Houston

(From November 2011)

These cozy confines just off Voss seem just the setting for congenial Arturo Boada’s multicultural menu. Guests and staff alike appear in high spirits, no doubt inspired by dishes like Camarones Henesy en Hamaca (large shrimp piled atop an arresting blend of hearts of palm, tomatoes, capers, and plantains in a soy-ginger broth); rich rigatoni with chicken, peas, and mushrooms; and a thin-crusted carnitas pizza with red onions and cilantro. Beer & wine.. 

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(From March 2011) This comfy little cafe with its chalkboard menu may seem a bit old-fashioned. But we have no complaints when retro food tastes so good. A lively salad with bits of goat cheese, ham, and hazelnuts was large enough to share, leaving us room for rack of lamb in a pistachio-fig sauce with mashed potatoes and haricots verts and a pile of plump mussels in a creamy, winy broth served with crisp pommes frites. Excellent French wines, reasonably priced. Beer & wine.

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(From January 2012)

After leaving Voice, at the Hotel Icon, and tarrying briefly at the Tasting Room, chef Michael Kramer has landed at Felix 55. The place looks more like an upscale bar with a restaurant attached, but the food has the typical Kramer panache, from the sharp Peruvian ceviche with contrasting bits of sweet pineapple and mango to the lush corn soup boosted by a dab of goat cheese to the sumptuous mushroom and Parmesan risotto. “Global” seems to be the uniting theme. We would put an “Italian” label on his buccatini pasta with gorgeous, perfectly cooked Gulf shrimp and kalamata olives and an “Asian-influenced” one on thin squares of seared tuna in sesame-ginger vinaigrette. “Peruvian” is obvious for the ceviche in the intensely tart marinade called leche de tigre (tiger’s milk). The setting combines smart gray velvet chairs and red accents with perplexing portraits of women sprouting antlers (for sale, if they pique your interest). Bar.

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(From April 2011) Originating in Italy, then spreading to Latin America and the U.S. eastern coast, this mega pizza chain now claims a cool, con-temporary space in Midtown, where we found a crowd downing happy-hour drinks and snacks under colorful pendant lights. We raised our own glasses (caipirinhas for us) with the bar gang, then settled at a table for salad (the Roka Cabana, a compact mix of arugula, tomatoes, and yellow peppers with pomegranate vinai-grette) and pizza (a thin-crusted, hand-tossed carbonara, to which we gave an A+). Bar.

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(From November 2011)

Every neighborhood deserves a place like this Heights hangout: light, airy surroundings; consistently good food; and the likelihood of running into friends. We opted for two seafood entrées, a halibut special with green-pea gnocchi and seared scallops atop crawfish-and-pancetta polenta. And yes, we wound up having coffee with old pals we spotted having dinner at the bar. 

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(From February 2012)

This handsome space features an ever-changing menu and some fine, if uneven, food. Recent highlights included a rich pumpkin bisque with a swirl of chive crème fraîche; a meaty braised lamb shank on mashed potatoes with garlic-and-cayenne pesto; and seared snapper on couscous with a citrus-tomato butter sauce. Sometimes the kitchen falters, though, as in a couple of past-their-prime mussels and another snapper dish that came off oily and in need of more seasoning. Bar.

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(From April 2011)

Only a couple of recent dishes at this attractive spot proved less than “stella” (sorry, we couldn’t resist). Undone by a pre-ponderance of pork, the Farmhouse Salad seemed marred by its strong-tasting bits of “cochon de lait” (a.k.a. pork rinds), and the delicate crabmeat in a crab carbonara with tagliatelle was over-whelmed by the salty pancetta. Still, our wagyu sirloin steak had intense flavor and came with warm smoked potato salad and an imaginative pear-onion barbecue sauce. A starter of burrata with pickled, smoked tomatoes tasted just fine, and we could stuff our-selves on the great biscuits, served gratis. Bar.

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(From January 2011) Even through fogged glass on a dark, rainy evening, the trees and lights of Discovery Green made a picturesque setting for a weeknight downtown rendezvous. Skewers of smoked quail got dinner off to a good start, but we wished for more zip in the pineapple-bourbon dipping sauce. However, we loved the “ancient grains” (quinoa, farro, barley, and millet) and lemon yogurt sauce that accompanied the grilled chicken breast, even though it was, alas, overcooked. Our hefty cheeseburger with poblano chile strips and avocado totally satisfied. Bar.

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(From June 2011)

Chicken? Extraordinary? Indeed it is when cooked in a wood-burning oven till it's delicately charred on the outside and fork-tender on the inside. Braised pork shoulder, served with creamy polenta, is just as special. Start with the pretty array of baby beets with apples and goat cheese, and thin-sliced tuna drizzled with lemon vinegar. Turns out this casual wine bar, its spacious patios perfect for gathering with friends, dishes up impressive bites too. Beer & wine.

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(From November 2010) The Selvaggio Group (Santa Monica and Las Vegas) has staked out its claim in Houston at the Hotel Derek, adding contemporary red touches to a formerly muted dining room and touting world-class Italian cuisine. We happily devoured a crudo array from the raw bar—ahi tuna with wasabi aioli, white tuna and passionfruit, pompano with lemon sauce, and green-apple-topped scallops—and gave high marks to a wild mushroom risotto and a simple entrée of sliced NY steak. Service, though, with one overworked waitress, failed to deliver. Bar.

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