Where to Eat Now 2009
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7. Textile, Houston
Photograph by Debora Smail
Minimalist yet snug, with soft beige and tan fabrics stretched on boxy light fixtures and old brick walls painted a whiter shade of pale, Scott Tycer’s obscure new 28-seat place in the slightly seedy Heights neighborhood already has his fan base vying for weekend reservations. The payoff for your persistence might well start with a brilliant amuse-bouche of fennel soup bolstered by a sublime nugget of sturgeon at the bottom of the cup and a dab of crème fraîche on top. The meal might then proceed to starters such as a delicate bacon tart with a twee basted quail egg, wilted bitter greens, and dabs of balsamic vinegar. For an entrée, braised veal breast with a truffled hollandaise should do quite nicely. This is a subtle evolution of the edgy, laser-point French-American cooking that landed Tycer on Food & Wine’s list of best new chefs back in 2003. See where he’s going with it now.
8. Tei-An, Dallas
Photograph by Kevin Marple
At Tei-An, greatness has been thrust upon the humble soba. Restaurateur and chef Teiichi “Teech” Sakurai has dedicated himself to explaining the nutty-flavored, nubby-textured buckwheat noodles—a mainstay of Japanese culinary culture—to Americans. While soba are not sacred, of course, he and many of his countrymen hold them in near-spiritual regard. Settle into the beautifully restrained, gallerylike dining room, a temple of taupe, and let a smiling waitress be your guide. Start your journey with endlessly replenished hot buckwheat tea, to foster serenity. Then have chilled soba in a salad braced with brisk mizuna leaves in a rice-wine vinaigrette. Graduate to soba in a piping-hot bonito-flake broth with a poached egg swirled in. The variations are endless. Should you finally have your fill, change pace with sushi, tempura, grilled beef, or duck. Teech ministers to nonbelievers too.
9. Charlie Palmer at the Joule, Dallas
Photograph by Samuel Solomon
You will feel as if you’ve stumbled into a box of chocolates, what with the cocoa-colored woodwork, caramel walls, lush butterscotch-hued chairs, and cognac screens. It’s all quite tasty, and so’s the food. You should start with the miniature lobster corn dog with mustard crème fraîche; it’s as silly and fun as it sounds. Then go straight for the big guns and have executive chef Scott Romano’s dry-aged New York strip with cabernet reduction, accompanied by an outrageously seductive bone-marrow flan. Piscivores will take to dishes like butterflied rainbow trout (stuffed with a wild mushroom–potato hash and bathed in balsamic brown butter) or kampachi sashimi. The menu emphasizes surf and turf, but thankfully there are some offbeat offerings that give it a contemporary edge (quinoa with currants and herbs, to name one). Renowned chef-turned-restaurateur Charlie Palmer (of Manhattan’s Aureole, among others) is the force behind this little gem at the Joule hotel, which is the only out-of-state entry on my top ten list this year. Welcome to Texas, Mr. Palmer. Recipe for Miniature Lobster Corn Dog
10. Oloroso, San Antonio
Photograph by Sarah Sudhoff
I ran into a chef from another restaurant having a party at Oloroso—now, that’s a vote of confidence. I’d celebrate here too, maybe just a casual, low-key TGIF with friends who I know would enjoy the restaurant’s Mediterranean menu and its setting, a simple, revamped bungalow with dark wood floors and brandy-colored walls. I would definitely call ahead to be sure the kitchen had my favorite appetizer: fresh figs wrapped in pancetta. The twosome comes with a slab of great, funky blue cheese and a tiny, tartly dressed frisée-and-arugula salad. There’s no question that I’d order chef/co-owner Josh Cross’s duck breast for an entrée; pink and succulent, it’s gilded with a discreet swipe of thyme jus and comes with corn simmered in duck stock and some braised Swiss chard on the side. Since it would be my party, I’d have what I wanted for dessert, namely the sweet-tart huckleberry crisp with a toasty butter-sugar topping. Come to think of it, Friday’s too far off. What about TGIT?. Recipe for Seared Diver Scallops With Wild Mushrooms and Rutabaga Purée.
HONORABLE MENTION
AUSTIN
• Executive chef Josh Watkins, formerly of the Driskill Hotel, rules THE CARILLON, a hard-to-find conference-center dining room on the University of Texas campus. His food far, far surpasses the stuffy setting. Try delish crab cakes (with a dollop of avocado mousse) and Berkshire pork tenderloin on cannellini beans with smoked tomatoes.
• On a good night, OLIVIA’s kitchen—under chef/co-owner James Holmes and chef de cuisine Morgan Angelone—can be as arresting as the chic, airy building
it occupies. Check out the salad of beets with creamy-tart goat cheese and the tuna carpaccio appetizer.
DALLAS
• The dining room is as comfy as a fifties den, and the menu includes homey dishes like crunchy fried chicken. But NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES chef and co-owner Nick Badovinus can’t resist classing things up with the likes of a cider-brined pork porterhouse with a white-bean ragoût.
• Arancini are the hush puppies of Italy, and no place in Dallas does them better than NONNA, where the fluffy rice balls come stuffed with veal-and-pancetta ragù. This small, softly lit, not overdressed Italian cafe headed by chef/co-owner Julian Barsotti also does an excellent halibut filet, baked in the wood-fired oven.
• Judging by the sex and size of the crowds at RISE NO 1, Dallas women have been soufflé-deprived for years. Chef Cherif Brahmi’s menu features the delicacies, both savory and sweet, and for variety throws in French bistro classics such as salade niçoise, all in a très charmant Provençal setting.
HOUSTON
• The next best thing to dining alfresco is eating at THE GROVE, with its acres of glass and parklike site. Executive chef Ryan Pera’s skin-on salmon, sided by a cider-vinegar sauce, is perfection, though die-hard Texans will go for the grilled skirt steak with a sassy tomatillo sauce.
SAN ANTONIO
• “Too much is never enough” is the decorative mantra at sexy COCO CHOCOLATE LOUNGE AND BISTRO. Slink in for a French bistro entrée (from chef Pedreaux Cuellar) like mussels and pommes frites, stay for the decadent house dessert: crème brûlée enrobed in chocolate mousse.
• Get a crowd together, the better to enjoy TRE TRATTORIA’s hearty, family-size entrées, like wild boar ragù. But couples can also dine well on chef-owner Jason Dady’s thin-crusted pizzas. Everyone enjoys the urbane-rustic setting.
• All snap and polish, big, bustling WILDFISH SEAFOOD GRILLE feels like an oceangoing steakhouse. Top choices from Steve Warner’s menu include sea bass in a light soy-sherry broth and jumbo scallops sautéed with citrus and brown butter.
DIRECTORY
AUSTIN
• THE CARILLON, AT&T Executive Education & Conference Center, hotel side, 1900 University Ave, 512-404-3655. Breakfast 7 days 7—10. Dinner Wed—Sat 5:30—10. (Lunch open only to University of Texas faculty and staff and members of the Campus Club.)
• OLIVIA, 2043 S. Lamar Blvd, 512-804-2700. Dinner Mon—Thur 5—10, Fri & Sat 5—11, Sun 5—9. Brunch Sun 10:30—2:30.
• PARKSIDE, 301 E. Sixth, 512-474-9898. Dinner Sun—Wed 5—midnight, Thur—Sat 5—2 a.m.
DALLAS
• BOLLA, Stoneleigh Hotel, 2927 Maple Ave, 214-871-7111. Breakfast 7 days 7—10:30. Lunch Mon—Fri 11—2:30. Dinner Sun—Thur 6—10, Fri & Sat 6—11. Brunch Sat & Sun 11—2:30.
• CHARLIE PALMER AT THE JOULE, Joule hotel, 1530 Main, 214-261-4600. Breakfast 7 days 6:30—10. Lunch 7 days 11:30—2 (bar menu 7 days 2—5:30). Dinner Sun—Thur 5:30—10, Fri & Sat 5:30—10:30.
• DALI WINE BAR AND RESTAURANT, One Arts Plaza, 1722 Routh, Ste. 102, 469-385-9360. Lunch Mon—Fri 11:30—2:30. Dinner 7 days 5—10:30. Small plates offered Mon—Sat 10:30—midnight. Reservations recommended.
• NEIGHBORHOOD SERVICES, 5027 W. Lovers Ln, 214-350-5027. Dinner Mon—Thur 6—10, Fri & Sat 6—11. Closed Sun. NONNA, 4115 Lomo Alto Dr, 214-521-1800. Dinner Mon—Sat 5:30—10. Closed Sun.
• RISE NO 1, Inwood Village, Ste. 220, 5360 W. Lovers Ln, 214-366-9900. Open Mon—Thur 11—10, Fri & Sat 11—11, Sun 11—9.
• TEI-AN, One Arts Plaza, 1722 Routh, Ste. 110, 214-220-2828. Lunch Mon—Fri 11:30—2. Dinner Mon—Sat 5:30—10:30. Closed Sun.
HOUSTON
• AU PETIT PARIS, 2048 Colquitt, 713-524-7070. Dinner Mon—Wed 5:30—9:30, Thur—Sat 5:30—10. Closed Sun. Reservations recommended.
• THE GROVE, 1611 Lamar, 713-337-7314. Open Sun—Wed 11—10, Thur—Sat 11—11.
• TEXTILE, 611 W. 22nd, 832-209-7177. Dinner Tue—Sat 6—11 (last seating at 9:30). Closed Sun & Mon. Reservations required.
• VOICE, Hotel Icon, 220 Main, 832-667-4470. Breakfast Mon—Fri 7—10:30, Sat & Sun 7—noon. Lunch Mon—Fri 11:30—2:30. Dinner Mon—Thur 5:30—10, Fri & Sat 5:30—11 (bar menu Sun noon—10).
SAN ANTONIO
• COCO CHOCOLATE LOUNGE AND BISTRO, 18402 U.S. 281, at Loop 1604, northeast corner, 210-491-4480. Open Mon—Thur 4—midnight, Fri & Sat 4—1 a.m., Sun 3—10.
• DOUGH PIZZERIA NAPOLETANA, Blanco Junction shopping center, 6989 Blanco Rd, at Loop 410, southwest corner, 210-979-6565. Lunch Tue—Sat 11:30—2:30. Dinner Tue—Sat 5:30 “until the fresh mozzarella runs out” (usually around 10). Closed Sun & Mon.
• OLOROSO, 1024 S. Alamo, 210-223-3600. Dinner Tue—Thur 5:30—10, Fri & Sat 5:30—11. Closed Sun & Mon.
• TRE TRATTORIA, 4003 Broadway, 210-805-0333. Open Mon—Sat 11—11. Closed Sun. Call ahead to get on waiting list.
• WILDFISH SEAFOOD GRILLE, 1834 NW Loop 1604, 210-493-1600. Dinner Mon—Thur 5—11, Fri & Sat 5—midnight, Sun 5—10.
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