MIKE RICCETTI
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  • The best of Houston dining
    • Best Values
    • Breakfast
    • Chinese
    • Cocktails
    • Fajitas
    • Hamburgers
    • The Heights
    • Italian
    • Indian / Pakistani
    • Mexican
    • Middle Eastern
    • Pizzerias
    • Sandwiches
    • Splurge-Worthy
    • Steakhouses
    • Sushi
    • Tacos
    • Tex-Mex
    • To Take Visitors
  • Musings on Houston Dining
    • The best new restaurants to open in 2023
    • Houston's Italian restaurant history
    • Restaurants open for lunch (or brunch) on Saturday
    • Restaurants open for Sunday dinner
    • Restaurants open for lunch on Monday
    • Restaurants open for dinner on Monday
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2022
    • The top 10 new restaurants of 2021
  • The margherita pizza project
  • The martini project
  • Italian restaurant history
  • Italian & Italian-American
  • Entertaining tips
    • Booze basics
    • Styles of Cheeses
    • Handling Those Disruptive Guests
  • Wine
  • Beer
  • Cocktails and Spirits
  • Miscellaneous
  • Blog
MIKE RICCETTI

Mostly food and drink...

...and mostly set in Houston

An early look at Jun

5/14/2023

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Entering the bustling, packed dining room on a recent Tuesday night, even though darkened, I sensed a palpable buzz. A very good sign for a new restaurant, especially midweek, and something I had hoped for when finally visiting Jun, which I thought to give at least a couple months for it to get settled in.
 
On 20th Street east of Heights Boulevard, Jun opened in February as one of this year’s most anticipated new restaurants. It’s led by chefs Evelyn Garcia and Henry Lu, who turned out some tasty and interesting southeast Asian-inspired fare at Kin in the Politan Row food hall in the Rice Village before the pandemic. Then Garcia had a star turn last year on the Top Chef season filmed in Houston, drawing a great deal more attention.
 
There’s quite a lot more here than at Kin, in all regards. The prime draw, the menu, has about fifteen savory items ranging from snacks to starters to larger entrée-sized preparations. There are identifiable notes and inspirations from Thailand, India, Spain, France, the Middle East and, maybe more so, Mexico, a mash-up that works very well in a testament to the insight and experience of the principals and skills in the kitchen. It’s a menu that should resonate with dedicated local diners, of which there are many now in the neighborhood. As with many fairly ambitious restaurants in recent years, items are described mostly by the significant ingredients. These can necessitate explanation from a server. “Lamb curry, pickled daikon, pistachio” is one. This is a lamb shank on the bone in a light curry sauce with some thin slices of daikon radish and a scatter of pistachios, served without accompaniments. Sharing is encouraged for that and all dishes, and a good way to go here. It worked well for my friend Robbin and I.
 
We started with aguachile with Gulf shrimp, a refined take on the piquant Mexican ceviche preparation, also with avocado, taro and shrimp oil. Though a light on the shrimp, the dish was delicious – if not quite like the fiery version once served nearby at Tampico on Airline – and I found myself trying to spoon up the last of the broth in the bowl. Our other starter, a quaint tartlet of small pieces of the beef tartare with toasted rice and egg yolk, was also enjoyable. Roasted heirloom carrots coated in a nutty salsa macha dotted with pieces of a fresh Salvadoran cheese and a couple halves of a tiny, fully cooked quail egg was one of the larger preparations, and the most enticing carrots I’ve had in a while. The lamb shank was the other. Moist and flavorful meat came easily from the bone without need of a knife. The sauce was more-than-pleasant if without the oomph of the Rogan Josh I had at Surya on Durham later in the week; to be expected, actually. Bread would have been welcome with that and the other dishes, but since it didn’t make an appearance, not available, we ordered a side of coconut rice that helped some. We quite enjoyed all four of the dishes, each exhibiting excellent technique with high-quality ingredients and appealing, sensible compositions. Though the portions are on the smaller size, the four items between the two of us left us satiated. And prices are fair.
 
Robbin’s mocktail with a cheeky name, Ginger She Hot, made with ginger, Thai basil, lime, agave spirit and sparkling water was terrific. Surprisingly so. Two were in order and probably a better match for the food than the wines I ordered. Just mocktails and wine- and sake-based cocktails as Jun has only a beer and wine license.
 
On the downside, I found the selection and service of wines to be disappointing. It’s a small list without many wines that I thought were that food-friendly. It was tough to pair any of the dishes with any of the wines, and not because of the diversity of dishes. Odd choices, too. There are a handful of offerings from Mexico including one from Guanajuato for $20 for a glass. I didn’t even know there was wine production there. That was unknown when visiting when my brother lived in the city a couple of decades or so ago and working in the beverage industry. Definitely not worth a flyer for me at the price. My Provencal Peyrassol rosé was expectedly inoffensive to start but not aiding the aguachile or tartare mch. And the second glass, a Spanish garnacha-heavy blend, was little too rough and simple to complement the lamb very much nor the carrots. Then, the wine pours are easily the least generous I’ve encountered in a restaurant in memory. Each seemed like three ounces, maybe, and certainly appeared smaller than the half-pours I had at Camerata later in the week. Full-sized prices at Jun, though.
 
The wine service was a far cry from a recent visit to the also new PS21 where we had a few excellent pairing suggestions from a waiter from a similarly concise, but conversely, nicely chosen list. Its Frenchness is probably part of the wide difference with wines, but a very noticeable one.
 
Most importantly, the food is well-done here and compelling, and served in an attractive and inviting setting. Service is earnest, attentive and proficient enough. Though the preparations are mostly suited for sharing, the bar near the entrance provides a number of seats for the single diner.  I’m looking forward to a second visit to sample some more of the menu, and maybe with a mocktail.
 
Jun
20 E 20th Street (between N. Main and Heights), 77008, (832) 469-7664
junbykin.com

The lamb and carrots the other night at Jun
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Home Slice wines are quite surprising, in a good way

5/7/2023

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I enjoyed my first visit to Home Slice, the intentionally kitschy, Austin-bred, New York-style pizza joint that opened a few months ago in Midtown amid a cluster of bars and restaurants in the former space of Monica Pope’s t’afia and Sparrow. It was busy Saturday evening at the restaurant, and tough to find even a stool near the cashier. But the freshly baked pizza was well worth the slight hassle, and service was friendly and efficient and the vibe was fun. There was also a short of list of enticing wines, which pleasantly surprised me, to say the least. All Italian, too.
 
I like wine with pizza, even if wine is not a classic pairing with New York-style pizza. You think a cold beer or a sugary soda water. You don’t think Italian wine. I like it, though, as Italian wines generally go well with food, even if the provenance is actually the city of New York. Here is its list:
 
Whites:
  • Luchi Pinot Grigio – $8 per glass / $28 for a bottle
  • Calasole Vermentino – $10 / $36
  • Botromagno Gravina Bianco – $11.50 / $42
  • Giuliana Prosecco – $12.50 / $46
  • Saracco Moscato d’Asti (375mL) – $11.50 / $24
 
Reds :
  • Pala Silenzi Rosso – $8 / $28 – A Carignano, Monica blend from Sardinia, and value performer
  • Nevio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo – $10 / $36
  • Coppo L’Avvocata Barbera d’Asti – $11.50 / $42
  • Lamole di Lamole Chianti Classico – $12.50 / $46
  • Allegrini Valpolicella Classico – $13.50 / $48
 
Lambrusco and Rosé:
  • Cleto Chiarli Brut de Noir Rosé – $12 / $44
  • Vigneto Cialdini Lambrusco – $12 / $44
  • Ca’Maiol Chiaretto Rosé – $13 / $47
 
Wanting to give Lambrusco another chance with pizza, I went with the Cleto Chiarli. Not a success for me, but it’s certainly a good wine. My buddy’s Nevio Montepulciano d’Abruzzo was a much better choice with pizza. And I was especially happy to see the Coppo L’Avvocata, as Coppo was my favorite producer among the many I sampled in the Asti area on a trip sponsored by the Barbera d’Asti consortium a few years ago. The Moscato d’Asti consortium was another sponsor of that junket, so I’m more aware of those wines. The balanced Saracco Moscato d’Asti on the menu can be very enjoyable, too, but much more so with a dessert on the menu or just by itself.
 
The quality, food-friendly Italian wines at Home Slice are good to see. Cannisters of oregano joining the ones with red pepper flakes and Parmesan were, too, reminding me of my time in the northeast. Never had a good Italian wine with a New York-style pizza up there, though.
 
Home Slice Pizza
3701 Travis (between Holman and Alabama), (832) 810-7437
homeslicepizza.com/location/houston-midtown/

A little more than a slice from Home Slice on a subsequent visit
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    Mike Riccetti is a longtime Houston-based food writer and former editor for Zagat, and not incidentally the author of three editions of Houston Dining on the Cheap.

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