DRIVE FOR SHOW

OTL / DRIVE FOR SHOW TAYCAN 4S

Porsche celebrates 2020 with the roll out of the Taycan 4S. This all electric sedan confidently upholds the Porsche brand’s reputation of sporty, fast and state-of-the-art performance with a lower price tag than its higher end siblings the Turbo and Turbo S.

First off this is a beautifully designed automobile. Meticulously crafted to stand tall among the other internationally recognized Porsche vehicles.

The Taycan is Porsche’s first electric ride. The Taycan powers all four wheels using front and rear electric motors. Taycan is the first production electric vehicle equipped with a two-speed transmission and an 800-volt electrical system providing quicker acceleration and shorter recharge times.

Porsche offers up the 4S with either 522 horsepower or 563 horsepower option, the Turbo edition makes 670 horsepower, and the top Turbo S puts the rubber to the road with a heart pumping 750 horsepower. The range of the Taycan is around 200 miles on a single charge. Recharging times can range from five to 80 percent in 22.5 minutes.

Inside the 2020 Porsche Taycan is relatively comfortable with an option of a 2+1 seating where there is a small center seat in the back. The dash is designed for performance in mind with all the gauges and clusters very accessible to the driver. When it comes to technology, the Taycan is the first car to offer up native Apple Music support, which allows Apple Music subscribers to stream music directly from the car’s infotainment system without pairing a phone. Out back you have 17 cubic feet of storage just enough for an overnight bag.

Porsche offers all types of safety technology on the Taycan from driver’s assistance to an adaptive cruise control and forward collision warning system. And if you are concerned about battery life ask about the high voltage batteries 8 year or 100,000 miles manufacturer coverage. That’s unprecedented for high voltage batteries.

Purchasing a Taycan looks something like this, a 4S sets you back $105,000 and change, while the Turbo hits for a solid $152,250 and the top of the line VIP Turbo S is priced at cool $186,350. Prices can vary of course depending on options.

If you are in the market for an eye-catching electric vehicle then the Porsche 2020 Taycan should be on the top of your vehicle test drive list.

DRIVERSIDE VEHICLE REVIEW

Vic & Anthony’s

Equisite dining in Downtown Houston

STORY BY RICHARD AREBALO FEATURES EDITOR / OTL MAGAZINE

Most major metropolitan cities have old, wellloved steak houses in their downtown areas. If you’re lucky, they’re impressive vintage establishments with amazing food and an atmosphere that’s always perfect for a celebration. Located near the heart of old downtown Houston, Vic & Anthony’s feels like it’s been there for ages with elegant stone and brick walls and colorful stained-glass ceilings inspired by the ones in the nineteenth century Driskill hotel in Austin.

BONE - IN FILET SPREAD

he restaurant established only in 2001 by Landry’s owner Tilman Fertitta, is billed as the only property in the Landry’s empire that was “built from the ground up.” Tillman and his father Vic traveled the country to find out what worked best at many of those old storied steakhouses, enabling them to put together the best qualities from each. Just a few blocks from Jones Hall and across a stone drive from the downtown Westin hotel, the restaurant’s exterior is equally impressive in brick and stone with large columns flanking the entrance.

As you walk in, you are greeted by smiling faces, fresh flowers, and a refrigerated case featuring some really beautiful steaks and seafood.

As we were escorted to our table, it was hard not to notice the row of (8 bottle) methuselahs on the long bar separating the open kitchen. While empty large-format bottles are a common decoration in restaurants, giant full bottles of fine wine are a bit rarer… a large-format bottle of 2003 Opus One will make you take notice.

The dining rooms are lush with extensive wood and metal sculptures in a style referred to as Texas Deco, and the large beautiful stained-glass ceilings and light fixtures created by Bryant Stanton give a festive quality to the elegant surroundings.

As one would expect, the service is very professional and makes you feel at ease, no sense of hurry.

We started with cocktails from the long list of specialties and got to work on choosing appetizers. This evening there were sixteen appetizers on hand ranging from Gulf oysters to A5 Wagyu Carpaccio. Petrossian Caviar was even available alongside Shrimp & Crab Martinis.

The table opted for the very popular ‘Roasted Bacon’, which was very

STEAK TARTARE

3 0 R E M A R K A B L E D I S P LAY C A S E W I T H V A R I O U S P R I M E C U T S T O E L E V AT E T H E EXPECTATIONS.

meaty and had a bourbon, maple syrup, and root beer glaze – I can easily see going back for that as a main with just a few good sides.

For my own appetizer, I opted for the wild Gulf Oysters sourced from Lavaca Bay. Our waiter Mark assured me that they would be nicer than the average gulf oyster, and he was right. They were served with “Atomic Cocktail Sauce,” a deeply flavored Cucumber Balsamic mignonette, and more atomic horseradish if the sauce wasn’t enough to put you into low orbit.

At this point, I met Rick Stiles, one of the Certified sommeliers on hand at the restaurant. I am usually pretty comfortable ordering wine, but I rarely get handed a 98-page wine list featuring sixteen hundred selections, with a fair number straying into the five-digit range.

To be fair, there are thirty-three very nice wines available by the glass and even quite a few bottles in the thirty to the fifty-dollar range, but the bulk of the menu is a wish book of some of the finest wines from around the globe. Vast selections in stellar years from the best of Bordeaux and Burgundy, and many “cult wine” selections from California. In addition to the beauties on the

bar, there are 4 pages of large format wines alone.

To go with my oysters, Rick suggested one of their Coravin selections, a 2015 Domaine de Courcel available by the glass. The Pommard Domain Courcel is mostly known for their elegant reds, and for having been in business for a scant four hundred years.

For our mains, Mark recommended the bone-in (wet-aged) Prime Ribeye’s of which we ordered three, the lady at our table opting for a smaller filet. Of the (again) sixteen sides available, choice was the problem - we ordered the beautifully browned au gratin potatoes, delicious roasted brussels sprouts, and perfect, fresh steamed broccoli. (The duck fat potatoes and popular mac & cheese would have to wait for another day)

One nice touch at Vic & Anthony’s is what is known as “ballet service” – all of our courses were brought to the table at the same time by four servers. It’s a small flourish that makes an already nice meal just that much nicer. As would be expected, our steaks each requested to a different doneness were just as ordered.

Although I do like a good fillet, the bone in option does indeed add a lot of flavor to a good steak. In the

SEBASS

end, just as Mark commented, the steak did not need the Béarnaise sauce, but it was still a great addition. Because of the beautiful surroundings and the good company, I chose to spend a bit more on the red wine for our steaks. Again, with Rick’s help, we settled on a 2009 Margaux – Chateau d’Issan. The wine was a classic Bordeaux blend of 62% Caber- net Sauvignon and 38% Merlot, with big flavors of blackberry, black currant and hints of flowers and licorice. The tannins were soft, but certainly still up for the steak, and the finish had a nice minerality. It was perfect with every bite of steak and particu- larly shined with the extra richness of the Béarnaise sauce.

Large as the steaks and sides were, we couldn’t pass up dessert. Because of my preference for less sweet desserts, bread pudding is not usually some- thing I order, but I had read a great deal about the one here. I have to say Vic & Anthony’s Croissant Bread Pudding with bourbon sauce is one of the nic- est I’ve ever had. It was buttery and caramelized, but somehow not cloyingly sweet. Not a forkful re- mained.

All that was left was a really good expresso, a sliver of lemon, and a safe car service home.

Before leaving, we were able to meet briefly with the restaurant GM Rob Harvey and his AGM Ryan Holyfield, handshakes all around, but in the end, nothing new could really be said… they’ve heard how excellent the experience was many, many times. Vic & Anthony’s has locations in Houston, Atlan- tic City, Las Vegas, and Lake Charles.