Pat’s Pick
Pats Pick
Photograph by Paula Murphy
Pat's Pick
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PHOTO BY PAULA MURPHY |
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YOU GO, HUGO For two solid months, every time I checked on the much-anticipated opening of Hugo's in Houston, I got variations on the same answer: "Oh, we're so sorry, but there's going to be a wait; we've run into more construction problems." I sniffed disaster lurking. Finally, in July, the doors opened. And guess what: The place is great. Everything comes together—the sophisticated but earthy interior-Mexican menu, the room with its soaring spaces and wrought-iron torchères, and the feeling you get from the staff that they've pulled off something special. Executive chef and co-owner Hugo Ortega (who is also jefe of Houston's Backstreet Cafe) ate his way across Mexico to reacquaint himself with that country's regional specialties. Various seafood cocktails represent the Gulf Coast; grilled lobster tail in garlic mayonnaise comes from the Yucatán. The restaurant's duck in an excellent, unsweet mole poblano comes from his home city of Puebla. I can't wait to go back. What do you want to bet that, when I do, there will be a wait?
PATRICIA SHARPE
Camarones al Mojo de Ajo
This recipe for shrimp sautéed in a garlic-and-chipotle-flavored oil will get your mojo working.
Bookshelf
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TRAIL MIX Ah, the mythical cowboy—he squandered not a second of daylight on the range. But after darkness fell, our archetype unwound in front of a glowing campfire, chowing down on beans and biscuits and slugging down coffee as black as the skies above. Now, a new cookbook—Bill Cauble and Cliff Teinert's Barbecue, Biscuits & Beans: Chuck Wagon Cooking (Bright Sky Press, $24.95)—collects classic Western recipes for a new generation. In the book, which includes a foreword by San Saba boy Tommy Lee Jones (yes, that Tommy Lee Jones), the authors tip their hats to heritage with directions for making "Beef and Beans," "Camp Chili," and baking-powder biscuits. But the two Albany-area residents also offer modern dishes such as tart honeyed game hens and browned pork chops with pears. By the way, Cauble and Teinert have impressive credentials: They helped get the Western Chuck Wagon Association rolling. Like their cooking, they're the real deal.
STACY HOLLISTER
Pork Chops and Pears
Pears stand in for the traditional accompaniment of apples in this pork chop recipe. Hot sauce gives it a proper Texan touch.
On The Road
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PHOTO BY EILEEN SCHWARTZ |
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SAY "AMEN!" Our quest for the quintessential roadside cafe ended happily on a rural stretch of Texas Highway 21, four miles west of the hamlet of Lincoln. So many times before, we had been led astray in similar surroundings by a sign with the words "country kitchen," "home cooking," or some such, only to have our faith in road food shaken. This time though, the simple words "Cafe Ahead" turned out to be more than prophetic—they led us to the promised land. From the moment we stepped into the Elm Creek Cafe, the friendly waitresses and Lone Star memorabilia made us feel like we had come to dinner at a cousin's home in the country. While our fellow diners displayed quiet reverence over chicken-fried steaks and T-bones, we began with a basket of lightly battered onion rings, then proceeded to an excellent entrée of grilled quail. There must have been some divine intervention during our visit because just before our arrival, we had been having visions of fresh dewberry pie—and every bite of Elm Creek's homemade version was heavenly.
EILEEN SCHWARTZ
My Library
