The first thing to know about a’Bouzy is that the wine is the main draw, specifically champagne and that the crowd itself is another considerable attraction. If Kate Upton’s fiancée can win his eleventh start in eleven tries in his brief tenure with the ‘Stros on Tuesday – or failing that, anyone else on Wednesday – this champagne-centric newcomer will be a very ready spot to help celebrate part of the city’s first World Series championship.
 
With a name referencing a village in the Champagne region, and pronounced “ah-boozy,” this stop near the heart of Upper Kirby – and, not incidentally, River Oaks – that began service in early August is a delightfully cheesy and immediately very popular place with a fantastic selection of wines, including easily the best collection of champagnes in the area, which are priced much more cheaply than any other restaurant or bar in Houston.  The prices are even cheaper than Spec’s in many instances:  Pol Roger Extra Cuvee de Reserve is just $46 versus $51.46; Delamotte Blanc de Blanc NV is $55 versus $62.99, and that baller favorite, Cristal, is $189, $21 less than retail at Spec’s.  Though the champagne is the biggest attraction among the wines, there is much more than sparklers here, including about three dozen rosés, perfect for ever-hotter Houston, big Napa Cabs, Turley Zins, and wines like an enjoyable Moulin-a-Vent for a pitifully small amount, $26.  This is a great place to drink, and the patrons seem to be drinking a lot.  At least they were on an early evening visit on a Friday about a month or so after they had opened.  It was an expensively attired crowd that looked to be attorneys extending their Friday lunch into the increasingly cloudy early evening, aging trust-funders and other types of the blissfully-often-idle well-to-do.
 
One of the proprietors is the former general manager at Brasserie 19 and the playbook is similar, if expanded: more wines on an extremely enticing wine list, cheaper wine prices, an even more boisterous crowd, and food that seems to be even more of an afterthought; at least all our dishes were on the first visit, just to provide some sustenance with the wine.  It started visually, and poorly, with a trio of sad-looking raw radishes, two of which were marred by black or brown splotches, were brought to our table, for some reason.  Since the waiter did not immediately offer up why there were raw radishes on our table, I had to ask.  He responded that this is a tradition in the south of France.  Not a’Bouzy or elsewhere in the Champagne region.  OK.  Here they were served with the fairly banal whipped herb butter.  No matter their provenance, they were unsightly and unappealing, and not terribly tasty, as I typically find raw radishes, especially of these caliber. It did get better, for the most part.
 
The Baked Oysters, with a mélange of tomato, onion, pesto, Parmesan and bits of bacon was mostly the greenish and middling topping and very little discernible oyster. I would have been disappointed if I had made it at home, though I certainly would have used sufficiently sized oysters.  Pomme Frites, the French fries, were all right.  Featuring russet and cooked in duck fat according to the menu and served with aioli, they were probably fried just once, as they were limper than you would expect at a top restaurant and a far cry from the fries at Café Brussels or even the recently shuttered Little Bigs. These were still fries, though, and we finished them without too much problem; good backing for the champagne.
 
The bread, Artisanal Bread which you have to order at $5, is baked in house, was the worst I have had at a restaurant in a while.  It was fresh, but that was about it in terms of taste, none of the life or welcome vibrancy, you associate with quality bread; “artisanal” is not at all the proper adjective for it.  As I ate my first piece, I thought that this tastes like what a place like Applebee’s might serve, and a key sign that the kitchen is far from first rank. The restaurant should just buy their bread from a top-notch local purveyor like Common Bond, Kraftsmen or Slow Dough.  Even the par-baked breads from La Brea would be a big improvement.
 
But, the food is not the attraction here, or shouldn’t be.  We still enjoyed our visit: the champagnes we drank were great, and it was fun to watch the other patrons.  You are here for the crowd and the champagne, the attractive, comfortable patio, or the chance for some to meet someone wealthy or for others, the amusement in watching the dances, sometime drunken, play out all around.  That night, parked prominently in the pole position of the valet station was a newish Rolls Royce with suicide doors, nearly the size of a half-track, edging out a Ferrari, but only of California class.  Their owners and owners like that are a big part of the draw.
 
The listlessness of our server when he arrived was emblematic of functional, if not-so-professional service throughout.  The expansive and terrific array of wines is presented on a tablet, which is fine if you know your way around what you want to drink, but with such a broad, varied and nuanced list of champagnes to investigate a sommelier would have helped.  Maybe one is there, we didn’t see one, nor did my dining partner on her next visit.  With this in mind, it might be a good idea to do some research on champagne beforehand to help navigate the extensive offerings.
 
Go to a’Bouzy to try some new champagnes at terrifically low prices and enjoy the louche sights and lights among your fellow patrons.  And, hopefully, lift a bottle or two for the Astros at some point after they finish up business in Los Angeles.  Hopefully.
 
a’Bouzy
2300 Westheimer (east of Kirby), 77098, (713) 722-6899
abouzy.com

I was hoping to finally try Aaron Franklin’s brisket this past Sunday at the Southern Smoke event.  That wasn’t to pass, as the line was over 200 people by the time I walked near it by 4:15, just a quarter-hour from the official opening, albeit those spending a good deal more for the VIP tickets had an additional hour for the queue, which I never had.  As much as I wanted to sample the meaty handiwork of the famed Austin pitmaster, there was far too much good food, and easy-to-access drink, to be had during my time there to be tempted to take an hour or likely more to wait in a single line, just waiting.
 
With Southern Smoke instigator and Underbelly and One Fifth chief recruiting top, fellow James Beard-accolated chefs from elsewhere in the country along with some of the city’s very best chefs cooking barbecue and meat-laden dishes from notably excellent products, this was simply the best food that I have ever had at a food event.  I have been to a number of food-centric events over the years, judging a number of them, including the Best Bites event at the Rodeo a few times, but nothing compared to both the best of the dishes and, more so, the overall quality of the dishes.
 
With just one minor stumble in one of the dishes – a piece of cracklin’ that was part of a roasted pork, that should have been more crackling, it was still quite tasty, if more chewy than I would have liked – the preparations were all excellent, restaurant quality excellent, top restaurant quality excellent.  And, this was even consuming the items on paper plates with wooden spoons outside while standing.  It didn’t hurt that it was a gorgeous day, balmy with clear skies and manageable humidity following a cool front and, definitely contributorily, that the hometown Astros had beaten the Yankees the night before in Game 7 of the AL Championship to advance to the World Series for only the second time in franchise history.  This helped put me, and seemingly most everyone else, in an even better mood.
 
But, with the food so good, had the ‘Stros faltered the night before, I would have been at least been temporarily moved out of my funk by the food.  With line for the fried chicken from Justin Yu and company of Oxheart, and now Theodore Rex and Better Luck Tomorrow, immediately too long for my tastes, I first visited the table with Kata Robata’s Executive Chef Manabu "Hori" Horiuchi, who was serving Japanese-style shumai neatly on plastic spoons. These Chinese-inspired dumplings filled with shrimp and pork -- about which I am somewhat sure -- were topped with a properly complementary bright, Vietnamese chili sauce and were silky and delicious. These were the probably the best dishes at the Cochon555 event a few months ago, which Hori won easily.  He’s not only regarded as Houston’s top sushi chef….  Next was a healthy side of succulent, flavorful roast pork with a side of what the chef term “Italian stuffing” that also went quickly.  The folks from Hugo Ortega’s restaurants – Hugo’s, Caracol and Xochi – at least one of the establishments, were served a surprisingly ample trio of dishes: seafood paella, a tamal, and pumpkin-filled empanada. Each were delicious, with the empanada pleasantly surprising me for being more savory than sweet on the interior while encased and a fresh and light enough dough.  A relatively short line away from the Houston chefs while checking on what proved to be the interminable Franklin one, led to what was nearly my favorite dish of the afternoon: a giant coal-fired oyster on the half-shelf with plenty of oyster liquor and flavorful bite-sized accompaniments of which was not sure, but surely worked.  I even had to risk a burn to consume the excess oyster liquid from the heated shell.  The dish was from Ashley Christensen, a James Beard Award winning chef with several restaurants around Raleigh, North Carolina.
 
Portion sizes were generally generous, which was nice, especially given the length of some of the lines. This helped make the event seem even a little friendlier.  But, I was getting full well before I had planned.  Running into Matthew Pridgen, the beverage director for Underbelly and One Fifth, he made sure to direct us to David Chang’s booth, which, in a corner of the grounds, was being unduly overlooked.  Chang of Momofuku fame, a couple Michelin stars and a starring role in the excellent first season of “The Mind of a Chef,” teamed with another one of his top chefs, Matthew Rudofker, to served barbecue beef ribs with kimchi over a slice of processed white bread.  Falling off the bone moist, the soft slices and shreds of beef were rich and delicious, slightly spiked nicely both for texture- and flavor-wise with the crisp kimchi bean sprouts. I had to go back for a second round of what probably was my favorite of the day. Being exhorted to grab as many ribs as I wanted, I could only grasp at three piles of beef, as the ribs quickly slid away.  Delicious.
 
In addition to Franklin’s barbecue, I had hoped to sample some of Rodney Strong’s South Carolina-style whole hog barbecue, but I was sated at that point.  Nicely crafted Old Fashioned’s featuring Knob Creek and plenty of drinkable and fare-friendly wine further helped get me there, and quite enjoyably.
 
I read that Southern Smoke raised over $500,000 to help those impacted by Hurricane Harvey, which is terrific, and reason alone to have attended.  With the quality of the cooking, there was even many more reasons to do so.  If you enjoy great food, and fun, food-centric party, you should plan on attending next year.  I certainly will.

​Pumpkin flavors – including pumpkin spice, whatever that is – are the rage this time of year, as we approach Halloween then Thanksgiving, and maybe cooler temperatures.  Small brewers have taken advantage of the popular pumpkin season almost ubiquitously in recent years.  As much as I live pumpkin pie, and eat too much of it when around, I have not been a fan of pumpkin beers, the vast major of pumpkins, at least.
 
So, with just a little trepidation, I made it to one of the Pumpkinator release events a couple of days ago at The Richmond Arms to join a friend who was going, and, importantly, offered to buy me a beer before the ‘Stros game.  Brock Wagner, the owner and a founder of Saint Arnold, was to be in attendance.  Knowing Wagner a little for a long time, it was also good to be able to say “hi” since I hadn’t seen him in a while. 
 
After the friend had brought over the beer, I took a couple of quick sips, as it was very enjoyable.  Deeply and darkly colored, full-bodied but not at all heavy and featuring a very pleasant, but subtle array of autumn-appropriate spices – ginger, allspice, clove and more according to Wagner – along with a backbone note of molasses.  Balanced and quite flavorful, with judicious use of Cascade and Liberty hops, and not at all overpowering in any aspect, it was delicious.  In nearly no time I finished the 8- to 10-ounce glass before being told that this version was something like 11.9%.  It is did not taste like that at all.  If I would have had to guess, I would have proffered 6 or 6 ½ percent.  The cask version at 12.7% or so was similar in that respect and even slightly more enjoyable.  Though there is a lot going on, and a lot in it – the brew is the most expensive one that Saint Arnold has ever made – terrific balance in both versions.
 
Wagner told me that part of the success with the beer was due to the fact that it was built on the chassis of a hearty Imperial stout, something that can stand up to the spicing and other flavors.  It certainly does in both versions.  This is rarely done by other small brewers who use a medium-bodied beer like their baseline amber ales and add the spicing, and which rarely can enjoyably hold up to it, and the final result is usually mediocre or worse.  We were on the same page concerning most other pumpkin beers.  Thankfully, Saint Arnold’s is a far cry from those, and truly enjoyable, something that even those not inclined to pumpkin beers or pumpkins, in general.  The pumpkin flavors and spicing are subtle.
 
All of the Saint Arnold Pumpkinator has already been brewed for the season.  Get it while you can in 22-ounces bottles or on tap while it lasts.  Actually, a bottle will last for a while.  Wagner told me that the brewery entered a year-old version in a recent contest to great, gold effect.  To note, the cask version might only be only be available at The Richmond Arms now.  

​I finally got to have a burger at Shake Shack.  And finally at the Shake Shack that opened a few months ago at MinuteMaid to inaugurate the season and the redesign of the centerfield area of the ballpark.  In short, it lived up to the considerable hype.  At a ballpark, too!  If you are lucky enough to go to either of the playoff games tonight and tomorrow against the Yanks, and can pry yourself from the seats, Shake Shack is definitely worth a visit.
 
A couple weeks ago Thursday was my first Astros game of the season, though I luckily went to the first playoff game, the 8-2 victory in Game 1 of the ALDS of this very hopeful postseason.  Health issues had prevented me from going much earlier, though I go to a media event / longtime season ticket holder event a few days before Opening Day meant to showcase the new, much more fan-friendly seating, standing and food and drink options in the outfield along with the replacement of the fairly stupid hill and overly deep centerfield and even much stupider flagpole in play at its peak.
 
I have been probably well over 600 major league games in fifteen or so different ballparks since I was a little kid. The Shake Shack burger I recently had at MinuteMaid was the very best food I’ve ever had at the ballpark.  I have to slightly qualify that: though peanuts, Cracker Jack and hot dogs – or ice cream served in an upside-down in those oh-so-cute plastic mini batting helmets – might be part and parcel of many fans’ visits to the park, I usually demur.  I went to their concession with a buddy and each of us ordered a double burger and fries.  The double burgers are about two-thirds the size of a normal adult burger, and the must size to order.  After he had a couple of bites, he blurted out just what I was thinking, “This is the best burger I have had in long time.”
 
Juicy and extremely flavorful beef that became slightly and very pleasantly greasy was buttressed by a fresh and tasty roll, slices of ripe tomatoes, unusual for burger joints, and equally fresh and actually green lettuce. My SmokeShack order also had crisp, fairly thick applewood smoked bacon, chopped cherry peppers and their runny ShackSauce, a basic-tasting but complementary blend of mustard, ketchup, mayonnaise and light spices. Making a difference is that, even in a ballpark setting, they use all-natural Angus beef raised without antibiotics and hormones, and the patties are cooked to medium, retaining more juice, unless otherwise requested. In New York and other cities in the northeast, the company even uses a proprietary blend of beef from the famed La Frieda Meat Purveyors in the New Jersey. And the rolls are the better-than-expected Martin’s Potato Rolls. 
 
It was so tasty. Even better than the both Five Guys and Smash Burger, two national chains I have often enjoyed. Shake Shack’s fries are the crinkly kind, a whole lot like you pick up in the freezer section at the supermarket.  The fries were quite lame and kind of sucked, actually.  Don’t get the fries, get another burger or maybe a hot dog on the side.
 
I hope that I get lucky again and am able to make it to another ‘Stros playoff, maybe in the World Series.  If not, there is another local address in the Galleria.
 
Shake Shack
5015 Westheimer (Galleria I – valet entrance, near the Westin), 77056, (281) 213-0445
MinuteMaid Park (just beyond centerfield)
shakeshack.com

The Wall Street Journal’s version of Dear Abby, “Ask Ariely: Dan Ariely” recently led with a question from a beer lover:  "Dear Dan, I’m a fan of craft beers, and when I hear about an exciting new one, I’ll get a case or two and invite some fellow aficionados to share the experience. But as we open the new beer and sample it, I almost always find myself disappointed. Why does this happen so much?"  Ariely responds that “Your latest beer may just not be that good, but I think something else is probably going on here….the trick to happiness (with beer as with much else in life) is to tame your expectations.” 
 
That’s true, but I have a basic, if more blunt explanation: the vast majority of beers from small breweries, especially new ones, rarely make it to the level of mediocre; the beers are often plainly bad. Most are flawed with a noticeable off-putting aftertaste from the yeast, noticeable flaws elsewhere, are not particularly flavorful to begin with, or are unbalanced with surfeit of hops or alcohol.  Plenty of hops covers a lot of flaws, which I learned as a homebrewer long ago.  And, when good ones are made, the brewery can find it difficult to make it taste like that on a consistent basis.  My most recent experience with a new local brewery, which I wrote about in my previous post, confirmed this.

I still had fun there, and that is real draw with these new breweries and brewpubs.  As the friend I went with, a former beer bar owner, said last night over beers to his friend, a current beer bar owner: “we had a great time at this new brewpub, which had nothing at all to do with the beer, of course.”  It was a fun, relaxed atmosphere, with a very friendly staff behind the bar and an interesting and fun crowd on a pleasant evening.  It was tough to finish the two beers we each had, though, but a very enjoyable visit nonetheless.

I believe that it’s the enjoyment of the brewhouse visit for a great many rather than the quality of the beers.  Visitors to a brewery or a brewpub always seem to be in a good mood, as there is something in the aroma of the malt and hops and knowledge that fun alchemy resulting in a pleasing, intoxicating and inherently fun beverage is happening on premise.  The noticeable presence of good moods and fun vibe have been my experience in visiting numerous breweries and brewpubs across the country over the years.  My thoughts about enjoyment of the visit rather than the quality of the brews as the prime reason for the popularity of visits to breweries I believe is shared with a couple of friends, a couple, both of whom work at a local brewery, one full-time the other part-time.  They are also avid visitors to all the breweries in the Houston area and really enjoy doing so, mostly because they love breweries – I believe that they have hit everyone by now.  Though when queried about the quality of the beers, they are usually tepid in their responses, and both are much more open to the styles these new breweries make than I.

Though making good beer on a consistent basis is very difficult, a visit to almost any brewery can be fun.  Just don’t have very high expectations as the Journal columnist recommends, though I would recommend having very low expectations and you are likely to enjoy yourself more.  And the quality of beers can improve as the brewmasters and breweries become more experienced and more skilled.   Can.


The Karbach version of the saison was absolutely fantastic, one of the very versions I have ever had.  The first output from the Trappists in Massachusetts was not good at all.  Hopefully it has gotten better and will further improve as these monks get better at brewing.