Pat’s Pick
Pat's Pick
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Pat's Pick
BEST CELLAR A lair for urban animals, Houston's Cava Bistro feels like a wine cellar in a city where basements are as rare as igloos. The place has been open less than three months, but its rustic rock arches look hundreds of years old. By the light of chandeliers with little mocha-colored lamp shades, a friend and I pored over the wide-ranging menu and extensive wine list. Chef Fidel Perez doesn't shy away from mixing countries and cuisines: A complimentary loaf of French bread came with a dish of chile-de-árbol-and-roasted-tomato salsa spiked with cumin and cilantro. For our first course, we tried ahi tuna tartare, which played with the elements of a modern sushi roll, including wasabi aïoli, black sesame seeds, and morsels of lump crabmeat so big I shuddered to imagine the size of their original owner (just when I thought it was safe to go back in the water . . .). We turned to Italy for the next course, a combo of grilled portobellos marinated in sweet balsamic vinaigrette and irresistible mascarpone polenta drizzled with truffle oil. Detouring back to France, we ordered beautifully cooked scallops with sautéed leeks and shiitakes on crisp puff pastry with an over-the-top-rich butter sauce. Bottom line: Roll the dice. You'll dine well whatever continent you land on.
PATRICIA SHARPE
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Cheese Poleta and Grilled Portobellos
Cava Bistro, Houston |
Season's Eatings
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AMERICAN PIE We hold this truth to be self-evident: that no Fourth of July celebration is complete without the consumption of vast quantities of fried chicken, potato salad, cherry pie, and such. If you don't have a time-honored family recipe for cherry pie, you might consider starting a tradition by serving this eminently patriotic version created by pastry chef Julia Ruíz, of Austin's Roaring Fork. Ruíz starts with a flaky butter-and-Crisco crust and fills it with fresh, brown-sugar-sweetened cherries—the "red" in this all-American dessert. For the "white and blue," she adds a generous dollop of whipped cream and a lacy ornament made of blue-dyed sugar, then drizzles the plate with black-currant sauce. Happily, Ruíz's recipe makes individual pies, ensuring that everyone at the picnic table gets exactly the same amount. After all, a domestic insurrection would most definitely not promote the pursuit of happiness.
PATRICIA SHARPE
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Fresh Cherry Pie With Whipped Cream and Black Currant Sauce
The Roaring Fork, Austin |
On The Road
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WATER WORLD Take to the water the Texas way this summer—in a tube on a river. If you want sustenance afterward, check out these three favorites of ours. The behemoth of Central Texas river restaurants is the 950-seat Gristmill in the historic hamlet of Gruene, on the Guadalupe. With nearly half its seats overlooking the water, the Mill feeds famished floaters with better-than-decent mushroom quesadillas, onion rings the size of wagon wheels, and entrées like tomatillo chicken breast. Way out west, tubers on the Frio River can keep their laid-back mood going at House Pasture Cattle Company, in Concan. The whole point here is to sit out on the sprawling covered concrete slab and nurse a beer while listening to the classic jukebox or the summertime live-music lineup. The food ranges from basic CFS and Buffalo wings to quail stuffed with cream cheese. And after a day on the San Marcos River, nothing satisfies a big appetite better than a regular dinner or cheesy enchiladas at Herbert's Taco Hut. Lots of AC and a cold drink make for a nice reprieve from the heat. You won't need to wear your shades—there's not a glimmer of sunlight in the place.
PATRICIA SHARPE
My Library
