, ropa vieja wrap, broiled snapper with mojo verde sauce. (It’s no surprise to learn that opening chef David Sanchez once cooked with Michael Cordua.) We also like the rich, super-saturated colors—e.g. magenta, ruby, red-orange—that warm the modern space and make this truly feel like a cross-cultural, all–inclusive 21st-century restaurant. This is the future, Houston. $-$$.
CLOSED/MANTRA, 711 Main at Capitol, 713-225-3500. Loved the moody North African interior, loved opening chef Michael Potowski’s food. He’s gone now (look for him with Robert Gadsby at Noe, see below), and the restaurant seems to be repositioning itself more for drinking than dining. Nevertheless, for a brief time, the sushi plus Eastern/European kitchen was a bright incentive to come downtown. We have fond memory of the herb-crusted ahi with mashed potatoes and fresh seaweed salad, tandoori chicken and Thai beef carpaccio. $$
NOE, 4 Riverway at Woodway in the Omni Hotel, 713-871-8177. There’s no false modesty at the Omni Hotel these days. The staff is clearly proud of their new restaurant and its celebrity (by way of L.A.) chef, Robert Gadsby. And they should be. A recent nine-course dinner there was one of the most exciting we’ve had in years, each tiny portion pondered, deconstructed and reassembled in such a way as to stimulate both palate and imagination. A design makeover lightens the space considerably. Is this the year of Gustave Klimt (see Grand Lux Cafe, above)? The artist’s influence is felt in this Houston restaurant, too. $$$
SAFFRON, 2006 Lexington near Shepherd, 713-522-3562. Adjacent to Mia Bella, this romantic spot from Youssef Nafaa takes him back to his Moroccan roots after several Spanish and Italian efforts, including Mi Luna, Mia Bella and Cava Bistro. Sit on a cushion in the North African-styled dining room and order b’stilla (a phyllo-wrapped pie with chicken and nuts, dusted with powdered sugar), couscous and tagines. If you are one of the brave few who enjoy offal, there’s also an interesting “Moroccan delicacy [ie” you should order. Belly dancer, fanciful cocktails and gorgeous fixtures make this a must-try spot, especially with a group. $$
SMITH & WOLLENSKY, 4007 Westheimer at Drexel, 713-621-7555. New York restaurateur Alan Stillman took over Anthony’s location early in the year and completely revamped the space. Sip a martini downstairs, or go upstairs to dine on steaks, a tower of chilled seafood or the famous crackling pork shank. We also enjoy the so-called Great American Wine List with some 600 selections, all produced in the United States. $$$
STRIP HOUSE, 1200 McKinney St., at San Jacinto in the Park Shops Mall, 713-659-6000. Some 10 months later than expected—it finally opened Nov. 2—this has been one of the year’s most anticipated new restaurants and, yes, it is a steakhouse. Owned and operated by Peter, Penny and Mathew Glazier, Strip House has a menu by chef David Walzog that includes double-cut strip steak, veal T-bone, truffled cream spinach and goose fat potatoes. Designer/architect David Rockwell plays on the double-entendre inherent in the name, creating a luscious, all-red interior enhanced with rosy lighting and photos of vintage burlesque stars. $$$
T’AFIA, 3701 Travis, just north of West Alabama, 713-524-6922. Was it just in 2004 that T’afia opened? It seems like it’s been here for years already. Chef Monica Pope and partner Andrea Lazar did a little urban pioneering when they chose this spot downtown. Turns out to have been a brilliant choice, too, at a popular Metro stop and near other newly hot restaurants, nightclubs and Saturday morning farmers’ market. Expect a local market tasting menu (with wine or without) that might include sake-cured wild salmon, venison flank steak or Texas-raised quail. $$-$$$
FAREWELL
2004’s Most Significant Closings
ALDO’S DINING CON AMORE, 219 Westheimer
CAFE DESCOURS & PATISSERIE DESCOURS, 1330 Wirt Rd.
DOLCE & FREDDO, all locations
MICHAELINE’S, 1512 West Alabama
MOM’S KITCHEN, 2620 Joanel
RIVER CAFE, 3615 Montrose
ROTISSERIE FOR BEEF & BIRD, 2200 Wilcrest
TONY MANDOLA’S BLUE OYSTER BAR, 8105 Gulf Freeway
TONY’S, 1801 Post Oak Blvd.
