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december10january11 MY TABLE LOOKS BACK: OUR FAVORITE COVERS

With snaps to our 100th issue, here are the stories behind five of the magazine’s most memorable cover images.

9

HOUSTON BITES BACK

Includes noteworthy openings & closings, beef jerky for city slickers, figure-friendly fast food, 2010 Houston Culinary Awards wrap-up and photos, understanding the gluten-free craze, Urban Harvest’s upcoming fruit-tree sale and more.

30 100 HOUSTON TASTEMAKERS

Our Tastemakers column, written by Janice Schindeler, is one of the best-read articles in every edition of My Table. But at the rate we were going — profiling just one so-called tastemaker per issue, six a year — we would never catch all of them. So we decided to bulk up with this Tastemakers special edition. Think of this as Tastemakers supersized.

List compiled by My Table magazine & J.C. Reid

ON THE COVER

Originally a Houstonian, Jennifer Blanco is a graphic designer who returned to her roots after working and playing in Brooklyn for many years. When not creating greeting cards for Product Superior, she can be found designing logos and brands under Spindletop, handmixing ink for workhorseprints.com, taking photo walks around Houston, or trying to make time for outdoor adventures. Find her in cyberspace at productsuperior.com, spindletopdesign.com or lecliquefoto.com.

DEPARTMENTS 8

LETTER FROM THE EDITOR

8

TABLE TALK

What’s going on in the Houston restaurant world?

47 THE GNOME RANGER

Our bar gnome visits bartender Terry Melvyn at Ouisie’s Table 48 DINING WITHOUT BORDERS

I Shot an Arrow in the Air

22 THE ICE BOX CHRONICLES

A Look Inside Morgan Weber’s Fridge

50 LISTINGS

Colombian Restaurants 24 MAN ABOUT THE KITCHEN

Barks, Brats and Bloggers

54 RESTAURANT REVIEWS

Cafe Moustache Eddie V’s 3-in-1 Review: Pho

28 FOOD LOVER’S QUIZINE

Chefs’ Secrets 40 TASTEMAKERS

55

ADVERTISER DIRECTORY

Scott Spencer Uncorked 42 WINE & SPIRITS

Warm Up From the Inside Out

4 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

60 TASTING THE TOWN

Waffling Around

M A S T H E A D

MY TABLE EDITOR & PUBLISHER

Teresa Byrne-Dodge teresa.byrnedodge@my-table.com ASSOCIATE PUBLISHER

ADVERTISING

Taylor Byrne Ray taylor@my-table.com

Victoria Staff, ad director 713-854-3328 vickie.staff@my-table.com

DESIGN

Jen Cooper jendesignhouston@gmail.com

Jane Kremer, sales 713-973-0207 jane.kremer@my-table.com

EDITORIAL

Dennis Abrams, Bill Albright Sean Beck, Eric Gerber, Mark G Hanna Micki McClelland, Paula Murphy, John Nechman, J.C. Reid, Janice Schindeler, Robin Barr Sussman

DIRECTOR OF MARKETING & SPECIAL PROJECTS

Paula Murphy Patterson & Murphy 713-520-7111 publicrelations@my-table.com

ART

Jennifer Blanco, Renee Bruner, Paula Murphy, Doug Pike, Ashley Rachner

SUBSCRIPTIONS

Joan Byrne subscriptions@my-table.com

INTERNS

Sarah Bronson, Renee Bruner

BOOKKEEPER

TEXAS WINE CORRESPONDENT

Darla Wishart 281-798-8538 wishart1@swbell.net

Randy McCrea 713-203-3743 wineprof@suddenlink.net

Twitter: @MyTablemagazine Facebook: My Table ~ Houston’s Dining Magazine DETAILS My Table is published by Lazywood Press. A one-year bimonthly

subscription (six issues) is $24. Some back issues are available, $7 each.

CUSTOMER SERVICE Our website lets you change the address on your account or

order a subscription. Click on “customer service” if you are missing an issue, want to order a back issue or need to temporarily suspend your subscription. Go to www.my-table.com. LETTERS For the quickest response, contact the editor via email at teresa.byrnedodge@my-table.com.

My Table: Houston’s Dining Magazine (USPS #011972, ISSN #1077-8077). Issue No. 100 (December 2010 – January 2011). Published by Lazywood Press at 1908 Harold, Houston, TX 77098.

Established January 11, 1994. All rights reserved. Material may not be reproduced by any means whatsoever without written permission. The opinions expressed by My Table’s writers do not necessarily reflect those of the publisher or Lazywood Press.

PERIODICALS Postage paid at Houston, TX. POSTMASTER: Send address changes to My Table, 1908 Harold, Houston, TX 77098.

713-529-5500 www.my-table.com

SideDish is an email newsletter published by My Table and will arrive in your inbox every Tuesday and Friday with restaurant news, wine reviews, recipes, events and everything else that celebrates the Houston food world. Sign up today for your free SideDish subscription at www.my-table.com.

6 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

Here are the stories behind five of the magazine’s most memorable cover images.

H O U S T O N

my table looks back: our favorite covers

B I T E S B A C K

25 JUNE-JULY 1998

46 DECEMBER 2001-JANUARY 2002

72 APRIL-MAY 2006

This early cover featured a brand new logo and a mixed-media illustration using cut paper and India ink created by Stanley Kaminski, an award-winning art professor who today teaches at Houston Community College. We “discovered” him while taking a continuing studies drawing class at Rice University.

In the 1990s, Alzette Prins divided her time between Houston (where she was a faux painter) and South Paarl, South Africa.

Today she lives in South Africa full-time and specializes mostly in gentle illustrations for children’s books. Alzette has done three covers for My Table.

Since 1996, California photographer Audrey Heller has shown us everyday scenes from a Lilliputian’s point of view. A former lighting designer and theatre director, her work with “the little guys” has won many awards. See more of Audrey’s quirky photography at audreyheller.com.

74 AUGUST-SEPTEMBER 2006

Gabriel Suarez Teschner, a native of México, took up photography fulltime in 2004. This photo, to illustrate our article on The Joy of Junk Food, was a reflection of him and his girlfriend caught in a vending machine at a local truckstop. Gabriel now lives and works in Los Angeles.

94 DECEMBER 2009-JANUARY 2010

A year ago we were freshening up our look and wanted an iconic image to introduce a new logo. Graphic designer/illustrator Tom Newton created the illustration and later designed our Houston Hot Spots 2009 poster. Tom is with CMA Design here in Houston.

hoped. But the snarky Mr. Anon’s Big round numbers inspire Turkey Awards, penned annually in the introspection, and on the occasion of December-January issue by the nowour 100th issue we have been looking back, thumbing through old issues and retired Jim Sanders, was always keenly dissecting our magazine’s history. Just read and commented on. Readers like a restaurant, My Table responded enthusiastically to has had its share of hit the Haiku-Sine contest that dishes and flops. We’ve we held annually 1997 published works that were through 2000. Local high highly successful — our schools and middle schools first-ever guidebook, The used the challenge to write a Ultimate Food Lover’s Guide food-themed haiku as class to Houston in 2008, for assignments, and we received example, quickly sold out thousands of entries. We even collected some of the — as well as some that best into a little book, burned through thousands of dollars. Remember The Ugliest My Table cover ever? Haiku-Sine: 217 Tiny Food Brady Chronicles? The Poems by Texans Who Love to quarterly illustrated travelogues were Eat and Feed Their Heads (2000). jolly fun to work on, but it was a On the event side, our annual project that couldn’t find its niche.

Houston Culinary Awards has grown to The Good Egg, a six-part serialized be a spectacular evening; the October novel that we published in My Table in 2010 gala had more than 300 guests.

1997, didn’t pull the readership we had (See page 16.) In the debit column, our

TABLE TALK

atop the HYATT REGENCY downtown

Top 10 Wine Lists Awards, which we discontinued in 2006 after 11 years, had become a liability.

Yes, the awards contributed significantly to the improvement of wine lists all over Houston. But for every delighted 10 winners each June, there were about 70 disgruntled non-winners. We even lost advertisers, miffed that they didn’t win.

And then there are the covers. One of my favorite things at My Table is collaborating with artists on our amazing covers. We spotlight five of our favorites on page 7. And the ones that make us cringe? Alas, there have been a few.

editor & publisher

followed by The Heights on January 8.

reopened in October after a $1.4 million

ON THE DRAWING BOARD:

renovation and two years’ closure due to

Chef/restaurateur PHILIPPE SCHMIT

Early on Halloween, the morning after

Hurricane Ike damage. BISTRO CALAIS

(formerly with BISTRO MODERNE) has

the Montrose-area coffeehouse AGORA

on Bammel Lane has renamed itself PHIL

pushed back the opening of his new

was partially destroyed by fire, we

& DEREK’S RESTAURANT & WINE

restaurant PHILIPPE RESTAURANT +

walked over to take a look. Sad to see

BAR. Owner PHILLIP MITCHELL

LOUNGE on Post Oak Blvd. to at least

the burnt-out roof and gutted west side,

assures that nothing else has changed.

mid-January. He also recently announced

we were heartened to observe a few

MURRAY’S CHEESE, New York

that CHRIS FANNIN, a restaurant

stalwarts sitting at tables drinking coffee,

City’s oldest cheese shop — it opened in

veteran with more than 15 years of

defiantly oblivious to the blackened

1940 in Greenwich Village — is known

experience, has joined the team as

water-soaked ruins around them.

for its huge selection of cheeses and

director of operations. Schmit is still

A new food truck is being prepped for

specialty foods, such as olives, cured

finalizing his menu, but we had an early

the city. THE EATSIE BOYS — MATT

meat, dried fruit and crackers. Now,

look. Delicious-sounding: seared scallops

MARCUS (chef and son of A

through a partnership with KROGER,

à la plancha, cowboy steak for two and

GRATEFUL DEAD’s AL MARCUS),

Murray’s is opening specialty cheese

Berkshire pork ravioli. DENIS WILSON

RYAN SOROKA and ALEX

shops in three area stores. (Houston is

and ELLEN GONZALEZ of DENIS’

VASSILAKIDIS — hope to start their

the third city in the Murray’s roll-out.) The

SEAFOOD told us they are developing

engine around the holidays. In the

West Gray Kroger debuted its cheese

a fast-casual concept with home-style

meantime, look for them at farmers’

shop in late October. The West U Kroger

South Louisiana cooking. It will be called

markets. The SPINDLETOP restaurant

will have a soft opening on December 4,

DENIS’S HOMESTYLE KITCHEN, and

8 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

PHOTO BY PAULA MUR PHY

E D I T O R T H E F R O M L E T T E R

Hits and Misses

By Sarah Bronson

The reported prevalence of celiac disease has increased fourfold in the past five decades, and the demand for glutenfree foods made it onto the map around the aughts. The gluten-free industry is worth nearly a billion dollars right now.

Once a little-known, offhand possibility,

TABLE TALK

reader raves EMILY DURHAM MONARCH/HOTEL ZAZA

5701 Main, 713-527-1800 ZOE GOLDMAN LA FENDEE

1402 Westheimer, 713-522-1505 KATHY MORRIS J ALEXANDER’S

11103 Westheimer, 832-200-0955 MARY POORMAN SPANISH VILLAGE

4720 Almeda, 713-523-2861 SARAH TENNANT SOPHIA

1601 W. Main, 713-942-7970

is set to open in December. PIZZERIA

Meanwhile, Gravitas owner SCOTT

ALTO, with designer pizzas, casual

TYCER recently converted his former

“shareables” and a late-night menu, will

Textile restaurant space on West 22nd

the team plans to have not one but two

be directly above Ava Brasserie and

into a casual dining concept called

locations open right after the new year.

open in January. By the way, the Schiller-

KRAFTSMEN CAFE.

There will be a rotisserie with assorted

Del Grande gang is also involved in a

birds, ham, pork tenders along with fried

new concept called SOLEIL, which

owner Ricky Craig is opening his second

chicken and fried shrimp, as well as pot

overlooks Lake Travis and is located

brick-and-mortar location (he also has a

roast and crawfish etouffee, gumbo, dirty

next to the famous Austin restaurant,

burger truck) in the old location of MI

rice, skillet cornbread and more. Look for

OASIS. It serves Mediterranean-Italian

COCINA VICTOR’S CAFE on W. 19th

back-to-back openings, one in Missouri

seafood, and chef GEORGE THOMAS

in the Heights. Word is that

City and one in the FM 1960/I-45 area.

runs the kitchen.

CHRISTIAN’S TAILGATE will open in

SWEET TEA CAFE AND TEA BAR is opening soon on West 19th.

The SCHILLER-DEL GRANDE

Chef RYAN HILDEBRAND is no

BURGER NEWS: HUBCAP GRILL

the Heights as well. Santa Monica-based

longer at GRAVITAS. He is breaking out

THE COUNTER (CUSTOM BUILT

on his own to start a new Houston restau-

BURGERS), a premium burger concept

RESTAURANT GROUP is opening two

rant called TRINITI featuring progressive

known for offering more than 300,000

venues in the new West Ave develop-

American cuisine. This has long been a

possible combinations, opened on

ment at Kirby and Westheimer. AVA

dream of Hildebrand’s, and we’re

Washington Avenue a few weeks ago

BRASSERIE, a casual eatery offering

pleased he is finally able to act on it. The

and is the first Texas location. It’s like

pasta, seafood, steaks and burgers, will

“trinity” will represent sweet, savory and

BROWN BAG DELI in that you fill out

face Kirby and be on the ground floor. It

spirits. It’s expected to open in mid-2011.

an order form and turn it in. We

9 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

>>>

B A C K

THE PHENOMENON

symptoms are distressingly vague or uselessly common.

There’s one pretty simple test: You feel like hell when there are glutencontaining grains in your system, but a diet change brings everything back to normal. For those with celiac disease, the difference is almost unmistakable.

However, the diagnosis should also >>>

B I T E S

For as many as one out of 133 people in the United States, the difference between gluten and gluten-free is the difference between feeling normal and feeling too tired to stand up while brushing your teeth, every day. It’s not something that crawls up and bites you in the back after years of neglecting some vitamin or another; the condition makes itself felt just hours after you’ve eaten.

But could a gluten-free diet benefit more people than those 3 million Americans?

Does gluten have some inherent noxiousness that we could all do without? Or is somebody selling something?

celiac disease has gained recognition as a disease that causes the body to respond to any amount of gluten by attacking itself.

In fact, celiac disease belongs to a whole spectrum of conditions classified as gluten-sensitive enteropathy, which includes some lesser inflammations of the small intestine. However, most doctors still consider the disease relatively unlikely, and they will probably treat you for other problems first.

For some, it’s a painful uncertainty.

Randi Markowitz spent years puzzling over stomach pains that kept coming back, fatigue that eventually kept her from walking, and countless doctor visits that yielded only vague diagnoses.

Underlying gluten intolerance is associated with a variegated spread of symptoms, including abdominal pain, chronic fatigue, depression, bloating, fibromyalgia, stunted growth and symptoms of the sort you don’t want to read about just after you’ve turned the page from any other My Table article. To complicate things, many of the

H O U S T O N

gluten-free for you not me

B A C K B I T E S H O U S T O N

be professionally confirmed; a blood test, a biopsy of the small intestine or an endoscopy can provide the information you need.

Markowitz had almost come to accept the ongoing illness as just a part of who she was when she was finally diagnosed with celiac disease. Taking gluten out of her life was a gigantic breath of fresh air, halting her symptoms completely. Now, she operates Gluten Free Houston, a bakery that supplies foods all over the city, and keeps a small blog where she shares tips on gluten-free living.

TABLE TALK

With celiac disease, the small intestine cannot break down the gluten in wheat, barley and rye. Instead, an autoimmune reaction inflames and flattens the thick carpet of villi you need for basic digestion and for dealing with complex compounds. The body barely absorbs nutrition, overworks itself at a Sisyphean task and neglects simple upkeeps from the immune system to the skin. It’s an overwhelming distraction. Only when every trace of gluten disappears from the digestive system can the body function normally. As

Shreve Stockton puts it in Eating Gluten-free, “If your system doesn’t need to constantly deal with indigestible, toxic foods, it can spend time on you.”

However, gluten is not a rogue chemical that’s muddling the guts and sapping the energy of every malaisestricken man, woman and child across the country. The numbers are vague at this point, giving gluten-free advocates a great deal of freedom to speculate. Some estimates state that nearly one out of three people in the United States have some degree of gluten intolerance, living

JAMES KOONCE has left

maitre d’ and event manager. FRANK

BRENNAN’S; FELIX FLORES has taken

TRIOLA has joined GURI DO SUL

over his wine duties. Chef ADAM WEST

STEAKHOUSE AND RESTAURANT in

liked the burger-in-a-bowl concept and

has left DRAGONFLY at HOTEL ZAZA

The Woodlands. ANGEL OROPEZA

fantastic string onion rings. Burger-heads

in Dallas after four years to serve as chef

recently joined GLUTEN FREE

should also check out The Burger Guys

de cuisine at MONARCH URBAN

HOUSTON as executive pastry chef.

on far-west Westheimer.

BISTRO AND LOUNGE in Houston’s

JUDY HENRICHSEN has left

Hotel Zaza. The very talented chef

BROTHERS PRODUCE and joined

her brother JONATHAN opened a

MICHAEL DEI MAGGI has left CAFFE

PRO*ACT, the country’s leading distrib-

second location of TAN TAN, the popular

BELLO. Wine diva SAREE MULHERN

utor of fresh produce to the food service

open-very-late Vietnamese and Chinese

has left MARK’S AMERICAN CUISINE

industry. Henrichsen will develop new

restaurant on Bellaire. The new location is

and joined REPUBLIC NATIONAL

niche markets for the company.

on Westheimer west of Voss. OOH LA

DISTRIBUTING.

REPLICATIONS: JANET CHIU and

LA, famous for its Texas-sized cupcakes,

SEBASTIAN HINSCH, F&B manager

JASON JONES is no longer with

at THE FOUR SEASONS downtown,

has opened a new location in Katy at

SHADE and CANOPY. On the plus

recently left Houston for a post in

20155 Park Row. Owner/chef

side, CHAD FRY (H-E-B and

paradise at the FOUR SEASONS

VANESSA O’DONNELL describes the

KRAFTSMEN) is joining the bakery and

RESORT HUALALA in Hawaii. LA

new location as “grab and go.” NIKO

pastry team for Canopy and Shade, with

TORRETTA LAKE RESORT AND SPA

NIKO’S Market Square location

operations housed in the beautiful bakery

at Lake Conroe has some new staffers:

downtown is fully open now. We hear that

production space built last year at Canopy.

JASON WEAVER is the new executive

the defunct SHUCK DADDY’S location

Fry will join pastry chef SHANNON

chef and MICHAEL BLAKSTEEN is the

on Shepherd will become LUPE

SMITH in producing all sorts of

new F&B director. CRAIG SHELTON, a

TORTILLA. URBAN HARVEST has

delectable small-batch artisan pastries,

Relais-Gourmand chef who pioneered

launched another farmers’ market. It is

breads, sweets and specialty items.

farm-to-table fine dining on the East

along both sides of the reflection pool at

LANCE FEGEN, co-owner/chef of

Coast, is the new managing partner and

City Hall, 10 am to 2 pm on Wednesdays.

GLASS WALL, has departed that post to

executive chef at THE INN AT DOS

My Table sponsors the demonstration

focus on the upcoming opening of

BRISAS. The property also has a new

CHEF’S TABLE every week, so drop by

LIBERTY KITCHEN AND OYSTER

GM, British hotelier TIM THUELL.

for a sample. ARAYA CHOCOLATE has

BAR, scheduled for January. He’s also

opened a second location, this one in Katy

taken the reins at BRC GASTROPUB

rant openings and closings,

For more news about restau-

at 1575 West Grand Parkway. EDDIE

since chef JEFF AXLINE left to take the

comings and goings, follow us

V’S has opened its second Houston

helm at LAKEWAY RESORT in Austin.

on Twitter (@MyTablemagazine)

location on Kirby near Westheimer.

DAVID SIEGMAN has joined the

and subscribe to our twice-

MOCKINGBIRD BISTRO team as

weekly e-newsletter, SideDish.

OUR PERIPATETIC CHEFS ET AL:

10 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

their lives less effectively because of a substance that pervades nearly every meal they eat; after all, gluten sensitivity has more than one clinical presentation.

GOING FOR IT

Let’s say that you want to try the gluten-free diet — it is, after all, the easiest way to figure out whether or not it’ll help you. You will quickly realize that going gluten-free means a lot less elbow room than going lacto-ovo pescatarian. Gluten-containing grains are unexpectedly prevalent in just about any meal. Who knew that tomato soup and soy sauce would be off limits? Who would have thought you could be punished for licking your lips while wearing lip balm? Just one overlooked ingredient that has so much as brushed up against the wrong food in a past life can ruin the day; the change must be complete, otherwise it won’t work.

To go totally gluten-free, the best course is to select some undoubtedly safe staples, then expand the menu from there, adding foods one at a time.

Learning to recognize foods and brands as off limits, iffy and safe can take time, experience and a few kick-yourself-inthe-face setbacks. Scour ingredient lists on labels for all suspect grains, from barley to semolina, and call the manufacturer to clear any uncertainty.

Yet the most difficult part may not be avoiding the foods themselves. All kinds of social events involve the consumption of gluten. Who wants to refuse cake on their birthday? Who will spurn holy grace by refusing a communion wafer? When your friends are all having beers, do you order an apple juice?

In fact, it’s just not true that the diet means never again making yourself a sandwich or grabbing a cookie. Jody Stevens, a baker who specializes in cakes for limited diets, stands firmly by her belief that everyone deserves to take part in tradition and eat something delicious, especially birthday kids. More and more beloved foods are arraying themselves on the gluten-free side, including cake, bread and beer. Still, you do have to seek them out, and they might not always be on hand. In the meantime, maintain patience and eat

before parties, or bring something of your own to share.

WHERE TO GO

Preparation is necessary for a successful gluten-free diet, but so are resources. Luckily for us, Houston offers several gluten-free dining solutions.

Central Market, Whole Foods, H-E-B and others carry both ready-mades and handy ingredients, like unusual flours.

Gluten-free Houston makes a selection of baked goods like chocolate chip cookies, blueberry muffins and cakes that are available at Central Market, Rice Epicurean Market, Village Foods, Whole Foods, Hubble & Hudson, and even the Texas Children’s Hospital.

Watch for their new take-and-bake pizzas and lasagnas. More gluten-free friendly spots include A Moveable Feast, Ruggles Green and Candelari’s Pizzeria.

The choices are growing more plentiful and more expertly concocted.

While some grainless confections can fall a little flat in the oven and smush a little strangely on the tongue, many others are pretty yummy. I can attest to the fact that Stevens, whose company is called jodycakes, bakes a wicked glutenfree chocolate cake. For those who have been forced to avoid cupcakes their whole lives, the taste is “like heaven on your plate,” she says.

And you don’t have to be glutenintolerant to agree. The other day, I gave eight digestively healthy friends a combination of gluten-free carrot muffins and the carrot muffins found one aisle away without telling them which was which. In the end, the competitors held up against each other like Coke and Pepsi.

Of course, not all your meals have to come from one specialized grocery aisle.

Try exploring what you can do with what you have. Rice and potatoes make great building blocks for hundreds of different dishes, Markowitz points out.

Don’t rely too heavily on potato and rice flours as substitutes, however, because you may deprive yourself of some necessary nutrients. Fresh fruits and vegetables will never hurt you. Even homemade baked goods are possible. In place of wheat flour, try cornstarch,

11 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

home-ground almonds, millet flour, rice flour, tapioca flour, arrowroot, teff flour or for a really convincing fluff, xanthan gum. Stevens personally favors garbanzo bean flour for baking.

Eventually, you’ll weave your way around the pantry like a pro. With time, you’ll boldly slap buckwheat pancakes to griddle, knowing that the plant isn’t really a grain at all, but a rhubarb relative.

FEELING GOOD

Some people describe a startlingly fast effect within just a few days. If you have gluten intolerance, you will probably behold the hosts of heaven belting Handel’s Messiah as your body begins to actually process the food you eat. There’s no question that going without gluten can improve many people’s lives.

And to tell the truth, a diet without wheat, barley and most of the foods that make up the hefty base of the familiar food pyramid will probably force you to eat more nutritious foods. The average person on a gluten-free diet may very well lose weight. But such an improvement is completely possible without spurning ingredients that form such a basic part of most meals. Gluten-intolerance is not the likeliest explanation for day-to-day aches and fatigues, and a gluten-free diet will not heal your afflictions if you are not gluten-intolerant, no matter what you’ve heard.

Sure, there aren’t any gluten-free flashing banner ads next to “a weird old tip to get rid of your belly” on Facebook (yet) and sure, there are some real statistics and there are a staggering number of people who do need the diet. That’s exactly what strengthens misinformation: its proximity to the truth.

In the end, if you’re not sure what diet would be best for you, please talk to a real doctor.

Sarah Bronson may be a starving recent graduate, but she still doesn't know what to do with all this gluten-free bread in the fridge. By day, she works in the Medical Center, correcting the punctuation and syntax of scientists.

B A C K B I T E S H O U S T O N

noteworthy openings CASABLANCA COUSCOUS & GRILL

SALDIVIA’S SOUTH AMERICAN GRILL

5506 Richmond bet. Sage and Chimney Rock, 832-754-8749

10234 Westheimer bet. Gessner & West Belt, 713-782-9494

Taking over the modest space that was Miguelito’s Venezuelan, this little Moroccan cafe offers couscous, tagines and grilled items, and that’s about it.

Neither the setting nor the menu is elaborate, and the prices are modest.

We’ll check it out soon and give a fuller report in our SideDish e-newsletter.

What Uruguayan native Gus Saldivia and son Cacho and their kitchen can do with a cheap piece of shirt steak (the entraña) is pretty amazing. It’s chewy, yes, but juicy, rare and delicious, served with a fire-breathing chimichurri. Roasted potatoes, grilled vegetables and Spanish rice round out the plate. There’s lots more on the menu — grilled fish, brochettes, chicken, blood sausage — but it’s this cut that will secure the restaurant’s reputation. For dessert, don’t miss the warm crêpes filled with dulce de leche.

Saldivia’s is from the same people who once had Chimi-Churri’s restaurant out on Bellaire Blvd. The new location is much nicer.

NATACHEE’S SUPPER ’N PUNCH

3622 Main slightly north of Alabama, 713-524-7203

The little restaurant collection that includes T’afia, Breakfast Klub, Julia’s Bistro and Tacos À Go-Go has a new neighbor in this down-home spot from John and Donna Smith and Pete Gordon (one of the owners of nearby Continental Club). The menu is inspired by the owners’ family recipes and includes burgers, a meatloaf sandwich, mac and cheese, and biscuits and gravy (breakfast is served all day).

The old building has had its 1960s improvements pulled away to reveal its original bones, and the place looks something like an old-timey saloon.

The bar scene (hence the “punch” in the name) is still in its infancy, but the owners plan to add live music. Imagine something like Wunsche Bros. Cafe & Saloon out in Spring here in the city.

Some days, there’s even a mare named Lacey grazing outside.

JUS’ MAC

2617 Yale at 26th St., 713-622-8646, jusmac.com

Taking the specialty restaurant thing deep, here’s a new little eatery from Patrick and Kimberley Alvarez that is devoted to, yes, macaroni and cheese in all its infinite incarnations. Some versions are traditional, some are far out there; some come loaded with veggies and/or meat; some have an ethnic accent. Appetizers include fried macaroni balls (with or without bacon) and mac and cheese soup.

Open for lunch and dinner. Take-outs welcome.

SNAP KITCHEN

3600 Kirby at Richmond, 713-526-5700, snapkitchen.com

This is the second location of an Austin concept: a chef-driven takeaway spot that emphasizes flavor as much as nutrition. Chef Basin Naga, who has previously cooked with the Vallone group, does strange and wonderful things with vegetables, legumes, grains and modest chunks of protein. There are hummus-filled deviled eggs, bison hash, Asian chicken salad, quinoa “fried rice” and currydusted cauliflower “steak.” Serving breakfast, lunch and dinner, Snap Kitchen also tosses salads to-order and has a three-week diet regimen for the seriously committed. A blueberry crumble made with steel-cut oats, almonds, berries and agave nectar, topped with a creamy marshmallow topping, was our dessert of choice. (To read more about take-away diet meals, see Figure-Friendly Fast Food on page 18.)

There is a generous list of value-priced wines, though we thought it unusual that there are more Greek wines on the list (published on their website) than Australia and Chile combined. Three nice features: The patio is dog friendly; WiFi is free; and you are welcome to BYOF — bring your own food.

ZIMM’S LITTLE DECK

601 Richmond just west of Hwy. 59/Spur 527, 713-527-8328, www.zimmslittledeck.com

The menu at brothers Mark and Dan Zimmerman’s new spot (new construction, too) is New Orleans-inspired, including char-grilled oysters, crawfish remoulade, gumbo, po’boys and rich’boys filled with things like duck confit or pulled pork. Don’t miss the house-made potato chips, either.

Inside, the fancy icehouse-slashseafood bar is cozy and chic; outdoors, there’s a fireplace and large flatscreen for watching sports. (Or play some: There’s an official pétanque court.)

Jeramie Robinson, formerly at Tesar’s in The Woodlands, is chef.

noteworthy closings AGORA

1712 Westheimer FABIO’S ITALIAN BAR & GRILL

212 Westheimer JAMES CONEY ISLAND

815 Travis LITTLE BIG’S

Hermann Park location RED CAT JAZZ CAFE

924 Congress SHUCK DADDY’S

WINETOPIA

6363 San Felipe just east of Winrock, 832-858-1149, winetopieatx.com

Winetopia, which dubs itself a vino paradise, quietly opened in early September in the Briargrove area.

12 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

1511 Shepherd TWO ROWS RESTAURANT & BREWERY

2400 University

in the bag

by Robin Barr Sussman WHAT WE BOUGHT TEXAS OLIVE RANCH XVOO

MOVING? Don’t forget to take My Table magazine with you!

Send your forwarding address to: My Table 1908 Harold, Houston, TX 77098 or subscriptions@my-table.com.

Texas has always been known for oil, but there’s a new oil in town: Texas olive oil. Texas Olive Ranch, located in South Texas, is one of a handful of Texas olive growers that are following in the footsteps of the burgeoning Texas wine producers. Texas Olive Ranch crafts 100 percent extra virgin olive oil pressed from the arbequina olive grown in the sandy loom soil of the middle Rio Grande Valley. Some of its lipsmacking flavors include Meyer lemon, mesquite, roasted garlic, rattlesnake (flavored with cracked red pepper and chipotles) and arbequina (unflavored). The newest flavor is basil-infused — sweet! $10 to $15

Available at Central Market, H-E-B, Kroger in The Woodlands, Bering’s Hardware and farmers’ markets around Houston including the new Eco-Farmers Market in CityCentre.

ON THE ROAD WITH MY TABLE

MILLIE WARDEN SHANGHAI, CHINA

“I am shopping in Shanghai while on business in Tongxiang for five days, and then the group spent five days in Beijing.

The trip was the most awesome experience in my 70-plus years and one I will not forget.”

Next time you pack for a trip, slip My Table in your suitcase. Send us a snapshot of yourself, the magazine and a recognizable landmark. If we publish your photo, we’ll send you a free one-year subscription.

Mail your photo to My Table, 1908 Harold, Houston, TX 77098 or email it to info@my-table.com.

13 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

B A C K B I T E S H O U S T O N

Beef Jerky for City Slickers From camping to road trips to bomb shelters, beef jerky is the store of choice for those looking for a stable, delicious snack. My Table recently gathered a team of tasters to sample five local jerky products.

KEN’S COWBOY BEEF JERKY

BUCEE’S

BUC-EE’S

We chose this chain’s beef jerky as our benchmark. Unfortunately, this Texan favorite left us disappointed and, quite frankly, confused. We appreciated the texture, which was thin, easy to chew and long-lasting, but not the commercial appearance of the rectangular-cut samples. Our tasters also noted the chemical aftertaste of the jerky, which may be attributed to its fake-smoke flavor. But most of all, we were stumped by the jerky’s overall flavor, which suggested ham more than beef. Overall, we were not impressed by this commercialized snack. However, we should note that we purchased this jerky prepackaged, which was our only option at the Hwy. 290/Mueschke Road location.

Other Buc-ee’s locations offer jerky bars, where perhaps the bulk offerings are of superior quality to their pre-packaged counterparts.

CHAPPELL HILL SAUSAGE COMPANY

Unless you are on the way to Austin via 290, our next selection from Chappell Hill Sausage Company might be tough to come by directly. However, there is

one place in Houston that sells this brand: Goode Co. BBQ on Hwy. 290 in Northwest Houston. Warning: You may be as gobsmacked by the $4.95 price tag (for less than 2 ounces of jerky) as we were. Despite its hefty price, we decided to give it a fair chew.

After tasting Buc-ee’s jerky, we were much pleased by Chappell Hill’s rustic look and natural smokiness. Despite the visual appeal of the jerky, though, its rough cut proved hard on the teeth.

Some tasters defended this characteristic as providing the jerky’s traditional gnaw factor, but most disliked its jawbreaking toughness. Refreshingly, this sample actually tasted like beef, although we found it over-salted. Of the three traditional jerkies we sampled, this was our choice for second place.

Note: If you plan on passing through Chappell Hill, the company’s own retail store charges only $3.29 per package.

KEN’S

CHAPPELL HILL

PHOTOS BY RENEE BRUNER

14 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

Claiming on the package to be “The World’s Greatest!”

Ken’s Cowboy Beef Jerky had a lot to live up to, and this Houston-based product did not disappoint. With a chewy, durable texture and a deep, complex, sweet flavor that may result from the jerky’s time spent smoking over pecan wood, this sample was by far our favorite traditional jerky. Although difficult to tear in half, the jerky can easily be torn along its lengthwise grain, making it easier to eat than Chappell Hill’s without sacrificing chewing satisfaction.

Our one qualm was the jerky’s rectangular-cut appearance, which reminded us of Buc-ee’s commercialized look. So although we preferred the appearance of Chappell Hill’s sample, we all agreed that Ken’s was the most authentic and well-rounded classic beef jerky of the bunch.

We also liked the pricing system of Ken’s Cowboy Beef Jerky, which can be ordered in a variety of sizes with decreasing prices per ounce as orders get larger. (See sidebar, opposite.) Although we only sampled Ken’s mild flavor, it is also available in a spicy variety.

STRIP HOUSE

STRIP HOUSE

Described by one taster as “couture beef jerky,” Strip House’s jerky certainly took this snack food staple into the gourmet realm. Although this dish is normally served at the downtown restaurant with a pile of fried onions, grilled tomato rounds and house-made steak sauce, we chose to taste the jerky alone in order to judge its individual merits. With a moist, caramelized appearance and an easy bite, Strip House’s jerky is certainly not your traditional jerky.

This jerky was very sweet and not smoky like the others — “meat candy,” suggested one taster. Despite its sweetness, this sample still maintained its beefiness, but many tasters questioned whether this treat is actually jerky. Although prepared and dried in a similar fashion to regular jerky, minus the smoke, Strip House’s jerky is finished-fried to order, lending it richness and moistness absent in other samples that we tried. It really wasn’t chewy, either. Nevertheless, this beefy product — whatever you might call it — is certainly worth a taste and is

probably even more enjoyable with the accoutrements provided at the restaurant.

KHÔ BÒ

KHÔ BÒ HOUSTON

With fish jerky, pork jerky, pork liver jerky, deer jerky, squid jerky and at least 11 different kinds of beef jerky, Khô Bò Houston is the mecca of locally-available Vietnamese jerky.

Overwhelmed by the selection, we asked a saleswoman what she would recommend, and she pointed us toward hot beef jerky with five-spice powder.

Despite one taster’s complaint that the Khô Bò’s sample had “no jerk in its jerky,” most reviewers appreciated its moist, easy-to-tear texture. However, the five-spice flavor was a bit controversial among our tasting group and often varied according to one’s like/dislike of licorice, which is a flavor property of star anise, one of the five flavors in this classic Asian spice combination along with cloves, cinnamon, Sichuan pepper

WHERE TO BUY IT

and ground fennel seeds.

No matter what the opinion of the seasonings, everyone agreed that the jerky lacked beefiness, probably a result of the overwhelming spices. In addition, many tasters found its appearance strange, as it is cut in large, bark-like pieces that are studded with dried chili flakes. (One reviewer described it as looking “like squashed dog poo.”)

This was an unexpected variation in the jerky world and, perhaps, an acquired taste.

Price $11 for 4 oz., $18 for 8 oz., $26 for 12 oz., $30 for 16 oz., $36 for 20 oz., $42 for 24 oz.

Flavors mild or hot flavors Also available a variety of almonds, cashews and pecans (including their best-selling honey-toasted pecans)

BUC-EE’S

Buy it at 11151 Shadow Creek Parkway, Pearland, 713-436-8364; 2541 South Main Street, Pearland, 281-412-6611; 27106 Northwest Freeway, Cypress (Hwy. 290 at Mueschke Road), 281-758-3584; and other locations Website bucees.com Price $7.99 for 4 oz.

Flavors mild, pepper, jalapeño and sweet & spicy

STRIP HOUSE STEAKHOUSE

On the menu at 1200 McKinney Street, 713-659-6000 Website striphouse.com/houston Price $8 on the bar menu, served with fried onions, grilled tomatoes and house-made steak sauce

CHAPPELL HILL SAUSAGE COMPANY

KHÔ BÒ

Buy it at 4255 Sausage Lane, Chappell Hill, 979-836-5830 Website chsausage.com Also available at Goode Co. BBQ, 20102 Northwest Freeway, 832-678-3562 Price $4.95 for 1 ⅔ oz. at Goode Co.

Buy it at 8388 West Sam Houston Parkway South, 281933-6630, and 11205 Bellaire Blvd. Suite C8, 281-564-6630 Website khobohouston.net Flavors Hot Beef Jerky – Five-Flavor Spices (Khô Bò Cay Ít Ng˜u Vi. Huong) and 11 other kinds of beef jerky, including fruit flavors and curry Price $21.99 per pound You might also like fish jerky, pork liver jerky, deer jerky, pork jerky and squid jerky

KEN’S COWBOY BEEF JERKY

Call 281-277-4368 Email vkwalker_01@yahoo.com Website kenscowboybeefjerky.com

15 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

B A C K B I T E S H O U S T O N

What a party! Amid a sea of goldcloth-draped tables and an army of student servers, 320 of Houston’s top chefs, restaurateurs, industry professionals and local foodies gathered for the 2010 Houston Culinary Awards on the evening of Sunday, October 3. The awards, presented annually by My Table magazine and this year co-presented by Sysco Houston Inc., recognize Houston’s culinary crème de la crème in 10 categories, voted on by the dining public. This year’s celebration also debuted the 15 new Houston Foodie Star Awards and included a tribute to restaurateurs/brothers Vincent, Tony and Damian Mandola, recipients of the 12th Legends of Houston Restaurants Award.

The magazine typically holds the dinner at the restaurant of the previous year’s Restaurateur of the Year, but Feast (owned by James Silk, Meagan Silk and Richard Knight) was far too small. So, in a break with tradition, this year’s awards dinner was held at the University of Houston Hilton Hotel’s newly renovated ballroom, which allowed for a larger number of guests to join in the celebration. It also allowed students from the Conrad N. Hilton School of Hotel & Restaurant Management to work sideby-side with some of the city’s best chefs.

And what budding young chef or food-service professional wouldn’t want to? The menu for the evening was created by a phenomenal team of Houston chefs, led by John Sheely of Mockingbird Bistro Wine Bar: Mark Cox of Mark’s American Cuisine, Randy Evans of Haven, Monica Pope of T’afia, Robert Del Grande of RDG+Bar Annie and Cafe Express, Michael Cordúa of Américas and Churrascos, Claire Smith of Shade and Canopy and pastry chef Rebecca Masson, with bread provided

by Heath Wendell of Slow Dough Bread Co. The chefs were welcomed and assisted by Abbas Jaffari, executive chef

1

2

3

1 My Table publisher Teresa Byrne-Dodge, Chris Shepherd (Catalan), and Monica Pope (T’afia) 2 Alex Brennan-Martin (Brennan’s) with daughters Lexie (left) and Addie 3 Sarah and Emily Giffin

(Little Miss Cupcake)

of the Hilton University of Houston.

This year the magazine proudly presented its 12th annual Legends of Houston Restaurants Award to the Mandola brothers — restaurateurs Vincent Mandola, Tony Mandola and Damian Mandola. The native Houstonians are each successful, awardwinning restaurateurs who, along with many branches of their family tree, have made a lasting impact on the local restaurant scene and become a restaurant dynasty for Houston. In honor of their award, Sunday, October 3, 2010 was officially proclaimed “Mandola Family Day” in the city of Houston by Mayor Annise Parker.

Sponsors of the 2010 Houston Culinary Awards included My Table magazine, Sysco Houston, Inc., Republic National Distributing Co.,

16 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

William Grant & Sons, Central Market, A La Carte Foodservice Consulting Group, Oak Farms Dairy, Houston Wine Merchant, copy.com, KUHF88.7 FM Houston Public Radio, The Grand Wine & Food Affair, Par Excellence Hospitality Staffing, Health & Fitness Sports Magazine, Party Cloths, Houston Chronicle 29-95.com and SideDish, My Table magazine’s twiceweekly e-newsletter.

St. John Flynn, host of KUHF-88.7’s Front Row arts program, was the evening’s charming emcee. The beautiful hand-crafted steel awards were made by metal artist Geoff Mann. A shout-out, too, to designer Ashley Rachner, who designed our program and commemorative lapel pin.

Event proceeds benefited the Houston Food Bank’s Kids Cafe program.

2010 HOUSTON CULINARY AWARDS RESTAURATEUR OF THE YEAR

Alex Brennan-Martin (Brennan’s, Bistro Alex) CHEF OF THE YEAR

Chris Shepherd (Catalan) UP-AND-COMING CHEF OF THE YEAR

age 35 or younger David Cordúa, 28 (Americas) OUTSTANDING WINE SERVICE

The Tasting Room PASTRY CHEF OF THE YEAR includes breadmakers Ruben Ortega (Hugo’s, Backstreet Cafe)

4

OUTSTANDING BAR SERVICE

Capital Grille SERVICE PERSON OF THE YEAR

includes dining room managers Sean Beck (Backstreet Cafe, Hugo’s, Trevísio) HOUSTON CLASSIC in business for 10 or more years Carrabba’s BEST INTERIOR DESIGN

Américas (The Woodlands) BEST NEW RESTAURANT opened after June 1, 2009 Haven

5

6

2010 LEGENDS OF HOUSTON RESTAURANTS AWARD HONOREES

The Mandola Brothers — Vincent, Tony & Damian 2010 HOUSTON FOODIE STAR AWARDS FAVORITE ETHNIC

Fadi’s Mediterranean Grill (Middle Eastern) FAVORITE BAKERY

French Riviera Bakery & Cafe FAVORITE BARBECUE

Goode Co. Texas Bar-B-Que FAVORITE BREAKFAST

The Buffalo Grille

7

FAVORITE BURGER

Becks Prime FAVORITE COFFEEHOUSE

Empire Cafe

9

FAVORITE HOUSTON FOOD BLOG

Cook’s Tour (Alison Cook) FAVORITE FOOD TRUCK/CART

Little Miss Cupcake FAVORITE LATE NIGHT SPOT

serves food after 11 pm

House of Pies FAVORITE MIXOLOGIST

Sean Beck (Hugo’s, Backstreet Cafe, Trevisio)

8

FAVORITE OUTDOOR DINING

Backstreet Cafe 4 Tony Mandola (right) with son Tom, daughters Gabriella and Sophia, and wife Phyllis 5 C. Sam Ray (Republic National Distributing) and Damian Mandola 6 Michael Cordúa (Américas), wife Lucia and son David 7 The Haven gang: Rhea

Wheeler, Bryan Davis, Kevin Naderi, Kathryne Castellanos and chef Randy Evans with Teresa Byrne-Dodge (My Table) and Chris Tripoli (À La Carte Foodservice Consulting) 8 David Kiser (right, Central Market) and partner Alan Josoff 9 Ice sculpture by Reverend Butter

FAVORITE SUPERMARKET

Central Market FAVORITE PUB OR BAR

Anvil FAVORITE SWEETS/ICE CREAM

The Chocolate Bar FAVORITE WINE SELLER

Spec’s

B A C K B I T E S H O U S T O N

Figure-Friendly Fast Food

By Renee Bruner You may have noticed a slew of health-food stores popping up around town that offer grab-and-go nutritious meals as alternatives to fast food and bagged lunches. With so many options available, we wondered, “Which health food store reigns supreme?” Bellies rumbling, we set out on a quest to eat at least two selections from each establishment. We also decided to limit our budget at each store to $10, about what we typically spend for a quick weekday lunch. Here is what we found:

brown rice, smooth black beans and crunchy roasted vegetables, all wrapped in a silky spinach wrap. The star of the show, however, was the tenderloin, which offered a burst of tangy flavor and a savory chew to the wrap. Our one request? More beef, please! After the yummy wrap, the tofu-like migas topped with soggy tortilla chips was disappointing, but we enjoyed the Austin-made snack bar — you would never know that it contains fish oil.

www.myfitfoods.com 12 locations in Houston 7 drop-off locations throughout Houston

Although we pre-ordered online, you can simply stop in and grab something from the glass display cases that line the storefront. We chose the tenderloin spinach wrap ($3.75), Luis’ Migas ($4.25) and an Oatmega Blueberry and Pomegranate Crunch Bar ($1.50). The spinach wrap came cut on a bias with orange and apple slices and a mustard packet on the side. We enjoyed the variations in texture from the chewy

corrections

Overlooked in our Mandola Family Tree on pages 42-43 in the OctoberNovember 2010 issue: Tom Mandola, Tony’s son, works at Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen.

In e Ice Box Chronicles: A Look Inside Rebecca Masson’s Fridge on pages 20-21 of the same issue, we mistakenly included Bryan Caswell and Reef as part of Rebecca’s work history. “I didn't work for him,” emailed Rebecca. “It should have been Ryan Pera that I was talking to about the [olive oil angel food cake] dessert flop that we loved.”

TOTAL COST: $9.40

TOTAL COST: $9.50 TRU MEALS SMART MEALS

MY FIT FOODS

items that totaled less than $10 and weren’t straight from the supermarket (or so we believed). Our 1200-Calorie Garden Vegetable Frittata had good flavor and a light, fluffy texture, but it became watery after microwaving, and the portion size (roughly the size of our Blackberry) did not live up to the $4.95 price tag. The 1200-Calorie Wheat Bagel ($4.45) offered another disappointment, tasting store-bought and served on a Styrofoam plate with a banana and a small container of cream cheese. Next time, we’ll just go to the grocery store and, for the same price, buy a whole box instead.

www.smartmeals.com 2 locations in Houston

Although not the cheapest grab-and-go chain, Smart Meals offers a variety of gluten-free options and deceptively healthful meals to patrons. Take for example the mac & cheese ($3.95), made with sweet potato to add creaminess without extra fat. We were intrigued. But after tasting the tiny bland serving, we found it hard to believe that not one of the three cheeses that it purportedly contained contributed any flavor. On a lighter note, Amy’s Amazing Springrolls with Shrimp ($5.50) were fresh and light, with perfectly-tender shrimp, zesty cilantro and mint, a chewy tapioca wrap and a tangy sauce with a touch of chili garlic paste for heat.

TOTAL COST: $9.45

www.trumeals.com 3 locations in Houston 7 pick-up locations

Glass displays of pre-packaged meals line the wall, and an island of healthful grocery items takes center stage at Tru Meals’ Farnham Road location.

Tantalized by the offering of buffalo (“the other red meat”), we chose the small buffalo chili ($3.50) and the tasty-sounding shrimp butternut squash salad ($5.95). To our Texan palates, the chili had good flavor but was lacking in spice. However, the chef ’s choice of cubing the buffalo rather than grinding it lent the chili a nice chewiness. As for the salad, we found the shrimp to be a touch overcooked, but the squash paired with it nicely, lending sweetness and softness. The dressing had a great lime-y tang, but we didn’t see the point of the loose peanuts, which were soggy from the squash’s moisture. Overall, we enjoyed the pairing, but we don’t know if the portion was quite worth the cost.

EPICUREAN LITE

TOTAL COST: $9.45

www.epicureangroup.net 4400 Memorial Dr., 713-860-0041

REAL MEALS 365

Tucked away in an apartment complex off Memorial near Shepherd, Epicurean Lite’s unassuming kitchens may be hard to find, and we assume that it specializes more in delivery than grab-and-go meals. After perusing the frankly expensive menu, populated with namebrand products like Egg Beaters, Quaker and Wheat-Light, we finally found two

18 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

realmeals365.com 300 Shepherd Dr., 713-668-REAL (7325)

Don’ t blink, or you’ll miss it. This small storefront near Shepherd’s intersection with I-10 may be hard to spot if you’re zipping along with the rest of the car herd, so keep an eye out for the large, bright Real Meals 365 sign.

Inside are few display cases for grab-

and-go food, so we assume that most orders are made over the internet, as ours was. We picked up the barbecue chicken pizza ($2.99) and the Mongolian rice bowl ($6.99). The pizza, promoted as a snack, was about the size of a pop tart and very messy and crumbly, reminiscent of a Lunchables pizza. Although the sauce had good flavor, the chicken was ground, sparse and flavorless, and the overall texture was dry and powdery. Next we tried the rice bowl, which had a nice tang and spiciness, but we found that, like the pizza, it simply wasn’t worth the price that we paid.

TOTAL COST: $9.98 SNAP KITCHEN

www.snapkitchen.com 3600 Kirby, 713-526-5700

In its new location next to The Dessert Gallery, Snap Kitchen offers the perfect healthful precursor to a decadent cupcake. A word of advice: If you see something from the online menu that you want, call ahead first, as the store is relatively new and did not have all menu items available upon our visit. Bypassing the make-your-own salad bar, we perused our options and discovered a couple of trends (think gluten-free meals and quinoa) before deciding on the peanut butter “cheesecake” ($3.75) and the portobello mushroom wrap ($6.25). The gluten-free, dairy-free cheesecake actually contained no cheese but tasted delicious.

With a creamy peanut butter filling and a pecan, date and coconut crust, every bite was an explosion of rich peanutcoconut perfection. Although the portion size was small, we could forgive Snap Kitchen because it was simply that delicious. Expecting our next dish to be a letdown after our magnificent starter (yes, we ate dessert first), we were more than pleasantly surprised by our wrap. Intensely flavorful sautéed portobello mushrooms, carrots and onions mingled with crunchy spinach leaves, tangy goat cheese and a slick of sun-dried tomato pesto, all encased in a wheat tortilla. Just like the cheesecake, the wrap offered the perfect combination of textures and flavors, resulting in a ridiculously tasty meal.

TOTAL COST: $10

19 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

B A C K B I T E S

grow your own guacamole

H O U S T O N

A casual party in our town wouldn’t be complete without a bowl of guacamole.

Where is the nearest place to find those ready-to-mash avocados? If you are thinking your own backyard, you win the party prize.

Yes indeed, Mexican hardy avocado trees are not only beautiful evergreen trees, but they produce excellent quality avocados. This is not the Hass avocado that many people try to grow from seed but very cold-tolerant thin-skinned varieties that are better suited to our climate. When your friends rave about your avocado dip, wouldn’t it be fun to tell them that you grew the avocados right out back?

How do you do it? Grab a tree — all you need is one. Plant it where it can spread out in a good sunny location. Give it water when it’s thirsty, and feed it once a year. It couldn’t be easier.

Many fruit trees are easy to grow in metro Houston. They require little care and yield big results. Urban Harvest makes the selection reliable by bringing you the best fruit tree varieties for our area.

So save the date now for the largest one-day fruit-tree sale in the United States.

Additionally, if your thumb isn’t already green, attend one of the pre-sale talks. See the details on the opposite page.

ISON MUSCADINE GRAPE

ORANGE UJUKITSU

NAM DOC MAI MANGO

WHAT KIND OF FRUIT TREE SHOULD YOU PLANT?

Pomegranate … For the flavor-loving foodie with a seedy side.

Are you wondering what fruit tree is just right for you? We want to help. With the help of the Urban Harvest team, we’ve delved into a few personality profiles and selected a tree to match.

Orange … Appeals to those who are patient and like to do things slowly but thoroughly.

Avocado … A natural for the friendly person who revels in life’s lush ripeness but has a rock-hard core.

Banana … Ideal for the secure type fine with their public persona being peeled back to reveal a softer side.

Grape … Preferred by those possessing a warm gregarious nature.

Fig … Will suit the laid-back, easygoing person who demands little attention.

Lemon … For the attention-grabbing tart who needs only a little salt and tequila to get feisty.

Blackberry … Plant these if you see the humorous side of life in prickly situations.

Star fruit … Will grow well for those with a need to be the life-of-the-party; withers around cold people.

Blueberry … Perfect if you’re a fashion plate with an eye for color coordination and a taste for the berry best in life.

Pear … For the connoisseur of all things crisp and complex.

20 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

URBAN HARVEST FRUIT TREE SALE PLACE

Robertson Stadium on the University of Houston campus, Scott St. at Holman DATE

January 15, 2011 TIME

9 am to 1 pm, or until sold out MORE DETAILS

www.urbanharvest.org

PRE-SALE FRUIT-TREE TALKS conducted by Heidi Sheesley and Ray Sher PLACE

United Way of Greater Houston, 50 Waugh at Memorial Dr. DATES

Tuesday, January 4 (7 to 9:30 pm) Saturday, January 8 (2 to 4:30 pm) ADMISSION

$15 at the door

21 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

C H R O N I C L E S B O X I C E T H E

a look inside

Morgan Weber’s Fridge

by Renee Bruner

As owner of Revival Meats, Morgan Weber is a pig pioneer in the Houston restaurant world, introducing quality, locally raised pork to our palates. In light of his recent announcement that he will pair up with chef Ryan Pera (formerly of The Grove) to open his own meat store, Revival Market, Weber invited us into his bacon-scented home and gave us a view inside both his life and his fridge.

HOW DID YOU GET INTO THE PORK BUSINESS?

We have had land in our family since the 1870s. Stacy and I got married a few years ago, and we started shopping at farmers’ markets. That was in 2005, 2006. There wasn’t a whole lot going on at farmers’ markets then. After we helped open Anvil, the cocktail place on Westheimer, we just got a lot of friends in the industry, and there was a demand for quality pork. We had this family land, and we were more aware of where all the food came from, and we just decided to jump in with both feet and start raising pigs for better or for worse.

turn it into butter and yogurt, so their butter is fantastic. As much as I like lard, I still like butter a lot.

WHAT’S ALWAYS IN YOUR FRIDGE?

Really good butter and really good lard.

Lucky Layla Farms is a dairy out of Plano, and they do grass-fed milk and

A really nice, cured, dried piece of ham, like prosciutto-style ham or country ham.

DO YOU HAVE A GUILTY PLEASURE?

Yeah, chili con queso. I could call it a day and eat myself silly on that.

WHAT IS YOUR FAVORITE THING TO MAKE AT HOME?

Really good biscuits with lard and buttermilk.

WHAT ELSE?

a

There’s always some cheese in my fridge, and there are always eggs. And I love ketchup, so always that or barbecue sauce.

b

IF YOU HAD TO EAT ONE FOOD FOR THE REST OF YOUR LIFE, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

Ice cream. All kinds.

AND IF YOU COULD ONLY SERVE

THE NEXT TREND IN MEAT PRODUCTS?

I would like people to start focusing on quality of ingredients. I mean, it’s really easy to raise a pig, cow or chicken just to get it to market weight, but there aren’t a lot of people focusing on quality right now. So I would like to see restaurants prioritize, not just using local products but using quality local products. It gives farmers more incentive to develop a better product. I would hope that quality is the next big thing.

ONE MEAT PRODUCT TO YOUR CUSTOMERS, WHAT WOULD IT BE?

d

the fridge

e

A Lucky Layla Farms butter and eggs B True Blonde ale C Blue Heron Farm cajeta D E F G H

(goat’s milk caramel sauce) cheese organic ketchup various barbecue sauces oranges, plums and apples Nocino Della Cristina walnut liqueur

22 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

c

g

f

h

I grew up a really picky eater. I took peanut butter and jelly sandwiches to school from first grade to seventh grade, at which point I branched out to ham, cheese and mustard, crusts cut off. I was annoyingly picky, the guy you didn’t want to go out to eat with. Now, my mom, anytime I tell her what we had at dinner or what we tried at somebody’s house, when it’s outside the normal, she gets really angry and says to me, “You would never eat that when you were growing up.”

WHERE DO YOU SEE YOUR BUSINESS IN FIVE YEARS?

We’re getting ready to open Revival Market in the Heights, and I would really like to see that grow into a concept that can be replicated elsewhere. And I would hope that the infrastructure of the farm would be a lot more significant.

Right now, within the year we’ll go through 100 pigs. In 2011, I would like to see that increase and in 2012, quadruple. Also I would like to get more diverse on the farm level, like cattle, lambs, pigs, chickens, poultry, all different kinds together in one symbiotic relationship. We’re not quite there yet, but we will be once we hire more hands.

Because right now, I’m it, and my dad keeps things going, but over the next year or two years, I can see that growing a lot. With Revival Market, it’s just one of those things where we have no idea what to expect, but we hope that people get it and that they enjoy it.

FAVORITE CUT OF MEAT?

I really like bacon and the belly. There’s so much that you can do with it, so the belly of the pig is probably my favorite part.

YOUR BIGGEST HOME-CHEF MISTAKE?

I spent a day making stock on the stove, and I put my strainer in the sink and strained all of my stock down the drain. I forgot to put a pot under it.

fairly recently, and we had just gotten some meat back from a new processor. He’d cut ham steaks for us, and they were fresh, uncured.

Ham steaks that people are used to down here have been cured and salted, and you just fry them in the skillet and maybe add a little cane syrup or whatever. But these were uncured, and I had no idea what I was going to do with them, so I put them in the skillet with a little orange juice. It got so disgusting and tough that the more you chewed it, the bigger it got. I don’t know if our friends realized how bad it was, but I wanted to just throw it away and ask, “Does anybody want to eat some ramen?”

CHERISHED COOKBOOK?

Probably The River Cottage Meat Book.

It’s a guy out of England, Hugh Fearnley-Whittingstall, and he has a place called River Cottage and a completely diverse farm, and they grow everything. I think there’s a restaurant on site, and he does a lot of broadcasting in England on the radio, and he’s just a fantastic cook. He’s got a whole series of cookbooks. It’s all just really solid cooking recipes, solid technique, and that’s what I’m into right now.

DO YOU GROW ANYTHING (E.G. GARDEN, BALCONY, WINDOW SILL)?

We’ve got some olives growing in the back, and behind the garage are tomatoes and herbs, of course.

Seasonally, we’ll change that up to cucumbers, carrots and lettuce in winter. Then on the side of the house we’ve got about a dozen citrus trees and half a dozen apples, plums and peaches.

So yeah, we grow as much as we can on our tiny little real estate in the Heights.

FAVORITE KITCHEN GADGET?

WORST DISH YOU EVER CREATED?

We had some people over for dinner

Good Japanese knives that are razor sharp.

23 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

PHOTO BY RENEE BRUNER

TELL US SOMETHING THAT MOST PEOPLE WOULDN’T KNOW ABOUT YOU.

LEAST FAVORITE FOOD?

The whole category of vegetables is still one of those things that I just don’t ever sit down and think, “God, I just want a plate of broccoli right now.” I mean, I’ll eat it if it’s there, and I like salads. But certain vegetables, I just really don’t like.

And I hate bananas. I don’t like to smell them, and I don’t like to eat them.

FOOD/WINE WORLD INSPIRATION?

I’ve got a lot of friends in the restaurant industry, and one of my favorite things is when we hang out and cook. I learn so much from watching how they cook and the thought processes that are going on in their heads. I’m constantly looking over their shoulder and thinking, “So that’s how you do it!”

HOW DO YOU FEEL ABOUT HOT DOGS?

Love them. We’ll have hot dogs at the shop, really good hot dogs. Commercially, I’m not going to go eat Oscar Mayer. But when they’re made well, it’s pretty unAmerican not to really like hot dogs.

Nueske’s hot dogs that you can buy at Central Market are awesome. They’re really smoky and just delicious.

Renee Bruner is a My Table intern and Rice University sophomore. A hot dog fan for life, she looks forward to sampling links (with ketchup, of course) at Revival Market in the near future.

K I T C H E N T H E

Barks, Brats and Bloggers

M A N

A B O U T

by Mark G Hanna

When Man About the Kitchen requested questions and stories about restaurant behavior, he had no idea it was attune to asking General Custer about travel tips for Little Big Horn.“How did you find the locals, sir?” While the stories and incidents are all true, some questions are compiled from comments or created with artistic license. If you care to participate, please email mtexas1969@aol.com.

Dear MAK: I am writing in spite of the fact that your past columns indicate you are pretty much an old-fashioned person. The subject is on tweeting and blogging. Recently while dining out with friends in a nice restaurant, I was told off by the restaurant manager, telling me that in respect to other diners

I should turn off my cell phone (it was actually an iPad — duh!). I was embarrassed and a little pissed but did what he asked so there wouldn’t be a big scene. What I wrote later will certainly hurt that restaurant’s business. Isn’t it time this restaurant got with it? This is what people do now,

and it can be good for business. I am sure how you will respond, but maybe restaurants will still get the message.

Unless you just want old people in your restaurant, treat us with respect.

— Support Our Bloggers Dear S.O.B.: Goodness, MAK is likewise appalled at the ancient restaurant manager who so belittled your iPad by referring to it as a cellular telephone. It is hoped that you have recovered from the indignity.

As to the subject of your email, you have quite correctly identified this as a clash of generational ideologies. All about me versus respect for others, doing what one wants now versus a time and place for everything and self

FLAMING CHRISTMAS PLUM PUDDING WITH SAUCE What better time to be old-fashioned than around the winter holidays? This recipe for Flaming Plum Pudding (there’s nary a plum in it, but who are we to argue with tradition?) comes directly from an older recipe used during the time of Charles Dickens when he wrote A Christmas Carol. The dish is mentioned in the story. In the time of Ebenezer Scrooge, coins were scattered into the batter, and the person who bit into one supposedly had good luck, especially if he or she did not break a tooth.

1 cup ground suet (beef or mutton fat — there is no substitute so ask your butcher) 1 cup raisins 2 cups bread crumbs, plain ½ cup chopped nuts (preferably walnuts, but pecans can be used) 1 cup sugar ½ cup milk 1 beaten egg ½ tsp. soda ½ tsp. cinnamon ½ tsp. each, ground cloves, allspice, salt ½ cup Cognac, warmed

METHOD FOR THE PUDDING: Half-fill a very large pot such as a lobster pot with water and bring to a boil.

While the water is heating, mix all ingredients except the Cognac and pour the batter into a greased pudding mold or greased (1 to 2 quart) metal bowl. Bowl should be about half full of batter.

Cover the mold or bowl with a lid or with foil. Steam in the large pot for 2 hours, adding more water as needed.

Remove the pudding from the pot, let cool slightly and unmold. Pour warmed Cognac over it and ignite. Serve with sauce (below).

SAUCE

2 egg yolks 1 cup confectioner’s sugar ½ cup whipping cream vanilla rum or sherry, optional METHOD: Beat the egg yolks, adding the sugar and continuing to beat until smooth. Whip the cream until curls form, and then fold into egg mixture. Fold in the vanilla and rum or sherry.

24 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

glorification versus restraint are a few things that come to mind.

Let us address the respect issue to begin with, as it was the point raised by the restaurant manager. It is doubtful this manager actually took it upon himself to approach you regarding your brightly lit apparatus, but more likely he was asked by another diner to do so.

Since part of that manager’s responsibility is for each of his guests to enjoy his dining establishment, one guest making other guests uncomfortable is something that must be addressed.

While you may have felt your “silent” tapping was not observed, take it from MAK, it most certainly was. He would compare your actions to that of a working lighthouse along a dark sea.

When MAK was young (that was when an iPad was a crude misspelling of the chart in an optometrist’s office), homes had rooms exclusively for dining, for lounging, for cooking and for entertaining guests. Since that time, homes have combined them all into large, all-purpose rooms openly attached to the kitchen. He drags out his past to make the point that, raised in this latter circumstance, you understandably might be confused that certain places exist for certain things. Nice restaurants, such as the one you describe, are for dining and socializing — socializing in the old-fashioned sense of people communicating via mouth and ear while in each other’s physical presence.

Tweeting and blogging in such a place are simply inappropriate activities, not unlike reading a good novel during church service (though MAK admittedly would much rather piss off a restaurant manager than God).

In his old-fashioned way, MAK does not understand any reason to be involved in your activity when the alternative is to enjoy a fine restaurant and friends. Just think how much more you can tweet about having not missed anything while twittering. The mind boggles.

And while he is certain you have countless friends and fans waiting breathlessly for an update on your life (excluding the ones you are ignoring at the table), MAK must ask, is the immediacy of its transfer really that

25 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

Dear MAK: A friend I had not seen in a long time agreed to join me for dinner at a restaurant of her choosing. It was an Italian restaurant, very small, and it was not very busy the night we met. I am not wild about Italian food but have a very simple recipe for preparing noodles that I enjoy. I brought it with me, presented it to the waiter and asked that they prepare it while they prepared the dish my friend ordered from the menu. The waiter agreed to do it without any fuss, but my friend was appalled. She is still upset about it weeks later. We both ended up with meals we enjoyed, so I do not see why she has a problem.

— Diner in Pearland

taste your food after it comes to you from the kitchen. Maybe not necessary advice, but sound.

Goodness. Your actions do show a truly incredible sense of originality and bravado. It is certainly fortunate you possess such a lack of sensitivity, as the responses you may well get to this request from many restaurants could otherwise hurt your feelings, if not your physical well being. Perhaps it is strictly concern for your safety that has your friend upset.

For discussion, MAK might point out that the vast majority of restaurants tend to have their own way of preparing dishes. Possibly, as far out as this may sound to you, the whole idea of you wishing to use their buildings, dining ware, staff and kitchens to fix your Aunt Zelda’s Pasta Supreme might be taken as an insult, rather than the compliment to their abilities that it is. Just a thought.

May we suggest you don’t try this with a French chef?

Dear D.I.P.: MAK is struggling to get up off the floor, but what he thinks is that your friend would be wise never to

Dear MAK: I am furious. Isn’t there a law against having dogs in eating establishments? I went to a casual cafe

important? He will not open the discussion on how this allows you to blast your critics and anyone else who upsets you but in no way have to respond to their questions of you. After all, you could be the governor of Texas.

and had my lunch on the patio. Very soon after I sat down, a couple came in with two large dogs. I don’t dislike dogs, but I definitely do not want them where I am eating. I complained to the hostess, but all she did was offer to move me inside, saying regular customers bring their dogs all the time. She added that she gets more complaints about kids. This is wrong!

— Ban All Dogs Dear Ms. B.A.D.: Were they tweeting?

Truthfully, if MAK were a judge, he would be forced to recuse himself from this discussion, as his mind is already quite firmly made up. Yes to dogs and children, but only if both are properly behaved (and dogs are still less irritating).

As in all cases, MAK observes that where dogs, children and adults are involved in actions that disturb other diners, then there is a problem that should be addressed. The mere presence of these does not count. Many people will point out that in Paris, dogs are allowed inside dining rooms and stores and do quite well. MAK was fortunate to visit Prague this summer, where dogs are treated so well, the ones in Paris would consider themselves in hard labor. He was much impressed at both their abundance and their behavior.

What should be banned in restaurants is bad behavior. Children should be quiet and seated. Dogs should be quiet, leashed and lying down. Children should be fed and watered at the restaurant. Dogs should not. Adults should go to training classes.

MAK is somewhat against having dogs on outdoor patios, however. That is where the smokers are.

Dear MAK: This is a silly question, but my college-aged son recently returned from a semester in Europe.

At a restaurant the other night, he took a slice of the offered bread and placed it on the table. There was no bread plate, but I instructed him to put the bread on his dinner plate. He said this is the way everyone does it in France. Before I could stop myself, I told him we are not Europe. It sounded just like my mother talking. Is he okay doing it the European way?

— Minding Our Manners

26 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

Dear Ms. M.O.M.: MAK is delighted to announce that your son is about to learn a universal truth acceptable on all sides of the big pond: Mother is always right.

With all our ingrained beliefs about European civility compared to American crassness where the rules of etiquette are concerned, more than one parent has discovered in horror how many hardfought manners accepted in the highest circles here are quickly abandoned as their progeny return from the Old Country. You may not be surprised to learn that bread is the worst of the revolutionaries.

Yes, in most of Europe, when there is no bread plate, bread is placed directly on the table. But as a wise woman once said, “We are not in Europe.” In the United States, bread sans bread plate is placed on the upper left-hand lip of the dinner plate.

To arm you a bit further, it is quite proper to break a bite-sized piece of bread in France and, using the fork, mop the plate at the end of a course. We must show more restraint here, allowing that sauce to go unmopped and off to the kitchen. And in France, bread is usually served throughout the meal with every course but dessert so there is no need to make once slice linger as we often do here.

In both countries, one should never take a bite from the whole piece of bread but rather break off pieces to butter and/or to eat.

And mind you, hands are always on the table while dining in France. Too often, MAK, hands by habit in his lap, has seen his host conspicuously counting the silver in contemplation of what is being hidden below the table.

Mouth-watering cuisine. Lively ambiance.

Great cocktails. Melt-off-the-bone steaks.

Traditional side dishes and delicious desserts, with a contemporary twist of sushi and an array of seafood make Mo’s … a Place for Steaks the perfect venue for any event.

1801 Post Oak Blvd. | Houston, TX | 713.877.0720 facebook.com/moshouston

www.MosRestaurants.com

Estate Grown Locally Owned “Ask for it at your favorite restaurant or wine retailer.”

William E. Gipson Pheasant Ridge Winery Texas High Plains

Mark G Hanna does not tweet or blog but peruses Facebook. He has an iPhone but admits there are far more icons on it than he has ever pushed. He pressed “Wallpaper” once while adding a room to his house. It made no sense. He travels a lot to places where English is not the primary language so that his everyday confusion seems less abnormal. In Houston, he is principal partner of Customer First, a restaurant and hospitality public relations firm.

Merry Christmas!

713-227-1003 www.pheasantridgewinery.com

27 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

Q U I Z I N E L O V E R ’ S F O O D

Chefs’ Secrets

by Micki McClelland

When Bohemian poet Rainer Maria Rilke wrote: “I want to be with those who know secret things,” he probably wasn’t thinking about chefs — or about the secret things that chefs know and we don’t.

Although civilians may get hip to a few morsels of insider chef information, can we ever truly know what goes on in the kitchen behind locked aprons?

Ace this quiz — and prove to everyone that you’ve lifted the bloody meat-juice-splattered skirt of professional cookery and peeked.

1 Ever tried to peel a pomegranate? If so, you know it’s a thankless, messy, irritating, stain-making pain that doesn’t seem worth the trouble. But for the pros, peeling pomegranates — to get to the luscious, healthful seeds — is a walk in the park. Now, look up from reading your My Table magazine, and tell whomever will listen the correct way to peel a pomegranate. (Hint: Don’t forget the ice.)

2 You’ve got a small, 9-inch frying pan.

What is the ideal amount of batter to put into that pan to make one perfect crêpe?

what’s your favorite HANGOVER CURE? “I had friends who swore by Midol. Yes, they were all women.

I don’t think I have any guy friends who would be man enough to take a Midol.”

GILLIAN KRUSE communications professional

For part two of question 2: Since we will flip our crêpe only once, how do we know when the time is right for flipping?

3 As the snaggle-toothed pirate captain rasped to his band of cutthroats: “X marks the spot, me hearties!” While the quest of those brigands was to find a treasure chest buried in the sand, our mission is to find the food that must be scored with an “X” before roasting.

(Hint: Omit the X step, and the items in question will explode.)

4 Below you will find a list of words and phrases that beg to be joined with the proper definition. Get 12 out of 12, and you deserve a Guard of Honour.

(Bonus: If you know what a Guard of Honour is in culinary terms, stick a chef ’s toque on your clever head.)

1. hard ball stage 2. jian 3. docking 4. kibbe 5. tablage 6. oreillette 7. yukhoe 8. maillard reaction 9. hundreds-and-thousands 11. kama 12. sofregit 13. magirics a. pricking pastry with the tines of a fork prior to cooking b. flipping molten chocolate with trowels, then cooling on marble slab c. the point in sugar cooking when the temperature reaches 149 degrees

28 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

d. shallow-pan sautéing thin slices of non-coated foods e. multi-colored sugar sprinkles used in cake decoration f. freshly ground lamb, bulgur, onions and spices, eaten raw or cooked g. process responsible for the color and flavors in various foods, such as fried onions and a crusty browned brioche h. an iron kettle or pot used in a Japanese tea ceremony i. Korean-style beef tartare j. a brittle fritter, flavored with orange blossom and dusted with sugar, that is shaped like a pig’s ear k. the art of cooking l. traditional Catalan recipe for slowcooked onions and tomatoes 5 When French chefs want to test the temperature of a large roasting cut of meat, they sometimes stick a metal skewer into the center of the roast for 15 seconds. Once it is removed, then what do French chefs do with the skewer?

(Hint: Both Charles Boyer and Maurice Chevalier were equipped with a protuberance necessary to complete the final step.)

6 How do you make an almond pop out of its shell?

7 A well-known — and often erroneously duplicated — recipe has been a closely guarded secret for more than 100 years. The chef who originated the recipe in 1899 entrusted the instructions only to his family, and for five generations the family has remained stubbornly mute on the subject. In an experiment conducted in 1986, several basic green ingredients were detected in the dish: parsley, puréed celery, chives, olive oil, Pernod

in 31 Th Ye e H ar eig s hts

and capers. It is assumed the original chef also added green food coloring to the dish to intensify its look of wealth and privilege. It was created at the time because the chef ’s restaurant (located in a lively U.S. Southern city) had not received its delivery of snails from France. What is the name of the restaurant, and what is the famous dish?

8 Why do professional chefs keep beurre manié on hand?

9 When seated at the Judges’ Table on Bravo network’s popular food series Top Chef, what does chef Tom Colicchio have secretly hidden between his legs?

Quizine writer Micki McClelland has put all 100 issues of My Table in a time capsule that is now buried in her yard.

Leaving instructions that the capsule should be unearthed in the year 2110, she imagines a lot of drooling will go on in the future. Congrats to My Table for acing that high C-note.

ANSWERS 1 Fill a deep bowl with cold water and ice cubes. Use a paring knife to score all around the exterior of a pomegranate.

Put the pomegranate in the ice water and leave it for 15 minutes. Put both hands into the ice water and start peeling off the skin (keeping hands under the water stops the thing from squirting you). As you scoop out the seeds with your hands, the seeds fall to the bottom of the bowl and the white, pulpy pieces of the pomegranate will float to the top.

Remove the pulp, drain off the water in a colander, and behold: a perfect pile of scarlet-red seeds.

2 Two tablespoons of batter make a lovely crêpe for a small pan. It’s time to flip when edges of the crêpe are brown and crispy.

3 Chestnuts are scored with an X before roasting to allow steam to escape during the cooking process. Maybe the most

aggravating of all foods to deal with, chestnuts need to be peeled while still warm. (Look at the burned fingertips of your favorite chef to discover if he or she is a chestnut peeler.)

4 1-c, 2-d, 3-a, 4-f, 5-b, 6-j, 7-i, 8-g, 9-e, 10-h, 11-l, 12-k

Guard of Honour is a classic lamb dish from Britain. Two racks of lamb are intertwined and roasted with wine and seasonings.

For a really big do, a savory stuffing is placed in the space between the interlocking joints.

5 To test for doneness, a French chef of the masculine persuasion will place the skewer against his sexy, protruding

French lower lip. If the Boyer lip finds the skewer warm, the roasting c’est fini!

6 Fresh almonds should be blanched in boiling water for one minute to ease the chore of extracting the almond from its

shell. But just like a dang chestnut, you must peel while the shell is still hot.

7 Descendants of Antoine Alciatore – founder of Antoine’s in New Orleans — have kept the recipe for Oysters

Rockefeller a secret since Antoine’s son, Jules, created the dish. The only hints they will reveal are: Jules did purée a number of green vegetables, but no spinach was used in the original. And cheese sauce was never a part of his recipe.

8 Made of equal parts butter and flour, little balls of beurre manié are kept piled in the fridge for chefs to use when a

sauce needs to be thickened at the last minute.

9 A gin & tonic

29 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

S T O R Y C O V E R

1◆ 0 ◆ 0

HOUSTON TASTEMAKERS LIST BY MY TABLE MAGAZINE & J.C. REID

Our Tastemakers column is one of the best-read articles in every edition of My Table. But at the rate we were going — profiling just one so-called tastemaker per issue, six a year — we would never catch all of them. So we decided to bulk up with this Tastemakers special edition. It wasn’t easy.

We agonized over this alphabetical list of 100 people — some new to the scene and some who have been around for years — who, at the close of 2010, most actively contribute to the flavors of Houston’s lively food community. It’s an ephemeral list and undoubtedly changing even as this issue lays on your coffee table or desk. So read it today. A month, a year, a decade from now it will be different.

CARY ATTAR Retailer HUBBELL & HUDSON

Retail impresario of The Woodlandsbased foodie mecca Hubbell & Hudson, Attar’s resume includes stints at other gourmet retailers like Dean & Deluca and Central Market.

SEAN BECK Wine, Beer, Spirits BACKSTREET CAFE

influential Urban Harvest non-profit group that promotes local and sustainable agriculture, Bowen oversees activities such as Houston’s largest farmers’ markets and urban gardens.

ALEX BRENNAN-MARTIN BRENNAN’S

Restaurateur

Sommelier and wine wizard at Hugo’s, Backstreet Cafe and Trevisio, Beck continues to garner awards for creative and thoughtful wine lists.

The latest in a long and storied line of restaurateurs in Texas and Louisiana, Brennan-Martin oversaw the rebuilding of Brennan’s restaurant after Hurricane Ike and also opened a new venture, Bistro Alex.

GEORGIA BOST Purveyor GEORGIA’S FARM-TO-MARKET

SARA BROOK Restaurateur; Baker DESSERT GALLERY

Far more than a rancher and grass-fed beef producer, Bost is also an accomplished ethnobotanist and a pioneer in sustainable agriculture.

Long before the cupcake craze swept through the U.S., Brook was spreading her love of everything chocolate and sweet to appreciative Houstonians.

MARK BOWEN Non-profit URBAN HARVEST

DAVID BUEHRER Purveyor GREENWAY COFFEE & TEA

Executive director of the increasingly

Buehrer has become the public face of

30 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

the gourmet coffee movement in Houston, pulling shots at his Greenway Plaza shop and taking it on the road to compete in barista competitions worldwide.

SYLVIA CASARES SYLVIA’S

Restaurateur; Chef

Building a restaurant around a TexMex classic like enchiladas seems like a no-brainer, and Casares has done just that with a menu of creative and classic enchiladas and other Tex-Mex favorites.

BRYAN CASWELL Restaurateur; Chef REEF/LITTLE BIG’S/STELLA SOLA

Houston’s own celebrity chef, Caswell backs up his reputation with a classical training in the culinary arts and a love of Gulf Coast seafood dishes that

incorporate many of Houston’s international influences. You saw him recently on The Next Iron Chef.

GRACIE CAVNAR Non-profit RECIPE FOR SUCCESS

Cavnar and Recipe for Success (R4S) teach schoolchildren about the value of healthy eating and nutrition with a program that encourages school gardens as well as local chefs teaching cooking skills in the schools.

DONALD CHANG

Restaurateur; Chef UPTOWN SUSHI

A trailblazer in Houston sushi restaurants, Chang currently presides (once again) over the see-and-be-seen Uptown Sushi with a menu of sushi classics and fusion dishes.

LUCKY CHOPRA

Restaurateur/Business

of restaurants LANDMARK HOUSTON HOSPITALITY GROUP

The head of LH2G, as it’s known, looks to Houston’s past for inspiration, buying up old buildings and recycling them into cool restaurants. Example: downtown’s Hearsay Gastro Lounge, located in Houston’s second oldest standing commercial building.

CHARLES CLARK & GRANT COOPER

Restaurateurs; Chef (Clark) IBIZA FOOD & WINE

One of the earliest entries into the redeveloped Midtown area, Grant and Cooper’s flagship restaurant introduced a sophisticated Mediterranean-inspired menu and wine to a downtown crowd.

ALISON COOK Media HOUSTON CHRONICLE

Houston’s longest-tenured restaurant critic, Cook continues to showcase Houston’s burgeoning food scene with blog posts and articles for the Chronicle.

growing stable of restaurants with consistently high-quality food and service, Cordúa continues to open restaurants with Latin American-inspired fare.

unexpected, but the proliferation of internationally staffed oil companies in the Westchase corridor has kept this restaurant humming.

MARK COX Restaurateur; Chef MARK’S AMERICAN CUISINE

NEIL DOHERTY SYSCO

Always rated as one of Houston’s very top restaurants, Cox’s temple (literally, it’s a former church) to New American cuisine continues to draw customers with consistent cooking and an ever-evolving menu.

Director of marketing specialists for Sysco, the Irish-born Doherty never says no when asked to help a worthy cause.

He has done much to humanize his ginormous employer.

RICKY CRAIG Restaurateur; Chef HUBCAP GRILL

RANDY EVANS HAVEN

In a crowded burger market, the alwaysexperimenting Craig is constantly coming up with new burgers (Philly cheesesteak, Texas BBQ, peanut butter and bacon) made from scratch with only the best ingredients.

One the earliest and most devoted practitioners of local food and the farmto-table movement, Evans has the perfect outlet for his cooking skills at Haven restaurant, which recently won a Houston Culinary Award for Best New Restaurant.

BEAR DALTON SPEC’S

Purveyor

Chef

Wine, Beer, Spirits

The enviable job of choosing and marketing wine for the state’s largest wine and spirits retailer falls to Dalton, who spends his time searching the globe for great wine as well as teaching classes in wine appreciation.

JOHN & SUZANNE FAIN MOVEABLE FEAST

Retailers

The Fains originated and maintain one of the few Houston outposts of food catering to vegans and vegetarians (and the health-conscious in general), with a focus on locally sourced products and organic ingredients.

MARCUS DAVIS

Restaurateur; Chef BREAKFAST KLUB

Known for long (but fast-moving) lines and a kicked-up soul food menu, Davis’ Midtown landmark is a breakfast and lunch destination for both locals and tourists alike.

ROBERT DEL GRANDE RDG + BAR ANNIE

Restaurateur; Chef

One of Houston’s earliest nationally recognized chefs and one of the originators of Southwest cuisine at the former Cafe Annie, Del Grande continues to produce new and old favorites at the swank RDG + Bar Annie.

DAVID & SYLVAIN DENIS

MICHAEL CORDÚA Restaurateur; Chef CORDÚA RESTAURANTS

Restaurateurs; Chef (David)

Arguably the Houston chef/restaurateur who has most successfully balanced a

Bringing rigorous and precise French cooking to far west Houston may be

LE MISTRAL

31 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

TILMAN FERTITTA LANDRY’S

Restaurateur

Love him or hate him (and his restaurants, which range from Rainforest Cafe to the exquisite Vic & Anthony’s), there are few individuals who have made more of an impact on the restaurant industry in Houston — or nationwide.

FAMILY FETOKAKIS NIKO NIKO’S

Restaurateur

Son Dimitri has taken over this Greek dynasty and transformed the flagship location on Montrose from a small takeout joint to a block-sized behemoth and added a new location downtown.

BILL FLOYD Restaurateur REEF/LITTLE BIG’S/STELLA SOLA

With a successful career in the hospitality

S T O R Y C O V E R

industry already under his belt, Floyd (with partner Bryan Caswell) continues to bring upscale dining to Houston, not to mention the slider shack Little Big’s.

best restaurants — Da Marco and Catalan — Gianola has influenced Houstonians’ taste in wine for more than a decade.

RANDY FOURNIER Non-profit HOUSTON FOOD & BEVERAGE MANAGERS

As president of the Houston Food & Beverage Managers Association, Fournier oversees one of Houston’s most active culinary professional organizations as well as associated scholarships for aspiring culinary professionals.

JEFF GALE Restaurateur BARNABY’S

Filling a niche for a casual, locally owned restaurant inside the Loop, Gale opened Barnaby’s in Montrose with a comfort food-inspired menu and expanded to breakfast with Baby Barnaby’s and lunch with Brown Bag Deli.

ANTONIO GIANOLA SOMMELIER

Wine, Beer, Spirits

Former sommelier at two of Houston’s

JIM & LEVI GOODE GOODE CO.

Restaurateurs; Chefs

JASON GOULD Chef CYCLONE ANAYA’S

The Australian-born Gould helmed a kitchen at Gravitas that was known for consistent cooking. Most recently (and unexpectedly), he took the job as research and development chef at the Tex-Mex chain, Cyclone Anaya’s.

BRIAN GREENE Non-profit HOUSTON FOOD BANK

No name is more synonymous with barbecue in Houston than Goode Company, and the Goode family shows no signs of slowing down in their flagship barbecue spot or their well-regarded seafood, taco and burger restaurants.

The largest source of food for hunger relief charities in 18 Southeast Texas counties feeds 137,000 people every week and distributes 65 million pounds of food every year. Greene has been CEO since 2005.

JIM GOSSEN Restaurateur; Purveyor LOUISIANA FOODS

ZIGGY GRUBER KENNY & ZIGGY’S

As one of the original partners in the Landry’s chain of restaurants (which was sold to Tilman Fertitta), Gossen is one of the most influential figures in the Cajuninspired cuisine of Houston. These days he is a big-league purveyor of seafood via Louisiana Foods.

Restaurateur

Thanks to Gruber, Houstonians don’t have to travel to New York City for authentic deli favorites like

Two Saints R E S T A U R A N T Unique Wines From Everywhere

Neighborhood Fine Dining BYOB

Chef’s Table – RSVP

❧ Wine Tastings Every Saturday at 3 pm ❧ Pizza Pairings every Tuesday ❧ Live Music Tues. – Sat. ❧ Appetizer Menu ❧ Private Parties ❧ Monthly Wine Dinners ❧ Happy Hour Open Until 5:55 $5 Food/$5 Wine M 4-9 Tu-Th 3-11 Fr-Sa 2-12 Wines for Here or Home

Dinner Mon-Sat 5 pm Catering Available

713-465-8967

Memorial Drive at Benignus

713-463-8463

www.twosaintsrestaurants.com

between Gessner & 8

www.vinewineroom.com

32 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

blintzes, pierogis and triple-smoked pastrami sandwiches.

continues to design spaces such as Dessert Gallery and Giacomo’s.

GEORGES & MONIQUE GUY

BOBBY HEUGEL Wine, Beer, Spirits ANVIL BAR & REFUGE

Restaurateurs; Chef (Georges) FRENCH RESTAURANTS

Long-time veterans of the French food scene in Houston, the Guys are behind some of the best-known French restaurants, including Bistro Provence, the now-defunct Chez Georges and, currently, La Brocante Cafe.

RAYMOND & GLADYS HAAK

Wine, Beer, Spirits WINEMAKERS

If there is a winemaker that Houston can claim as its own, the Haak family certainly qualifies with the first and only winery in nearby Galveston County.

KATHY HEARD ARCHITECT

Business of restaurants

One of the best-known restaurant designers in Houston, Heard made her reputation as the designer of Bertha’s Mexican restaurant on Montrose and

The classic cocktail movement is wellrepresented in Houston at the nationally recognized Anvil, where head “cocktail freak” Huegel mixes up classics like sazeracs and Pimm’s cups.

JACKSON HICKS Catering JACKSON AND COMPANY

When it comes to catering the biggest and most glamorous parties in Houston, Jackson Hicks still has the market cornered with a long-established reputation for fastidious attention to detail — and food that surpasses many restaurants.

ERIN HICKS MILLER Media COOKBOOK AUTHOR

Hicks Miller makes an ambitious effort to document the flavors and dishes of Houston, both past and present, with the recently released Houston Classic

33 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

O PEN CHRISTM AS DAY

Desserts and the upcoming Houston Classic Mexican.

MARK HOLLEY PESCE

Chef

Holley came to notoriety in Houston as a chef de cuisine at Brennan’s and eventually moved on to open the highly-regarded Pesce where he is known for great seafood dishes and offthe-menu fried chicken.

GIGI HUANG Restaurateur GIGI’S ASIAN BISTRO & DUMPLING BAR

Serving Traditional Christmas Turkey Dinner All Day 2316 S. SHEPHERD • 713-782-3030 • REDlIONHOuSTON.COM • TwITTER/@REDlIONPub

This slick, Asian-fusion joint in The Galleria is the latest from long-time Houston restaurateur Huang, whose family has operated Chinese restaurants in Houston since the 1970s.

MISHO IVIC Purveyor MISHO’S OYSTER CO.

Everyone knows the best oysters come from Galveston Bay, and some of the best oysters in Houston are supplied by Croatian-American Ivic, a 30-year veteran of Galveston Bay oyster fishing.

Party Cloths fine linen rentals since 1985

ANITA JAISINGHANI INDIKA

Restaurateur; Chef

Jaisinghani’s Indika Restaurant takes Indian food in Houston to new heights with a progressive/fusion menu that includes foie gras and masala, tandoori quail and crabmeat samosas. Look for her soon-to-open Pondicheri in the West Ave development.

ROBERT JUCKER Baker THREE BROTHERS BAKERY

1102 Autrey Street off Montrose 713.523.0853 partyclothshouston.com

Visit our showroom/warehouse 9 am to 5 pm Monday through Friday PHOTO: D. JONES

34 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

The Jucker family started baking more than 200 years ago in Chrzanow, Poland, and Houston is fortunate to have the latest generation baking Eastern European delicacies from scratch.

AVI KATZ Purveyor KATZ COFFEE

This University of Houston grad learned the coffee trade at Lola Savannah and Fontana roasters before starting his own company, which distributes only the good stuff to local coffee houses and restaurants.

RICHARD KNIGHT & JAMES SILK

Restaurateurs; Chefs FEAST

Feast’s novel and virtually unheard-of noseto-tail concept gained national and local notoriety and introduced Houstonians with an adventurous palate to the wonders of bath chaps and cock-a-leekie.

FLOYD LANDRY FLOYD’S

Restaurateur

One of the original Landry brothers who brought the tradition of Tex-Cajun cuisine to Houston, Landry keeps the good time rolling at his crawfish and shrimp emporiums in Webster and Pearland.

JERRY LASCO & JONATHAN HOROWITZ

Restaurateurs; Wine, Beer, Spirits THE TASTING ROOM

In what has become a crowded field, wine retailers Lasco and Horowitz stand out with a welcoming and accessible series of wine shops/cafes that are known for high quality, reasonably priced wines and consistently good food.

KAISER LASHKARI HIMALAYA

Restaurateur; Chef

The voluble Lashkari’s outsized personality fits perfectly with the large portions and spicy flavors of arguably Houston’s best Indo/Pak restaurant.

ROLAND LAURENZO Restaurateur LAURENZO’S GRILLE

Following in the footsteps of his legendary “mother of Tex-Mex” Ninfa Laurenzo, son Roland continues to produce quality Tex-Mex at his El Tiempo Cantina locations as well as upscale fare at the newish Laurenzo’s Grille.

ALAIN & MARIE LENÔTRE Education CULINARY INSTITUTE LENÔTRE

A scion of one of France’s most famous culinary families, Alain along with wife

35 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

S T O R Y C O V E R

Marie arrived in Houston in 1981 and opened their own retail and wholesale bakeries. They followed up with their highly respected culinary school in 1998.

chef is a hired gun for many of Houston’s best restaurants, either consulting on menu ideas or creating one-of-a-kind desserts for special dinners.

JONATHAN LEVINE Restaurateur; Chef JONATHAN’S THE RUB

ELIE & ALBERT MASSOUD EURO-MID IMPORTS

Chef/owner Levine is among the growing number of Houston restaurateurs who encourage customers to bring their own wine to enjoy with ambitious and decidedly upscale cooking.

One of the biggest distributors of European and Mediterranean imports in Houston, the Massouds are responsible for providing Houston restaurants and shops with some of the world’s best olive oil, pastas and pantry staples.

GERARDO LOPEZ Restaurateur; Chef GERARDO’S DRIVE-IN

They’re still wheeling the cow heads into the back of Gerardo’s on the weekends.

Lopez uses them to create the meaty, creamy, Mexican dish known as barbacoa.

FAMILY MANDOLA Restaurateurs MANDOLA RESTAURANTS

Brothers Damian, Vincent and Tony continue to open, own and operate some of the most recognizable Italian restaurants throughout Houston and Texas, including the original Carrabba’s, Damian’s, Vincent’s and Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen.

AL MARCUS Purveyor THE GRATEFUL BREAD

A favorite of farmers’ market denizens and Houston foodies alike, Marcus creates soulful, hand-crafted artisan food products such as maple-cured and smoked bacon, andouille sausage and aged Worcestershire sauce.

FEDERICO MARQUES Restaurateur RUGGLES GREEN

Marques took a long-established brand — Ruggles — and reinvented it by making it go “green.” Mere fashion? A deep commitment? Either way, being environmentally conscious is finally cool in the Houston restaurant world.

281-496-9443 Mon – Thurs 11 am – 9 pm Fri – Sat 11 am – 10 pm CLOSED SUNDAY 12513 Westheimer @ Dairy Ashford www.andrearistorante.com

REBECCA MASSON Baker PASTRY CHEF

Purveyors

GREG MORAGO Media HOUSTON CHRONICLE

The food editor at the Houston Chronicle is a relative newcomer to Houston but arrived just in time to document the burgeoning food scene that has made Houston one of the most exciting culinary landscapes in the country.

PAULA MURPHY Media PATTERSON & MURPHY PUBLIC RELATIONS

The ultimate insider when it comes to Houston’s restaurant industry, Murphy is a respected and seasoned PR veteran representing many of Houston’s best and most high-profile restaurants.

YOUSSEF NAFAA Restaurateur BELLA RESTAURANTS

One of the few restaurateurs to make a commitment to the early days of a redeveloped downtown, Nafaa opened Mia Bella on Main Street, thrived and opened several more locations of the casual Italian restaurant.

HUGO ORTEGA HUGO’S

Restaurateur; Chef

Hugo’s has become a Houston institution powered by a flavorful and traditional menu of Mexican classics, superb cocktails and margaritas and an epic Sunday brunch, all consistently well executed.

CHRIS & HARRIS PAPPAS

Restaurateurs

Affectionately referred to as Houston’s “sugar hooker,” this classically-trained pastry

36 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

PAPPAS RESTAURANTS

It all started with a Dot Coffee Shop in downtown Houston (one still exists on the Gulf Freeway), which begat a restaurant empire that includes Pappadeaux’s,

Pappasito’s, Pappas BBQ and Pappas Bros. Steakhouse.

CHRISTOPHE PAUL Restaurateur CAFE RABELAIS/BRASSERIE MAX & JULIE

One of the best-kept secrets of the Houston food scene is the high level of French cooking that can be found at Paul’s two restaurants. Great French wine lists, too.

CHRIS PERRY Restaurateur PERRY’S RESTAURANTS

The first Perry’s butcher shop opened in 1979 under the direction of Bob Perry, and as the years went by son Chris expanded into casual “market and grille” restaurants as well as the high-end Perry’s Steakhouse chain.

CLARENCE PIERSON Restaurateur; Chef PIERSON & CO. BBQ

There are few Houston pit masters as dedicated to the art of smoking meat as Clarence Pierson, whose barbecued brisket, ribs and sausage are consistently ranked as tops in the city.

LARRY PLOTSKY Business of restaurants PLOTSKY GROUP

If location, location and location are the three most important factors in the success of a restaurant, real estate agent Plotsky has had a huge influence in procuring prime space for some of Houston’s best restaurants.

MONICA POPE

Restaurateur; Chef T’AFIA

Arguably the most recognizable chef in Houston, Pope continues a long and nationally recognized career dedicated to locally sourced ingredients prepared creatively and confidently.

C. SAM RAY Wine, Beer, Spirits REPUBLIC NATIONAL DISTRIBUTING

There aren’t many purveyors more plugged-in than Ray. This long-time liquor distributor knows all the players and all the history of Houston restaurants.

He’s also an angel to non-profit groups.

Creating Culinary Opportunities

37 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

S T O R Y C O V E R

MIKE RICCETTI Media INDEPENDENT FOOD JOURNALIST

Riccetti has been writing about Houston food long before the bloggers arrived on the scene, with a popular book under his belt (Houston Dining on the Cheap), as local editor for the Zagat Survey and now online food columnist for examiner.com, as well as frequent contributor to My Table.

ARNALDO RICHARDS PICO’S MEX-MEX

Restaurateur; Chef

In a city awash in Tex-Mex restaurants, Richards has thrived on creating authentically Mexican dishes such as tamales oaxaqueños, pollo en mole poblano and chiles en nogada.

ALBERT ROUX

Restaurateur; Chef

Celsius take the time to discern the customer’s tastes before recommending a wine from the diverse selection.

LINDSEY SCHECHTER Purveyor HOUSTON DAIRYMAIDS

As Houston continues to attract artisanal food producers, Schechter stands out as the best-known cheese distributor with her Texas handmade cheeses available at Houston’s farmers’ markets and best restaurants.

KERI SCHMIDT Non-profit GRAND WINE & FOOD AFFAIR

There’s no shortage of food and wine festivals in Houston, but Schmidt’s Grand Food and Wine Affair brings some of Houston and Texas’ best chefs and winemakers to Sugar Land every April.

CHEZ ROUX

In the short time since Roux, one of the world’s foremost French chefs, set up shop at the La Torretta resort on Lake Conroe, Houstonians have enjoyed some of the best French food in the U.S.

JOHN SHEELY Restaurateur; MOCKINGBIRD BISTRO

RANDY RUCKER Restaurateur; Chef BOOTSIE’S HERITAGE CAFE

CHRIS SHEPHERD CATALAN

The enfant terrible of the Houston food scene has been producing unconventional and often wildly successful dishes first at the short-lived Laidback Manor and now at Bootsie’s in Tomball. Look for the new restaurant connate coming in the spring.

The big man in the kitchen at Catalan is perhaps the best-known example of a chef creating natively Houston cuisine that mixes and matches the city’s rich international influences.

JOHN & LINDY RYDMAN

As the new restaurant critic at the Houston Press, Shilcutt continues a selfmade career that began as a food blogger and now includes being an eloquent documentarian and advocate of Houston’s diverse food scene.

Wine, Beer, Spirits SPEC’S

In terms of sheer size and selection of wine, spirits, beer and specialty foods, the Rydmans’ many Spec’s stores are the go-to outlets for Houstonians in need of the best tequila, bourbon or Cabernet Sauvignon.

MIKE SAMMONS 13 CELSIUS

Wine, Beer, Spirits

One of the first wine evangelists in Houston to engage even the most novice wine drinkers, Sammons and crew at 13

Chef

For almost a decade, Sheely has been the owner/chef at this popular neighborhood restaurant that serves comfort food (mussels, steak-frites, Kobe beef burger) to a mixed crowd of regulars from Montrose and River Oaks.

Chef

KATHARINE SHILCUTT HOUSTON PRESS

Media

CLAIRE SMITH Restaurateur; SHADE/CANOPY

Chef

Smith’s refined and elegant cooking has been a crowd-pleaser in Houston for years, with her flagship restaurant Shade still packing ’em in and a new venture, Canopy, having just opened in Montrose last year.

38 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

SCOTT SPENCER Wine, Beer, Spirits HOUSTON WINE MERCHANT

As many wine retailers have been gobbled up by larger concerns, Spencer and his outpost of exquisite wines have defiantly remained independent, to the great benefit of the growing wine culture in Houston. (See page 40.)

CLEVERLEY STONE Media INDEPENDENT FOOD JOURNALIST

Stone became one of Houston’s earliest food bloggers when she moved her newsletter over to the Internet. Today you can catch her radio program on TALK-650 radio as well as her regular gig on Fox 26 Morning News.

GUY STOUT Wine, Beer, Spirits SOMMELIER

As a certified Master Sommelier and nationally recognized authority on wine, Stout uses Houston as a base for his activities as a product training manager for Glazer’s and also teaches wine-appreciation at his Houston Wine School.

FAMILY TCHOLAKIAN Retailer PHOENICIA SPECIALTY FOODS

Hero to all Houston food lovers who crave the most exotic and delicious of international foods, Bob Tcholakian and family have created a temple to gastronomic delights in far west Houston. A downtown branch is on its way.

CHRIS TRIPOLI Business of restaurants A LA CARTE FOODSERVICE CONSULTING

With more than 35 years in the hospitality industry, Tripoli has consulted with hundreds of wannabe restaurateurs. He takes clients from concept through build-out, staff training and menu writing. He’s also a popular lecturer on the business of restaurants.

SCOTT TYCER GRAVITAS

Restaurateur; Chef

The immensely talented (and some would say detail obsessive) Tycer has been a mainstay on Houston’s upscale dining scene, first with Aries. then with the still extant Gravitas, and a brief interlude at the now-closed Textile Restaurant.

TONY & JEFF VALLONE Restaurateurs TONY’S/CIAO BELLO/CAFE BELLO

There’s no let-up for the Vallone fatherand-son team, as Tony’s continues to pack in the glitterati. Newer concepts like Ciao Bello and the casual Montrose-area Cafe Bello have once again built up their stable of restaurants.

TRACY VAUGHT Restaurateur HUGO’S/BACKSTREET/PREGO

Native Houstonian Vaught oversees three restaurants that are consistently heralded as among the city’s best, certainly no easy accomplishment in an increasingly crowded field of upscale New American and Mexican restaurants.

KIRAN VERMA KIRAN’S

Restaurateur; Chef

Verma is well-known for bringing accessible, consistently-executed Indian food to Houstonians, first with Ashiana Restaurant and now with the decidedly upscale and highly-regarded Kiran’s Restaurant.

tions (“Throwdowns”) among Houston’s best chefs.

MORGAN WEBER REVIVAL MEATS

Purveyor

Houston’s revolution in artisanal food products extends to meat and, specifically, pork production with Weber’s Revival Meats creating tasty pork products from free range and humanely raised pigs. (See page 22.)

HEATH WENDELL Baker SLOW DOUGH BREAD CO.

Heath has become well-known as one of Houston’s foremost bakers, with highly prized bread and pretzel products available at farmers’ markets as well as some of Houston’s best restaurants.

RHEA WHEELER HAVEN

Restaurateur

Wheeler is a veteran Houston restaurateur who helped originate Ibiza and Catalan and is now one of the founders and owners of the nationally acclaimed Haven restaurant.

BROCK WAGNER

Wine, Beer, Spirits ST. ARNOLD BREWERY

The craft brewing movement in the U.S. has a worthy outlet in Houston, where Wagner presides over a state-ofthe-art brewery that produces some of Houston’s most popular beers.

ROBB WALSH Media INDEPENDENT FOOD JOURNALIST

In 10 years as the Houston Press food critic, Walsh exhaustively covered every corner of the diverse Houston food scene. He now presides over the documentation and promotion of Texas food with the newly formed Texas Foodways organization.

JENNY WANG Media HOUSTON CHOWHOUNDS

Wang is both a beneficiary of and a catalyst for the food community revolution in Houston, documenting it in erudite writing but also encouraging it by organizing raucous cooking competi-

MARCO WILES Restaurateur; Chef DA MARCO/DOLCE VITA/POSCOL

Wiles sensed a lack of authentic and consistently executed Italian cuisine in Houston and responded with arguably the best restaurant in Houston, Da Marco. It was followed by the trattoria Dolce Vita and the wine- and salumifocused Poscol.

THELMA WILLIAMS Restaurateur; Chef THELMA’S BARBECUE

An endearing reputation for crankiness (sauce on the side costs extra!) precedes William’s true contribution as one of the longest-serving standard bearers of African-American-style barbecue in Houston.

J.C. Reid is a Houston food writer, omnivore and inveterate food explorer.

He can be found in Houston’s most expensive restaurants or lowliest hole-inthe-wall burger/BBQ/ethnic joints.

Follow him on Twitter (@houston_foodie) and on his blog at houstonfoodie.com.

39 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

DO YOU GET HUNGRY BETWEEN SERVINGS OF MY TABLE? SIGN UP NOW FOR SIDEDISH, OUR TWICE-WEEKLY HIGH-CALORIE E-NEWSLETTER.

World Wine Merchant

by Janice Schindeler

He started with stereos, contemplated the computer biz, but finally found his niche with wine. Scott Spencer of Houston Wine Merchant provides wines of distinction to Houstonians.

For a wine man, Spencer is a funny breed — no talk of terroir, grape varietals or microclimates. He talks of business. And that just might be the key to his decades of success.

When he opened in 1984, his business was located on Bissonnet and called Wines of America — for a reason.

“At first I carried only American wines because I did not want my customers to be intimidated by the labels. American wines had labels my customers could read,” he chuckles, pointing out the obvious: “They were in English.”

The naysayers in the wine community had concerns about his choice. “Everybody thought the focus was too narrow, and I know they were wondering how long I would be able to stay in business.”

But Spencer had a plan. And knowhow.

An MBA finance grad from UC Berkeley, Spencer first worked for Pacific Stereo when the world was going from hi-fis to dual speakers. Starting on the West Coast, he rose through the ranks of management, transferring to Houston as a regional manager and then, bam. “We sold ourselves out of business,” recalls Spencer. Everybody and their mother had a stereo.

The hot new technology of computers then grabbed Spencer’s attention. He contemplated a partnership that would build computer stores, but Spencer had been down that road before. “Everybody gets a computer, and then what? In a matter of a few years it would be the stereo story all over again.”

Wine had always been part of Spencer’s life. As a military brat, he lived abroad in Europe where wine was as prevalent as water and in arid Australia where there seems to be more wine than water. And then there were those California college years. He absorbed vast wine knowledge without even realizing it.

“Back in the early ’70s, a cousin of mine, he was a mentor to me really, told me I should have a wine store,” Spencer says. He did not act on that suggestion at the time, but the seed was planted and remembered around the time Spencer was considering the computer store partnership. So Spencer opted to skip computers and go with wines instead. He took a look around the city. At the time, Spec’s and Richard’s were focused on liquor. He thought he could develop a niche market with a wine-only establishment.

But he did not just jump into it.

Spencer is methodical. First he

TRY IT BEFORE YOU BUY IT Free and informal wine tastings are held weekly at Houston Wine Merchant (2646 S. Shepherd) on Fridays 5 to 7 pm and on Saturdays 2 to 4 pm.

For a schedule, go to www.houstonwines.com/Store/Events.htm.

40 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

PHOTO BY TAYLOR BYRNE RAY

T A S T E M A K E R S

SCOTT SPENCER UNCORKED

enrolled in a business planning class at Rice. “I did a really good business plan,” says Spencer. “I figured out I would not make much money for the first couple of years. But I always paid myself — minimum wage,” he recalls.

In the summer of 1984 Spencer opened, depending heavily on the wine vendors to suggest labels he should carry. Week by week business increased. “My financial planning was working for us,” says Spencer, who by 1987 was thinking about expanding and a name change. He choose to add Australian wines to the shelves for three reasons: “There was a lot interest in Australia in 1987 — a heated America’s Cup [sailing race], Crocodile Dundee was big, and the labels were in English.”

Once he had crossed borders, there was no stopping. Every year he added a new country. The racks at Houston Wine Merchant are now grouped in countries of origin: Australia, South Africa, Chile, Argentina, Italy, Austria and Germany. France is so heavily

represented that the wines are racked by region. American wines remain key to his business, though, occupying a third of the rack space in the 5,500square-foot store, which is located on S. Shepherd at Harold.

And he has even expanded into boutique liquors. Prior to 1994, wines could not be tasted in stores that sold liquor, and wine tasting has always been an integral part of his marketing plan. In 1994 the law changed to allow wine tastings in liquor stores, and Spencer began bringing in some mainline labels of whiskeys, bourbons, vodkas and gin.

Most recently, he has developed a small but rare collection of liquors, thanks to a wholesale customer.

“Bobby Heugel of Anvil has turned us on to some crazy stuff like a West Indian St. Elizabeth Allspice Dram and a Spanish Perucchi vermouth.”

Not every day has been roses for Spencer. Business and the economy have thrown him a few curve balls.

Naïvely, he bid high for the promising space in the then-new Randalls Square at the corner of Westheimer and S. Shepherd.

In 1993, he envisioned what would be his flagship store at Woodway and Voss, a second location with room for wine classes and a large office.

“That location grew to a certain level, but not to my expectations. I had taken my customer base and split it in two while doubling my overhead.

Not a smart business move,” admits Spencer, who had been so sure the Memorial location would be a success he had convinced the landlord to give him a 10-year lease instead of the customary five-year lease. His dream had become a nightmare.

“We negotiated an out clause, and I had to take a pretty hefty check to the meeting, but it was a huge weight off my shoulders.”

As the new millennium approached, Spencer wondered where he was going.

He felt the need for more assets; he wanted to be a property owner. not a renter. “In this business, you sell your inventory, not the business.” As luck would have it, the current location

HOLIDAY POURS Scott Spencer suggests the following wines for the upcoming holiday season: • Schramsberg 2005 Blanc de Blanc, $25.99 The definition of “celebratory” is sparkling wine.

Here’s a great value from California’s most venerable house.

• Domaine Weinbach 2008 Sylvaner Reserve, $18.99 A delicious light white that has a bit more “stuffing” than most. From Alsace.

• Château Haut-Bailly 2009 Rosé, $22.99 Sometimes there is nothing better (and prettier in the glass) than a rosé. This is 100% Cabernet Sauvignon, so you can enjoy it with a standing rib roast as well as other traditional holiday foods such as turkey and ham.

• Domaine Dupeuble 2009 Beaujolais Villages, $16.99 If you want something with a little more body, but still elegant, the 2009 vintage of Beaujolais may be the best ever.

• Frank Family 2007 Zinfandel, $35.99 America’s traditional red is just the ticket for those with a heartier taste. Try with turkey with a sausage and cornbread stuffing.

literally across the street from Randall Square was up for sale. “It took a year of planning and construction, but being a separate, free-standing store has really enhanced us.” He opened for business in his own building March 2007.

Then came the economic meltdown of 2008. Fortunately, Houston Wine Merchant’s ever-growing customer base seemed to always find enough cash for a bottle or two of wine.

Spencer makes sure there are always quality wines for reasonable prices.

“People think independent store

41 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

means expensive. I understand that a lot of customers are looking for a good $12 to $15 bottle. Our expertise is picking good wines for good prices, both high- and low-end,” says Spencer, who relies on his store manager Marcy Jimenez (a certified sommelier who is currently study for the master-level exam), and his head wine staff to help with the monumental, global task.

“We even have a bargain bin,” says Spencer. “When we have just a few bottles left of a vintage, we mark it down and put it on the bargain rack.

Every Monday we mark the bottles down again until they sell.”

Inventory changes rapidly, but on the day we have our chat, Spencer says he has both a Peter Lehmann Cabernet Sauvignon for $5 and a Le Pin Bordeaux for $1200.

And he has one other special item: a generator. “For six months after Ike I got questioned by customers, ‘Is this wine any good? How hot did it get in here? How long were you without power?’ We lost power for two days.

The first day, I was over here with my staff moving wine out to their homes that still had electricity. At the end of the second day the temperature approached 80°, but then the power came on. I think the generator buys us a lot more credibility,” says Spencer.

Well into our interview about the business of wine, Spencer suddenly realizes we have hardly spoken about wine itself. In case you are interested, his personal faves are Italian wines because “they go so well with food but are very drinkable by themselves.”

Give him Chianti, and he is a happy man. He prefers Burgundy to Boudreaux and finds Rhône wines food-friendly.

At Houston Wine Merchant, the staff is all about the wines, because Spencer is all about the business.

Janice Schindeler, a veteran food writer, is also the proprietor of Words & Food, a familiar vendor at local farmers’ markets.

Some say she makes the best pimiento cheese in Houston.

S P I R I T S A N D W I N E

Warming Up From The Inside Out

By Sean Beck

The pleasure of a well-made hot cocktail begins the moment your hands feel the heat radiating from the cup. The rich aromatics embrace you well before the first sip, and, oh, what a sip! If soup is comfort food, then a hot beverage is how you let someone know they are home. The best part about this category of libations is the ability to shift effortlessly from temperance to intoxicating and satisfy both kinds of drinkers in the process. Having the option to warm your toes from the inside is what separates us from the animals, so why not stir up a few of these brews for this winter?

THE HOT COCOA EXPERIENCE

Hot chocolate is quite possibly the most joyful beverage of all time.

Whether you’re five years old coming in from the snow or 65 and dunking your doughnuts into a big cup for breakfast, hot chocolate delivers. This version is truly a dessert unto itself, although at

Backstreet Cafe, we serve it with homemade marshmallows and simple cookies. Serves 4 to 6.

2 sticks cinnamon bark ½ tsp. cardamom seeds 5 cups milk 1 cup heavy cream ½ tsp. sea salt THE HOT COCOA EXPERIENCE ¼ tsp. fine ground black pepper 1 vanilla bean cut in half lengthwise (or 1 tsp. vanilla extract) ¼ tsp. cayenne pepper ¾ cup dark chocolate chips 1 Tbsp. orange zest 1 bar (1.75 to 2 ounces) 70% + dark chocolate (we prefer Patric Madagascar Chocolate) 6 Tbsp. cocoa mix (if a mild mix, add a bit more) 4 oz. powdered sugar marshmallows

PHOTOS BY SEAN BECK

METHOD: In large pot on medium-high heat, place broken pieces of cinnamon bark and cardamom seeds and toast

42 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

for 3 to 5 minutes. They should start to smoke and smell aromatic. Carefully pour in milk and cream and continue to warm. Add salt, pepper, vanilla and cayenne pepper. Once warm, begin slowly whisking in chocolate chips and orange zest. Don’t stop stirring until all the chocolate has melted and the mixture has begun to turn dark brown.

Add chocolate bar, broken into pieces.

Whisk in cocoa powder until completely incorporated and add in powdered sugar. Stir for 5 minutes until all the ingredients are dissolved and finely mixed. Remove from heat and strain through sieve.

To serve, pour 6 ounces into a cup and garnish with a couple marshmallows.

To make alcoholic, add ¾ oz. Grand Marnier and ¾ oz. Knob Creek Bourbon.

TART & TODDY

A toddy is one of the classics, traditionally a mix of sugar, water and some form of spirit. Simple concepts like the toddy provide fertile ground for creating your own unique version. This one is inspired by a favorite beverage of Backstreet Cafe owner Tracy Vaught, the Republic of Tea passion fruit green tea. Serves 1.

6 oz. brewed passion fruit green tea (Republic of Tea) 1½ oz. Hendricks Gin ½ oz. fresh lime juice ½ oz. Velvet Falernum 1 oz. green tea-infused honey (recipe below) METHOD: In saucepan over low heat, combine liquid ingredients and then stir in honey. For a richer cocktail, place a pat of butter on top.

TOAST OF THE TOWN Sparkling wine, more than any other type, is at once versatile and respected, festive yet dignified. It complements almost any food — including our rich and spicy once-a-year holiday foods — and can be served as an apéritif, with dinner or even unaccompanied at the end of an evening. And nothing suits a holiday toast more avidly than bubbly.

We asked six Houston restaurateurs to tell us what they are pouring (and drinking) this holiday season.

TIM NEELY,

general manager, Rainbow Lodge “I like Patrick Bottex, La Cueille, Bugey Cerdon, NV (about $20). Made from 80 percent Gamay and 20 percent Poulsard, it has a deep rose color with wonderful flavors of strawberries. It is a delicious wine that works well as an apéritif to get the party going or pairs wonderfully with berries and chocolate. I also like Schramsberg, Blanc de Blanc, 2007 (about $26). With its long history of being served at the White House, this has always been one of my favorite sparkling wine producers. The blanc de blanc, made from 100 percent Chardonnay, works well for any occasion with nice citrus, green apple and tropical fruit flavors. It pairs well with seafood, shellfish or chicken.”

MARC BOREL,

general manger, Samba Grille “I’m in love with Serveaux Fils Blanc de Noirs Brut (sparkling Pinot Meunier, about $63). We also just got 2000 Drouin-Marmet Brut (about $30 retail).

But our old standby is Miolo Brut (about $17) from Brazil.

JEAN PHILIPPE GUY, owner, Bistro Provence and Bistro Don Camillo “Château Moncontour Vouvray Methode Traditionnelle. It’s light Granny Smith apple on the palate with fine bubbles, making it a crowd pleaser. It retails for around $20.”

JONATHAN HOROWITZ, VP of Marketing and Communications, The Tasting Room “On the very affordable end of the spectrum, I love Codorniu Brut Cava (retail $15). It’s from a Spanish producer that’s almost 150 years old, and the brut is perfect to pair with soft, ripe cheeses and the fruits and nuts associated with holiday time. It also works well with holiday desserts. At the other end, Pommery Cuvee Louise (retail $160) is the perfect splurge-worthy wine, from one of the world’s most prominent Champagne houses. It’s a vintage Champagne that shows all the characteristics of a premier sparkler: tiny, round bubbles, a toasty and perfumed nose, and a unique silkiness in the mouth.”

NASH D’AMICO, owner/chef, D’Amico’s Italian Market Cafe “Being Italian, we love Prosecco in our family. My favorite right now is La Marca Prosecco DOC (about $18 retail). It’s great with cheeses, desserts or just because.

We often add a fresh raspberry or two in the glass to make it even more festive.”

ELOUISE ADAMS JONES,

owner, Ouisie’s Table “Iron Horse Wedding Cuvee (about $79) is great for parties. This is Iron Horse’s Blanc de Noir and is predominantly Pinot Noir. A lovely pale peach hue, it is rich and creamy. A very romantic sparkling wine, dangerously easy to drink. Delicious with mushroom dishes such as a risotto chocked full of them with a dose of cream and tarragon. Or a simple meal of scrambled eggs with caviar and buttered toast.”

43 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

S P I R I T S

For all your glassware needs

W I N E

A N D

HOMESICK

Primary distributor

Please visit our showroom at 5201 S. Wayside Dr. 713-641-2277 888-641-2277 GREEN TEA-INFUSED HONEY

2 tsp. jasmine green tea pearls 4 oz. water 6 oz. honey Let green tea steep with 4 ounces of boiled water for 5 minutes.

Stir in honey until completely dissolved. Cool, strain out tea, and store.

METHOD:

HOMESICK

Chai is a spiced version of black tea that smells like a far-away land full of warm, spiced air. I’ve taken the exotic flavors and added some tastes of life in Texas. The combination of the nutty, sweet note of almonds and the honeyed characters of Balcones Rumble — a rum-like spirit from Waco — brings a sense of home to an out-of-the-ordinary flavor. Serves 2.

8 oz. water 2 chai teabags (Tazo or Bigelow) 4 oz. almond milk 1 tsp. powdered sugar 1½ oz. Balcones Rumble

44 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

Bring water to a boil and add teabags. Simmer for about 3 minutes until the tea reduces by onefifth. Add almond milk and simmer 5 more minutes. Remove from heat and remove teabags. Combine 7 ounces of milk/chai mixture, powdered sugar and Balcones in a blender and pulse quickly 2 or 3 times to create froth (hold lid down firmly to prevent hot liquid from escaping). Pour into stemmed wine glass and garnish with a dash of your favorite spice — cinnamon, nutmeg, cardamom, etc.

Note: You can leave the alcohol out, but if so, reduce the milk/tea mixture an additional 3 minutes and add a teaspoon of honey instead of powdered sugar.

METHOD:

SPICED CRANBERRY & APPLE CIDER

Growing up in the North, I vividly remember cider as a way of life. We had apple trees growing at our home outside St Louis, and while the fresh applesauce was nice, nothing topped the spiced ciders of the fall. This version adds some extra color and tannin from fresh-pressed cranberry juice and will appeal to adults and children alike. Serves 6 to 8.

1 orange (juice one half and cut other half into thin slices) 1 ½ oz. Mexican cinnamon bark (can substitute Vietnamese cinnamon chips) ¼ tsp. fresh-grated nutmeg 1 tsp. whole cloves ½ tsp. five spice powder ½ tsp. allspice 2 oz. Railean spiced rum ½ cup brown sugar ½ Fuji apple 1 qt. fresh-pressed apple cider 1 cup fresh-pressed cranberry juice or nectar (Santa Cruz or Knudsen brands) METHOD: Place cinnamon and cloves in a stock pot over medium heat, and heat until they begin to smoke and get aromatic, and then add remaining ground spices. Pour in rum and let

45 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

R E V I E W S R E S T A U R A N T

A Holiday Gift, Wrapped & Thai’d!

Khun Kay Thai Café The Bearded Guy Brings Gifts. We Deliver Food.

SNUGGLE UP WITH OUR NEW THAI WRAP Supatra Yooto and Kay Soodjai, owners since 1982 Weekdays 11 – 9:30 Weekends noon – 9:30 713-524-9614 · 1209 Montrose at W. Clay

reduce for 1 minute. Add orange juice and brown sugar and stir together until mixed and liquefied like a spiced slurry, about 1 to 2 minutes. While cooking, puree together half of a Fuji apple and the apple cider. Pour apple/cider mixture and cranberry juice into pot. Reduce temperature to medium-low and simmer for 15 to 20 minutes. Pour mixture through a sieve to remove clove, cinnamon and pulp.

To serve, pour 6 ounces into cup and garnish with a thinly sliced orange wedge.

To make alcoholic, add an additional 1½ oz. Railean spiced rum before serving. Can also add a pat of butter for richness.

WHO NEEDS A CRUMPET (OR FORGET THE BISCUIT)

All the flavors of afternoon tea, minus the crumpet, are in a single glass best enjoyed in front of a fireplace with a good friend or a good book. Serves 1.

4 oz. water 4 oz. pear nectar 1 tsp. black tea leaves (can substitute teabag for loose tea) heaping teaspoon lemon marmalade ½ oz. lemon juice 1½ oz. Calvados fresh nutmeg Combine water and pear nectar in pan and bring to a boil. Toss in black tea leaves. Reduce to simmer and remove from heat when reduced by one-fourth, approximately 3 minutes. Strain out the tea leaves. In a shaker, combine marmalade, lemon juice and Calvados. Shake vigorously to break up marmalade and release sugar. Pour tea/pear mixture into glass, stir in marmalade mixture and garnish with dusting of fresh nutmeg.

METHOD:

Sean Beck is sommelier of Backstreet Cafe, Hugo’s and Trevisio.

46 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

THE

A CHAT WITH BARTENDER

Terry Melvyn

GNOME RANGER

Interview and photo by Paula Murphy Ouisie’s Table 3939 San Felipe PHONE 713-528-2264 WEBSITE ouisiestable.comts PLACE

ADDRESS

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Paula Murphy is a local food publicist, music lover, aficionada of gin cocktails and My Table’s director of special projects. She also never passes up forwarding or receiving an email joke.

KNOW A GREAT BARTENDER? EMAIL THE GNOME RANGER AT PAULA@PATTERSONANDMURPHY.COM

47 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

B O R D E R S W I T H O U T D I N I N G

I Shot An Arrow in the Air

by Dennis Abrams

Of all the things I really like about Houston, near the top of the list is the fact that great food is to be found everywhere. Everywhere you look, everywhere you go, everywhere you drive. Pick a neighborhood. Pick a street. Pick a place. Take a chance — you never know what you’ll find.

For this issue’s look at small ethnic restaurants I went exploring on Highway 6 just north of I-10, looking to see what I could find. With strip malls lining the densely commercial road, each one filled with restaurants of all kinds, I focused in and executed my near-legendary “that place looks interesting” powers to settle on two for a nice evening’s food crawl. Both were Latino, both different. Gran Colombia had the look of a well-established restaurant, while El Garrobo, promising both Salvadorean and

GRAN COLOMBIA RESTAURANTE 4374 Highway 6 North at Clay, 281-859-5908 grancolombiarestaurante.com Tip It’s BYOB. Also, they seem to do a lot of take-out business, including some spectacularlooking roast chickens. One whole roast chicken with four sides is just $13.95.

EL GARROBO 4502 Highway 6 North near Aspenglenn Dr., 281-550-4382 elgarroborestaurant.com Tip The Salvadorean beer, in particular the Suprema, was eminently quaffable.

Mexican food, still had its grand opening banner hanging up. It seemed like a promising mix.

The first stop was Gran Colombia, very much a family-type restaurant, with booths lining one wall and tables down the middle. It was lively with large families, all of whom appeared to be very much enjoying their food. The menu is huge, offering up an array of appetizers, salads, soups, specialties, platters, crillos or Colombian dishes, chicken, seafood and daily specials.

Knowing we still had another restaurant to visit this evening made the selection process even more difficult, but after much deliberation with my three tablemates we made some choices.

We started with arepas, lovely delicately grilled cornmeal cakes that we ordered stuffed with chicharrón, rich little nubbins of crispy pork belly with peppers. We also enjoyed something I normally wouldn’t have ordered (at least in English), but with a name like empanadas Hawaiyana (yes, Hawaiianstyle empanadas), how could I resist? It turned out that resistance was indeed futile — it had a perfectly crisp crust encasing ham, gooey melted cheese and, of course, pineapple.

There was also a delicious crema de champinones (cream of mushroom soup) chosen from a list of five cremas that also included corn, chicken, asparagus and shrimp. But the highlight of the dinner was perhaps the most basic: the tipiquito. This was an enormous mixed-

48 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

grill platter intended for one that could easily feed two. It included a slice of grilled round steak, a strip of beautifully crunchy and crispy chicharrón, a large link of savory Colombian sausage, a fried egg, beans and rice, all for just $7.75. It was an amazing deal and an amazing platter of food.

Just a couple of blocks down the street is El Garrobo, a spin-off of the Spring Branch area original. Talk about entering a completely different world from the pleasantly sedate Gran Colombian — in one room there’s a dry ice machine, a DJ, karaoke and little kids frantically running around the room and bopping up and down to the music. We sat on the other side of the restaurant, with just the video screen to keep us entertained.

Even though I’d tried to pace myself at Gran Colombian, I was a bit fuller than I would have liked but still not too full to order much more food than was really necessary. We focused, naturally enough on the pupusas: that classic Salvadorean dish of flat breads (thicker than those used in the arepas), stuffed with your choice of fillings. We settled on one pupusa for each of us: two filled with queso, chicharrón (I love a pork fest) and frijoles, and the other two filled with queso and loroco, a Salvadorean flower that somehow lightens the rich melted cheese. Both were delicious.

Still feeling in a soupish mood, I had to try the sopa de gallina (hen soup).

The rich broth, definitively homemade, had a refreshing herbal tone and was crammed with vegetables of all sorts — cabbage, squashes and corn on the cob.

On the side ready to be shredded and added to the broth (or just eaten on its own) was half a hen. It was full of flavor, but, given its slightly advanced age, a bit

To read more about COLOMBIAN RESTAURANTS, see Listings on page 50.

Breads, Cakes, Pies, Muffins, Pizza and More

GLUTEN FREE GREAT TASTE RETAIL STORE OPEN 8 AM-1 PM SATURDAYS WHOLESALE TO ALL FOOD SERVICE FACILITIES

1014 Wirt Road – 713-784-7122 – www.gfhouston.com

Ready for the holidays…

5330 Weslayan Street 713-771-8603 michaelscookiejar.com Twitter: @MichaelCookiJar morris malakoff photography

tougher than the textureless chicken many American eaters are used to.

We also panted over the Salvadorean beef enchilada — which was open-faced instead of rolled — that had an exhilarating blend of cool and hot ingredients.

We enjoyed the whole feel of the place — the joyous feeling of families together for a night out, listening and dancing to music while savoring the delicious foods they grew up with.

In fact, I enjoyed both restaurants. I’d probably give the win to Gran Colombia on food alone, but if I was looking for an evening of good food, drinks and music in a world slightly different than my own, it’s El Garrobo. Either way, you’re a winner.

So check these places out, or go exploring on your own. Pick a street, scope out a couple of likely places and walk right in. Being in Houston, odds are that you’re going to come across something good.

Dennis Abrams is currently writing a biography of Julia Child for Chelsea House, aimed at seventh to ninth graders.

what’s your favorite HANGOVER CURE? “An IV bag of Lactated Ringer’s, 18 to 20 gauge, titrated to drop over an hour. It’s basically water with nutrients. We used to give each other LR IVs at parties in paramedic school.”

PHILLIP RUDY Theatre manager

49 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

S G N I T S L

I

¡Viva Colombia!

by John Nechman

Unfamiliar to most Americans, Colombian cuisine blends Spanish, African and indigenous influences that reflect the nation’s rich and often tumultuous history. Plates are often an orgy of starches and meats. The most typical dish is bandeja paisa (also called plato montañero), a Texas-size platter of grilled steak, chicharrón (fried pork belly), chorizo (Colombian-style link sausage), a fried egg, beans, rice, fried plantains, avocado and an arepa (white corn patty).

Empanadas, which are nothing like the Argentinean variety, are popular appetizers. Colombian tamales, traditionally served with hot chocolate, are meals in themselves and very popular for breakfast.

Home to more than 100,000 Colombians, Houston has more than 25 Colombian restaurants, cafes and bakeries. Here are some of our favorites.

favorite of most Houston Colombians.

All of the dishes are superb, especially the grilled meats and ajiaco (a rich chicken and potato soup famous in Bogotá and served with heavy cream, avocado and capers). This is one of the only Colombian restaurants with a fullservice bar — ask for un trago de aguardiente (a shot of Colombia’s notorious anise-flavored fire water).

DOWNTOWN

3. DODO’S CHICKEN

1. MACONDO LATINO BISTRO

208 Travis at Franklin, 713-229-8323 www.macondobistro.com

In Colombia, breakfasts are substantial, and one of the best breakfasts in Houston (Colombian or otherwise) is served at this beautiful restaurant located next to the Old Cotton Exchange. Lunches and dinners are also superb and shockingly cheap for food and atmosphere of this quality.

9431 Richmond bet. Fondren & S. Gessner, 713-789-3636 (and other locations) www.dodoschicken.net

More than just Colombians consider Dodo’s charcoal-roasted chickens to be

4. MARINE’S EMPANADAS

3227 Hillcroft at Richmond, 713-789-2950

For more than 15 years, Marine’s has been serving a huge selection of Argentinean empanadas, but stick with the Colombian variety as well as the excellent baked products. The kitchen also prepares what may be the best Colombian tamales in town and is one of the few that makes papas rellenas (fried stuffed potato rolls) and shakes made with the exotic South American fruit tomate de arbol (tree tomato).

5. LA GRAN SORPRESA

9544 Richmond bet. Fondren & S. Gessner, 713-789-7312 www.lagransorpresa.com

In the heart of Houston’s original Colombian district, this may be the best place in town to try sancocho, a hearty stew traditionally made with hen meat (but also with beef or fish). The weekly lunch specials are an incredible bargain at $5.

DOWNTOWN & SOUTHWEST HOUSTON 1

5 6 9 3 2

4

SOUTHWEST HOUSTON (especially Richmond between Jeanetta and Gessner, which some refer to as Houston’s “Chapinero,” a famous area of Bogotá)

8 10

11

2. MI PUEBLITO

9425 Richmond bet. Fondren & S. Gessner, 713-334-4594 www.mipueblitohouston.com

the best in Houston. All of the sides are excellent, too, and a family of four can eat very well for less than $25.

7

Since 1998, Mi Pueblito has been the

50 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

6. EL PAISA BBQ

9400 Richmond bet. Fondren & S. Gessner, 713-974-3407

This friendly kiosk serves dishes, especially snack foods, from Colombia’s second-largest city, Medellín. (Paisas are people from in and around that city.) Try the Colombian-style hot dog (dressed with crushed potato chips, pineapple, cole slaw, ketchup, mustard and mayo) and the salchipapas (a massive platter of mildly spicy Colombian sausage and potato chunks).

7. LA FOGATA

11630 S. Wilcrest at Hwy. 59, 281-495-7424 www.lafogata.com

For more than 15 years, this happy hole-in-the wall has been serving the best Colombian-style empanadas in town. Everything else on the extensive menu will please, too.

8. MONO’S GRILL

7330 Southwest Freeway at Fondren, 713-773-1996

The cheerful owners are eager to instruct newbies in the delicacies of Colombia.

This is one of the only places in town that serves the delectable lechona tolimense (Tolima-style whole roast suckling pig), usually available on weekends.

Empty Tables?

9. LA CAZUELA

9402 Richmond, bet. Fondren & S. Gessner, 713-952-9269

WE CAN HELP YOU PUT SOMEONE IN THEM!

The best place in town to eat comida costeña (food from the coast). The kind but at times stern owner, Doña Fanny, whips up extraordinary seafood dishes as well as all the usual Colombian delights. Be forewarned that she will be disappointed if you don’t eat everything on your plate.

INTRODUCING VSI WEBSITES At this moment, countless Houstonians are planning a dinner out, a party or a family event. Faced with a diverse range of tastes and dietary needs, they often turn to the web for help in choosing the right restaurant. Some folks won’t even consider going to a restaurant that doesn’t have their menu online.

10. POLLO RIKO

If your restaurant isn’t on the web, you are missing out on valuable opportunities to reach out to new customers and increase your bottom dollar. Stop getting passed over because people can’t find you online.

7229 Fondren at Hwy. 59, 713-666-0330 (and other locations)

Only Dodo’s serves better Colombianstyle roasted chicken. The chickens are marinated in Colombiana (a Big Redlike soda) before roasting.

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11. TIERRAS COLOMBIANAS

CALL 713-680-1993 TO LEARN MORE!

6053 Bissonnet bet. Renwick & Hillcroft, 713-666-0330

Most dishes are delicious though not extraordinary, but the empanadas are

www.vsiwebsites.com

51 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

S G N I

chicken cravings of Colombian northsiders.

Barranquilla, famous for its Carnival and being the birthplace of Shakira. All of the dishes are superb, but definitely order the bollos de angelito (coconut anise pastries).

You won’t find these treats anywhere else.

WEST HOUSTON

L

I

S

T

heavenly. Only Fogata makes them better.

Eat them with a squeeze of lime and drizzled with the excellent homemade ají (a slightly spicy chili sauce).

(especially Bellaire Blvd. beyond Hwy. 6)

NORTHWEST HOUSTON

18. PAN RICO COLOMBIAN BAKERY AND CAFE

15. PANDAREPA

(especially Veterans Memorial between Antoine and FM 1960 West)

13655 Bissonnet at Eldridge, 281-561-6046

7030 Addicks Clodine north of Bellaire Blvd., 281-498-1519

13. PANADERIA CENTRAL

Recently relocated to a spiffy new location, Pandarepa serves one of Houston’s most delicious and economical bandejas paisas (the mixed plate described in the introduction).

Colombian chorizo (link sausage) is unlike any you will find in Texas; here, you can have the finest in town with some of Houston’s best arepas or served with the bandeja paisa.

12788 Veterans Memorial bet. W. Richey and Bammel North Houston, 281-866-7630

16. EL SAZÓN LATINO

19. ANTOJOS

15825 Bellaire at Addicks Clodine, 281-564-9928

15014 Lindita Dr. near Beechnut and Hwy. 6, 281-495-9982

This is an easy-to-miss place in a decrepit shopping center, but the kitchen serves some of the heartiest Colombian food in town. Portions are massive and cheap. The sancocho de gallina (hen soup) is the best in Houston.

This friendly cafe serves tasty versions of all the usual staples. Try the fruit shakes, especially if they have lulo, a unique fruit with a sweet citrusy flavor.

12. LA CHIVA COLOMBIANA

11509 Veterans Memorial at W. Greens Rd., 281-586-0084

The kind owners serve huge home-style servings to the large number of Colombians living in north Houston. The daily specials are an incredible bargain.

Houston’s best Colombian bakery.

Colombians drive here from all over town to stock up on their favorites at this cheerful place. If available (go early), do not pass up the sensational roscon de guayaba (a super-size guava donut) with a side of arequipe (soft caramel).

14. CRAZY CHICKEN

17. AKA CARBON Y SAZÓN

12086 Veterans Memorial near Antoine, 713-537-7300

14845 Bellaire west of Hwy. 6, 281-879-1333

The owners are from the coastal city of

This no-frills joint satisfies the roast NORTHWEST HOUSTON

WEST HOUSTON 20

13

WESTHEIMER

This excellent bakery serves some of Houston’s best Colombian tamales and scrumptious pan de yuca (yuca bread).

This is one of the few places that sells papas criollas (a unique small and creamy potato grown only in Colombia) and guascas (a pungent green herb that is an essential ingredient for the famous Bogotá soup ajiaco).

20. COLOMBIAN LATIN CUISINE

13920 Westheimer bet. Eldridge & Hwy. 6, 281-584-0437 www.colombiancuisinerestaurant.com

In a nondescript shopping center, Colombian Latin Cuisine serves decent though not exemplary versions of the most common Colombian dishes. Try the sobrebarriga (grilled flank steak) or the bistec a caballo (skirt steak served with a fried egg on top).

NS

RA M EM I OR AL

NE

TOI

AN

FAR WEST HOUSTON AND KATY (especially around Hwy. 6 at Clay)

K

WESTPAR

14

21. PALMA DE CERA

26

2004 S. Mason (Katy), 281-392-3800 www.palmadecerarestaurant.com

BELLAIRE BLVD.

18 16

19

12

ELDRIDGE

17

HWY. 6

R

RD

ADDICKS-CLODINE

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52 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

Though Palma de Cera advertises itself as a pan-Latino restaurant, the attentive owners are Colombian, and the Colombian menu items are spectacular.

The bandeja paisa and sancocho are among the best in town, and the expansive seafood selection includes a

25 24 CLAY RD.

23

26 FRY RD.

26. LA OLLA

I-10 WEST

HWY. 6

BARKER-CYPRESS

MASON RD.

3616 N. Fry (Katy), 281-829-0333 www.laollarestaurant.com

26

This inviting place serves decent servings of Colombian classics. They also serve breakfast (starting at 11 am), and lunch specials are a great bargain. If you are here on a weekend, don’t miss the sancocho de cola (oxtail soup).

27. SUPER POLLO RICO

22

1109 S. Mason Rd. (Katy), 281-492-9090

KINGSLAND BLVD.

21

27

FAR WEST HOUSTON AND KATY

decadent cazuela de mariscos (seafood stew). This is the tastiest Colombian food in town after Mi Pueblito.

25. GRAN COLOMBIA

22. COLOMBIAN EMPANADA

The kitchen does most dishes on the extensive menu well. The lengua (beef tongue) is some of the best in town — and few can compare with Colombians when it comes to lengua. (See page 48.)

21926 Kingsland at Mason (Katy), 281-693-0514

With cheerful owners and some of the best Colombian pastries and dishes in town, this is a great place to enjoy Colombian breakfasts, such as changua (a Bogotá specialty made with a savory milk and cheese broth and chunks of bread and egg) and calentado (a mix of rice, beans, pork and sausage served with eggs).

4374 Hwy. 6 North near Clay, 281-859-5908 www.grancolombiarestaurante.com

23. EL RINCÓN PAISA

4025 Hwy. 6 North #101 near Clay, 281-858-4277

In most Colombian restaurants, arepas are flavorless white corn patties used to push food onto a fork, but not when served as an appetizer, and this cozy place makes some of the best in town.

Try the arepa con morcilla (blood sausage). Portions are enormous, and the food is muy casera (very home-style).

24. RISARALDA BAKERY

4220 Hwy. 6 North at Clay, 281-858-1132

This superb bakery’s friendly servers are happy to help you decide between the delectable buñuelos (sort of like Brazilian pao de queijo), arepas de choclo (sweet corn arepas) and roscones (round cakes filled with fruit).

53 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

This austere restaurant serves tasty, inexpensive roasted chicken with decent sides. It can’t compare to Dodo and Riko, but it is convenient for those in Katy.

John Nechman is a partner in the Houston law office of Katine and Nechman L.L.P., where he focuses on immigration law.

When not practicing law or teaching, he can usually be found stuffing his face at Houston-area eateries and posting about his experiences on various social media sites.

S W E I V E R T N A R U T A S E R

cafe moustache

fare like Indian empanadas, escargot chimichurri, truffle popcorn, paella and risotto. General reaction to the trendy SoVino seemed prix fixe lunch is $15, 3-course prix fixe dinner is $35, to be “So what?” Rather happy hour bites are $4 than shut down, the CREDIT CARDS All major owners retrenched and reHOURS Lunch 11 am-2 pm Mon.-Fri., dinner 5-10 opened as this relatively pm Mon-Sat, brunch 11 am-3 pm Sun. modest and conventional RESERVATIONS Not necessary operation.

The décor hasn’t NOISE LEVEL Conversational been much toned down from its previous incarnation, but abstract paintings on the fierce, SIMPLE, MAIS ASSEZ BON hot-red walls now share space with

By Eric Gerber provincial blue crockery hanging alongside. Overall, it’s still a handsome Nowhere on my keyboard do I find and accommodating room. the punctuation symbol for the This retooling isn’t unprecedented. If traditional Gallic shoulder shrug and memory serves, Jachmich did a similar puffing of the lips, a gesture somewhere switcheroo in the 1990s, downscaling between acceptance and insouciance. his once-chic but sagging Redwood Grill Too bad. That’s what’s needed to into an economy steakhouse called properly explain my reaction to Cafe Morgan’s on Montrose. Jachmich is, of Moustache, a pleasant enough purveyor course, one of Houston’s warhorse of French country comfort food. restaurateurs, having been involved with Of course, I really should be careful 20 or so area establishments. Some have about pretending to understand much been notable — Ruggles, for example — about French culture and cuisine. Next and some not so. Anyone remember thing you know, I’ll be yammering Cattle Kings Grill? about there being too much s’il vous plait As it turns out, Jachmich has climbed in my bowl of mise-en-scène. into the wayback machine to retrieve the Cafe Moustache belongs to that name Cafe Moustache, which formerly expansive and agreeable congregation of was assigned to an eatery that he and the well-run, affordable mid-range restaulate Mary Nell Reck operated in the rants that makes Houston such a 1980s on Westheimer just outside the satisfying place to dine out. Yes, it’s Loop. Veterans of the Houston dining delightful to have a number of tip-top scene may appreciate that nostalgic link establishments, but it’s equally with the past. Others may just wonder important to have a broad base of about the wisdom of naming a dining venues where good food is served at establishment after facial hair. good prices in good surroundings. Cafe Since my burly waiter seemed to Moustache is such a place. And if that have the appropriate amount of sounds like damning with faint praise, well … (insert symbol for Gallic shrug and mileage on him, I asked if he had worked at the original Cafe Moustache puffing of the lips).

— or at least knew which of the There is nothing particularly remarkcurrent dishes had been revived from able about this place, other than its the original menu. He demurred. So we origins, perhaps. Proprietors Elizabeth both agreed the Tomatoes Manfred Abraham and Manfred Jachmich appetizer ($7) was a likely candidate. originally opened this Lower Whatever historical pleasure I had was Westheimer site, across from Indika and Dolce Vita, back in late 2007 as SoVino, mildly overshadowed by the sliced tomatoes not being quite ripe and the “a wine and bubbles bar and global vinaigrette having too much vinegar bistro,” as it initially described itself. The and not enough … ette. menu included fusion-y, international ADDRESS 507 Westheimer bet. Taft & Montrose TELEPHONE 713-524-1000 WEBSITE www.cafemoustache.com CUISINE French country comfort food PRICE RANGE Moderate prices, including 3-course

54 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

While the owners have maintained the intriguing wine bar inventory, the bill of fare now seems to be all about price points and good deals, with management devising a menu where cost control is the primary motivation.

And there’s certainly nothing wrong with that, provided the dishes still meet a basic standard of quality and the savings are passed along to the customer.

I’d say that’s the case at Cafe Moustache.

So we have the likes of chicken Provençale ($17) and trout meunière ($19) for main courses and starters like goat cheese and beets salad ($8), items clearly intended to appeal to your sense of value. When Cafe Moustache says it serves French country comfort food, “comfort” refers as much to your pocketbook as it does to your palate.

In fact, purists are going to quibble about this really being a French menu (country or otherwise) at all. There are three kinds of pizza ($12) as well as such seemingly non-Gallic offerings as veal ravioli ($19), Gulf Coast crabcake ($12), risotto ($12), beef carpaccio ($11), Scottish salmon ($21) and so on. You can, no doubt, have much more of an “authentic” French experience at Au Petit Paris. Or Brasserie Max & Julie.

Now, moderate prices aren’t really a bargain if the food isn’t very good. And not everything here is. A Caesar salad ($7) was limp. Some short ribs ($24) suffered from an over-reduced sauce.

The mussels were disappointing twice, once floating small and flavorless in an otherwise adequate fish stew ($22) and as the entrée at Sunday brunch. But those were exceptions, not the rule.

That prix-fixe Sunday brunch, at three courses for $15, is definitely worthwhile. You can select from three appetizers, five entrees and three desserts. Example: Start with some garlic-glutted escargot, move on to a nicely prepared piece of rainbow trout, then finish with a sour cherries and chocolate sauce crêpe. Add a glass of a decent Pinot Grigio for $5, and voila, that’s a first-rate meal in a comfortable dining room with good service for $20.

How can you beat that? (Insert symbol for Gallic shrug and puffing of the lips.)

ad directory DECEMBER JANUARY Andrea Ristorante Italiano (page 36) Bailey Connor Catering (page 36) Bistro Le Cep (page 51) Boudro’s on the River Walk (page 21) Cameron Ansari, Realtor (page 43) Cantina Laredo (page 33) copy.com (page 26) Creating Culinary Opportunities (page 37)

Magnum Music Group (page 5) McCormick & Schmick’s (page 59) Michael’s Cookie Jar (page 49) Mo’s...A Place For Steaks (page 27) Mockingbird Bistro (back cover) My Table Holiday Subscriptions (page 4) My Table SideDish e-newsletter (page 39) Party Cloths (page 34) Pheasant Ridge Winery (page 27)

D’Amico’s (page 55) Dessert Gallery (page 19)

Ra Sushi (page 1) Red Lion (page 34)

El Meson (page 25) Empire Turkish Grill (page 33)

Skewers Mediterranean (page 21) Sonoma Wine Bar (page 25) Spanish Flowers (page 29) Spec’s (page 49) Spindletop Design (page 21) Sysco (page 57)

Flora & Muse (page 6) Fredericksburg/Texas Hill County (page 35) Glazier Foods Company (page 2) Gluten Free Houston (page 49) House of Coffee Beans (page 60) Houston Wine Merchant (page 19) Kenny & Ziggy’s (page 55) Khun Kay Thai Cafe (page 46) Landry’s Signature Group (page 3) Le Mistral (page 44) Louisiana Foods (page 46)

Tila’s (page 53) Tony’s Bar Supply (page 44) Toque 5 Dinner Series (page 45) Truluck’s (inside front cover) Uptown Sushi (inside back cover) Vine Wine Room/Two Saints (page 32) VSI Websites (page 51)

55 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

S W E I V E R T N A R U T A S E R

eddie v’s

harrumphing at the very beginning. I didn’t peek into the well-populated V-Lounge, where live music accompanies the eating and drinking. But I couldn’t imagine that the courses $19.90 to $41.90, desserts $7.95 lighting in there was any CREDIT CARDS All major dimmer than it was in the HOURS Dinner only 4-10 pm Sun.-Thu., 4-11 pm long, narrow dining room.

Fri.-Sat. There, huge overhead lighting RESERVATIONS Recommended fixtures have muted candleNOISE LEVEL Moderately lively power, and the black circular freestanding booths that line the central aisle soak up some of it.

A PLACE FOR FISH Fortunately, my party and I were seated

By William Albright under a spotlight in the ceiling, so we could easily read the menu and see what Four gas stations, one on each corner we were eating. Also, the top-drawer blues of an intersection, each dare the that served as background music was just competition to undercut this price per a decibel or two too prominent. And the gallon. Maybe you’ve never seen that complimentary length of delectable wheat fossil-fuel-based confluence, but you bread was not sliced all the way through know in your bones that it could very so that some manhandling was required well be more than an urban myth. After to tear off a piece. all, comedian Lewis Black has made a Writing this, I realize how petty these good living poking spluttery fun at the two Starbucks (Starbuckses?) facing each quibbles sound, especially given what really matters in a fine-dining establishother across West Gray at Shepherd. ment, and in those categories Eddie V’s So I was not all that surprised to see was aces. The staff even managed to turn two fish restaurants staring at each other a gaffe into a positive. across one of the streets in CityCentre, Both the servers and the bus staff wear the astonishing habitat that has sprung up on the grounds of the vanished Town white steward jackets and black bow ties like the waiters on old-time ocean liners, & Country mall. Launched a few and they are unfailingly attentive, months ago, one is an outpost of amiable and well-versed in the intricacies McCormick & Schmick’s. The other of each dish’s ingredients. When my one, the subject of this essay and an order-taker accidentally passed executive emissary of the Arizona-based Eddie V’s chef John Carver’s sprawling glass-walled Restaurants organization, is a year old and the first Eddie V’s in Houston. (The kitchen a different entrée request than second Eddie V’s opened October 18 on the one I actually made, he was hugely and repeatedly apologetic, and a manager Kirby at Westheimer, a block or two even came to the table to beg my pardon. from Pesce rather than right next door.)

When I ordered crispy cashew calamari The motto under the McCormick & (dubbed kung pao calamari on the bill), Schmick’s sign is “Fresh Seafood,” while Eddie V’s slogan is “Prime Seafood,” and the waiter endorsed my selection with the news that it was the bestseller on the I assume the menus are different starter list. I can see why. The dish arrives (apparently even the Kirby Eddie V’s is on a canoe-shaped platter, the expertly not going to replicate the original batter-fried rings of squid tossed with location’s bill of fare). The menu at the toasted whole cashews, fine-cut veggies, CityCentre store is relatively short, but crisp rice noodles and a few dried red selecting from it is hard because chile pods for a nice little kick. everything sounds so darned appetizing.

The fry cooks’ skill was on further And, given the superb quality of display in the world-class, remouladeeverything I ate there, I’m betting there drizzled onion rings that accompanied a isn’t a dud in the lot. trio of bacon-wrapped Gulf shrimp, the Granted, I did some muted ADDRESS 12848 Queensbury Lane in CityCentre TELEPHONE 832-200-2380 WEBSITE www.eddiev.com CUISINE Mostly seafood PRICE RANGE Starters $6.90 to $16.90, main

56 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

presence of some herbed goat cheese further enhancing their charms.

Crumbled blue cheese and candied walnuts were welcome lagniappes on the Fuji apple and golden beet salad. Most refreshing, it was dressed with a lively ginger-orange vinaigrette, and the halfdollar-size rounds of beet placed symmetrically around the rim of the plate framed the mound of greens very prettily.

The dish called “Crab-stuffed Colossal Shrimp” made superb use of those crustaceans, filling the colossals with succulent crabmeat and grilling them with lemon butter and chive vinaigrette. And the 12-ounce aged filet mignon, taken from a grain-fed Midwestern steer and grilled to medium-rare perfection, proved that the kitchen could compete on the field of beef with any high-end steakhouse.

As for the swordfish, delayed gratification is still gratification. The moist and flaky slab of broiled fish came with a sauceboat filled with lumps of avocado and Jonah crab moistened with a red chile vinaigrette that, like the calamari appetizer, packed just enough fire to make it interesting.

As is common in places like this, side dishes are optional and come in portions big enough for two. The exemplary scalloped potatoes were awash in cheesy goo, but they were trumped by the truffled mac and cheese, understandably another bestseller here. Nicely browned on top, the dish was made with corkscrew fusilli rather than elbow macaroni and had an addictively robust flavor.

Eddie V’s luxurious meals generally leave little room for dessert, so there aren’t many to choose from, and some (a blackberry cobbler, for example) reportedly take 20 minutes to prepare. Bananas Foster butter cake is quickly deliverable, though, and as rich as you’d expect, and it’s made even more so by an accompanying puff of whipped cream and a scoop of black walnut ice cream.

William Albright is a staff writer for the Houston Independent School District.

Eric Gerber is the director of communications at the University of Houston.

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R E V I E W S R E S T A U R A N T

PHO

Pho Your Consideration

by Renee Bruner

on a favorite hangout. So imagine our glee when we spotted not one but two patrol cars outside Pho Nguyen, a cafetype set-up in a strip center near Hong Kong City Mall. In the words of one of the policemen, “And you thought we only ate donuts.” Clearly a local favorite, this pho stands apart from Pho Binh for its beefier flavor and silkier texture, which results from higher fat content in the broth. Rather than soft and malleable, the rice noodles had good texture and held their own against the aromatic broth. As an accompaniment, we recommend the Vietnamese iced coffee for an icy pick-me-up on a hot day.

PHO NGUYEN

As home to the third-largest Vietnamese population in the United States, it is no wonder that Houston has so wholeheartedly embraced pho. The soup’s aromatic and beefy broth is laced with cinnamon, star anise, ginger and cloves.

Order from a long list of meats to accompany the thin rice noodles within the bowl for true personalization (We chose pho tai — rare steak — at all three stops for consistency).

Alongside the bowl is a plate of complementary garnishes that typically include cilantro, basil, cilantro, sliced jalapeño, bean sprouts and wedges of lime. As is the case with many cultural foods, pho is a dish of personal taste, whether you like it light or rich, spicy or beefy. To satisfy diverse preferences, we sampled three different yet equally satisfying pho sources.

PHO BINH TRAILER

10928 Beamer Road south of Fuqua, 281-484-3963 phobinh.com

PHO DANH 2

11209 Bellaire Blvd. west of Wilcrest (inside Hong Kong City Mall), 281-879-9940 When we first heard about the original Pho Binh Trailer in Amid the sights and sounds of Hong Kong City Mall lies the southeast Houston, we expected a luscious scent of Pho Danh 2, a Vietnamese cafeteria-style stationary food truck setup with hot PHO BINH TRAILER restaurant with a glass storefront facing out into the mall. pho served out of a sliding glass PHOTOS BY RENEE BRUNER Those who prefer greasier, more velvety broths gravitate to window. Instead, we found a trailer this eatery for steaming bowls of pho. In addition to the in the loosest sense, with the proper exterior but an interior richest, we found this pho the saltiest and beefiest of all of the spacious enough to comfortably seat a lunchtime crowd. Six ones we tried, so keep this spot in mind if you are not fond of bucks gets you a “small” portion of pho that you can easily five-spice-dominated broth. The beef also seemed less rare split with a friend as a light lunch. The broth was light, clear and tasted akin to five-spice chicken noodle soup, making this and tender than at other pho places, so consider Pho Danh 2 if you prefer chewier, more pho a perfect throwback to childhood comfort PHO DANH 2 textured beef. On the side, try food. Unlike some other pho joints, Pho Binh fresh lemonade with your pho Trailer refrains from overdosing its broth with as a sweet and chilly contrast MSG, the effects of which can wreak havoc in to the salty, steamy broth. the Houston heat. Even though we arrived near Our dinnertime the end of service (the trailer shuts down at 4 pm), accoutrements (cilantro, basil, our pho was hot, and our toppings were crisp bean sprouts, etc.) were a tad and fresh, proving that Bellaire Blvd. is not the wilted, so you might fare only place to find superior pho. better with a lunchtime visit to this mall hotspot.

PHO NGUYEN 8200 Wilcrest just north of Beechnut, Suite 2, 281-495-2600

Policemen know where to eat well and cheaply. After all, they often dine out while on patrol and have the opportunity to test a variety of local establishments before they finally settle

Renee Bruner is a My Table intern and Rice University student.

While “researching,” she learned never to attempt to eat three bowls of pho within a three-hour period on a hot Houston day.

58 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

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Waffling Around

by Robin Barr Sussman

Did you know the Belgian waffle is not served for breakfast in Belgium but as a snack sold from street carts? No matter: Americans love to indulge in waffles warm and crispy from the waffle iron.

Whether you order deep waffle pockets soaking simply in butter and syrup, powder-sugar dusted or with fruit and nut toppings, these breakfast or brunch treats are especially delicious on a nippy day.

BABY BARNABY’S

602 Fairview, 713-522-4229

Crowning glory. Loved the mound of fresh sliced bananas, pecans and maple syrup atop this breakfast waffle; however, the golden buttermilk waffle itself left a slight baking-soda aftertaste. Sign me up for the stellar coffee, fresh squeezed OJ and buttery biscuits at this quirky and cramped Montrose original.

PRICE: $5.50 SCORE: 8 CAFE ON THE GREEN

Omni Hotel, Four Riverway, 713-871-8181

Epicurean. The addition of malt (a chef ’s secret) to the batter adds a touch of creaminess and nutty flavor to the perfectly tanned and thick Belgian waffle. With the rich seasonal fruit compote and sinful maple syrup, it could be dessert. Breakfast served daily,

and waffles available at weekend brunch, where you can experience the delectable crêpes and anything else you are craving.

PRICE: $10/WAFFLE SCORE: 9 DRY CREEK CAFE

544 Yale, 713-426-2313

Not my grandma’s waffle. “Grandma’s Sunday Waffle” at Dry Creek is fluffy and flavorful, topped with a decadent bananas foster mélange of sliced bananas cooked in butter and brown sugar. Order a side of smoky-salty bacon to balance out the sweetness.

Chicken and waffles are also available: two crispy chicken wings over Grandma’s Sunday waffle.

PRICE: $5/Grandma’s Sunday Waffle SCORE: 8

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60 DECEMBER 2010 – JANUARY 2011

GRAND LUX CAFE

5000 Westheimer. #690, 713-626-1700

Big enough to split. The light, almostcrispy Belgian waffle on the weekend breakfast menu fills your entire plate and is served with fresh strawberries or blueberries (blueberries cost an extra dollar). Regular or sugar-free maple syrup available. Heartier appetites relish the fried chicken and waffles topped with pecan honey-butter sauce.

PRICE: $8.95 SCORE: 8 THE BREAKFAST KLUB

3711 Travis, 713-528-8561 Savory & sweet sensation. The signature award-winning “Wings & Waffle” is a golden brown Belgian waffle topped with a strawberry, lightly dusted with powdered sugar and encircled by six pieces of “krispy” golden-fried chicken wings. Drizzle on warm maple syrup from the serve-yourself-vat. The tall tender waffle melts in your mouth. And what a steal.

PRICE: $9.99 SCORE: 10 WAFFLE HOUSE

1720 College St., 713-946-2715, and other locations

24/7. The house is always open and always affordable. The traditional thin buttermilk waffles have a slight vanillamalty flavor and are griddled to a pale golden hue without any distinctive crisp texture. The syrup was also disappointing and was served room temperature instead of warm. Pecans or chocolate chips available for toppings.

PRICE: $3.35 SCORE: 7

Robin Barr Sussman is a a freelance food writer with a culinary mission: great taste.

Also accepting reservations for Valentine’s Day

Lunch. Dinner. Brunch. Happy Hour.

Bar Bites & Creative Cocktails | Happy Hour 5 – 7 p.m. | Award-Winning Bistro Fare | Private Dining

1985 Welch at McDuffie Reservations 713-533-0200 Bistro • Wine Bar

mockingbirdbistro.com