A Fork in the Road: Caracol (Houston, TX)

“Have you been to Caracol yet?” has become a pretty common question asked around Houston these days.  Hugo Ortega of Hugo’s and Backstreet Café fame, has opened his new seafood-inspired restaurant in the Stewart Title building on Post Oak.  As I walk in, the interior stuns me.  Sure, it’s a very large space, but breathtakingly gorgeous. 

Recognizably, Ortega has outfitted his staff in matching Mexican shirts and black pants and there is plenty staff around, so service is not lacking.  We arrive on the early side (by 7pm, the noise level is pretty loud) and I start with a Paloma.  Tequila and just the right amount of Tajin infused soda for spice. 

An intense menu offers traditional appetizers as well as entrees, but also includes an impressive count of ceviches, soups and other Spanish starters.  Most of our diners chose an appetizer and entrée, but ordering two tapas size dishes certainly satisfies the most hungry diner. 

My friend, Liz, had suggested we order the Gulf wood-roasted oysters.  She was right…these did not

disappoint!  These dozen bivalves are served sizzling hot with chipotle butter and I could have easily had another few.  

The Chilpachole de Jaiba soup preparation was constructed beautifully around a blue soft shelled crab with mini masa dumplings floating about.  The flavors could have been a bit more complex, but enjoyable nonetheless. 

Again, the butterflied snapper steamed in a basket with adobo sauce was average when it came to seasoning.  In my experience, adobo sauce is rich and spicy which was not the case here, but the fish was expertly cooked.  

A chickpea stuffed masa pancake with the tangy avocado salad was delicious and filling.

Crispy duck, duck molote and chard with red pumpkin seed sauce was not the most visually appealing dish, but of all the entrees, had the most complexity.  

The chocolate dome was cracked open with a mallet where you find a frothy coconut filling inside.  It was a nice little surprise.

To be forgotten was their version of bananas foster with flavorless bananas and a dollop of vanilla ice cream.

While I leave Ortez’s restaurants completely full, I’m never fully satisfied.  The sides always make up for any lull with the food.  I am partial to the refried black beans; they would be part of my last meal on Earth.  The charred brussel sprouts are on skewers with a sweet sauce underneath.  There is always room for improvement in the seasoning regard, but at least it’s always consistent when it comes to cooking proteins and that’s why I always return.

A Fork in the Road: Bellissimo (Houston, TX)

Family-owned Bellissimo is in Houston's lovely Heights and also happens to be one of the more neighborhood-y joints in the area.  This growing neighborhood seems to be attracting more restaurateur types, so this is a distraction from the loud, indulgent menu restaurants.  It is a dark, quiet atmosphere that is BYOB (see my smile) with heavy Italian fare.  One thing I love about this menu is make-your-own pizza and pasta which can translate into putting together an entree pretty much any way you want.

Garlic shrimp appetizer - large shrimp in a puddle of butter, garlic and lemon. 

Red Snapper with a white wine, caper sauce served with angel hair pasta and sauteed spinach.  The diced tomatoes just don't do anything for this dish.  Unless tomatoes are vine-ripe, just forget them all together! 

It looks like alot 'cause it is alot!

I might have gone a tad overboard ordering the Red Snapper served with sautéed shrimp, crab meat, mushrooms, sun-dried tomatoes, fresh basil served in a white wine lemon butter sauce.  Not only did I get a hefty seafood portion, I just had to try the namesake pasta jalapeno fettuccine served with grilled chicken, black beans, fresh cilantro, diced jalapenos and tomatoes served in a Parmesan white wine butter sauce.  The pasta was a bit of a disappointment.  I think perhaps I was looking for a cream jalapeno sauce?  I don't know what I was thinking, but the 'jalapeno' pasta had no kick and dry to boot.  My suggestion is go with angel hair and a green.

Dessert special - Bavarian berry cream cake...lighter than you would think and delicious! 

BYOB, moist fish and price make Bellissimo a favorite; though I wish they would change the plate presentation.  It looks like something I'd get in a casino restaurant. 

A Fork in the Road: Underbelly (Houston, TX)

You have to write fairly quickly when it comes to Underbelly given the frequent seasonal menu changes at Underbelly, but it is still blog-worthy.  Chris Shepherd is certainly considered one of the best chefs in Houston, if not the country; although I am not too sure how the menu tells 'The Story of Houston Food'.  He does use local ingredients, but the Creole-Houston story is confusing.  The menu is mostly family-style which didn't fare well with my folks and their friends, but it was somewhat enjoyable. 

Beet and goat cheese mixed greens

These market vegetables in caramelized fish sauce almost didn't have a photo at all!  I love when restaurants use fish sauce and these wax beans handle it well.  (Oh, please order the sourdough bread with chive butter that you see in the background.)

Seared duck breast - I've had better.  This was too chewy and under seasoned.

My favorite dish was the whole fish with roasted root vegetables.  They ask if you like it filleted or whole and I opted for the whole fish to practice my culinary school techniques.  Chef Gabe at ICC would have been proud!  Heck, the waitress even told me I was doing a great job.

One negative aspect of dinner at Underbelly is the noise level.  Now, I am not outdating myself, but it was even too loud for my club-loving ears.  My friend, Liz, said it is much more enjoyable at lunch.

A Fork in the Road: Lucille's (Houston, TX)

There are a few Southern restaurants in the Houston area and the Museum District Lucille's shows some promise in the category.  Chris Williams has created a menu from life experiences...spending summers with his grandmother cooking and traveling after graduating Le Cordon Bleu in Austin.  Williams traveled to Portugal and discovered the cooking of fresh fish and coincidentally, I began to have serious thoughts of attending culinary school after having a similar experience at Apeadeiro in Portugal.  His unique Southern cuisine does not include a heavy take on the dishes, rather a lighter approach. 

Fried Green Tomato appetizer with spicy aoili.  I wasn't blown away as I like the tomatoes a larger, but the bite-size chili biscuits were delish.

I was completely blown away with the entrees.  Blown away.

Purple nailpolish courtesy of Lauren Levicki

If there is one dish you should get on the menu, get the pork & beans.  This is not your typical sweet, saucy pork and navy beans, rather a hind shank with lima beans, English peas, black lentils agrocdolce reduction (in this case, an Italian sweet sauce).  The braised meat fell right off the bone and was truly sensational.  Very forward thinking when it comes to Southern dishes.

Equally exceptional was the fish fry.  A whole fish facing you with sweet basil succotash and fresh greens.  Like the pork, the fish could be pulled off the bones.  I fancy this presentation and eating with your hands!

Less successful were the oxtails with sweet potatoes.  I find oxtail difficult to eat when not prepared in a stew, but on the bones.  It ends up being alot of work for little reward.

The go-to Southern mac & cheese side

The desserts needs an entire makeover; so much so I didn't even like the bites  I had :-( and the presenatation was inconsistent from the first part of the meal.

The bread pudding was missing the vanilla-y gooey, bread in addition to the hard topping, but had the caramel.

A strawberry shortcake that I don't know could be considered as such.  Dry, tasteless cake with stems on the strawberries?  No, no, no!  Get a pastry chef in there!

Lucille's is the type of place I want to see succeed.  It has family history, Texas history, family values, passion and soon...an outdoor backyard with food and drink!

SHUTTERED A Fork in the Road: Concepcion (Houston, TX)

Although I don't share Alison Cook's immense enthusiasm for Concepcion.....yet, I do believe it is deserving of a visit, or two, or three.  The concept is Peruvian tapas and I think helps move Houston into more cutting edge dining.   Chef Jonathan Jones ideas are explosive!   Jones takes a multitude of ingredients and creates dishes without over-complicating.  I'm super ticked I somehow tossed the menu on my arrival back to NYC, but I will try and and explain these wonderful dishes.

Sikil Pak - Spicy Yucatan pumpkin hummus with habanero.  At first, I wasn't crazy about ordering hummus here, but wow!  The spices and texture of this hummus was super interesting.

3rd Coast Ceviche - Fresh snapper ceviche with radish, red onion and cucumber.  One of Concepcion's strengths.  The fish was indeed fresh, but didn't melt in your mouth: however, had a masterful balance of citrus, chilis and herbs.

Pulpo con Nada - Poached octopus sits in a pot, stews and essentially cooks in its own juices.  I know what they were trying to do here, which is what Chef Masato Shimizu of 15 East in NYC does outrageously well.  Unfortunately, the edges were soft and chewy, but the core was far too tough.

Salt crusted prawns cooked in shell with garlic kumquat mojo.  This is how a prawn should taste and hella delicious!

Snapper, oyster mushrooms with chimichurri (most of y'all think chimi only goes on steak.  Wrong!) in a light foam.

Braised short rib, shitake mushrooms and fried yuca.  I thought the best part of this dish was the yuca :-0  I just couldn't taste the chimichurri and overall bland.

Barbacoa tacos -  Juicy, tender lamb cooked overnight in avocado leaf, red chilies and tamarind with homemade blue corn tortillas and pickled onions. 

These dishes are far from tapas portions and well-priced, so get there while the gettin' is good!  Additionally, this has to be one of the best patios in Houston.

SHUTTERED A Fork in the Road: The Burger Guys (Houston, TX)

On a drive from Fulshear, wayyy on the West side of Westheimer, in a not-so-present strip mall, is The Burger Guys. 

I popped in on a weekday and couldn't believe this place wasn't packed!  On arrival, you walk in the door and there is a separate 'stall' in which you order before taking your seat at either the counter or booth.

Naturally, I went with the Houston: onion bacon jam, Shiner Bock!!! mustard, bread & butter jalapeno, and cheddar cheese.  Not only am I excited for the jam and beer mustard, but this burger is on a grilled, sweet challah roll.  Oh Daddy!

This burger was the bomb!  The beef was so incredibly juicy and well-cooked with cheddar oozing off all sides.  I wasn't super stoked to see an entire jalapeno on the top, but ended up accepting this move in lieu of sliced jalapenos (ala everywhere else).  The only topping lost was the onion bacon jam.  I couldn't get even the slightest hint of onion and definitely no bacon. 

These fries....these fries....on the menu as Brussels.  Handcut!  Twice-cooked in DUCKFAT!  Sprinkled with flecks of salt.  Amazaballs!  And a million calories.  These perhaps were the best handcut fries I have ever consumed.    All the sauces, including the ketchup, are homemade.  With some fries I had the cilantro jalapeno and chipotle aoili, but the burger and fries are so damn good, you don't need any sauces.  I stopped dipping 5 fries in. 

For most Houstonians, going this far out Westheimer seems like a trek for a burger, but I assure you it is worth every bite!

12225 Westheimer Rd. 
www.theburgerguys.com

SHUTTERED Catalan (Fork in the Road: Houston, TX)

Roasted Berkshire Pork belly with Steen's pure cane syrup - the perfect fat-to-meat ratio and enough for an entire meal

Arborio-dusted calamari with jalapeno lime dressing - calamari was oily and the dipping sauce, too acidic

Baby arugula, roasted hazelnuts, can vinaigrette, spicy fried oysters - these plump oysters were lightly breaded & deep fried

Spice roasted Grouper, local sweet carrot, crabmeat

Seafood Stew: Local fish, clams, shrimp and calamari - extremely bland flavors

Blackened snapper over a 'crawfish boil' - the flavors worked well together, although the pepper overwhelmed the dish a touch

Lamb chops over white beans cooked down with lamb shoulder and Morcilla

Berkshire pork chop, sweet potato and Texas apple hash demi

Bacon & goat cheese grits

Redneck Mac & Cheese

Every main course's meat was tough, particularly the chops. While Catalan falls short in the entree category, it succeeds with small plates and sides; and honestly, most of the small plates have portions big enough to be considered entree-size.

Kudos to the team for their use of farmers that supply the menu!

Catalan 5555 Washington Avenue

A Fork in the Road: Little BIGS (Houston, TX)

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Sitting on the corner of Montrose and Westheimer in Houston, is Bryan Caswell and Bill Floyd's (of Reef) Little Bigs. The idea is an even better twist on the burger joint....a slider joint. They have three types of sliders - beef with caramelized onions, chicken and black bean. You can order them in a trio or solo. I tried one of each with a large basket of fries.

The fries are true-handcut perfection covered with flakes of salt. There aren't too many places that can perfect the simplicity of frying a handcut fry.
The beef with caramelized onion was only mildly juicy after being a tad overcooked and the "special sauce" (nothing more than a mixture of mayo and ketchup) was the saving grace of the bland chicken. The star of this trio was the black bean slider. It was the first one I tried and upon taking a bite, I actually thought this was the beef! The black beans were well-seasoned, then mashed into a 'meaty' blend. The buns were inconsistent on all the sliders, but nothing significant to spoil it. Wash it all down with an Arnold Palmer...or Bigs offers a variety of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, butterscotch, and White Russian milkshakes. I'm sure one would be enjoyable on the patio in the summer, though I didn't try one this time.
Little Bigs has awhile to go before it can even be in a race with all the incredible burger joints around Houston; but if you are looking for a snack of fries & a shake, hit this place up.

2703 Montrose Blvd. @ Westheimer (713) 521-2447