I’ve been an active participant in Houston Restaurant Weeks again this year. It benefits a worthwhile local charity, The Houston Food Bank, that I support and it also helps restaurants in what was once the slowest time of the year. And that’s even if it’s been my experience over the years that you will not get any restaurant’s best effort. Corners are almost always cut: offerings are limited, preparations are simpler, portions might be smaller, desserts seem have sat in the refrigerator much longer than usual, and there are often add-ons for something that most customers want, etc. I understand the need to do so and have accepted it for a while. If a restaurant impresses with a Restaurant Weeks menu, I am impressed. There are some that do.
In order of the quality of the meals, taste first then value.

Musaafer – B+ – Musaafer wins Restaurant Weeks for me once again and further confirmation that this is the best Indian restaurant in the city. A ceviche of sorts featuring lychees was as artfully presented as it was delicious, which was followed by probably the best version of butter chicken I’ve ever had that exhibited a depth of flavor I hadn’t experienced in this popular dish. It made me overlook the $4 surcharge each for accompanying naan and basmati rice, rather necessary.

Pappas Bros. Steakhouse (downtown) – B+ – My favorite of Houston’s traditional expense account steakhouses, this did not disappoint for Restaurant Weeks, as it never does, offering an impressive amount of tasty, cholesterol-laden calories led by a dry-aged Prime Strip that was actually a decent value. As a bonus, is the indulgence in its expansive wine list and enthusiastic sommeliers who guided us to a nice, very steak-complementary St. Joseph far below that average wine tariff.

Aiko – B+ – Vibrant, flavorful, well-crafted seaweed salad was followed by a crudo and handrolls that were each delicious. The attractive space was also a nice break during the workday, even if the lunch was not so filling.

Winnie’s – B+ – Playful food – jalapeño poppers and meatloaf – done better than most places, not surprising as this fun spot with a serious kitchen has always been worth visiting even when a cocktail is not in mind.

Navy Blue – B+/B – A well turned-out red oak salad with Manchego and a light pistachio vinaigrette prefaced a beautifully presented salmon filet that was a touch overcooked but in a preparation that was still quite enjoyable. It started nicely, with exceptional, crumbly, cheddar and scallion biscuits; excellent baked goods are always a hallmark of top restaurants for me, and Navy Blue is one of Houston’s tops.

Fiori – B/B+ –  At least a couple of Italians said I should give Fiori another try and be sure to have one of its Roman dishes. I finally did, and the vibrant sauce in the spaghetti All’Amatriciana did not disappoint. It more than made up for the dull fried ricotta to start.

Upper Kirby District – B – Four courses and the most food of any Restaurants Week menu started off with a terrific chicken, sausage and okra gumbo followed with a forgettable, simple roll then some juicy, crispy fried chicken wings straight from the fryer coupled with cold Belgian waffles but finished with a neat peach cobbler. Uneven but the highs made it quite enjoyable.

Late August – B – This engaging newish spot in the Ion at the edge of Midtown, a sibling of Lucille’s, that highlights products from their farm near Sugar Land, offered a creative take on the Caesar and fun, crispy octopus preparation that showed a preview some of the appealing things that the kitchen can do.

Ostia – B – A better deal than most, with a good-sized Caesar – a common order for me for this – and one of their full-sized pizzas. Though their on the margherita wasn’t has tasty as the couple others I’ve had there, it was still pretty good.

Carrabba’s (Kirby) – B – The fried calamari with a tangy, lemony and piquant dipping sauce and the richly dressed house salad along with recently baked, crusty bread was good enough for me for the simple, soft pasta with an Alfredo-like sauce with strips of discordant roasted chicken to affect my opinion. Being served quickly and capably, as always there, helped, also.

Da Gama – B/B- – The patty was overcooked a little to my taste in my Lamb Kofta Burger, and the attractive if single-fried fries were well served with an accented mayonnaise to dip in, and I enjoyed the nut-heavy gulab jamen after. This stylish Indian spot is a favorite and even having to ask the waitstaff three times for an HRW menu could diminish a visit much.

PS21 – B- – The croutons were not crunchy, but their take on the Caesar salad with a mustard accent was decent enough. The day’s quiche featured a soft crust that was not what it had been in the past for me there, but the crispy fries were tasty, even if the side of oddly ineptly made mayonnaise that was not quite fully emulsified did not satisfy as much as usual.

Picos – C+ – A duo of noticeably tasty salsas with the chips start a meal here, but both dishes were a little too gloppy. The Nachos Jorge, that are topped with the cochinita pibil, were seemingly not stewed enough and certainly not flavorful enough, just like during a visit last month. And the spinach enchiladas were in a hearty cream sauce that was a little too hearty, though it was all an impressive amount of calories on the plates for a lunchtime.

La Fisheria – C – Dull-tasting ceviche featuring very softly-textured cubes of fishes started the meal. This  followed by decent Tex-Mex-style quesadillas oddly served in a little oval skillet with some thick ridges, and finished with very dull cake that likely had been occupying refrigerator space for a while. And all with ingredients that were far from the best. Unfortunately, this visit reminded me why I hadn’t been here for a while.

At Navy Blue the other day; more attractive than the last salmon dish I made at home.

I’m very happy that the tourist boards in Houston, Dallas, San Antonio, Austin and Fort Worth ponied up the money to pay for Michelin to recommend restaurants and hotels in these big cities; at least $90,000 annually from Houston First here. I’ve used Michelin for restaurants, mostly, with great success over the past quarter-century, largely in Europe. It’s a staple of my travel planning. Though it is unlikely to change my dining habits here, it can be a great boon for restaurants recommended in the guide. And I believe it will help increase the quality of the dining scene here.
 
Though obtuse in practice, Michelin’s stated guidelines for which restaurants deserve inclusion in its guides are “based on five universal criteria, to ensure each destination’s selection equity: 1) quality products 2) the harmony of flavors 3) the mastery of cooking techniques 4) the voice and personality of the chef as reflected in the cuisine 5) consistency between each visit and throughout the menu (each restaurant is inspected several times a year).” In practice, the level of service, décor along with an appropriate beverage list are also key. That last usually means a decent array of wines.
 
There are currently 152 restaurants cited in Michelin guide for Chicago, so I think that Houston should get at least half that total, as Chicago is bigger metro area, with more much more ambitious set-course establishments, and practiced in satisfying the Michelin inspectors. Also, the quality of service is generally higher than there, a weak spot for the area dining scene, a point re-emphasized with a recent visit to The Blind Goat, which had a few issues, and where the waitstaff was quite earnest but painfully amateurish: slow to clear finished plates, slow to clean a spill, drinks brought to the wrong table, and more. Not unusual.
 
Having fun speculating, I’ve come up with a list of area restaurants that might make the initial Michelin guide based on experience at Michelin-recommended spots including last month in Italy and France, perusing through entries in New York, Chicago, DC, and California, and a few that are hopeful on my part based on my terrific luck at them. There is a soft spot for studied cute and quirky, at least for the Chicago guide, so I have a few. And Tex-Mex might not come to mind for a Michelin guide, but New York even has a Tex-Mex spot, regarded for its “wild boar with grits,” so I think Houston can garner at least one Tex-Mex spot.
 
My lists below are deficient in Chinese and some other Asian eateries, as the Michelin will likely also be.
 
Stars – Listed in order of the likelihood of garnering one, at least one.

• Le Jardinier – Its siblings in New York and Miami have stars and another in Geneva has two. The Robuchon-legacy cuisine still resonates and service is as good as it gets in Houston. The setting at the MFAH is not too shabby, either.
• Katami – Chef Manubu Horiuchi, arguably the top chef in Houston, has a beautiful setting in which to shine for sushi and much more. Shine it certainly does.
• March –The best of breed of the quartet of pricey set-menu-only restaurants that came on the scene in 2021. One of the most ambitious in the area, this is staffed by a very capable and broadly experienced team led by executive chef Felipe Riccio that can pull off Michelin-starred-quality creations inspired by top restaurants around the Mediterranean.
• BCN – Provides locals with a very well-executed glimpse into Spanish fine dining that is both contemporary and deeply rooted in the traditions of Barcelona. The kitchen is headed by Chef Luis Roger, who had years of experience in kitchens in his native Catalonia including a stint at El Bulli, which will get the reviewers attention.
• Navy Blue – Executive Chef Jerrod Zifchak arrived from New York where he was the last one at the Michelin-starred Café Boulud on Manhattan’s Upper East Side, succeeding Aaron Bludorn in that role. Notably for the cuisine, Zifchak also had four years in the kitchen at Le Bernardin, widely regarded as the top seafood restaurant in the country. There are other impressive CVs on staff here, which quickly shows upon entry and with the first drink, as service is noticeably professional.
• Little’s Oyster Bar – Pappas Restaurants did something it’s never done before with this spring newcomer, hire a top chef to head one of its kitchens, when it enticed Jason Ryczek who had been the executive chef for several years at Farallon, one of San Francisco’s leading seafood restaurants, to move here. Bringing a fresh and seasoned perspective to the space that housed popular Little Pappas Seafood House for over three decades, it now boasts one of the very best seafood restaurants in the entire Gulf Coast.
• Uchi – Terrific in several locations, this Austin-bred sushi spot excels across the board, highlighted by an approachability and comforting service that might belie the culinary excellence.
• Neo – Another omakase concept from alumni of Uchi, this is more than sushi and fish. The setting is also different, quite interestingly, in a menswear showroom. It can be tough to get a ticket, and very pricey one at that.
• Ishtia – The successor to eculent in Kemah that garnered national attention – Tom Sietsema, longtime restaurant critic at The Washington Post had an uneven meal in 2019, but thought it was “tastier overall than the experimental Alinea in Chicago,” which carries three Michelin starts. It’s also the type of multi-course type of spot that Michelin likes.
• Alba – This is a stretch, and I am not sure what is going on since the Borlenghi’s sold the Hotel Granduca where the restaurant resides. But Maurizio Ferrarese, hopefully still at the helm, is one of the very best chefs in the city, in my opinion. He’s been a beacon for excellent truly Italian food since he came to Quattro downtown a dozen or so years ago from Il Palagio, a Michelin-starred restaurant in Florence where he was the chef de cuisine. A couple of summers ago, I attended a dinner at Alba for sixty to seventy people, nearly all Italians. The five courses were terrific, even more impressive given the size of the dinner. It was better than any of the meals I have had in nearly a month spent in Italy over the past couple of years, dining very well. That dinner even impressed the Italians.

 
Inclusion – Listed in alphabetical order. The ones for Bib Gourmand are listed separately, below.

• Amalfi – One of Houston’s very best Italian restaurants
• Amrina – Indian in The Woodlands that got a somewhat recent rave from longtime Los Angeles food radio host Evan Kleinman in the Wall Street Journal, which might help garner proper notice.
• Andiron – Steaks done differently, from the grill not the broiler, in one of the most handsome dining rooms around coupled with an expansive, lust-able wine list, if geared toward those paying with an Amex Black Card.
• Auden – One of 2023’s top newcomers is a neat spot that is intriguing and adroit in a lot of ways.
• Backstreet Café – A bistro for Houston that has been around for decades
• Bari – Excellent, truly Italian food from a seasoned hand, Renato Di Pirro
• Benny Chows – Cheeky and expensive for what it is, this is bolstered by a seasoned named chef who churns out terrific food. Now, Jett Hurapan, of Songkran and Gigi Huang’s. And Michelin seems to have a penchant for rewarding Chinese restaurants not frequented by Chinese.
• Bludorn – Could get a star because the team worked in the Michelin-starred Café Boulud in New York. I don’t think it is star-worthy based on my two visits, though.
• Bori – Houston’s fanciest Korean spot, dishing steak, something, locals and travelers, like
• Brennan’s – The Houston-accented Creole grande dame seems it is a good as it’s been in any time since Danny Trace was lured away to Jim Crane’s ventures in 2017.
• Carrabba’s (Kirby and Voss) – The two original spots of this national chain turn out vibrant, crowd-pleasing Italian-American fare, the best in Houston, with welcoming, very efficient service that have been drawing throngs of folks, many of whom can dine anywhere they want, since the 1980s for a reason. But Michelin doesn’t seem to reward spots like this, as far as I can tell.
• Caracol
• Da Gama
• Da Marco
• Davis Street
• El Tiempo – Possibly. Once dishing the city’s best Tex-Mex, it has suffered some as it has expanded to a number of location, many too many, a fate that befell Ninfa’s before. But those fajitas.
• Etoile
• Eunice
• Flora – New York’s Michelin guide recommends a Tex-Mex spot in New York. This is certainly better – speculating, of course – and also attractively set dishing attractively presented local favorites.
• Hamsa
• Hidden Omakase
• Hugo’s
• Jun
• Kau Ba – Funky and proficient with a good story that has garnered some national attention
• Kata Robata – Maybe even a star given the quality what comes out from Hori’s kitchen and sushi counter
• Killen’s STQ
• Kiran’s
• Lucille’s
• MAD
• Maison Pucha Bistro
  
• MF Sushi
• Musaafer
• Nancy’s Hustle – Should be, will be star-worthy in the future once the Michelin reviewers understand the city and restaurant better.
• Nobie’s
• Ostia – This American-Italian does things quite well and from a restaurateur with tenure in two Michelin bastions, New York and San Francisco, who knows what might need to be done for it.
  
• Pacha Nikkei
  
• Pappas Bros. Steakhouse – The city’s best traditional steakhouse(s) can even load a filet with flavor and has one of the country’s best an most expansive wine lists.
  
• Potente – An expense-account diner across from the ballpark has one of the city’s top chefs, Danny Trace.
  
• Riel
  
• Roost – A slightly quirky spot that largely flies under the radar for most local diners highlighting the personal cuisine of chef-owner Kevin Naderi, something that Michelin might like.
  
• Rosie Cannonball
  
• Soto
  
• Squable
  
• State of Grace
  
• Street to Kitchen – Though I haven’t been impressed as many others in my nearly ten meals here, I think it’s received enough buzz to gain inclusion.
  
• Tatemo
  
• The Lymbar
  
• The Marigold Club – From the team that brought us March and Rosie Cannonball with a former top toque at Tony’s with a focus on demanding, well-heeled diners. Might be too new for inclusion, though.
  
• Theodore Rex
  
• Tony’s
  
• Tris – A bastion of quality in The Woodlands
  
• Uchiko
  
• Vic & Anthony’s – Possibly a reach and, yes, it is a Landry’s restaurant, but it is one of the city’s best steakhouses; here, you don’t have to apologize for visiting a Landry’s property.
  
• Xochi
  

 
Bib Gourmand – “Good value. Good value cooking”; separate from the above lists. Based on other cities, maybe two-thirds of recognized Houston restaurants could be Bib Gourmand places. Listed alphabetically.

• Blood Bros. BBQ
• Crawfish and Noodles
• Cuchara
• Elro – This place is excellent, with a very well-rendered, unique menu from an experienced chef with New York-tuned chops along with fun cocktails and a very well-chosen small list of wines.
• Ema – Cute, quaint and earnest
• Feges BBQ
• Fung’s Kitchen – Maybe it might not be as good as before the fire a few years ago that shuttered it for a while, it is still a go-to for dim sum and Hong Kong-style seafood.
• Goode Co. Kitchen and Catina – The area’s top Tex-Mex spot from an estimable restaurant family, these certainly deserve inclusion.
• Goode Co. Seafood – Quite a bit better than good and the best rendition of locally attuned seafood rooted in the past of the region.
• Himalaya – This approachable, fun stop for Indo-Pakistani food has long been a favorite for locals and national film crews for a while for good reason.
• Josephine’s
• Killen’s BBQ – The area barbecue joint that began the barbecue renaissance still smokes top-notch beef.
• Mala Sichuan – The Chinese restaurant that has received the most press from the non-Chinese language media plus the food is quite good in its several locations and a quality beverage list at the Bellaire Boulevard original.
• Pinkerton’s BBQ
• Pizzana – Has one in Los Angeles and this place is quite proficient.
• Pondicheri
• Poscol – Marco Wiles’s spot has been a welcome stop for something a little different, small plate-style that’s much more Italian than typically found here.
• Saldivia’s – A wish for me. This humble, family-run Uruguayan steakhouse has been turning out the best value steaks in the city for nearly three decades in its various iterations. Their entraña, a skirt steak, ever before adding some more of their terrific chimichurri, has been easily much better than steaks I’ve had at pricey steakhouses like Brenner’s, Andiron, and Georgia James in the past year.
• The Breakfast Klub
• The Pit Room
• Truth BBQ – The brisket here is confirmation that it is world-class fare.
• Tiny Champions – This place is great, and more than just the city’s best pizzeria; excellent cocktails, pasta and more.
• Winnie’s – In the Chicago guide, there is Ina Mae’s, a New Orleans-inspired po boy-centric spot, so Winnie’s could make it. There’s some skill at this seemingly humble place.

A spread at Nancy's Hustle

The hamburger I picked up the other day from Underbelly Burger in Spring Branch was quite disappointing, most notable for the overcooked patties and listless buns that made for a lame sandwich and even putting it in fast-food level to me, albeit at more than twice the price and much less of the  convenience. During its first year or so in operation in the farmers market on Airline, Underbelly Burger was one of my very favorite burger joints. I overlooked that their odd, twisty, thick-cut fries were always undersalted and unsatisfying, but the burgers were outstanding in both of the beef choices.
 
The shake was quite tasty again on the recent visit, and the staff remembered straws, thankfully, but again in the bag for takeout, no napkins. That, with the charging for small packets of ketchup, mustard and mayonnaise, it gave the impression of a restaurant cutting corners, or just not that adept at service. That was certainly my impression with the short-lived Mexico City taqueria concept, Comalito, with its slow, often inept service, very cheap utensils, small, thin napkins not up to the job and food that was uneven in execution and in fairly restrained portions. It seemed expensive for the total product, for a place I really wanted to like. I wasn’t that surprised to learn that it had closed quickly.
 
Now down to Underbelly Burger, Wild Oats and Georgia James, Underbelly Hospitality is a shadow of its former self. Chris Shepherd left two years ago, in July 2022, and the restaurants that remain are far less interesting and a diner is far less assured of an excellent meal, something once taken for granted. My last meal at Georgia James featured a surprising amount of gristle in the steak and a martini bizarrely served in a tulip-shaped glass. Once my favorite local steakhouse, it is now beyond consideration. The modern, overly masculine décor of its current location appalled my oft-charming dining companion, and not that she’s ever been accused of being too dainty. The soulless plaza where the restaurant sits off W. Dallas and Dunlavy probably contributes to the mood. It did not help another briefly lasting effort, Pastore, which served an American-Italian cuisine. That restaurant suffered greatly in comparison to Ostia just down Dunlavy serving similar fare, but exhibiting a much greater understanding of  and interpretation of the cuisine while executing far better.
 
It is good to remember what Underbelly was and became. Juxtaposing many of the city’s ethnic cooking traditions with an emphasis on those from Asia onto a menu and often on a single plate and usually succeeding in dramatic fashion brought chef Chris Shepherd deserved national acclaim. And that spotlight has helped shine more light on other local restaurants and chefs. Underbelly, boisterous and confident, interesting and extremely competent, also helped show that a meal built around small plates can work well. It led to other restaurants, most notably the ones in the One Fifth series, somehow excellent in each of several concepts and cuisines ranging from a steakhouse, a mash-up of French, Spanish and Italian dishes, Levantine and Persian, Gulf Coast seafood, and finally a chef-y Italian-American. Underbelly lead to a broadly similar, still outstanding UB Preserv and Georgia James from a One Fifth start, becoming a top local steakhouse stalwart.
 
Chris Shepherd was not the only top chef to leave. Others in recent years include, notably, Nick Wong at UB Preserv and Tim Reading at Georgia James Tavern, who had also been the executive chef at Caracol. Both of whom thankfully have remained in Houston and will be opening new places soon. Others like Ryan Lachaine at Riel and Patrick Feges at Feges BBQ left years ago. The kitchen talent at the restaurants in Underbelly Hospitality seems much less than it once was. This helps explain some of drop off in quality and probably some of the turn to much safer directions.
 
Underbelly, etc., gone but not forgotten.

One of the wonderful compositions at Underbelly back in the day

I am a big fan of Elro and it’s unique, smart and very approachable take on upscale casual dining, believing it was one of the top new restaurants to open in the city last year. Texas Monthly recently opined the same thing. Having dined there about ten times already – it’s nearby and easy for me for lunch which helps – and being sucker for a good sandwich, especially an Italian-accented sandwich, I was looking forward to its second sandwich offering, the Meatball Sub that debuted after my last visit.
 
And that is a favorite for many. The meatball sub finished number thirteen on a YouGov survey of the country’s most popular sandwiches a few years ago. I do like it when done well or even fairly well, though it’s number three for me among hot Italian-American sandwiches. With family roots in Chicago, Italian beef has been tops for me probably followed by Veal Parm – though I haven’t had a good one of those in a quarter century. Elro’s version of the meatball sub might change my sandwich pecking order.
 
Its meatball sub was likely the best of that genre I’ve ever had. Arriving solo on a plate with its two halves enclosed in aluminum foil, it doesn’t make a striking appearance. Unwrapping a half of very hot sandwich gingerly reveals a crusty sesame seed-topped hoagie roll filled with beef and pork meatballs, melted provolone and mozzarella, with a judicious amount of a tomato sauce and, somewhat unusually, big leaves of basil. The meatballs, half pork and half beef, were soft and flavorful, and were complemented perfectly with the melted white cheeses, a lighter tomato sauce, the fragrant green herbs, and the wonderful, crusty bread, the same that’s used for The Hoagie. I made a small mess devouring it. Though a hearty sandwich, this is the freshest, lightest version of a meatball sub I’ve ever had: better bread, higher quality, tastier meatballs, the bit of basil, and fresh-tasting rather than a long-cooked tomato sauce.
 
Not so not inexpensive at $18, but a fair price for the quality and what will be a filling meal for most. It might be a favorite, too.
 
Elro
2405 Genesee (at Fairview), 77006
elrohtx.com

Italian restaurants have been popular in this country, some parts of the country, at least, since the big wave of immigrants from Italy in the late nineteenth century, becoming even more widespread than the significant numbers of Italians would indicate. But, it seemingly took until the end of 1926 for a full-time Italian restaurant to open in Houston.
 
There was Italian food publicly served on a special occasion, or occasions, before then. On July 20, 1924 both the Houston Post and Chronicle reported a society vignette that a certain Mr. and Mrs. Herbert Godwin gave a small dinner party “at the new Italian restaurant in Hermann park.” This was at the café that was opened to patrons of the golf course at the park by John Pappa and Vincent Vallone – Tony Vallone’s grandfather – the month before. This café seemed to also be used for private events, but was not really an Italian restaurant.
 
The honor of the first Italian restaurant in Houston appears to go to Mme. Cerracchio’s that opened in December 1926 in a “stately colonial mansion” at 2414 Main Street at half-block north of McGowen, in today’s Midtown. This also housed the studio of Mrs. Cerracchio’s husband, the sculptor Enrico Cerracchio, who created one of the city’s most iconic civic artworks, the bronze equestrian statue of Sam Houston in Hermann Park. The restaurant advertised table d’hote service from 6:00 to 9:00 PM and a la carte afterwards in “an atmosphere of refinement and culture.” She is quoted as saying a few months after opening that “I have always had the urge to show the Americans how the people in Naples, Enrico’s native city, serve their foods – and at last I’ve found the chance.” It offers “raviolis, meat balls, and fine Italian spaghetti.” Mme. Cerracchio’s was a more appealing-sounding for an Italian (and French) restaurant than that of her maiden surname.

She was born Marion Kowalski in Shamokin, a coal mining town in eastern Pennsylvania that, incidentally, was the also the birthplace of fellow Polish-Americans, Stan Coveleski, a Baseball Hall of Famer, and his brother Harry, who, too, pitched successfully in the major leagues, with a lifetime record of 81-55 and was a three-time twenty-game winner.
 
Coincident with her husband’s work as a sculptor, the restaurant becomes a “rendezvous for the artistic, bohemian element” as many Italian restaurants were famously known to be in New York, Chicago and San Francisco and elsewhere. Mme. Cerracchio’s adapts a slogan of “Where Houston’s ‘Who’s Who’ meets and entertains the Nation’s ‘Who’s Who’”. Nonetheless, it becomes Nino’s in August 1927, just eight months or so after opening, with a new proprietor. This is the first of three Italian-themed restaurants named Nino’s in Houston over the decades, none of them related.

If interested in reading more about the sometimes amusing and surprising history of local Italian restaurants like this, you might want to scroll through some of “A passeggiata through Houston’s Italian restaurant history.”

An advertisement from the Houston Post, March 2, 1927. The address is incorrect.

I hadn’t been to Tacos del Julio in almost a decade and it had been in mind recently after visiting Feges BBQ and Stuffed Belly as one of its locations shares the revitalized now restaurant-heavy strip center on Long Point west of Wirt. I had liked its casual Monterrey-rooted food in the past; it was recommended it in my guidebook Houston Dining on the Cheap some years ago.
 
So, after long last, I drove out there for lunch today. An item at the top of one part of the menu caught my eye: tacos de trompo with beef. I don’t remember having that before – and knowing it existed – and really enjoying well-crafted tacos al pastor and tacos de trompo made with the traditional pork, I ordered it after the waiter confirmed it really was beef sliced from a trompo.
 
Arriving at five to order set flatly on a plate, the marinated slices of beef, which had been slightly crisped on the plancha were set atop a pair of fairly substantial, deep yellow corn tortillas with a bit of melted asadero cheese in between then topped with sauteed onions and slices of avocados. After liberating them from the three separate small plastic bags, accompanied with squeezes from lime wedges, chopped cilantro and chopped fresh onions. With some squirts from the bottle of spicy, flavorful orange salsa, made with chiles de arbol, I assume, the tacos were terrific. The beef was tender, more tender, mildly beefy but much tastier than the beef in a typical taco. With all the complements, even much better.
 
For just $12.49, which came with a cup of nicely satisfying charro beans, it was quite a nice deal. Their slogan is spot on, certainly with this order: ¡No comas ansias, come tacos! When here, don’t worry, eat tacos.
 
Tacos del Julio
8203 Long Point (east of Wirt), (832) 358-1500
tacosdeljuliousa.com
 
Locations also on I-10 in Katy and at 7515 Westheimer. There are two other operators of the restaurant have locations on Airline Drive, in Pasadena, and then one on Highway 6.

I met an old friend the other day for lunch at Winnie’s, a place I have always liked but had not been in a little while. The reason is that the less-than-ideal parking there in a crowded part of Midtown is seemingly always in the back of my mind. Very glad we went there.
 
Winnie’s menu has grown, and it now sports a half-dozen or so sandwich options in addition to a couple burgers and an obligatory wrap in addition to a number of other slightly whimsical and always well-crafted choices. I ordered a new sandwich for me, the East Coast Italian. It’s their take on the classic sub or hoagie, which I am partial. A lot of folks are partial to that style: it’s launched several national sandwich chains, after all.
 
The East Coast Italian has about a dozen components: mortadella, ham, mild capocollo – or cabbacall in my grandfather’s dialect or the cruder-sounding gabagool on the menu that’s familiar from The Sopranos – sliced provolone, a bit of tangy cherry peppers, relish, lettuce, tomato, sliced red onions, mayonnaise, oil and vinegar, and whatever exactly Italian seasoning is all within a fresh sesame-seed-topped hoagie roll from local Luloo’s bakery. Those all play very well together. It’s a great mix of flavors, with enough enjoyingly contrasting textures and easily-good-enough ingredients, notably the bread.

It's delicious and fairly substantial in a whole order, not quite tasting like a classic Northeast sub but something very well-suited for just about any cold sandwich-lover here. And something else to keep in mind when visiting Winnie’s. It’s been tough for me to go wrong here food-wise. Though it is a little out of the way for most for lunch – and that parking  – with the quality of the sandwiches and other casual items and an approachable, comfortable setting, keep Winnie’s in mind for a lunchtime meal, especially on a nice day. And it is a straight shot on the light rail if officing downtown. You can be tempted by a cocktail, too.
 
Winnie’s
3622 Main Street (just north of Alabama), 77002, (713) 520-0660
winnieshouston.com

It’s been a couple of years since I’ve revisited this, about one of the most popular restaurant dishes actually not just at Italian-themed establishments – where a nephew seems to order it every time and Ken Hoffman wanted my thoughts on the best local versions – but also at any type of restaurant. Chicken Parmesan is the most popular of any restaurant chicken dish, at least according to a recent poll.
 
The previous update was sparked by reading a piece about Ken Auletta, who had just written a biography of the horrible Harvey Weinstein (one of whose lawyers I very oddly happen to know). It seems that the longtime New Yorker writer has had an obsession in finding excellent Chicken Parmesan preparations, and part of a group of guys who have been foraging the Italian-American eateries of the New York area for years for it.
 
For Auletta, a “test of a good Southern Italian restaurant is whether their chicken or veal parmigiana had a good sauce, the breading is crisp and has not been drowned in sauce, and the chicken or veal is not so thin it tastes like cardboard.”

Chicken Parmesan is an American creation that grew from the eggplant parmigiana preparation from southern Italy and Sicily, with the meatier chicken substituting for the less caloric eggplant at its core. Veal Parmesan came first, at least by the 1930s while Chicken Parmesan debuted on restaurant menus at least a couple of decades later. Veal Parmesan is certainly a much better dish, and my favorite dish as a kid, but Chicken Parmesan is ubiquitous throughout the country, the veal version much less so.
 
Industrially produced, widely distributed, easily affordable, and easy to cook with, abnormally large, if typically fairly tasteless, chicken breasts provide the key reason for the popularity of Chicken Parmesan. The dish at restaurant is a chicken breast or two – rarely pounded very thin – breaded and pan-fried, sometimes baked, and topped with mozzarella and maybe some other Italian-inspired cheeses and melted in an oven, and served in a tomato sauce usually with a side of pasta, likely spaghetti, also in that tomato sauce. You know what it is. And even longtime New Yorkers and Italian-Americans like Ken Auletta might really like it if done well.

People like Italian-American food, in even the most minor key. And here is what Chicken Parmesan will currently cost at the bakers dozen of the biggest Italian-American restaurant chains:

• Bertucci’s– $23.99, served with spaghetti in tomato sauce – 23 locations
• Biaggi’s– $19.25, served with something called “Three-Cheese Alfredo Rigatini” – 16 locations
• Bravo! Italian Kitchen– $23.99, served with herbed linguini;  – 26 locations
  
• Brio Italian Grille– $25.99, it is called the fancier, slightly Frenchified Chicken Milanaise, but it is Chicken Parmesan, served with herbed pasta – 31 locations
  
• Bucca di Beppo– $32.00 for a portion that feeds three, $10.67 per person – 69 locations
• Johnny Carino’s – $20.99, served with spaghetti with tomato sauce – 31 locations
• Carrabba’s (chain) – $22.49, Served with your choice of side – 219 locations
• Fazoli’s – $9.79, served with spaghetti with marinara sauce and two breadsticks – 208 locations
• Maggiano’s Little Italy – $22.50, served with spaghetti and marinara sauce – 52 locations
• Old Spaghetti Factory– $20.75, served with a side of spaghetti with tomato sauce – 42 locations
• Olive Garden– $19.49, served with a side of spaghetti – 918 locations
• Romano’s Macaroni Grill – $20, served with spaghetti and tomato sauce – 32 locations
• Spaghetti Warehouse – $18, served with spaghetti with tomato sauce, bread and salad or soup – 6 locations

 
The average price is just about $20 now, up 7% from when I did this in 2022. It’s up over 40% since 2010.
 
Chicken Parmesan is also a common menu item on local Italian-American menu. It will average about $4 more than the national chains, but will hopefully be tastier. Certainly at some of these:

• B.B. Italia – $26
• Carrabba’s, Original – $27.39, served with a side of fettuccine Alfredo
• Cavatore – $24, served with a side of penne with tomato sauce
• Coppa – $28, served with a side of fettuccine with a cheese sauce
• Damian’s – $27, served with a side of fettuccine with tomato sauce
• D’Amico’s – $23.99, served with a side of fettucine Alfredo or spaghetti with tomato sauce
• Fratelli’s – $16 (only on the lunch menu), served with a side of pasta with tomato sauce
• Marmo – $28
• Passarella – $17.95, served with a side of spaghetti with tomato sauce
• Piatto – $23.95, served with a side of fettuccine Alfredo
• Rocco’s – $16.50, served with a side of fettucine Alfredo
• Trattoria Sofia – $27
• Triola’s – $28, served with a side of rigatoni with tomato sauce

 
A version at Maggiano's

Having even gone to one of her book release events, I really enjoy and look forward to Mimi Swartz’s columns, both in Texas Monthly and occasionally in the New York Times. Except when she writes about restaurants; her loss at the closure of a nearby Luby’s – Luby’s – and the local establishments that undeservingly, and sometimes so in the head-scratching fashion, get a blurb in Texas Monthly’s dining listings, sometimes with good ratings, in lieu of much better places, which I ascribe to her influence as a Heights resident, rightly or wrongly. The current article about La Griglia’s move is another one, if not Luby-esque.
 
Swartz is certainly spot-on about the clientele, the moneyed, the society names, the politically connected, who were the main story concerning the restaurant over the years, which was the focus of the article. But what was barely alluded to, which I thought was very important, was the design of the original restaurant, a testament to La Grigila’s founder, Tony Vallone.
 
Tony Vallone had an excellent sense of style and design. I don’t believe that he received enough credit for that, and it extended to all of his restaurants, at least from the 1980s on. Grotto featured a sprawling, fun and often bawdy, well-rendered mural adorning the walls and columns featuring Naples-inspired figures street scenes and those from the Italian commedia dell’arte that was part of the draw of the restaurant. La Grigila was maybe even more attractive, with its seaside motif, if just slightly more restrained in the content of its décor. But both gorgeous and still kinetic and in a key that alluded to Italy, coastal Italy for well-heeled foreign vacationers. That beautiful design was actually replicated quite closely, at least for a short time in Dallas in the 1990s, as Joey’s, opened for Vallone’s wayward son. The second act of Anthony’s, coming after Grotto and La Griglia was completely different, but strikingly handsome. The latest incarnation of Tony’s, which opened in 2005, has an intriguing modern setting, light but sumptuous, punctuated with dramatic late-century works by Robert Rauschenberg and Jesus Moroles.

The Landry’s restaurants, and all of Tillman Fertitta’s properties, lack that sense of style and design that Vallone possessed. It is immediate obvious with the new location of La Griglia, housed in the space that was another, very popular Italian-American restaurant, Nino’s, for several decades (which is strangely not mentioned in the article; and neither is the clear star of that new development, the terrific Katami, from top chef Manabu Horiuchi, steps from La Griglia). I’ve walked through the new La Griglia and it’s attractive; white tablecloths throughout, and a neat patio with a separate small bar, all highlighted with pandering photographs of Italian movie icons and scenes. But it seems like a chain restaurant, which it essentially is. It’s lacking personality that both its previous location and the previous tenant had.

You probably don’t want to visit for the food, either. I never really went to La Griglia or Grotto after those became Landry properties. The items were certainly not as well-prepared nor as interesting as when those were Vallone-run. What was one of Esquire’s best new restaurants in the country when it opened in 1991 – as were Vallone siblings Grotto and Anthony’s in other years – was an afterthought for most discriminating diners after Landry’s took over. As if stuck in amber, the menus even do not seem to have changed that much from that time, over two decades ago, and appear quite similar at the new La Griglia address, too, if pricier. There is still no reason to visit La Griglia, unless you were a cosseted regular, I guess.

Maybe it is better now, but why bother there are much better Italian restaurants to be found in Houston. Alba, Amalfi, Bari, Da Marco, Tavola, Potente, and, yes, Tony’s, too, to just name a few. And a few additional suggestions.

The dining room at La Grigila, as it was for over three decades.

From the first edition of my guidebook Houston Dining on the Cheap that was published in 2001 about the green salsa at Taqueria Arandas:
 
Not insignificantly, the green salsa, offered complimentary with chips, is quite possibly the best salsa in town. A purée of chiles of a thick consistency, it is both very spicy while remaining very tangy and savory. It seems to complement every dish offered. Unfortunately, not all of the locations have this salsa. The Highway 6 and N. Gessner locations do. 
 
That green salsa eventually spread to the other locations of Taqueria Arandas where it have been a tabletop staple for years. It’s also been copied or attempted to have been copied at a number of other Mexican restaurants in town though never with quite the result.
 
I love that viscous green stuff in a squeeze bottle at Taqueria Arandas, on chips, on almost anything I order there, though it’s been sometimes hotter, sometimes tastier; if not entirely consistently made, I find it always at least enjoyable, and it’s a significant part of the attraction of the restaurants. Certainly rooted in Mexico, I don’t know if it comes from the town of Arandas in Jalisco, at least I didn’t notice it at the restaurant we ate there many years ago. It doesn’t really matter; it’s here, thankfully.
 
Given my infatuation with it, I’ve tried to make it at home a couple of times, from a couple of different recipes cajoled on a couple of different occasions from waitresses there. Briefly sauteed serranos, whole except for the stems, garlic, and some white onion that is then pureed with lime juice is the closest I’ve come.
 
It’s yet another example of my palate being more demanding than my cooking skills and I likely have to be satisfied with trip to the restaurants.
 
Taqueria Arandas
Multiple locations throughout the Houston area
taqueriasarandas.com

Some truth in advertising: mural at Taqueria Arandas on N. Shepherd

The year that’s been, 2023, has been a terrific one for new restaurants, probably the best since I’ve been actively following the Houston dining scene. As I’ve done in the past, the intent for this effort was to devise a list of the ten best restaurants to open in Houston during the year. But the shear number of high-quality restaurants to open here in recent months, rather than editorial slackness, made me to include a bakers dozen. It’s been a fun time to visit new restaurants here, even if the trend has been toward ever higher tabs. Many of the top newcomers will engender a hefty bill, if almost always worth it. Truffles, caviar, foie gras, cold-water lobster, A5 wagyu beef, sushi with fish sourced from Japan, a deep wine list, an overly stocked bar, and inspired design and the contractors to make that happen need to be paid for, after all. A fair number of Houstonians can afford these delights, though, and it shows with the oft-difficult reservations.
 
My list skews toward the more expensive, as these were clearly the best of the new restaurants this year.
 
In addition to the greater expense, other notable trends were appealing new French- and Italian-themed eateries, including ones with kitchens manned by actual Frenchmen and Italians; the number of enticing stops for sushi grew; and beautiful build-outs were displayed in newcomers like Annabelle, Andiron, Bari, Cocody, Eau Tour, Katami and Tavola. Bennie Chows, I’m not so sure about. Underbelly Hospitality, that grew from Chris Shepherd’s Underbelly, was net up one restaurant. Comalito, featuring Mexico City tacos and its brethren, shows promise after a rocky opening. But the group, which was once the city’s most exciting restaurant purveyor, lost another acclaimed chef – and another alum started receiving acclaim elsewhere –  and it became a much better bet for its more casual concepts, those tacos along with burgers.
 
The Berg Hospitality Group, an early local adopter of the grating credit card surcharge, added three wildly different, if each wildly expensively constructed concepts: Chinese, French and Italian. Two of which were among the best new restaurants to open here. The third, the French brasserie Annabelle, if suffering from some execution issues early on, is among the most fetchingly designed dining spaces in the area. The Azuma Group also had a noteworthy year, successfully transforming the Japanese Izakya into the Gulf Coast-centric Josephine’s then opening the city’s grandest stage for sushi, Katami. It’s been a fun year.
 
Listed alphabetically.
 
Andiron – Steak – Entrées: $39 to $150, $84 average – Yes, Houston does need another expense account steakhouse when it is something as striking, distinctive and proficient as this opulent effort from the folks at The Pit Room, Candente and, formerly, the excellent seafooder 1751. Featuring steaks and more cooked over a post oak-fired grill rather than the typical steakhouse broiler, the USDA Prime offerings, with just a scent of smoke and lower temps of the grill, taste just a little different. In a welcome way. Even with some turmoil in the kitchen as the initial executive chef departed early on, it’s recently settled on Michael O’Connor, longtime head of the kitchen at Vic & Anthony’s, the best of the Landry’s restaurants. The menu now features the standard quartet of cuts plus a steak au poivre, A5 wagyu cooked on a robata, and a recognizable array of steakhouse sides and accompaniments done a little uniquely. The expansive wine list encompassing both the Old and New World is an enophile’s dream, a wealthy enophile’s dream. The cocktail program is just as serious. Set just off Waugh near the AIG tower and Stages Theater in an older single story Spanish and Mediterranean-influenced building, it’s part of a River Oaks-adjacent nexus of excellent, pricy newcomers including Auden, Cocody and Katami. “Handsome” or “gorgeous” might be the first word many would use to describe the main interior that seats 110 including a bar area, done in browns, blacks and green. This is Houston’s most attractive steakhouse. And the most interesting.  Montrose
 
Auden – New American – Entrées: $20 to $40, $27 average – Announced in late 2021, husband and wife Chefs Kirthan and Kripa Shenoy – savory and sweets, respectively – finally opened Auden around Halloween this year. The sleek, modern restaurant in the new multi-use Autry Park development was well worth the wait, as it impressed right from the get-go, from the cocktails to the smart, short list of wines with friendly prices and mostly the kitchen. Kirthan, from Sugar Land, and Kripa, from Goa, both worked at the Michelin-starred Italian seafood Marea and Ligurian-inflected Ai Fiori from renowned chef Michael White in Manhattan. That top restaurant background shows strongly, even if there is not much among the offerings that are truly Italian. Nor Indian, either. The twenty savory plates, both smaller and more substantial, are mixed on the menu encouraging sharing or a progressive-type dinner. Fried oysters with trout roe and Fresno chiles, a Parisian-style seared gnocchi with Calabrian chiles and spinach in a rosemary beurre blanc, red snapper in a chicken broth are few of the well-executed winners. The nearly globe-spanning influences shown with preparations scallion pancakes with cultured buttered and chile-spiced agrodolce, and Gulf shrimp given Japanese and Thai ingredients, spicy and cooling, will resonate in a ready Houston market, as will the interplay of lower-key and luxe. Hamburgers share printed space with caviar and shaved Perigord truffles. Do save room for desert with the rich Le Choclat featuring milk and dark chocolates, Bomboni with blackberry sugar, or a neat take on that Houston favorite, tres leches.  River Oaks
 
Bari – Italian – Entrées: $24 to $60, $39 average – Opened in May 2023 with seasoned chef Renato De Pirro, a native of the Maremma in Tuscany, at the helm, this serves delicious pan-Italian cooking that tastes like Italy – likely no other local restaurant imports as much of its product from the home country – in an striking upscale trattoria-like setting with a soaring ceiling and sprawling sidewalk patio space that fits in perfectly with its high-dollar neighbors. The menu features recognizable favorites like Insalata Caprese, fritto misto, pappardelle Bolognese, spaghetti with clams, and veal scaloppine with lemon that are executed with excellent ingredients and more skill, understanding and flair than most places. A seafood tower, East Coast oysters on the half shell, and the now-days necessary caviar and truffle menu items – and tartufo bianco from Alba when in season – can help make this an overly indulgent lunch or dinner. The enticing, Italian-focused wine list has the well-known labels Gaja, Solaia, Tignanello and Ornellaia, but about a dozen nicely chosen ones by the glass for $15 and less and many selections under $75 – like a bottle of Rosso di Montalcino from star producer Casanova di Neri and a Pinot Grigio but from the Collio. Bari is both a restaurant for special occasions and one to be frequented regularly without tiring of it, especially for those who can shop frequently at the stores outside its doors.  River Oaks District
 
Bennie Chows – Chinese – Entrées: $18 to $115, $51 average – Cheeky, a bit garish in design, but with seriously good and fun food, if seriously pricey, and certainly overpriced in spots, e.g. $28 for vegetable fried rice, this is nonetheless a nifty, eclectic addition to our diverse dining landscape. From Berg Hospitality, this continuously expanding concern has, for the first time, hired an acclaimed chef, Shirong Mei, who began his cooking career in Hong Kong and delighted local diners at Yauatcha, the upscale dim sum spot in the Galleria a few years ago. Having an excellent chef really shows. Though maybe not fully the expected “American Chinese” its site proclaims, the fare is mostly Cantonese- and Szechuan-inspired dishes along with Peking Duck and the now locally must-have soup dumplings that hale from Shanghai. There is a version of General Tso’s Chicken and Orange Beef, too, but the “American” comes in more so with the inspired, rich restaurant-ready preparations like foie gras rolls, uni-laden siu mai, egg drop soup topped with Parmigiano Reggiano, and a couple with barbecued beef brisket from nearby Truth BBQ. A fun way to start is with a Smoked Brisket Egg Roll featuring Truth’s brisket, or the Szechuan Hot and Sour Soup, just a cup for $18, which is probably the most layered and flavorful version in Houston. It is oddly, if delightfully, garnished with a nicely grilled shrimp on a wooden skewer. Reflecting the ethnicities of most of the clientele – my Chinese co-workers were quick to decline a suggestion for lunch after seeing the prices – chopsticks are used less frequently than at about any Chinese restaurant in the area outside of those sad all-you-can-eat buffets serving low-budget local Gargantuas and Pantagruels. But they are very nice chopsticks as is everything here.  Sixth Ward
 
Cocody – New American – Entrées: $29 to $96, $53 average – The first thing to impress is the dramatic light-filled décor: the spacious dining area filled with thin crystal chandeliers dangling down and plush mauve- and cream-colored chairs and bangquettes along with the many-seated oval bar near the entrance, home to inspired cocktails and the playful lollys. Along with the elegant patio, the setting is a perfect complement to an increasingly upscale stretch of West Gray. But owners Edith and Edwin Bosso, whose roots in Côte d'Ivoire give the restaurant’s name, Cocody, provided chef David Denis and team an equally impressive work space that can be just glanced at from many tables: a roomy, state-of-the-art, and nearly fully stainless steel kitchen with the latest induction stovetops. It’s a serious kitchen and the restaurant is much more than a pretty destination, and featuring a stellar staff. Along with Denis, there is co-executive chef Lionel Debon with several Michelin-starred stops in his background including the famed La Pyramide in Vienne and recently at the excellent Alba here. Denis is quick to say that the offerings are not French, and global flavors and ingredients are found, but the French technique and sensibility are felt and seen in the dishes. A cod filet with jumbo lump crab meat in a beurre blanc emulsion and the Roasted Lamb Saddle Cut in a butter-garlic au jus are two entrées the kitchen is quick to tout. For the wine, brother Sylvain Denis constructed largely French list that should fit any mood, featuring enough fruit-forward Californian offerings for those not in tune with the Old World. And any meal should finish with a dessert – a visit might be a splurge, after all – rich, exquisitely rendered and certainly jibing with the sumptuous surroundings.  River Oaks
 
Elro – Pizza / American – Entrées: $18 to $23, $22 average – This, “a neighborhood pizzeria and crudo bar located in a bungalow house at the confluence of the Montrose and Midtown neighborhoods,” might seem like an odd thing, but unpretentious Elro makes splendid sense. This is largely because its headed Terrance Gallivan, who was one of the principals at the acclaimed Pass & Provisions once nearby – in the space now housing Bludorn – that turned out some good pizzas among its many adept preparations. The pizzas here are different than what I remember from Provisions, but superb. It begins with the crust, which are puffy, with a slightly raised crown at its edges and a bottom that is nicely charred; light and flavorful throughout, with a welcome fresh taste that is delicious to the last bite, In a big city with a deficit of quality pizzerias, the terrific pizzas are a start and a draw for many, but this, a smart, comfy place will appeal to frequent diners even when not in the mood for pizza. The cooling crudos are mostly seafood including East Coast oysters on the half-shell and four appealing and unique combinations: tuna with pistachio and some ‘nduja spice; smoked kampachi with pumpkin seeds and a Japanese flavors; snapper with pickled mangos, olives and chile peppers; and the Italian mint nepitella-cured salmon with apples and hazelnut; plus a take on steak tartare, a dish that has become more commonly seen here again. There’s also a couple terrific sandwiches, fun cocktails sporting the names of Springsteen songs, and a well-chosen, mostly Italian list of wines.  Montrose
 
Eau Tour – French – Entrées: $18 to $45, $29 average – From Benjy Levitt, who delighted diners at this address for years beginning with benjy’s, this newest concept, “a new Community Bistro,” might be viewed as a comfortable, localized and capable take on the French brasserie with a self-stated emphasis on seafood and dishes from a wood-burning oven. East Coast oysters, crudo or jumbo lump crab with aioli can start and then on to other expected preparations: escargots, French onion soup, steak tartare, quiche, beef bourguignon, steak frites featuring 44 Farms strip and duck fat fries. But there’s also a butter-poached trout with smoked roe, a grilled snapper, and a pork Caesar Schnitzel that’s fitted with Little Gem lettuce, Parmesan and boquerones. The wine list is eclectic, mostly French, and with an emphasis on bubbles and reds. You should have a number of fairly decent options from which to choose, and nearly all in double-digits. There is a creative “heavy pour” cocktail program to get you in the proper evening mood at this second-floor setting above Levitt’s Local Foods. It’s charming, with a whimsical contemporary décor, and quaint, just sixty seats in booths and banquettes along with nearly a dozen at the bar. This is a very welcome addition for the surrounding, well-heeled neighborhoods.  Rice Village
 
Josephine’s – Gulf Coast Seafood – Entrées: $19 to $45, $29 average – Replacing Izakaya, the Azuma Group did something non-Japanese, the locally familiar Gulf Coast cuisine but with accents further east to Mississippi, the home of state of chef Lucas McKinney, an Underbelly Hospitality alumnus. Casual and playful in spirit – the “Snacks” section lists ten items – but serious in execution, even with those more informal items like po boys and red beans and rice. The former, graced with the parbaked Leidenheimer rolls, crustier and in better shape than most places, are nearly spot on, if a little small. The oyster service is quite adept, even sourcing surprisingly flavorful oysters from Galveston Bay. The Smoked Redfish Dip featuring chucks of farm-raised redfish and a lemon remoulade is fun way for the table to start as are the moist, crisp and locally peerless hushpuppies served along a piquant pickled jalapeño tartar sauce. The handful of bigger plates include a grilled redfish on the half-shell, fried chicken and dumplings, and snapper collars with a Jamaican jerk rub. With a lengthy bar, Josephine’s has an enthusiastic cocktail program. The tiny list of wines leans hipster and obscure, and can use some work, but there are bottlings from Weszeli and Raventos among the more widely pleasing offerings. The interior is brighter than it’s predecessor and seems to add to the intended atmosphere. Service is friendly, and this is an inviting place to augment to Houston’s broad dining landscape.  Midtown
 
Jun – Southeast Asian – Entrées: $17 to $53, $31 average – An attractive and early 2023 entrant on 20th Street in the Heights, this builds on the success of Kin that charmed diners in the Politan Row food hall in the Village before the pandemic and Chef Evelyn Garcia’s star turn in the locally set “Top Chef” season in 2022. Plates here are meant for sharing and are divided among snacks, raw, vegetables, and proteins, plus desserts. Gulf shrimp aguachile; sweet potato lebneh; beef tartare in croute with its classic egg yolk accompaniment but also toasted rice and a sesame buñuelo; lamb curry with pickled daikon and pistachios; and a whole fish with guajillo chiles, red onions and charred limes are some of the inspired combinations that trek between Asia and Mexico and elsewhere. To accompany, it’s just beer, wine and wine- and sake-based cocktails, and ordering a bottle of wine has been the best bet.  Heights
 
Katami – Japanese – Entrées: $29 to $260, $105 average – Chef Manabu Horiuchi, Hori, of Kata Robata acclaim is one of the very best toques in Houston regardless of cuisine, and the enchanting, grand new space that opened in October, long home of the Italian-American Vincent’s, is a fitting setting to shine even more. Imbued with a Japanese design ethos, this “sushi, wagyu and sake-focused restaurant” features clean lines, blond woods interspersed with black, a separate ebony colored bar and over 180 seats along with a few dozen more in a somehow tranquil patio near busy W. Dallas. But it’s the food that’s the star. With the most wide-ranging regular selection of nigiri and sashimi around, it includes a number of items flow in regularly from Japan, all fashioned and served in optimal fashion. Hori has some fun with the makimono, the rolls, like the Southern Smoke Roll with fatty tuna belly, uni, caviar, shiso, wasabi and soy sauce, or the less opulent Texas Hamachi Roll filled with fried shrimp, spicy tuna and yellowtail with yuzu juice and topped with slices of fresh jalapeño. And others such as the Foie Gras PBJ Milk Bread. The lengthy menu has much more than sushi, with plenty of hot preparations including A5 beef from two different prefectures and two types of cooking methods. It might be overwhelming, but you can make it easier by ordering the sashimi or two or chirashi, sashimi over rice, or the kitchen’s choice of ten pieces of nigiri. It seems like it’s tough to go wrong here, and the plentiful staff will be sure to explain and encourage exploration, which can cost.  Montrose
 
Little’s Oyster Bar – Seafood – Entrées: $33 to $69, $48 average – Pappas Restaurants did something it’s never done before with this spring newcomer, hire a top chef to head one of its kitchens, when it enticed Jason Ryczek who had been the executive chef for several years at Farallon, one of San Francisco’s leading seafood restaurants, to move here. Bringing a fresh and seasoned perspective to the space that housed popular Little Pappas Seafood House for over three decades, it now boasts one of the very best seafood restaurants in the entire Gulf Coast. Possibly the city’s top raw bar does expert duty with oysters including an actually enticing cocktail sauce made with a pomegranate molasses that offsets its dull mignonette companion. Cold platters large and small include a deconstructed Crab Louie with delectable plump pieces of lump blue crab meat. And Ryczek’s past with caviar ensures its service might be the most impressive in town if you can indulge in that luxury and skyrocketing the bill at already expensive spot. A star among the warm preparations is the Texas Redfish served skin-on with an Italianesque salsa verde featuring Castelveltrano olives. Another is the chicken fried snapper with a tangy sauce ravigote. Resolutely a seafood restaurant – and a destination-worthy one at that – but a pricey Prime dry-aged steak or a white truffle risotto, or even some of the compelling vegetable sides, might satisfy those in the group who desist from the ocean’s charms. Wine offerings reach to the deep Pappas’ cellars for a list that is rather unusual, lengthy, and heavy on Champagne and Burgundy. The wait staff is trademark Pappas attentive, accommodating and forthright. Start with a cocktail, something chilled, and about anything else to continue, probably getting some help with the wine, and it be tough not to be impressed here.  Montrose
 
PS-21 – French – Entrées: $24 to $56, $35 average – A self-described “unassuming Frenchie Restaurant and Bar” is a comfortable and friendly, if somewhat dark, contemporary bistro from local favorite Philippe Schmit, and well-suited to the Upper Kirby District. Quite inviting for lunch – and when the tiny parking will have a space sans valets – with more casual offerings including well-done quiches, croque monsieur, salade Nicoise and moules frites. Those fries; properly crisp and lightly salted, are some of the best around, especially when paired with house-made mayonnaise or bearnaise. Meats, fish, and butter- and cream-laden sauces help make for a more robust dinner. Even more so when choosing steak tartare Rossini, foie gras terrine, a Duck Breast Wellington, or a 10-ounce entrecote with a decadently delightful seared foie gras topping. There is a short, smart, and nicely all-French wine list that’s aided with sage suggestions from the staff. And fun cocktails with a strong French or French colonial accent can help start the fun here.  Upper Kirby District
 
Tavola – Italian – Entrées: $24 to $68, $41 average – The third new restaurant from Berg Hospitality, only opening in December, is easily its most Italian, and easily its best Italian-themed effort – the others have been quite easy to overlook. This time it partnered with the Bastion Group of local Le Jardinier to bring the seasoned Luca di Benedetto, the former head corporate chef of the 20-restaurant Giorgio Armani Group, from Milan to lead the kitchen. And the result is truly Italian and well-executed, comforting and upscale pan-Italian trattoria-like fare. You get a sense of its sure-handedness soon after sitting with a surprisingly enticing amuse bouche of marinated, pitted and herbed, plump Castelveltrano olives served with biscuit-like taralli. Then the menu is approachable and easily discernible with items Caesar salad, fritto misto, spaghetti with clams, house-made pappardelle with Texas wild boar, tagliatelle with black truffle, chicken cacciatore, and tagliata with Prime New York strip. You might consider starting with a crudo or tuna tartare – taking advantage of the chef’s time at Nobu Milano – and then seven-layer Bolognese lasagna or one of Milan’s specialties, the osso buco ragu-laden Risotto Milanese or plate-sized Veal Milanese. Desserts are not an afterthought with cantucci made in house and a decadent cannoli for two, and paired with vin santo or an amaro or more. The setting and service – prices, too – are befitting a top ristorante, both elegant and inviting; an excellent fit to gleaming surrounding Post Oak towers and of the multitude of gleaming passing and nearby-parked vehicles originating from Stuttgart, Munich, and even Modena.  Galleria Area

The dramatically presented Beef Rib Au Poivre at Andiron

Was off the other day and suggested to a buddy, who also enjoys nice meals, about meeting for lunch at Tony’s, as we had done in the past. And it as enjoyable as before and still a value. Yes, lunch at Tony’s can be a very good value. Not really so if you “make it rain” those precious Alba white truffles in season now over a plate of fresh pasta.
 
Tony’s offers what is called the Greenway Express, three distinct courses which currently consists of a choice of soup of the day or salad – currently, a jump on the seasons with the Primavera Salad, roasted grapes, baby arugula, Tomino cheese, and pecan – to start. The main for it is one among a sandwich featuring Chilean salmon and Green Goddess dressing, a Roast Hen Salad flavored with honey mustard, and silky cappelletti filled with short rib, and topped with crisp garlic chips and gratings of tangy 24-month-aged Parmigiano, then a choice from a couple desserts. For a value lunch, there’s also a burger with 44 Farms beef and fries featuring its best partner, Kennebec potatoes, for $21 – and that cheekily comes with a Coke, too – plus a club sandwich and house-made chips for $15. And all this comes with a setting and level of service much beyond nearly all local restaurants.
 
I opted for the soup, stuffed pasta and Toasted Coconut Roulade to finish. The day’s roasted tomato soup accented with a dollop of Pugliese burrata, was a flavorful first course. Not cream-laden but substantial enough, with more complexity and pronounced notes of tomatoes than typical with the tomato soups. I sopped up the last drop ot it with some of the trio of terrific house-made breads that day: focaccia; sourdough and cranberry-studded. These were probably the highlight of the meal for me, and reminder that high-quality bread service has been a hallmark of Vallone restaurants for decades. The attractively presented pasta – a focus of Executive Chef Kate McLean’s kitchen – was very well-made, thin, and nicely complementing the tender strands of beef inside and then crunchy bits of garlic atop. More bread for a scarpetta, scarpette, was necessary, of course, to clean off the plate. The fetching-looking and fancifully named Toasted Coconut Roulade, caramelized pineapple with a small scoop of cream gelato was a nice, sweetish coda to the lunch that was much better, much more relaxed and cosseted, civilized, than usual.
 
Relaxed. I’ve found that Tony’s during lunch can be especially inviting and not stuffy, as I’ve felt there in years past. Service is quite friendly, even familiar in a good way, gracious and among the most attentive and polished in the city. That includes the wine service, which is excellent, even for those not wanting to spend a lot of money. There’s a list of at least seventy-five wines priced $75 and under. The wine director helped steer us toward a 2019 Morgon from Laurent Perrachon for $50 that did admirable duty with the richer dishes.
 
When it comes to a longer lunch, remember Tony’s, even if your not one of the ladies who lunch. Along with another table, we seemed to be about the only ones there that weren’t that day, but we were treated to views of a couple festively expansive hats, something you won’t see about many other restaurants these days.
 
Tony’s
3755 Richmond (at Timmons) 77046, (713) 622-6778
tonyshouston.com

Known for its pizza and crudo, the restaurant’s subtitle, the newish Elro at a Montrose-Midtown juncture is also a great stop for a sandwich. There’s just one, The Hoagie, that’s listed in the “Starters” section of its small menu.
 
It’s a version of the familiar Italian-American sandwich, inspired by ones that proprietor Terrence Gallivan grew up with south of Washington, DC. But it’s made with much better ingredients and culinary sense than you’ll find with any chain sub shop offering. The Hoagie arrives wrapped in restaurant-branded paper, cut in half and served on a small plate. It’s quality mortadella, hot coppa – spicy, dried, cured capocollo – slices of provolone, a bit of mayonnaise and pickled vegetable giardinera, with its liquid seeping into the fresh and terrific house-made roll that’s densely topped with plentiful sesame seeds, which are much more for adornment and adding to the overall taste of the sandwich. A bit of a mess, as the fillings extend past the limits of the nearly-sliced-through-roll and with the giardinera juice, but delicious. The wrapping is a necessity in addition to making for a cool presentation.
 
No fries. No chips. No matter. Served solo, it can make for a near-perfect workaday lunch. The Hoagie arrives in two parts, perfect for sharing and as a part of a dinner with other items. Maybe not cheap at $18, it’s certainly worth it.
 
Elro
2405 Genesee (at Fairview), 77006
elrohtx.com

There actually are some very good Italian restaurants to be found in Houston. These varyingly serve Italian, American-Italian, and the familiar red sauce-heavy Italian-American fare, descriptions that hopefully help explain three broad types of Italian-themed restaurants found here.
 
Restaurants that might be called Italian, I believe, try to mimic how food is prepared in Italy, or in very capable and knowing hands express the ethos of Italy, and made with Italian products when necessary. The chef or proprietor is almost always from Italy or has worked there. They know Italy and aim to serve dishes as Italian as possible, as possible as the customers and budget allow. Italian food varies tremendously by locale and region, maybe more so than other cuisines. Trattoria menus in Siena will look entirely different than one in Palermo or Verona, for example. Here, Italian restaurants rarely try to have a regional or local focus, but will usually have a menu of appealing and somewhat familiar items from around that country.
 
For me, American-Italian restaurants use contemporary ideas and products from Italy, but the food is, generally, noticeably different than it is in Italy. It is an Americanized Italian take, done in an enticing fashion. These places are often from an experienced chef who puts their spin on Italian dishes, or a notion of Italian dishes, and might use the Italian cooking philosophy as an inspiration. There is always pasta made in house; showing off kitchen skills and providing a canvas for creativity. The quality of ingredients is usually high, and sometimes expensive. Italian descriptions are often used to signify an understanding.
 
Italian-American cooking is distinct enough for those restaurants to have its own post.
 
The entrée ranges and averages shown do not include items with the increasingly popular seasonal fresh truffles or caviar service, both of which are seen at all of the pricier of these restaurants, and can add a fair amount to the final tab.
 
Below are the best dozen Italian restaurants in Houston listed in order of preference.
 
Alba – Entrées: $25 to $68, $41 average – The successor to Ristorante Cavour in the upscale Hotel Granduca is still led by the estimable Maurizio Ferrarese, and is the best Italian restaurant in Houston. The cooking is rooted in northwestern Italy, if ranging beyond the rich cuisine of its namesake Alba and the Langhe, the land of Barolo and white truffles, though there is agnolotti del plin and with shaved truffle. Ferrarese has the sensibility and creativity of a modern, top chef, but also does a wonderful job with more traditional fresh pasta preparations and no one here is better with risottos, as you might expect of a native of Vercelli, Europe's rice capital, made typically with the aged Acquerello rice. Secondos, meat and seafood, also shine. The setting is comfortable, attractive and usually staid and quiet. Also in the hotel is Giorgio’s, a more casual but quite adept, lightly trafficked option that shares a kitchen and chef with Alba that also shines with a large number of items including a sous vide octopus salad and butternut squash ravioli. Uptown Park
 
Amalfi – Entrées: $23 to $79, $40 average – Focusing largely on the cuisine of his home region in southern Italy, Salerno native Chef Giancarlo Ferrara produces dishes in this bright strip-center locale that are generally familiar but lighter and more vibrant that what you will typically find here. There are preparations with the house-made strands of scialatelli, tubes of paccheri and another pasta flavored with the colatura, the beguiling fish sauce from the Amalfi coast, among the Campanian coastal specialties. The wood-burning is put into good effect; the whole fish encrusted in rock salt and pizzas are specialties, too, serving some of the city’s best Neapolitan-style pies, which can work very well as a starter or a lunch. Save room for desserts, if possible. The dessert menu is lengthier than most and includes Pasticceria Amalfi, a delectable selection of mini Italian pastries, and a fun, Baked Alaska. Briargrove
 
Bari – Entrées: $24 to $60, $39 average – Opened in May 2023 with seasoned chef Renato De Pirro, a native of Tuscany, at the helm, this serves delicious pan-Italian cooking that tastes like Italy – likely no other local restaurant imports as much of its product from the home country – in an striking upscale trattoria-like setting with a soaring ceiling and sprawling sidewalk patio space that fits in perfectly with its high-dollar neighbors. The menu features recognizable favorites like Insalata Caprese, fritto misto, pappardelle Bolognese, spaghetti with clams, and veal scaloppine with lemon that are executed with excellent ingredients and more skill, understanding and flair than most places. A seafood tower, East Coast oysters on the half shell, and the now-days necessary caviar and truffle menu items – and tartufo bianco from namesake Alba when in season – can help make this a luxe lunch or dinner. The enticing, Italian-focused wine list has the well-known labels Gaja, Solaia, Tignanello and Ornellaia, but about a dozen nicely chosen ones by the glass for $15 and less and many selections under $75 – like a bottle of Rosso di Montalcino from star producer Casanova di Neri and a Pinot Grigio but from the Collio. Bari is both a restaurant for special occasions and one to be frequented regularly without tiring of it, especially for those who can shop often at the stores outside its doors. River Oaks District
 
Da Marco – Entrées: $24 to $75, $47 average – Intimately set in a small house with gated parking on Westheimer, Marco Wiles’s Da Marco has long served excellent fare that represents the best of many of the northern Italian regions. Da Marco is much like a very proficient, upscale trattoria whose cooking is not tethered to a particular locale. True to form, here you are expected to dine in the Italian fashion with antipasti, a first course, a meat or fish entrée, and separate sides. The fish on ice that greet you upon entrance is one of Da Marco’s highlights, but it’s all done quite well here and this has been among the best restaurants in the city for years. Along with the food, the wine list is strictly Italian, and pricey, pricier than most. Noticeably attentive service does come with the lofty prices, though. Back in 2006, Gourmet named among the top 50 restaurants (number 29) in the country and the restaurant might be better these days; there’s much more competition. Montrose
 
Tony’s – Entrées: $26 to $105, $55 average – As its website touts, fairly accurately, “Tony's presents fine dining Italian inspired by Naples, influenced by Milan and Cherished in Houston.” The pan-Italian sensibilities expressed here seek to present the best of Italy, the best of prosperous, gourmet Italy, at that, usually infused with a rich American exuberance. Namesake and legendary local restaurateur Tony Vallone passed away in September 2020, but his widow carries on very well with Kate McLean leading the kitchen for the second time, and Tony's seems more approachable and more Italian than ever. Excellent ingredients have long been the hallmark here, and that includes seasonal, fresh truffles whose aroma can pervade the dining room. Flavorful, thin, freshly made pastas – which nicely all come in first or main course size – tender Provimi veal and impeccable seafood are just some of the attractions, not to mention the excellent service, broad wine selection and gracious, modern setting punctuated with dramatic works by Rauschenberg and Jesus Moroles. There’s maybe more attention paid to caviar here than most top restaurants in case you need the tab to reach toward four digits. The wide-ranging wine list is excellent, as its been for decades, with more older vintages and many of bold-faced French names, but also many nice bottles for $75 and under. Greenway Plaza
 
Potente – Entrées: $39 to $99, $61 average – Serving American-Italian fare with a luxurious bent, this spot across from the ballpark – and sharing an owner with the perennially contending ‘Stros – has a top chef at the helm, Danny Trace formerly at Commander's Palace then the head of hometown Brennan's. It uses approachable preparations inspired from Italy with excellent ingredients to a satiating and robustly flavored, if quite expensive result. The cheapest pasta preparation is $42, for example. Authenticity is not part of the equation nor appeal here, and the preparations reflect a decadent, ingredient-heavy New Orleans heritage. Veal braised in Amarone with locally sourced mushrooms and served with a contrasting white polenta and a beetroot agrodolce, and agnolotti filled with lump crab meat, artichoke, melted leeks, bright beets and limoncello are just a couple. The wine list is lengthy, with plenty of enticements from Italy, France and California for those on expense account, but also nicely selected to appeal to most wine lovers with affordable bottles from excellent producers like Produttori di Barberesco, Pieropan, and Arpepe. Downtown
 
Ostia – Entrées: $21 to $78, $34 average – Another American-Italian, and fitting in very well in the heart of Montrose. Owner Travis McShane parlays his years with top Manhattan toque, Jonathon Waxman and his well-regarded Barbuto, to serve vibrant, well-executed and very satisfying fare from an edited array of salads, pastas, the famed roasted chicken, and other proteins that evokes a lighter, Californian-Italian tenor. It's also worthy of a visit solely for the pizzas, even one with kale, and just at lunch. Each version feature a properly enjoyable, fairly flavorful soft crust with ingredients that are noticeably higher quality and so tastier than usual. The setting is handsome, casual and inviting with an open kitchen and a pleasant patio. Montrose
 
Rosie Canonball – Entrées: $18 to $60, $31 average – Italian preparations including well-done fresh pastas and pizzas plus a few dishes ranging to other southern European spots. The second of several concepts, three currently serving food, to open in a very smart, quaint complex – acclaimed March is housed just above – this is essentially an Italian restaurant with a more than a few complementary nods to the Iberian peninsula on the short menu. There are some very well-crafted, if possibly too precious, fresh pasta preparations in the Emilian tradition, excellent pizzas, plus breads and greens and other vegetables, and a quartet of proteins including the requisite steak and seafood items. These crowd-pleasing dishes and stylish space have made it an attractive stop for lunch, business or otherwise, and a busy spot at night. The wine list is expansive and mainly Old World and fun for almost any wine lover. Montrose
 
Giacomo’s – Entrées: $15 to $35, $23 average – Lynette Hawkin’s comfortable, friendly spot near River Oaks has been easy to love since it opened in 2009. Affordably priced and featuring a big menu that includes plenty of well-rendered small plates of trattoria-style Italian dishes that often highlight Rome and Tuscany, including items like crostini with chicken livers and fine quality freshly made pastas – the best might be the tortelli di bietola, medium-sized ravioli filled with Swiss chard and soft goat cheese and topped with a sage leaves and melted butter – which are paired with a nicely assembled and extremely enticing 150-bottle or so mostly Italian wine list that has many tempting choices between $25 and $40 in a setting that is comfortable and coolly retro. Casual, welcoming, proficient and well-suited for Houston, this is a tough restaurant not to like. River Oaks
 
Poscol – Small plates: $7 to $20 – The restaurant takes its name from the name in dialect of the main thoroughfare in Udine (Via Poscolle), Wiles’ hometown in the northeastern Italian region of Friuli, can work as an all-Italian wine bar supported with enticing small plate preparations, many meant to be shared. The food has a strong northeastern Italian influence along with impeccably Italian sensibilities that have worked extremely well for Houston diners at Da Marco, not far down Westheimer. The roughly 50-item menu will be comprised of regional Italian specialties. There are risotto dishes, fresh pasta preparations, bruschette, salumi, fried items, a well-chosen selection of Italian cheeses, and seafood including shrimp and prosciutto with garlic and capers and octopus and cannellini beans. Its longtime Sunday special of porchetta, a roasted pork preparation, has even thrilled a former resident of Umbria, where the dish was born. Though a sibling of the dearly departed Dolce Vita that was a few addresses down, the pizzas here show that they miss that proper oven. Montrose
 
Davanti – Entrées: $18 to $31, $24 average – Building on the success of the counter-service Fresco on the Southwest Freeway, and the considerable publicity from an appearance on Guy Fieri’s Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives in 2021, Fresco was essentially replicated as Davanti this summer, in nicer digs. Higher prices, too, but this is still casual Italian done well from the kitchen of Chef Roberto Crescini who hails from near Brescia in northern Italy and cooked professionally for years in Italy before coming to Houston. The main attractions are freshly crafted pastas made with at least a substantial portion of hard wheat flour for a toothsome texture, and the ability to be shaped. And shapes there are. If one of the tasty listed options don’t interest, in user-friendly American fashion, you can choose a shape from among a wide array: bucatini, linguine, fettuccine, pappardelle, spaghetti, conchiglie, small or large rigatoni, tagliolini, fusilli, tagliatelle, casarecce, cavatappi, and gluten-free penne; then top it with one of eight sauces, and even add a choice from a few proteins to that. A ravioli preparation, pasta with the braised lamb sauce or with an all-beef ragù bolognese – this is Texas, after all – and the thick Roman-style pizza al taglio are the highlights from an enticing menu. Also, Crescini is a certified Norcino, butcher, so be on the look out for any salumi specials. Greenway Plaza
 
Perbacco – Entrées: $18 to $30, $22 average – Lower-key, featuring very approachable, familiar Southern Italian cooking geared toward local sensibilities from a longtime restaurateur from Capri, off the coast of Naples, the fare is largely lighter and better prepared than similar dishes elsewhere. It’s set in pleasantly utilitarian fashion in the ground floor of an office building, albeit Philip Johnson and team’s landmark Pennzoil Plaza, the emphasis is on enjoyable eating rather than fine dining. Maybe not a destination restaurant, but it works admirably as a downtown lunch spot and stop pre-symphony or -theater at the end of the week There are several, somewhat hearty, baked pasta dishes such as lasagna and cannelloni, and a dozen other pasta preparations like Penne della Casa with perfectly sautéed Gulf shrimp in garlic, brandy pink sauce, and house-made potato gnocchi with eggplant in a tomato sauce. Its version of the traditional, simple linguine and clams is one of the best around. There are a fair number of protein-centric entries, too – veal Marsala, and Gulf snapper sautéed in white wine, onion, fresh tomatoes, capers and basil, aptly carrying the Snapper Napoli name. Even tripletail was a recent lunchtime fish special. Entrées are served with a small salad, helping to make this an especially nice value. Downtown

Fresh pasta with fresh truffles at Bari

Ham and cheese remains one of the country’s favorite sandwiches, a mostly lunchtime creation at home, with ham usually paired with a slice of cheese. Simple to assemble from easy-to-find, and easy-to-afford ingredients, a well-done ham and cheese sandwich can be quite satisfying. The version at Common Bond is also inexpensive – just $8.99 – but likely tastier. Certainly more French, in any case.
 
Just called the Ham & Cheese, it features the jambon de Paris – the cooked ham from Paris – Gruyère, and is slathered with some Dijon-spiked butter in between a slice of a section of one of Common Bond’s excellent, crusty baguettes. Fairly straightforward and not that large, it’s quite enjoyable, with the nutty, rich and delicious Gruyère – a step up from that slice of industrial cheese used in most homes – and the bite of a bit of mustard complementing the ham. But the tasty, fresh baguette really helps make this a savory treat. You can’t have a good sandwich without good bread, and this bread is better than what you are usually using for sandwiches.
 
The Ham & Cheese can be ordered warmed or not. Warmed is the better choice, as the cheese gets melted some. Though just $8.99 at the drive-thru versions of Common Bond, the sit-down ones charge $11.50 for it, but for the additional two-and-half dollars it comes in two halves skewered with a lengthy, sturdy toothpick, not necessarily an attractive presentation, but a different one.
 
Common Bond’s ham and cheese seems to be a take on the famed Parisian Jambon Beurre sandwich, which is just the ham, butter and baguette. Europeans can seem to shy away from combining ham and cheese on sandwiches. Philippe Schmit’s newish modern bistro, PS-21, takes the same tact as Common Bond and adorns its similar sandwich with cheese, too. Ham and cheese is popular in America, rightly so.