Pat’s Pick
Pat's Pick
Photograph by Matthew Bromley
Pat's Pick
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PHOTO BY MATTHEW BROMLEY |
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LALAPALOUZA When I heard that erstwhile caterer Lou Lambert was opening a restaurant on Austin's South Congress Avenue—a popular haute-funk shopping district—I kept my fingers crossed for a place with good value, good vibes, and good food. Lambert's has delivered on all those fronts. Entrées are $11 to $20 (most come with side dishes), the decor is appealingly simple (polished-concrete floors, exposed air conditioning ducts, mirrors on off-white walls), and the free-range menu does right by both global and regional American creations. I love the cool appetizer of shredded-beef salpicón and guacamole, which you roll up in a corn tortilla like a taco, and I'm already addicted to the caper-strewn olive-oil dipping sauces that come with the tenderloin and (admirably rare) tuna entrées. The roast chicken is comfort-food heaven, and I'm telling everybody that they have to finish with the grown-up version of cookies and milk—a plate heaped with macadamia-nut pralines, citrus sugar cookies with crystallized ginger, chocolate-chip cookies, and a big dollop of whipped cream.
PATRICIA SHARPE
Seared Peppered Pork Loin With Cucumber Mint Salsa
Primary Flavors
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PHOTO BY PAULA MURPHY |
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COLD COMFORT Soup, by definition, is comfort food. But it can also be sexy, especially in the summer, when chefs devise recipes that call for ripe fruit. Or it can be edgy, with the imaginative use of fresh herbs. It can even be bracing when it's served chilled. Houston's Mockingbird Bistro offers three smartly updated cold soups: melon gazpacho (garnished with chives), tomato and asparagus (adorned with tomatoes and basil), and cucumber and yogurt with poached Gulf oysters. And if you've ever had the urge to eat guacamole with a spoon, the next best thing—and perhaps a bit more civilized—is the sopa de aguacate that chef Miguel Ravago serves at Austin's Fonda San Miguel. But of all the coolly comforting summer soups, the most luscious is the most traditional—vichyssoise. Dallas' new French darling, Le Rendezvous, makes one of the best versions we've ever dipped a spoon into.
EILEEN SCHWARTZ
Sopa de Aguacate (Avocado Soup)
Word of Mouth
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ILLUSTRATION BY MATTHEW BROMLEY |
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ROLL OUT THE BARREL No matter how much you know about wine, Paul Roberts probably knows more. This year, at the tender age of thirty, the wine director of Houston's Café Annie was named a master sommelier by the American chapter of the Court of Master Sommeliers. Not only is Roberts the first person in Texas to qualify, but he also passed the excruciatingly difficult three-part exam in one attempt and he made the highest score in the country.
How did you get interested in wine? When I was a junior at the University of Texas at Austin, I signed up for a wine-tasting class, thinking it would be a good happy hour.
How does one study for the master sommelier's exam? You turn your life over to it. You are constantly tasting, constantly reading. I took a pile of books with me to San Francisco, where the final exam was held. The stack was about three feet high. The test, which involves tasting as well as written and oral exams, takes several days.
What's trendy now? That is the question we are always trying to answer. These days more and more people are interested in the white wines of Austria and reds from the southern Rhône Valley of France.
What is your favorite Texas winery? It's hard to choose between Becker Vineyards and Alamosa Wine Cellars. Those two are making some exciting wines and are actually paying attention to Texas' climate and growing conditions. They're blending wines with grapes that truly grow well here, like Syrah and Grenache.
What wine do you dream of tasting? A 1947 Comte de Vogüé Musigny "Cuvée Vieilles Vignes"—one of the world's greatest Burgundies.
PATRICIA BUSA MCCONNICO
My Library
