French-trained Latino chef Carlos Gonzales hails from Chicago and cooks up pan-Asian food in Houston. That’s our town! And we also dig the setting—pearly-gray upholstered chairs, silvery walls with purple accents, and a wicker wonder of a patio (fire pit included). Though small, the menu has range. We shared a happy tangle of potato, spinach, and onion pakora, packing a little heat (it looked like a landlubber’s version of calamari), and a roasted-beet masala on fresh baby lettuces. Then one of us went with the meaty, satisfying roasted Cornish hen and the other with a thin-crusted pizza loaded with cheeses and mushrooms. (1/13)