​Yesterday I visited a brand new brewery, well, brewpub.  It was fun.  The beers were, predictably, not good at all, with both of the two I had featuring the slight, but easily noticeable, clunky aftertaste I associate with home brewing.  I was actually a homebrewer, and an award-winning one at that, some time ago, and I am quite familiar with that taste that afflicted most of my beers, which is all too common with many small, especially small and new breweries.  Other than that off-putting aftertaste of the beers from this new brewery, the flavors of each were not pleasing.  These were beers to be tolerated not enjoyed.  Two was more than enough.  Again, it was to be expected.
 
One brewery that I certainly don’t expect to find these problems is the new Celis Brewery in Austin, which finally opened earlier this year.  This Flemish beer specialist – glorious, robust yet refreshing and slightly sweet white in the Belgian tradition was, and is, their standard-bearer – is a re-boot of the famed Celis Brewery that brewed in Austin during the 1990s before succumbing to financial issues, selling out and then disappearing from the scene.  Christine Celis, the daughter of the legendary Pierre Celis is heading the brewery this time.  She worked at the initial one.  Hopefully, the company will be better managed then before.  And, even more, that beers taste as good as they did in the past.  A friend in Austin reports that they are very good.  Celis White and the Grand Cru were not Belgian-style beers; they were Belgian beers, just brewed in Texas.  Unibroue in Quebec and Ommegang in Cooperstown, New York are current breweries that come close to that mantle, but are not as good as Celis was.  Unfortunately, I don’t believe that the brewery expects to expand distribution to Houston this year.  A brewery trip to Austin is calling.
 
Founder Pierre Celis of the original brewery was one of the world's greatest brewers, but he was not a great businessman, likely not even a decent businessman.  Phenomenal brewer, though.  Seemingly less so, his son-in-law and daughter, who actually ran the brewery.  Though having excellent products is only one aspect of a successful business, it seems the other necessary parts were not in place, including a brewery that featured beautiful copper tanks from Belgium but was expensive to build for its capacity and difficult to expand.  It also began operations brewing substantial amounts of a light lager beer, which was quite good, but whose comparatively long production time initially tied up too much of the brewery's capacity, and a VP and Chief of Operations (the son-in-law) who, reportedly, on at least one occasion, was so drunk during an important daytime business meeting that he urinated on himself to the consternation of his potential business partners.  The deal fell through.  Unfortunately, this was not a recipe for long-lasting success.  I can only hope Celis 2.0 has much better success.

​I was in Chinatown the other day to catch my godson’s first high school football game and stopped at this old favorite afterwards to consume at home while watching some more football, the Texans surprising, if boring, win over Cincinnati.  It was as good as I remember and still one of the best banh mi purveyors around.  This is adapted from the last version of my Houston Dining on the Cheap:
 
The fact that often-bustling Don Café could open up within thirty yards of two long-standing Vietnamese sandwich shops and quickly became a success some years ago and remained so is some indication of its quality.  Their sandwiches are generally better than its immediate neighbors, and with about twenty tables and high ceilings, Don Café is a larger and more comfortable place to dine.  Comfortable is relative; this is a no-frills spots, charmingly dumpy, to be honest.  Though take-away is very popular, you can actually linger here, as many of the polyglot patrons do.  Don Café serves all of the requisite Vietnamese sandwiches plus the somewhat unique versions with char-grilled beef (banh mi thit bo nuong) and char-grilled chicken (banh mi thit ga nuong).  There is the delectable char-grilled pork, featuring portions of pork that are longer and tastier than nearly everywhere else, shredded pork, steamed pork, pork meatballs, chicken (which is served shredded), ham and pâté and the Special with the brightly colored Vietnamese-style ham.  Similar to most area Vietnamese sandwiches, these feature a crustier-than-most fresh baguette, a big slice of fresh jalapeño and plenty of marinated, shredded carrots.  Almost needless to state, this Vietnamese sandwich shop is a great value, especially so since it is one of the few that still offers a free sandwich for every five purchased.  This fact is announced in English, Vietnamese and Spanish, perfect for that work crew. 
 
In addition to the sandwiches, there are about two dozen items on the menu and a few brightly colored packaged items near the counter.  One excellent non-sandwich dish, though listed as a sandwich, is the stewed chicken legs in a very flavorful, though not spicy, green curry broth peppered with chopped scallions and cilantro leaves (banh mi curry ga) and served with a small baguette.  The bread serves as a sop for the tasty soup, and can be used to craft a simple sandwich.  Additionally, Don Café has the hearty soups such as pho with several variations that seem to adorn many tables, the popular rice plates (com dia) and vermicelli dishes (bun) and spring, summer and the deep-fried Imperial rolls to start.  The small menu also has room for the central Vietnamese spicy beef and noodle soup, bun bo hue – not sure if Don Café uses the traditional, tasty pig blood in it, though – a vermicelli dish with crab meat and snails (bun rieu oc), and freshly squeezed sugar cane juice.
 
Don Café
9300 Bellaire (between Ranchester and Corporate) 77036, (713) 777-9500
doncafes.com

​I got lucky on Friday night, well, at least in being able to snag walk-up seats at the first night of public serve at One Fifth Romance Languages, the second of the five planned annual concepts from Chris Shepherd and company in Mark’s former space in Montrose. In brief, the meal was terrific. They are batting 1.000 with this and the previous exemplary take on the great American steakhouse.
 
When I initially read about this second stop on this particular restaurant journey, a combination of French, Italian and Spanish, I was a little concerned.  These cuisines are rather distinct, and then there are the regional and local cuisines in each land, especially those in Italy.  The neighbors France and Italy often work well together in some dishes; risotto and stuffed pastas are found on French menus more so these days, at least in this country.  Spanish and Italian quite less so.  But, I figured if anyone in town could pull it off, at least with a likely array of delicious creations if not complete coherence on the menu, it would be Shepherd.  In practice, it makes much more sense that I believed that it could, and the dishes ordered were indeed each delicious.
 
The starters are mostly Spanish complemented by French items like terrines and seafood items like the brasserie-inspired classic cold seafood tower bolstered by those delightful Spanish canned seafood items.  There is a pasta section (misnamed as secondo rather than primo, no matter) that’s properly Italian, of course, then the entrées are mostly French and Spanish along with a giant, great American steak richly bolstered by foie gras and truffles that is meant for several.  The desserts feature a number of Italian names, but are modern American restaurant creations, and made by an excellent pastry chef, Victoria Dearmond in this case.  The descriptions on the menu themselves are enticing.  Charred octopus with an almond romesco, salsa verde, and squid chicharones; flounder with white gazpacho, almond and olive oil; and suckling pig served with a white bean puree, charred broccolini, red pepper mostarda are a few of the thirty or so dishes. The price points are lower than the steak concept; steak is necessarily expensive.  Starters are under $20 except for the Spanish tortilla featuring caviar, the pastas are around $15 and the nearly half-dozen main plates are between $30 and $45.  Under the heading of “Pièce de Résistance” is the Big Dog Tower (“3 layers! Loaded!”) for $190.  You’ll need to ask.  You can certainly spend a good amount of money here, but you don’t have to.
 
Coming after a few appetizers the new champagne bar a’Bouzy, we split a few dishes at One Fifth. The first was simply named Mushroom starter consisting of a mix of different small mushrooms that were variously charred, raw, pickled and roasted served with a black garlic puree; deeply flavorful, slightly earthy and vibrant, it was a wonderful first dish.  It tastes much better than the accompanying photo might suggest.  That was followed with the Burgundian snails en croute, snails and garlic in a small bowl covered with pastry, looking a lot like a gourmet chicken pot pie.  It was even more delicious than the excellent mushroom medley that prefaced it.  The third of the savories we shared was their version of pasta carbonara, one of Rome’s trifecta of pasta stalwarts.  It was tastier than the exemplary version I had a La Carbonara in Rome a couple of summers ago, a restaurant known for its carbonara,  recommended to me by Lynette Hawkins, proprietor of Giacomo’s, who lived in Rome while growing up and has a knack for traditional Roman cooking.  One Fifth’s uses artisanal pasta made in the traditional pasta producing area of Gragnano near Naples, a deeply colored egg from a local farm, small, salty house-cured cubes of guanciale (pork jowl), and Pecorino Romano and Parmigiano Reggiano all working very well together for a properly rich, creamy and unctuous concoction.  It seems that Shepherd was schooled in this dish at another Roman restaurant that obviously does a fantastic job with it.

We finished with an impressive multi-form dessert centered with a scoop of flavorful ice cream and tasty candied and baked accompaniments was nearly as enjoyable for me as the first three dishes.
 
The preparations at One Fifth feature obviously excellent ingredients combined intelligently and cooked seemingly perfectly.  The results, often versions of classics here, feature exuberant but appropriate flavors, like Shepherd and team have long done at Underbelly, where the dishes always seem to be more than the sum of its very good parts. 

Wanting to stick with the bubbly, an excellent minerally champagne, the non-vintage Voiron-Jumel Blanc De Blancs ‘Brut Zero’ for $71 selected by Wine Director Matthew Pridgen, worked very well with each of the first three dishes, making them even more enjoyable like a decent pairing should.  The wine list is expansive, and eminently food-friendly, Old World-focused and well-priced, as expected from the lists Pridgen created at its predecessor and at Underbelly.  There is more French than anything in this incarnation, but a whole lot for most wine lovers.
 
Given that this was the very first night of service, the quality of the dishes was especially impressive.  The white-table-clothed setting is appropriate, and comfortable for fine-dining and the atmosphere is vibrant; in fact, both are exactly like One Fifth Steak.  Service, as with its predecessor and at Underbelly, was excellent, friendly and professional, if still learning the nuances of each item. This is a restaurant that appeared to be sprinting out of the gate, and providing another superb and rewarding diversion for discerning Houston diners.  It's one of the best restaurants to open this year, just like the first One Fifth.
 
One Fifth Romance Languages
1658 Westheimer (nearly at Dunlavy), 77006, (713) 955-1024
onefifthhouston.com
Open daily for dinner at 5:00

The Mushroom starter. It is far tastier than my photo indicates.

As it was with Hurricane Katrina in 2005, a great number of Houstonians from all backgrounds have volunteered their time and made donations beyond what normally be expected.  This extends to the local restaurant, a local industry that supplies something extremely welcome and needed by both those who are in shelters and those who have volunteered.  Reef, long one of my favorites locally, was profiled donating a considerable amount of food yesterday on the PBS Newshour.  Hugo’s, Caracoal and Riel were also mentioned by a volunteer delivery driver, as providing something far tastier than simple sandwiches for those displaced and helping.
 
Even just being open when other restaurants have not been able to do so has been a big help for many.  Today’s New York Times highlights Tacos Tierra Caliente that has been parked for years in front, or just across the street from the West Alabama Ice House, where I have helped host a big crawfish boil each spring for the past quarter century.  I’ve enjoyed a few tacos while in a happy state from Tacos Tierra Caliente, a great and often necessary caloric benefit for a great many Ice House patrons over the years.
 
From today’s Times:
 
A Culinary Stalwart Stays Open in a Time of Need
 
For nine years, the Tacos Tierra Caliente food truck has been parked at the intersection of West Alabama and McDuffie Streets in Houston’s Montrose neighborhood, serving tacos al pastor, tortas and quesadillas seven days a week. The truck’s owners, eight members of the Semano family, take pride in their work — so they had no intention of letting Hurricane Harvey shut them down. Throughout the storm, even as nearly every other business in Houston closed, Tacos Tierra Caliente has kept its normal hours, 8 a.m. to 11 p.m. Montrose received more than 30 inches of rain over a few days, but it did not flood like other parts of Houston.
 
For several days during the storm, the food truck was the only restaurant open for miles. Word spread on social media. People trooped through the rain and stood in lines of up to 100. Vicente Samano, one of four family members operating the truck on Thursday afternoon, said the family had also given tacos to people who could not afford them.
 
Despite the long lines, the truck never ran out of food. Keeping the truck open was a matter of family and national pride, Mr. Samano said.
 
“That’s the Mexican spirit, the Latino spirit,” he said. “We like to work, whether we’re sick, wet, whatever. We will work no matter what.” On Thursday afternoon, John Mondel, a federal law clerk who had just moved into an apartment down the street, joined the line. “It’s one of the reasons I chose this apartment,” Mr. Mondel said.


Tacos Tierra Caliente proprietor with the estimable Robb Walsh