Pat’s Pick
Bank Jean-Georges
BANK JEAN-GEORGES
BANK STATEMENT
I love the scene at Bank Jean-Georges. On my visit, the downtown Houston restaurant hadn't been open a week and already it was filled with Prada-toting air kissers, dignified couples of a certain age, and the occasional table of passionate eaters like myself who had seized the opportunity to taste the Asian-inflected French fare of über-chef Jean-Georges Vongerichten without springing for a trip to New York, Las Vegas, London, or Hong Kong. Under the direction of chef de cuisine Bryan Caswell, Bank's kitchen is hot. Foie gras brûlée—a savory appetizer version of the famous dessert, with goose liver blended into a rich custard base—was a little bit of heaven. So was a seductive coconut milk, shiitake, and chicken soup spiked with lemongrass and galanga, an exotic root with a ginger-peppery kick. A tender veal chop came bathed in a Madeira jus with a garnish of bracing kumquat chutney. The dining room—a dramatic makeover of the lobby of the 1911 Union National Bank—is lively but blessedly quiet. Even better, entrée prices range between $19 and $35, so you don't have to take out a loan to dine here. PATRICIA SHARPE
Chicken Soup With Coconut Milk
BOOKSHELF
RED, WHITE, AND TRUE
Even non-Texans know that chili enjoys near-mythic status in the Lone Star State. What they may not know is that biscuits are mighty important too. Two new cookbooks have the last word on these staples. In Strictly Chili A. D. Livingston lauds the classic Texas bowl of red as the mother of modern chili. James Villas's Biscuit Bliss explores every permutation of biscuits, from raised to rolled; we think a brilliant suggestion is to smother a batch of jalapeño buttermilk biscuits in Texas chili. There's a marriage made in heaven.
VENISON CHILI FOR LBJ
President Lyndon Baines Johnson liked to eat chili when he was at his Texas ranch. Made with beef, this same recipe is often called Pedernales River Chili.
4 pounds venison, coarsely ground * 1 large onion, chopped * 2 cloves garlic, minced * 1 1/2 cups canned tomatoes, chopped * 6 teaspoons chili powder, or to taste * 1 teaspoon ground oregano * 1 teaspoon cumin seeds * 1/8 teaspoon hot red-pepper sauce * salt to taste
Brown the ground meat in a stovetop Dutch oven, add onion and garlic, and cook for a few minutes. Add the rest of the ingredients and 2 cups of hot water. Bring to a boil, lower the heat, cover tightly, and simmer—do not boil—for at least 1 hour.
Adapted from Strictly Chili, by A. D. Livingston. Reprinted with permission from Burford Books.
JALAPEÑO BUTTERMILK BISCUITS
2 cups all-purpose flour * 1 tablespoon baking powder * 1/2 teaspoon baking soda * 1 teaspoon salt * 1/4 cup chilled lard, cut into pieces * 2 seeded jalapeño chiles, minced * 1 cup buttermilk
Preheat oven to 425 degrees. Whisk together flour, baking powder, baking soda, and salt. Add the lard and rub it in with your fingertips till the mixture is mealy. Add the jalapeños and buttermilk and stir till just blended but still sticky. Transfer the dough to a lightly floured surface and knead 8 times. Pat out the dough 1/2-inch thick and cut out rounds with a 3-inch cutter. Arrange them on a sheet about 1 inch apart and bake till golden, about 15 minutes.
Adapted from Biscuit Bliss, by James Villas. Reprinted with permission from the Harvard Common Press. PATRICIA BUSA MCCONNICO
HAPPENING
FOR CHOW HOUNDS
Whether you're a native or naturalized Texan, you should be ashamed of starting your day with a latte and a toaster tart. Get in the swing by having a "cowboy breakfast," a diet-defying spread of scrambled eggs, home fries, biscuits, gravy, sausage, strong coffee, and more. An authentic working ranch near Claude takes you via a horse-drawn wagon out to the rim of the Palo Duro Canyon for the long-running Cowboy Morning (reservations 800-658-2613), with its famous Dutch oven biscuits cooked over mesquite coals. At Dixie Dude Ranch (800-375-9255), in Bandera, you actually have to get on a horse and ride to the ranch's chuck wagon for breakfast. To be sure you're on time, stay overnight at the 67-year-old spread. Way out in the Big Bend, the folks at Lajitas, the Ultimate Hideout (432-424-5000) send you on horseback out to Star Gazer Mesa to watch the sun rise while you eat migas, house-smoked sausage, and biscuits and gravy liberally seasoned with blowing ash from the fire. Finally, to dine in a more urban setting closer to home, check out your local stock show. Austin's Star of Texas Fair and Rodeo (512-919-3000), for example, will dish up Western fare plus pancakes, doughnuts, and pigs in a blanket on March 12. Wherever you eat it, a cowboy breakfast should have you back in the saddle—or ready for a nap. S. L. MCDONALD
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