Good Eats 
Where to Eat Now 2007
The best new restaurants of the year are whipping up everything from beef short ribs and pork tenderloin to sea bass and roasted duck. And the snails are going fast.
(Page 2 of 2)
6. GLASS WALL Houston
The Glass Wall is no place for itty-bitty flavors and finicky presentations. Tastes don’t unfold, they pop. Take chef and co-owner Lance Fegen’s wonderful duck breast, pink and unapologetically rimmed with fat. Most cooks would pair duck with a fruit sauce, maybe orange or cherry. Not Fegen. He whips up a jus-based concoction boosted with molasses and Tabasco that is totally in your face and totally spot-on. In the Glass Wall’s kitchen, passion trumps reason. Of course, there’s logic in a blend like the sauce he drizzles on the tuna tartare, an intelligent balance of sweet, salty, and tangy (brown sugar, soy sauce, and ginger), but here’s the zinger: a shot of dusky, intense pomegranate molasses (I think I detect a trend here). That’s why I like this little tawny-colored room with its exposed ductwork and black-rock wall, despite the deafening noise level when it’s packed. (If, heaven forbid, you actually want to converse with your friends, be prepared to whistle and shout and call them by name.) But in a strange way, the intensity appeals to me. Sensory overload might strike, boredom never. 933 Studewood, 713-868-7930. Tue–Sat 5:30–10. Closed Sun & Mon.
7. SHINSEI Dallas
At first, no doubt, the star power of the owners’ names had Dallas chowhounds and social animals scurrying to check out Shinsei. But Lynae Fearing and Tracy Rathbun, wives of über-chefs Dean and Kent, respectively, have proved they can make it on their own. The dramatically lit chocolate-brown room with its splashy abstract art has become quite the trendy, and loud, venue. The theme is pan-Asian, with sushi and such making up about half the menu. You must have Elvis’ Tuna Tartare, a blend of pristine chopped ahi, jalapeño, and cucumber tossed with sesame seeds and served on a big, crisp wonton wrapper like a Japanese chalupa (below). Why in the world is it named for Elvis Presley? Check out the raven-black pompadour of the dish’s creator, head sushi chef Shuji Sugawara. And do not miss the sumptuous tenderloin in a shiitake mushroom–black bean sauce, courtesy of executive chef Casey Thompson, who once cooked at the Mansion on Turtle Creek under—guess who—Dean Fearing. Small world, isn’t it? 7713 Inwood Rd., 214-352-0005. Mon–Sat 5–11. Closed Sun.
8. CAPITOL BRASSERIE Austin
When I visited Capitol Brasserie, I took along two friends who had lived in Paris for a year. “How authentic is the menu?” I asked them. They immediately nixed the spinach tagliatelle and the salmon with hollandaise (“Not in our arrondissement,” they declared). Other than that, chef Geoff Nunez’s bill of fare looked fine to them. Moreover, it tasted fine too. “Great escargots bourguignons,” said one friend, with her mouth full. “Nice pommes frites,” mumbled the other. We all liked the tender New York strip steak au poivre, with a green-peppercorn sauce that made us sit up and take notice. We were less thrilled with the mushy green lentils under the lamb T-bones and with the room-temperature profiteroles sandwiched around pistachio ice cream. But overall, we gave the Texas brasserie a thumbs-up, and that was without ordering two excellent dishes I had liked earlier: the meaty Moulard duck confit and the fragrant almond tart. We agreed that the decor—burgundy walls, dark paneling, French posters—was a bit of a cliché, but we applauded the late-night hours and weekend brunch. After all, there aren’t too many places in Austin you can go when you have your mouth set for a nice, juicy snail. 310 Colorado, 512-472-6770. Mon 11–midnight, Tue–Thur 11–1 a.m., Fri & Sat 11– 3 a.m., Sun 10–3 & 5–midnight.
9. SAMPAIO’S Austin
Aside from feijoada, which can be thought of as the chili of Brazil, most Americans know little of that vast country’s cuisine. Luckily for Austin, help is at hand. Hardly the funky ethnic cafe that I (for one) expected, Sampaio’s consists of a well-appointed dining room and a mojito-perfect patio with swags of white fabric floating overhead. The menu, courtesy of Brazilian-born owner Magna Sampaio and American chef Johnny Romo, offers plenty of mainstream entrées along with unusual vegetables such as yuca, a.k.a. manioc (the potato of Brazil), and garnishes like farofa (the seasoned bread crumbs of Brazil). One terrific dish was the flatiron steak atop fresh collard greens. Doused in chimichurri, similar to a robust, herbal vinaigrette, it also came with fantastic yuca fries. A close runner-up was the coffee-crusted pork tenderloin in a spicy cherry sauce. Seafood makes an appearance in dishes like the peixada nordestina (below), a popular Brazilian combo of fish and shellfish in coconut cream sauce. But to sample the food of the people, ask for feijoada (black beans stewed with smoked meats and sausage) and farofa (coarse, salty toasted yuca flour and bacon bits). You’ll know more about Brazilian cuisine than you did and still have a world to learn. 4800 Burnet Rd., 512-469-9988. Sun–Thur 11–10, Fri & Sat 11–11.
10. LA FRITE BELGIAN BISTRO San Antonio
Nobody’s reinventing the wheel at La Frite. No, this is an utterly predictable bistro shoehorned into a quirky old storefront near downtown San Antonio. You’ve got your mussels in white-wine broth, your skinny fries served in paper cones, your crêpes, your flaky vol-au-vent shells brimming with savory fillings, and your assorted dessert tarts. If La Frite were in any other large Texas city, it would be no big deal. But San Antonio doesn’t have another Belgian bistro, so locals have welcomed it with open arms. In fact, with its casual stained-plywood tabletops and fun paintings of a goggle-eyed dog, La Frite has even become a bit of a hangout for artistes and other bohemians. At lunch and dinner, you’ll find neighborhood regulars and downtown office workers filling the two narrow rooms, happily munching on the handiwork of chefs José Luga and Adrian Moore, including an appetizer of crêpes filled with duck in a sassy red-wine vinaigrette (a special) and an entrée of fork-tender hanger steak in a knock-you-upside-the-head green-peppercorn sauce. Occasionally you might find a customer picking at some atypically dull tarragon chicken in puff pastry, but more often than not, people are delighted that local restaurateur Damien Watel decided to whisk them away to Belgium. 728 S. Alamo, 210-224-7555. Lunch Tue–Fri 11:30–2. Dinner Tue–Fri 6–10:30, Sat 5–10:30. Closed Sun & Mon.
* THE BEST OF THE REST
AUSTIN Unless you arrive before about eleven o’clock in the morning for the excellent coffee and chocolate biscotti (which I do about five days a week), you may have to fight the crowds at Mandola’s Italian Market. Fine dining this is not, but the quality and value are great for a place where you order at a brick-faced counter and have pizzas, pasta, panini, and desserts swiftly delivered to your table. The eggplant-and-olive-tapenade pizza is fantastico, and the cheesy lasagne (with homemade mozzarella) is better than decent. Restaurant owner and PBS-cooking-show personality Damian Mandola emigrated from Houston only recently, but he knows what Austin likes. 4700 W. Guadalupe at N. Lamar Blvd., 512-419-9700. Mon–Fri 8–10, Sat 9–10, Sun 9–9.
DALLAS Throw a dart at the menu at Central 214 and almost any dish it lands on will be good. But for ultimate satisfaction, start with chef Tom Fleming’s grilled romaine salad (crisp within, lightly charred without) in a kicky oregano vinaigrette. Then move on to heavenly Maryland-style crab cakes, bursting with pure lump crab. Your side dish should be mac and cheese, even though it’s really rigatoni in a lush roasted-garlic-and-Parmesan cream sauce. For dessert, have the cannoli, fragile mille-feuille tubes encasing a light lemon custard. Enjoy it all in the stylish contemporary dining room with its square white pillars, dark tabletops, and twinkly modern light fixtures. In Hotel Palomar, 5680 N. Central Expy. (U.S. 75), 214-443-9339. Breakfast Mon–Fri 7–10:30. Lunch Mon–Fri 11:30–3. Dinner Sun–Wed 5–10, Thur–Sat 5–10:30. Brunch Sat & Sun 8–3.
It costs to go first-class at Trece, but that’s part of the allure of this big, sexy, noisy scene. First, there are the $10 top-shelf margs; then there is the fine signature guacamole, made tableside at $11 for two. After this, the rest will almost seem like a bargain. Interior Mexican food, updated and upscaled, is the hallmark of chef Amador Mora, whose twenty-year-plus career at the Mansion on Turtle Creek finally led to this well-deserved place in the limelight. Many dishes are so elaborate they defy human understanding, but the grilled-green-tomato Mexican gazpacho served during the spring and summer is delicious, as is the skewer of garlicky, tequila-marinated shrimp. 4513 Travis, 214-780-1900. Lunch Wed–Fri 11–2:30. Dinner Sun & Mon 5–10, Tue & Wed 5–11, Thur–Sat 5–midnight. Brunch Sat & Sun 10:30–3.
FORT WORTH The hardest table to get in Fort Worth may well be one of the six in Nonna Tata’s minuscule cinder-block dining room, the domain of chef and owner Donatella Trotti. Eating here is like being invited to the home of your Italian neighbor, who happens to be a very good cook. On any given day, most of the tall stools are staked out early by regulars, who come for pastas like gemelli in a sprightly basil pesto; specials such as crisp, lemon-spritzed breaded chicken cutlets; and desserts like the torta Ciotola, an aromatic apple-and-pear crumb cake. Evenings offer more-elaborate entrées such as herbed pork loin. Nonna Tata reminds you that simple pleasures can be the best. 1400 W. Magnolia, 817-332-0250. Lunch Tue–Fri 11–3. Dinner Mon–Thur 5:30–9, Fri 5:30–10. Closed Sat & Sun. Cash & checks only.
SAN ANTONIO Wunderkind Jason Dady—the thirty-year-old chef and owner who mans the kitchen at both the Lodge at Castle Hill and its newer sibling, Bin 555—needs to step away from the saltshaker. The cooking is excellent in dishes like his rich shrimp bisque with a swirl of curried sour cream and in the daily special of coastal fish (such as mahimahi) in a fragrant lemon-thyme fumet surrounded by oven-dried tomatoes and baby artichokes. But excess salt has marred too many other dishes I’ve tried here, detracting from innovative ingredients like farro, a nutty-flavored Italian grain. Dady’s odd, eclectic menu (meatballs, a lump-crab napoleon, blue-cheese cheesecake) intrigues foodies and neighborhood fans alike, who regularly fill the clean-lined, hazelnut-hued main dining room. 555 W. Bitters Rd., in Artisans Alley, northeast rear corner, 210-496-0555. Mon–Thur 11–midnight, Fri & Sat 11–2 a.m. Closed Sun. 
Pages: 1 2
My Library
