Inside My Table #90 | Excerpt
Noteworthy Openings
BODEGAS TACO SHOP, 1200 Binz but facing Caroline St., 713-528-6102. The Museum District’s only Mexican restaurant finally debuted. It’s not what you might expect from the name—it’s not in a rustic little bungalow or old convenience store, for example. It’s located in a busy medical building. Still, it’s a welcome addition to the neighborhood and just a short walk from the museums and Hermann Park. Owners Ryan and Josephine Granger have installed a build-your-own tacos or burritos concept (think: Chipotle or Mission Burritos). Meats include fajita beef, spicy ground beef and rotisserie chicken, plus there are 10 house-made salsas. Free WiFi for customers, margaritas and live music on the weekends, too. Open every day for lunch and dinner.
CHEZ ROUX, 600 La Torretta Blvd. in La Torretta del Lago Resort & Spa, Montgomery, 936-448-4400. Chez Roux, located at the still-under-construction La Torretta (where the Del Lago once stood in the 1980s), is meant to lure you into your car for the 50-mile drive to Lake Conroe. This is a fancy Frenchified restaurant that bears the imprinteur of Michelin-starred chef Albert Roux. The modern lakeside setting is a little cold and the earnest young staff could use more training, but there’s no denying the kitchen, which is inspired by Roux and will be under the day-to-day management of executive chef Wyatt McGuire. (Roux will return to Le Gavroche in London, checking in here from time to time.) The rotating menu might, on any given day, include lobster mousse with caviar and Champagne sauce, wild mushroom risotto, Black Angus cheeks braised in red wine or grilled baby squid stuffed with braised oxtail. The wine list is impressive, as are the desserts and -– take note, please -– the cheese cart. We’ve got our fingers crossed that the stars align and that Houston diners will embrace this far-flung upscale French restaurant.
CRAVE SUSHI, 2900 Travis bet. McGowen & Elgin, 713-527-8744. This Japanese spot opened smack in the middle of the Little Saigon area – probably a brilliant move to offer a popular alternative to the area’s pho soup parlors, banh mi sandwich shops and Vietnamese eateries. The handsome setting is modern, but it’s not the dramatic set piece that, say, Uptown Sushi is. Executive chef is Texan Robert Garay, who trained at the CIA in Hyde Park. On our visit, we found the menu to be fairly traditional, the sushi fresh and delicious. Crave Sushi -– we’re pretty sure it’s no relation to Crave Cupcakes -– is from brothers John and Linh Hoang. Open very late, to 4 am Thursday, Friday and Saturday.
FRUITFUL CAFE, 9889 Bellaire Blvd. east of the tollway in Dun Huang Plaza, 713-777-0990. The Dun Huang shopping center is absolutely packed with restaurants, cafes, dim sum parlors, sushi bars and tea houses. It’s like one huge food court, with a few hair salons, jewelers and a mortgage company thrown in. And there’s always something new. Our latest favorite is this small storefront on the west side of the plaza where we were especially impressed by the vegetarian offerings, including spicy eggplant with garlic sauce and the shredded “eel,” which is in fact mushrooms. Mid-day, order anything from the regular menu as a lunch special and the price is discounted, making this very affordable, as well as an eating adventure.
GRIMALDI’S PIZZERIA, 16535 Southwest Fwy. at First Colony Mall, Sugar Land, 281-265-2280. A coal-fired pizza oven is the primary reason that Grimaldi’s has an international cult-like following. This new location, the first in Houston, replicates the Brooklyn original with a searingly hot oven that gives such a lovely char to the thin New York-style pizza crust. Toppings fall into three categories: white, red and green. Early online chatter is already calling it the best pizza in Houston.
GUADALAJARA DEL CENTRO, 1201 San Jacinto at Dallas in the Pavilions, 713-650-0101. The new downtown super-project, the Pavilions, is slowly filling up. Most recently, the Torres family opened the fourth location in their restaurant dynasty here. The menu is mostly the same as at the other Guadalajara Haciendas -– carne asada, roasted poblano soup, fajitas—with a few new upscale additions.
HUYNH, 912 St. Emanuel at Walker (behind the convention center), 713-22-HUYNH (48964). The people who run this place previously had Pho Huynh on Milam, and many of their fans have followed to the new location. There are plenty of familiar dishes -– pho (soup), bun (vermicelli salad) and soft spring rolls -– that will appeal to a timid eater or neophyte to Vietnamese cooking. However, what makes this place remarkable is the gutsy home-style cooking for eaters ready to go a little deeper into the cuisine. Annie Huynh is out front, suggesting dishes, explaining how mom (in the kitchen) invented them, even advising exactly how to eat to get the most enjoyment -– e.g., stir up the mi quang thoroughly so that you have a little of the yellow noodles, pork, shrimp, fish cake and broth in each bite. Nice people, pleasant surroundings, lots of promise.
LAS ADAS LATIN GRILL RESTAURANT, 14545 Memorial Drive, 281-870-8221. Modern artwork hangs on the walls, and crisp linens are on the tables for both lunch and dinner. A basket of plantain chips, chimichurri sauce and a red sauce arrive with the menus. Owners Guadalupe Garcia and Juan Ascanio are introducing West Houston to the flavors of Manzanillo, Mexico, and Venezuela. (Several of the recipes were developed in conjunction with Garcia’s family members, who have been in the restaurant business in Manzanillo for 20 years.) The menu features grilled meats and seafood. There are also several special plates, such as arepas (corn patties) served with mixed seafood and enchiladas (including a veggie-ful version with spinach, zucchini and potato). Save room for dessert – El Pio is a rich bread pudding laced with tequila.
LITTLE BIGS, 2703 Montrose just north of Westheimer, 713-521-2447. Much anticipated, maybe even too anticipated – we’re just talking hamburgers, after all – the Reef guys Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd finally got their slider shack open. See Burger or Bust! (page 50, of the April-May 2009 issue).
JONATHAN’S THE RUB, 9061 Gaylord at Corbindale, 713-465-8200. Reminiscent of a NYC neighborhood spot, this tiny gem tucked into a strip center features Texas-style rubbed meats and chops, seafood and traditional Italian fare. Owner Jonathan Levine, behind the stove in the open kitchen, greets customers as they arrive. The lunch menu features several entrees from the dinner menu plus a selection of sandwiches and salads. Gumbo and char-grilled pizzas are on both the lunch and dinner menus. The menus change frequently, and an “off the menu” lunch item the day we visited turned out to be beautiful mussels. Jonathan’s The Rub is BYOB with a $5 corkage fee.
TRADICAO BRAZILIAN STEAKHOUSE, 6800 Southwest Fwy. bet. Hillcroft & Bellaire, 713-339-1122. After a delay caused by Hurricane Ike, Houston’s latest churrascaria opened in January. It works much like Houston’s other churrascarias (Fogo de Chao, for example), with a never-ending parade of meat and a lavish salad bar, but at a lower price. Lunch is $19.50 per person and dinner is $29.50 per person. The owner/chef is Vanderlie Bernadi.
