​On the small tables for two at Pizzeria Solario there is not nearly enough room for even most of the courses you get with their weekday lunch special: a soup, salad, and a good-sized Neapolitan-inspired pizza made just for one.  Between Monday and Friday from 11:00 until 2:00, you can get a cup of soup, small house salad, and one of five different pizzas for just $10 plus tax and tip.  This is a terrific deal, because it’s all quite tasty – with the single exception of a lame version of a Caesar salad that costs an additional dollar and easy to avoid. 
 
The pizzas are why you are here in the first place, and Pizzeria Solario does a fine job with the thin crust, judiciously dressed pizzas with a slightly wet center that have its roots in Naples.  The noticeably good quality ingredients and a traditional Neapolitan wood-fired brick oven brought to high temperatures help ensure well-done pizzas most of the time with a proper fresh taste including a pleasant, soft crust.  Having eaten far too many mediocre and worse pizzas in my long-lasting Margherita Pizza Project, I’m happy to write that Pizzeria Solario does a far better job than most in the city, and its safe to order a Margherita Pizza here along with the four others that are offered as part of their $10 lunch special.  In addition to the Margherita, you can get the Quattro Formaggio (Cow’s milk mozzarella, Parmigiano-Reggiano, Asiago, and aged Provolone), Pepperoni, the Bianca (Fontina, Cow’s milk mozzarella, Pecorino Romano and fried sage), and Filetti (Fontina, fresh heirloom grape tomatoes, arugula and fresh basil).  There does not seem to be a bad choice, at least three different ones I’ve had have all been quite enjoyable and worth ordering.
 
Though one of these pizzas for $10 would be a worth a special trip by itself, the house salad as probably better than it needs be – there were actually ripe and flavorful tomato halves, unusual for inexpensive Houston restaurants these days – as are the soups.  The oddly named sofrito soup featuring the browned vegetables, a roux, ground sausage pieces, vermouth and a bit of cream has probably been my favorite, though the minestrone-like lentil and cannellini bean soups are both worthwhile.  Three enjoyable courses anchored by a fine pizza for $10, there’s a lot to recommend at this fairly humble Greenway area spot.
 
Pizzeria Solario
3333 Weslayan (just north of Richmond), 77027, (713) 892-8100
pizzeriasolario.com

​I was finally able to return to Nancy’s Hustle in the EaDo the other evening.  I had not been since their third day in business last December when we had an excellent meal and very fun time.  This contemporary American bistro was one of my picks for top ten new restaurants in Houston last year, a very busy year for ambitious new restaurants.  I’ve wanted to return for a while, but the best of plans had changed, and then there were plenty of newer spots I felt I had to try.  And probably more so, as deservedly popular as the restaurant has been, it has more difficult to find a table there, especially on short notice.  It is not the largest of spaces, maybe seventy seats or so.  Unfortunately, last month they could not accommodate my dinner club with a dozen, as I was told that six is the maximum party size, and there was no chance for two tables to be adjacent on a weekend night.  Oh well.
 
I snuck onto a seat in the bar, at least it felt like I snuck onto it, as the tables were already filled and most of the bar just a quarter hour after opening.  As tough as it might have been for me to decide upon what to eat, I manage to do it quickly.  The mostly shareable and certainly fun menu made for dining in stages currently includes around ten smallish plates, a half-dozen larger ones denoted “medium,” a half-dozen large plates and five desserts.  There are a couple green salads, some vegetables, several protein-centered preparations with many of the main flavors ranging from the Mediterranean on either side of the Bosphorus to stateside, all of which are enticing.  There is even a version of the famed Au Cheval cheeseburger in Chicago, as Nancy Hustle's chef was on the opening team there.  I wanted try new items on this trip – so none of the somewhat surprisingly delightful Nancy Cakes this time – I managed to narrow it down to the Crispy hash browns with sour cream, sautéed duck hearts, and cognac sauce and the Roasted striped bass with melted tomato, Spanish chorizo, capers, and basil.  Both were excellent choices.
 
The hash browns turned out to be four thick rectangles of fried mashed or hashed potatoes arrayed on the plate with fresh flat-leaf parsley, chervil and chives and a half a dozen to eight duck heart halves.  It was very enjoyable with the tasty, light but creamy yellow sauce and the brightness of the fresh herbs that very nicely paired with the all-meat hearts, which had none of the mineral accents that many associate with non-traditional parts.  And fried potatoes certainly go well with pretty much everything, especially these crusty treats.  The fish entrée turned out to be even better centered about an excellently cooked crispy skinned bass featuring a moist, mild white flesh that went well with the acidity and flavors of the ripe, roasted tomato halves and also the creamy textured sauce of a puree of corn cooked with shallots.  The small nuggets of the chorizo sausage and capers, each provided a different but nicely complementary contrast to the fish and its corn sauce.  Delicious.
 
The bartenders were terrific, both with the cocktail and with the service in general.  I prefaced the dinner with the Mystery Plane, what I properly surmised was refreshing on a warm Houston summer after.  Made with nearly entirely Gallic components: Boudier, a dry gin from Dijon, a white wine from Corsica, lemon liqueur, and a spray of absinthe.  It was excellent, not just refreshing.  After it, a white Burgundy for $13 proved to go well enough with the bass entrée.   
 
My one minor quibble with the restaurant is that I wish the dishes were more specific to Houston.  It sports a menu that might be found in most top restaurant cities, especially Chicago.  As good as the food and drinks have been in my two visits, this is a very minor quibble.
 
Nancy’s Hustle
2704 Polk (east of Emancipation), 77003, (346) 571-7931
nancyshustle.com

​I had heard Astros broadcaster Todd Kalas encouragingly remark last season that Tony Luke’s, regarded by some as serving the best cheesesteak sandwiches in Philadelphia, might have a location in Houston.  I expected that Kalas, whose father was the legendary longtime Philadelphia Phillies broadcaster – after leaving the ‘Stros after a half-dozen seasons in 1971 – had presumably spent much of his younger years in Philly and had eaten a fair number of the city’s signature sandwiches.  Not just Kalas’s recommendation of its quality, but Tony Luke’s had been lauded as the best in Philly by The Best Thing I Ever Ate some years ago on the Food Network and is currently in the number two spot on the VisitPhily.com site, for those are worth.  Philadelphia is known for the Liberty Bell, Rocky, and cheesesteak sandwiches.  And those vociferously booing fans.  So, not long after hearing about a possible Tony Luke’s in the city, I had to find and visit it.  Located on the Katy Freeway on 1-10 near Bunker Hill in one of the faceless strip centers, it is pretty good, if I can’t really vouch for how it compares to its locations in its hometown.
 
But, just two or three blocks west in another banal small strip center is a homegrown Pappa Geno’s, which is clearly much better to my taste.  Each of the components tasted a little better than that Philly import, and the combination much more so.  The availability of plastic squeeze bottles of a good hot sauce at Pappa Geno’s helped, certainly for me, with a typically Houston need for some piquancy in many of my meals.  I don’t think that I am alone; we generally like a lot more spice than they do in Philly.  To properly compare, I had very similar half sandwiches at each place one afternoon, which definitely confirmed my earlier observations.  I did enjoy Tony Luke’s well enough, but I don’t think that there really is a reason to visit with a Pappa Geno’s so close by, as the latter is clearly better.
 
Since the back-to-back comparison, I’ve been back to Pappa Geno’s several times at this another location, and it’s been excellent every time.  To help confirm my feelings about the cheesesteaks, I had check out the new location of Texadelphia on Montrose.  It’s ground beef-like steak stuff in the sandwich was a big disappointment in comparison in both taste and texture to those served nearby at Pappa Geno’s on lower Westheimer, if in a much more inviting and comfortable setting.  But, Pappa Geno’s versions are probably among the best hot sandwiches in Houston, at least the ones served in bland, unprepossessing settings.
 
The sandwiches are large and a feature fresh, soft rolls; good bread a necessity for a good sandwich, after all.  The thinly sliced seasoned beef is tender and flavorful and well complemented by the plentiful melted provolone and nearly caramelized onions that come with it in their basic Pappa Geno’s Steak & Cheese sandwich.  The ingredients might not have the provenance of those on many upscale restaurants here, but they are more than good enough and work wonderfully together.  A cheesesteak sandwich here is a nearly glorious, very messy and caloric indulgence that is far from artful in appearance or construction but tastes better than most of the much fancier sandwiches around, not just its cheesesteak competitors.  The other versions I’ve had thus far have also been very enjoyable: the Smothered Philly that adds sautéed mushrooms and brown gravy and the Wicked Philly that has hot oil peppers with the basic sandwich.
 
In all, Pappa Geno’s has seven versions of the Philly cheesesteak sandwich plus five others with the less flavorful chicken.  There are also hoagies, the cold Italian-Americans that called subs here, plus burgers and cheese fries and other artery-clogging sides.
 
Though usually a caloric, cheesy indulgence, Philly cheesesteaks might be overrated, as it is.  I enjoy them, but these are rarely that great.  Cheesesteak sandwiches are popular, to be sure, but among the Italian-American hot sandwich canon, Chicago’s Italian beef sandwich featuring thinly sliced, long-braised boneless sirloin on an Italian-style roll dipped in the cooking juices and served with the pickled vegetable mixture in vinegar oil, giardiniera, is tastier, in my opinion.  Far more time-consuming to make than the cheesesteak sandwich, it has not migrated that successfully much beyond the greater Chicagoland area.  I do enjoy a good cheesesteak sandwich, though.  Unfortunately, there are a plenty of mediocre and worse versions out there.  I had one recently during a layover in the Philadelphia airport at a place called Chickie's & Pete's that was absolutely terrible.  Somehow there are two locations in that airport.  I had had a similarly bad cheesesteak in the same airport a number of years ago, though it might have been another crappy proprietor.  For better or worse, an old roommate and lifelong Philly area resident confirmed that Chickie & Pete’s really sucks, even outside of the airport.  I digress.
 
Pappa Geno’s now has six locations and recently opened a spot not far from my home and my office on lower Westheimer.  I am very happy, though it’s certainly not propitious for my waistline.
 
Pappa Geno’s
1801 Ella (at TC Jester), 77008, (713) 863-1222
6317 N. Eldridge Parkway (north of W. Little York), 77041, (713) 466-8080
515 Westheimer (between Taft and Montrose), 77006, (281) 501-3664
9330 Katy Freeway (on the north side, between Bunker Hill and Witte), 77055, (281) 501-1617
19859 Katy Freeway (on the south side, east of Fry Road), 77094, (281) 578-1900
8035 Spencer Highway, Deer Park (just west of Luella), 77536, (281) 884-8129
pappagenos.com


The wonderful mess that is Pappa Geno's Steak & Cheese sandwich

​I believe that I have a fairly good knowledge of Italian food, the foods of Italy.  I’ve studied the subject for a while – yes, studied in addition to eating nearly as much of it as I possibly could – and been to a fair swath of the country during ten trips or so.  But, with the Italian lands home to over 60 million people and an amazingly diverse range of geographies and deep regional and local histories and traditions, especially culinary, there are number of dishes and foodstuffs I hadn’t experienced.  Piadina was one of them. 
 
I had heard of piadina and was intrigued mostly since I thought it was the precursor to the grilled pizza in this country, created by the lauded and oft-televised Al Forno restaurant in Providence, Rhode Island during the 1980s.  But, I had never had one, nor seen one, for that matter.  I had never been to Romagna, the eastern portion of the Emilia-Romagna region – where the piadina hails – and only very briefly to Emilia, the western part of the Emilia-Romagna region.  The piadina is also found in northern parts of neighboring Marche, though I did not spot any while there some years ago.
 
So, while in Parma recently as we were wandering around the busy pedestrian streets near the city’s touristy heart, Piazza GaribaldiI on the first afternoon, I was actually excited when I espied the fairly tiny, tidy storefront called La Piadineria that serves inexpensive piadina. 
 
I had expected that the piadina was a flatbread-like pizza, sort of like the ones at Al Forno, but an Italian quesadilla was the apt description for how it looked.  Featuring a (very) flat bread that looked just like a flour tortilla and is folded in half over ingredients that seemingly always include some type of cheese, the piadinas served at La Piadiniera, part of a chain of nearly 200 restaurants mostly in northern Italy, looked a whole lot like an Italian quesadilla. 
 
When we returned for a meal the next day, I found that the flatbread portions of the piadinas, technically the piadinas, tasted similar to a flour tortilla to me.  That is not too surprising, as these are made with white flour, water, salt and wonderful lard, just like tasty flour tortillas are, and cooked on a flat griddle.  Among the thirty or so choices at La Piadiniera, I ordered The Legend that was filed with prosciutto crudo, arugula and something called squacquerone, another Italian foodstuff about which I was not familiar.  In fact, I had never even heard of it, nor was comfortable trying to pronounce it.  I had kind of figured that it was likely a cheese, and it is, a soft, spreadable mild, but a bit tart, cow’s milk cheese that is a common filling in a piadina.  Overall, not just in appearance, the piadina I ordered reminded me of a quesadilla done in a lighter, fresh-tasting Italian-style.  I really enjoyed it.  And, it was just €4.20 or so, tough to pass up when you are in that part of Parma when you want a cheap lunch or are in the need for some sustenance when it’s been a long time between meals.
 
My brother thought so much of it that he returned before we left Parma for a post-meal meal.

​Sometimes you get lucky, though in Parma it might not really be luck in finding a good meal in a restaurant.  There are numerous quality dining destinations in this the first Italian city to be named UNESCO Creative City for Gastronomy in 2015, and one renowned for its prosciutto di Parma, Parmigiano, and the fresh stuffed pastas that are staples of nearly every restaurant in the city. 
 
On our first evening in Parma I needed find a restaurant for our group quickly not far from the main Piazza Garibaldi, as some had been quite hungry well before the restaurants reopened for dinner service, and one nearby, since my mom was having difficulty walking due to a painful episode of stenosis.  My initial suggestion for a Michelin-recommended seafood restaurant around the corner didn’t gain any traction.  But, thankfully, not far was restaurant signage with the subtitle, “cucina pontremolino” or the like, the cuisine of Potremoli. 
 
Potremoli is a town in the gloomy northwest area of Tuscany called Lunigiana near the border of Liguria where I had my very first meal in Italy a couple of decades earlier.  It was memorable in that was both delicious and unusual.  The first course, well, the primo, was the very unique pasta served with pesto, testaroli al pesto, which was the reason why my friend’s father stopped in Petremoli in the first place, which happened to be en route from picking us up at the Milan’s Malpensa airport to points further south in Tuscany.
 
Looking somewhat like small pockmarked brown and beige rags slathered with the green pesto, this dish might not have been the most attractively served pasta, but it proved to be absolutely delectable, and different.  Not only did it look different, but the pasta itself was soft, with its texture reminding me of the Ethiopian injera.  That softness was perfect for absorbing the flavor and oil of the bright pesto, providing a wonderful melding of freshly made pasta and the vibrant and nutty basil-laden sauce.  It provided for a notable first meal in Italy – a very pleasant preparation of sautéed tender veal followed the testaroli – and an experience with dish I was not to see again until this serendipitous stop in Parma.
 
Testaroli is unusual not only in its texture and appearance but also how it is made and its lineage.  It might be the most ancient of the pasta dishes, possibly originating with the Etruscans before Roman times.  It takes its name from the cooking apparatus, a testo, originally a stone disk that was kept in the embers of the fireplace, which has come to mean a two-piece cast-iron griddle.  To make testaroli both pieces of the testo are placed on a wood-burning fire until they become very hot. When the bottom piece is sufficiently heated, the batter for the testaroli – just all-purpose flour, warm water and a little salt – is poured on it and it is closed with the top.  After cooking in the testo, the pasta is traditionally cut into diamond shapes and cooked in a pot of boiling water that has been taken off the heat for a few minutes.  It is then typically dressed with pesto.
 
Testatroli is also unusual in that it is rarely found outside of its home area, unlike many Italian dishes that have traveled far from their place of origins.  So, I was surprised to find it at a restaurant in Parma.  But, as it turns out, Potremoli is just 50 miles distant, a shade over an hour drive.  Lucky for me.  And, the restaurant, Oenopolium – actually, with a much more pretentious full name: Oenopolium, vino, cucina, scienza – did an excellent job with the testaroli.  It was delicious and tasted exactly what I had remembered it did many years earlier and what had made such an impression.  In fact, my entire meal was excellent, from the fried polenta topped with thin slices of lardo to start to the stewed rabbit with capers and innumerable and varied olives for the secondo.  Even our brusque, rude and painfully slow waiter, providing the very worst service of my two weeks in Italy, and who also snuck an extra bottle of wine onto our bill, could not come close to ruining the meal.
 
Oenopolium
Via Nazario Sauro 13 B 43121 (a few blocks south of Piazza Garibaldi) Parma, Italy, +39 0521 571288
No website

​As the it was quite warm during a trip to Umbria in June, white wines were very much welcome, especially so since our villa did not have the air conditioning as was advertised.  Thankfully, the white wines of Italy have gotten so much better in the past couple of decades, it’s gotten easy to find a palatable one for a comparative song in much of the country.  And Umbria has been known for years for Orvieto that’s produced around the town in the southern part of the region.  It’s made with at least 40% Grechetto, which gives it most of its character.  About which, the useful Wine Folly website opines about Umbria: “Find yourself an Orvieto, or better yet, a wine made with the region’s star white grape: Grechetto.”
 
We did.  Very nicely, the Chiorri Winery was essentially across the street from the property we were renting and we made good use of the proximity.  Among our first purchases were a couple of 5-liter boxes of Grechetto for the astoundingly low price of €2.10 per liter.  This was a ridiculously low price for a quality wine and a nice expression of the Grechetto grape, made simply with fermentation and a brief amount of aging in stainless steel.  Medium-bodied, dry, and featuring pleasant aromas of tropical fruit, it had a welcome balance of fruit and acidity on the palate and a longer finish than might be expected for something dispensed from a cardboard box.  It was very easy to drink alone, a nice pairing to the heat and humidity, and also complemented most of the lighter fare we had before dinner.  We ended up splurging another $15 or so for five more liters before the week was out.  Even my brother, who usually only drinks whites with fish and other foods when necessary, really enjoyed the Grechetto during our stay in Umbria.
 
What he liked even more was a more serious, and expensive, version from nearby Terre di Margaritelli winey, their Greco di Renabianca, made from 100% Grechetto and seeing some time in French barriques, an unusual treatment for this varietal. Fuller-bodied than the other Grechettos we had, it still had the pleasant fruitiness and good acidity but a deeper and richer flavorful though still balanced.  The oak aging seemed to provide more character than it took from the natural fruit flavors and the acid.  Though it similarly utilized small oak barrels common with many of the New World chardonnays, this wine did not have rich buttery and brioche notes and muted acidity that I find in too many of those.  As I was enjoying in their tasting room, an early thought was how well it would go with roast chicken.  And that it would be an excellent choice for Thanksgiving, too, helping out that inevitably dry turkey meat.  At around €15-20 per bottle, I thought it was a wise purchase – and I should have a few bottles coming my way if the winery every fulfills my order from June.
 
The wines of Chiorri and Terre di Margaritelli are available in a few states, though, unfortunately not yet in Texas.  And Grechetto can be tough to find here.  It’s worth keeping it in mind, though.


A bunch of Grecchetto grapes in Umbria.  By marco valerio - originally posted to Flickr as uva, CC BY-SA 2.0, https://commons.wikimedia.org/w/index.php?curid=4170841

Tacos are fun, and the new breed of taco places are meant to capitalize on that.  What I mean with Tacos 2.0 are both the tacos – which often go well beyond traditional Mexican and familiar Tex-Mex fillings – and the restaurants, which are fast-casual concepts.  Concepts that are ripe for replication, roughly similar to the burrito chains that have sprung up in the past couple of decades, and featuring soft tortilla tacos in tacos that are cooked or assembled to order, without a steam table in site.  Some of these taco purveyors, like Torchy’s Tacos, have scores of locations throughout the state, and even the mediocre Fuzzy’s Tacos has nearly a hundred restaurants.  Texans like tacos.
 
Most of these new style tacos have begun in the wake of chef Roy Choi’s ground-breaking food truck in Los Angeles almost a decade ago dispensing Korean-infused tacos to ravenous crowds and rave reviews, and which began to get national attention by 2010.  This helped inspire a new range of tacos wherever tacos are sold in this country.  Fusion Taco here was one of the first locally to jump onto this trend, with a well-regarded taco truck in 2013, and then stand-alone restaurants.
 
I found nine different taco places that I thought fit my definition of Tacos 2.0, and visited each at least a couple of times, and for some, several times.  I’ve eaten a lot of tacos recently.  What I found is that you are likely to never have a great taco at one of these places, but you can possibly have an enjoyable and possibly even a pretty funky one.  More so, nothing I ate was as good as at some of my favorite places for tacos like 100% Taquito, Laredo Taqueria on Patton, and Eight Row Flint – especially their amazing beef tacos.  This is due in part to the fact that the tortillas at the Tacos 2.0 spots generally don’t taste as good as at these other places, which are more likely making them onsite.  Interestingly, local La Ranchera supplies a number of the local Tacos 2.0 places, some with seemingly better tortillas than others.  Another factor is that the newer fangled combinations often just don’t work as well as the more straightforward, tried and true ones.  Then each of the Tacos 2.0 joints feel compelled to have a fish or shrimp taco on the menu, for some reason.  These rarely work well, as the quality of the seafood is usually disappointing.  There are notable exceptions, though, like Cabo.  Ordering the seafood fried is usually a safer option, if a seafood or fish taco is a must.
 
These newer-fangled taco joints also cost quite a bit more than any taco at a taqueria or humble taco joint serving the migrant and immigrant communities.  With tax and tip, the tacos I consumed for this piece averaged over $4.30 each, not terribly cheap for a taco that is often on the smaller side.  Though a little more expensive than the traditional taco joint, these newer places offer a nicer setting and other items – chips and queso to start, vegetarian items and salads for the healthier eaters – to entice all of your co-workers to lunch.
 
Below are the Tacos 2.0 chains – and hopeful chains – in order of preference, broken up among three categories: Worth an Occasional Detour; Often Interesting and Usually Enjoyable; and Don’t Bother, as there are Definitely Much Better Options.  The top purveyors were home grown, not surprisingly.  The restaurants are pretty good in Houston.
 
Worth an Occasional Detour
 
Tacos A Go Go
 
What began as a small storefront next to the Continental Club on Main Street in Midtown in 2006, Tacos A Go Go has gotten better over the years and is the best of the Tacos 2.0 spots, in my opinion.  This fun, intentionally kitschy mini-chain hews closely to Mexico and Texas for its tacos, and doing nearly everything quite well.  Its baker dozen of enticing taco options are divided among three different themes and types of tacos: Street Tacos described as “All Mex…no Tex” featuring stewed meats with piquant salsas and topped in Mexican fashion with diced onions, chopped cilantro and queso fresco along with fillings like carne guisada, lamb barbacoa and pork guisado; Go Go Tacos that are “More Tex than Mex”; and the Texas Tacos that are topped with Monterey Jack cheese, shredded lettuce, chopped tomatoes and a salsa along with your choice of grilled skirt steak, grilled marinated chicken or a grilled white fish.  For any of these, you’ve also got your choice of tortillas among, corn, flour and for a little extra, whole wheat and puffy.  Those puffy tacos, featuring deep-fried corn tortillas, are a nod to the unique style developed in San Antonio and- provide something a little different, if not necessarily heart healthy.  One of the quality four self-serve salsas help make everything taste better, too.
 
Appeal: Very good tacos done in ways that Houstonians appreciate in casual, inviting settings
What to order: Barbacoa, Pastor, Picadillo, Pollo Guisado
Taco price range: $2.59 to $3.79
Taco size: Medio
Number of different PM tacos: 13 plus create-your-own breakfast tacos
Types of tortillas: Flour, corn, whole wheat and puffy
Tortillas: Sourced from La Ranchera; puffy tacos are fried on-premise
Breakfast taco hours: All day; and these are big for breakfast tacos
Dishes other than tacos: chips, queso, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadillas, breakfast plates, nachos and salads
Beer: Yes
Number of locations: 5
Locations in the Houston area: 5
Founded: Houston in 2006
 
Fusion Taco
 
What began as a taco truck five years ago is now two friendly and inviting counter-service locations, one just outside the Heights and the other, a newly opened spot in a food court in Greenway Plaza.  Fusion Taco does the wide-ranging fillings better than any of the other Tacos 2.0 joints found in the area.  Smoked Brisket, Chicken Tikka Masala, Agedashi Tofu, Falafel, Chicken Fried Oyster and Seared Brussels Sprouts are few of the dozen-and-a-half taco options whose inspirations cover a fair amount of the globe, all of which are thoughtfully comprised with quality ingredients and attractively presented.  These are some of the prettiest tacos in town.  More importantly, most taste at least pretty good and usually better.  One is the Lamb Keema featuring cooling pieces of cucumber slice and a greenish tahini for a refreshing ground lamb taco served in a nicely texturally contrasting fried corn tortilla shell.  Unfortunately, the chicken in a couple of the tacos were a little on the dry side.  For some reason, the near-liter-sized white plastic bottle of the unique San Luis brand hot sauce (mild) available to bring back to your table seems to make nearly all the tacos better, including making those two chicken tacos enjoyable.
 
Appeal: A globally inspired array of taco fillings that usually work quite well
What to order: Chicken Fried Oyster, Lamb Keema, Berkshire Pork BBQ
Taco price range: $3.50 to $4.25
Taco size: Medio
Number of different tacos: 16
Types of tortillas: Corn and Flour
House-made tortillas: Corn
Breakfast taco hours: Saturday and Sunday, 11:00 to 4:00
Dishes other than tacos: queso in several varieties, soups, salads, nachos, quesadillas
Beer: Yes
Number of locations: 2
Locations in the Houston area: 2
Founded: Houston in 2013
  
Often Interesting and Usually Enjoyable

Cabo
 
An attractive exterior on Washington Avenue harkens to a bright, if just slightly blemished, taco and burrito joint that true to its name with roots in Cabo on the Pacific coast where appetizing fried fish tacos are to be found.  There are only seven different fillings for the tacos here: fish – both fried and grilled – shrimp, pastor, the rotisserie marinated pork with pineapple, and ones with grilled beef, chicken or nopales, cactus.  Most tacos are worth ordering, with the properly fresh ingredients used in sensible and welcome combinations and helped by one of their several salsas or fresh lime at the condiments bar.  A bit oddly but enjoyably, you can also add grilled mozzarella to any taco for additional buck.
 
Appeal: Good quality Cabo-inspired tacos
What to order: Baja (Fish), Camaron
Taco price range: $3.50 to $3.85
Taco size: Medio
Breakfast taco hours: all the time
Number of different tacos: 7
Types of tortillas: Corn, Flour
House-made tortillas: Corn; Flour tortillas are from La Ranchera
Dishes other than tacos: chips, queso, burritos, burrito bowls, quesadilla, tostadas, carne asada fries, elote, churros
Beer: Yes
Number of locations: 2, I think
Locations in the Houston area: 2
Founded: 2015 in The Woodlands
 
Dream Tacos, Tx
 
What was a Jenni’s Noodles was transformed in the spring of 2018 into this modern taco restaurant set invitingly in a newish development on Richmond near Greenway Plaza.  More than a pretty face, this approachable spot an serves a number of enticing tacos, several with slight refinements on the familiar fillings like beef fajitas, barbacoa and pastor that will appeal to most.  Most are served on the slightly doughy flour tortillas that are made in house.  The tacos can be complemented with one of the six salsa made in house; just tell your server.  There is more service here than at other places.  In case you are feeling guilty about tacos for lunch – which you don’t have to be here, as the tacos are fairly small – a half-dozen of the tacos are vegetarian.  These can be pretty good, too.  Among the three seafood options, stick with The Fried Shrimp, served with cabbage, pickled onions and jalapeños and a creamy cilantro ranch dressing.  Conversely, the North Shore Garlic Shrimp, with its not-so-appetizing small grilled shrimp, was the only significant demerit encountered.
 
Appeal: Bright and cheery place with fun and usually well-done tacos
What to order: Hot’lanta (fried chicken tenders in Buffalo sauce), Fried Shrimp, Rodeo Barbacoa
Taco price range: $2.25 to $4.00
Taco size: Pequeño
Number of different PM tacos: 16
Breakfast taco hours: All the time
Types of tortillas: Corn, Flour
House-made tortillas: Flour, the Corn tortillas are from La Ranchera
Dishes other than tacos: chips, queso, nachos, salads, soups, meat and seafood plates
Beer: No
Number of locations: 1
Locations in the Houston area: 1
Founded: Houston in 2018
 
Torchy’s Tacos
 
The most popular and well-known of the Tacos 2.0 purveyors – there is even one in centerfield in MinuteMaid announced by two big Torchy’s signs facing most of the seats.  Especially popular among teenagers and those who studied in Austin, Torchy’s provides a slew of fun and sloppy tacos that are fairly unique.  Tex-Mex 2000, maybe.  Big and messy and better with plenty of extra salsa that’s usually mild, but flavorful and often viscous, these can be a guilty pleasure.  But, as I overheard at another taco joint, “Torchy’s, it’s like they are trying too hard.”  Often too many disparate things go into a taco for my taste.  Most work, but sometimes barely.  And, on tacos are on the pricey side, too.  But, there is seemingly always a line; Torchy’s has a following.
 
Appeal: Fun, bold-flavored and often gloppy tacos
What to order: Fried Avocado, Green Chile Pork, Trailer Park
Taco price range: $3.75 to $5.25
Taco size: Gordo
Number of different PM tacos: 16
Breakfast taco hours: All the time
Types of tortillas: Corn and Flour
House-made tortillas: No
Dishes other than tacos: chips, queso, salad, burritos, quesadillas for the kids
Beer: Yes
Number of locations: 59
Locations in the Houston area: 13
Founded: Austin in 2006
 
Tacodeli
 
The slick counter-service spot on Washington Avenue serve a large array of good-looking, small tacos mostly hewing to Mexican traditions, from Mexico City specifically.  The chain feature proteins that are humanely raised ethically or more expensively sourced.  This does not necessarily translate into a tastier taco, though.  The tortillas don’t help; these aren’t bad, just below par for a local Mexican restaurant.  The proteins and sourcing might have menu claims to be better than most, but it’s not really noticeable, and sometimes the kitchen doesn’t really do its job, as with my taco that included rajas.  The supposedly sautéed onions and poblano strips were pretty much uncooked and not adding much to the dry chicken.  The tacos here are on the small side; the smallest of the nine places surveyed.  Most adults will need three, and ordering four won’t make you gluttonous, though a quartet with drink can run you to $20 or more.  Important to note, Tacodeli closes at 3:00 in the afternoon each day.
 
Appeal: A number of different tacos from which to choose, most traditionally Mexican
What to order: Chicken Mole, Conchinita Pibil
Taco price range: $2.85 to $4.50
Taco size: Pequeño
Number of different PM tacos: 26 plus 1 to 3 daily lunch specials
Breakfast taco hours: Monday through Friday until 11 AM; all day on weekends
Types of tortillas: Flour, corn and wheat, plus you can order the taco fillings without a tortilla
House-made tortillas: No
Dishes other than tacos: chips, salads, soups and plates
Beer: No
Number of locations: 10
Locations in the Houston area: 1
Founded: Austin in 1999
 
Velvet Tacos
 
Offering the biggest array of cuisines stuffed into a tortilla among any local taco joint, it might take longer to digest the menu at Velvet Tacos than elsewhere if you are a newbie.  The helpful counter staff can help guide you among the Cuban Pig, Fish and Chips, Nashville Hot Tofu, Shrimp and Grits and Texas Akaushi Bacon Burger, which are a few of twenty taco choices.  Yes, still tacos.  These names, and fillings, can be a bit unusual, but most seem to work, though not the bland Fried Paneer, Grilled Flank Steak or Picnic Chicken tacos that generous amounts of the hot sauce from a squeeze bottle could not quite rectify.  Though these tacos can be pricey, a hungry adult will need three to be nearly satiated.  Decent beer on tap and inviting, laid-back settings help make a visit here a bit easier.
 
Appeal: An array of adventurously laden tacos
What to order: Buffalo Chicken Taco, Cuban Pig Taco, Fish and Chips
Taco price range: $3.50 to $6.75
Taco size: Medio
Number of different PM tacos: 17
Breakfast taco hours: All the time
Types of tortillas: Corn and Flour
House-made tortillas: No
Dishes other than tacos: queso, elote, tater tots and egg, red velvet cake (of course)
Beer: Yes
Number of locations: 10
Locations in the Houston area: 2
Founded: 2011 in Dallas
 
Don’t Bother, as there are Definitely Much Better Options
 
Liberty Tacos
 
After a couple of visits, I got the impression that when creating the menu, Liberty Taco just threw things into a tortilla and hoped it works.  Though there are some familiar tacos like the carnitas, this doesn’t adhere to Mexican sensibilities like many of the tacos Tacos A Go Go and Tacodeli nor the fun, kitschy Tex-Mex like Torchy’s.  The tacos are not nearly as well thought out as at other places and the ingredients generally as not good; a big piece of gristle in a Kogi Beef Taco was the most annoying example of that.  The mushy and tasteless fish in the heart of Grilled Fish taco highlighted a cheap-tasting ingredient that was also cooked poorly.  Their barbacoa taco wasn’t bad, though it was the easily the lamest barbacoa I believe I’ve ever had.  And the Cali Club taco featured a large, stiff chicken tender at its heart.  On the plus side, there are several self-serve salsas from which to choose, which help out with everything, and the tacos are larger than most, though pricier averaging over $4.00 each.  There are also eighteen tacos from which to choose among beef, chicken, pork, seafood and vegetarian headings, so maybe you can find something satisfying.
 
Appeal: Not far from the Galleria
What to order: The Carnitas taco wasn’t that bad
Taco price range: $3.85 to $4.50
Taco size: Gordo
Number of different PM tacos: 18
Breakfast taco hours: All the time
Types of tortillas: Flour, with Corn upon request according to the menu
House-made tortillas: No, sourced from La Ranchera
Dishes other than tacos: chips, queso, quesadillas, salad bowls
Beer: Yes
Number of locations: 1
Locations in the Houston area: 1
Founded: Houston in 2017
 
Fuzzy’s Tacos
 
Two locations of Fuzzy’s Tacos near me went out of business, and I don’t believe that either made it a year.  After eating at Fuzzy’s Tacos a couple of times, I can understand why.  Each of their small tacos are unappealingly topped with a plethora of tasteless-at-best shredded iceberg lettuce and, oddly, bits of cheap-tasting feta cheese, which fill the tortilla more so than the relatively small amount of proteins.  Worse, the tacos rarely rise above mediocre in flavor, regardless of their small size.  To complement the tacos, there are only bottled hot sauces, made by Fuzzy’s Tacos with mostly vinegar, ketchup, corn syrup and aged red peppers, the regrettably named Butt Burnin’ Hot Sauce and Butt Burnin’ Hot Sauce - Habanero.  If not nearly as enjoyable as the freshly made salsas at other places, these do help the tacos, which definitely need some help.  On the plus side, the tacos are inexpensive, the cheapest among these nine places surveyed.  
 
Appeal: Cheap tacos, I guess
What to order: I can’t recommend any of the eight different tacos that I’ve eaten there
Taco price range: $2.59 to $3.29
Taco size: Pequeño
Number of different PM tacos: 11
Breakfast taco hours: All day
Types of tortillas: Corn
House-made tortillas: No
Dishes other than tacos: chips, soups, salads, nachos, quesadilla, burritos, burrito bowls, plates
Beer: Yes
Number of locations: 97
Locations in the Houston area: 5
Founded: Fort Worth in 2003

A trio of tacos at a Tacos A Go Go

​I was curious what the favorite wine was during our family’s recent trip to Italy.  Over the course of the two and three weeks we were there, a very laudable amount of wine was consumed.  The one that was like the best, at least the wine that garnered the most emphatic response was the Sauvignon Blanc from Venica & Venica Ronco del Cero Collio Sauvignon.  At least I am pretty sure that it was it.  I ordered it at the excellent Michelin-starred restaurant, Parizzi in Parma – looking for a white from the Collio that I thought would be a good match with a dish my sister and brother were ordering – but didn’t drink it as a red that seemed much more appropriate for meat dish.  I missed out on that but had a few whites from the Collio during the trip, and those were each quite tasty. 
 
The Collio is located in the region of Friuli, the most northeastern region in Italy that abuts the Alps and Slovenia.  “This is the finest white-wine area not only in Friuli but in all of Italy.”  That observation about the Collio is from Italian Wine for Dummies, which is actually a very good resource. The mild climate buttressed by the nearby Adriatic and the protective mountains to the north plus hill-laden vineyards atop unique, mineral-rich soil help provide nearly ideal conditions for several white varietals; and, excellent conditions for several red ones, too.
 
The whites from Collio are generally quite rich and fuller-bodied than the typical Italian whites, often with evident minerality and vibrant acidity. The wines are generally very well-made and approachable for most drinkers while having enough verve to excite an expert. Many have the ability to age. These are serious wines, even including the usually forgettable Pinot Grigio. Winemaker Roberto Felluga of Villa Russiz told my wine industry group when I visited several summers ago that his reserve Pinot Grigio “can keep for a minimum of ten years,” something that you certainly should not try with a Pinot Grigio plucked from the supermarket shelf.
 
Though the wineries in Collio and Friuli are prouder of wines made from the native (Tocai) Friulano, Ribolla Gialla, and Malvasia grapes and efforts with Sauvignon Blanc and Pinot Bianco, it is Pinot Grigio that helps pay the bills. “Pinot Grigio is what changed the economy here” for grape-growers and wine-makers a few decades ago, I was told by a producer. It was famed food and wine writer Luigi Veronelli who recognized the area’s potential for Pinot Grigio. These wines then began to find popularity in markets around the world.
 
So, if Pinot Grigio is a must, look for Collio or Colli Orientali, a neighboring appellation. Otherwise, you are better served with a Ribolla Gialla, Friuliano or Sauvignon. The Friuliano, indigenous to the region, goes especially well with most seafood dishes and Sauvignon has the heft to stand up with a little heartier fare. Eric Asimov in the New York Times has written about the utility and quality of Friuliano from Friuli. There is also excellent Malvasia, Pinot Bianco and a white blend simply titled “Collio,” whose mix of typically three varietals varies by producer that are almost always very good wines.
 
Another nice thing about the whites from Collio and Friuli, unlike the top reds from Tuscany or Piedmont, these will rarely cost more than €40 at a restaurant in Rome and elsewhere in Italy, and most are much less. That is a little more expensive than a bland longtime Roman trattoria staple Frascati, but the additional tariff is certainly worth it. And, you are on vacation, anyway.  Friuli and especially Collio are also names to keep in mind when back at home.  Also, Brda, which is Slovenian for Collio, as the region straddles both sides of the border.  These laudable wines from Slovenia are increasingly being found on wine lists here and in Italy.


Enjoying some delicious white wines at the Zuani winery several years ago in the Collio, with both the Collio and Brda in the background.

​I have long been a fan of Chianti, at least a fair portion of Chianti production and even a much greater fan of the output of Chianti Classico, the birthplace of Chianti and home to its most acclaimed producers and wines.  I recently went to attend an event sponsored by the Chianti Classico consortium.
 
It was quite enjoyable and informative, focusing on wines from seven producers scattered about the Chianti Classico area.  The event was to highlight the diversity and quality of the region and hopefully score distribution for a few of the wines.  There was a good amount of diversity, just due to the type of soil and altitudes of vineyards in Chianti Classico.  Then there can be the winemaking including the use of oak in the aging that makes the wines more tannic and structured.  Chianti is a generally recognizable taste – the cherry and plum aromas, raspberry and bitter cherry fruit notes, telltale earthiness, sharp acidity and discernible tannins.  But, the wines bearing the Chianti name can accompany a range of styles even within the three broad types of Chianti Classico.
 
At the top, in terms of price and serious is the Gran Selezione, introduced a few years ago, that is meant to showcase the best of the Chianti.  From a single prized vineyard, these wines are aged 30 months before release.  These can be terrific wines.  The middle tier is the Riserva aged 24 months and the base, the Annata, that is aged a year.  You might not know ‘Annata,’ that name is rarely, if ever on the label, but Annata is Chianti that does not have the Riserva or Gran Selezione designation.  This is typically my favorite type of Chianti when it is done with a relative lightness that is paired with ample, pleasing fruit balanced with pleasing acidity and tannins that are minimal and fairly well integrated.  And it's a wine that is not too high in alcohol,  though with are warming planet, it might be tough to find a well-made version for under 13% alcohol these days.
 
That is how I would generally describe my favorite wine at the event, the Chianti Classico Lamole 2015 from I Fabbri in Creve in Chianti.  I found it delicious, and it would likely be even more enjoyable with some food.  And, I imagine that it complements a wide array of preparations as a good Annata Chianti does.  For me, a Riserva Chianti needs something like a steak to properly enjoy and is usually less enjoyable on their own.  “Perfect for a daily consumption, very easy to drink” is how the Lamole was described.  I heartily agree.  It is the type of wine I would enjoy drinking just about every evening.  I Fabbri was looking for a distributor during the event.  Based on my impression of it, I can’t imagine that they did not.  

​Spaghetti and meatballs are an American creation, the combination of meatballs from the traditional Italian protein-based second course and the pasta from the first course to meet the demands of the much faster-paced American lifestyle.  Though it might be scoffed at Italian food traditionalists – and pretty much every Italian – it remains a staple on America tables and Italian-themed menus in this country for a reason.  It can be delicious if its three significant components are done well; high quality meatballs can make a huge difference in the overall enjoyment of the deceptively simple dish.
 
In Italy, spaghetti and meatballs can be found, but only at restaurants that might find a number of tourists.  There are at a few tourists in Venice during the warmer months, I did notice.  I was in Venice last month, and during a ramble around many of its famous landmarks, we stumbled upon Osteria al Diavolo e L'Acquasanta in Venice not far from the Rialto Bridge.  It turned out to be serendipitous stop.  We each enjoyed our lunchtimes choices, and the Sauvignon from the Collio more than aptly complemented our seafood items and provided some very refreshing and numbing liquid enjoyment on a warm afternoon.  My young nephew, who for a couple of weeks in Italy, ordered spaghetti al pomodoro (spaghetti in a tomato sauce), fried calamari, or spaghetti and meatballs for nearly every meal if pizza wasn’t served.  Osteria al Diavolo e ‘Acaquasanta had spaghetti and meatballs, and so did he.  (OK, it turned out to actually be linguine and meatballs, but not no matter).
 
He loved it.  I got a taste or two of the meatballs and those were terrific.  Soft and delicious, its mild, slightly meaty flavor went very well with the tasty tomato-based acidity of the light and fresh-tasting sauce covering it and the pasta.  The meatballs were made with seemingly equal portions of ground pork, veal and beef.  I am pretty sure that is what I got from the waiter; thankfully his English was far better than my Italian.  These were the type of tender, very savory meatballs I wish I could make at home on a regular basis and some of the very best meatballs that I have had in a while.  These were much better than one might expect from a restaurant where only not-so-demanding, and often younger, tourists would ever order the dish.
 
I just saw, after returning home, that Anthony Bourdain filmed a part of his No Reservations show at Osteria al Diavolo e L'Acquasanta in 2009.  He didn’t eat spaghetti and meatballs, of course.  He might have actually enjoyed them, though.

​As much as I seem to drink, I don’t seem to drink enough.  For example, I was not familiar with the Southside, a classic gin-based cocktail that’s been around since the Prohibition era or earlier, until I read its description on Public Service’s menu after strolling a few blocks there on one of incredibly warm early evenings not too long ago.
 
The Southside is attributed to the famed 21 Club in Manhattan.  The version at downtown’s Public Services done so well consists of London dry gin, fresh mint, lime juice and simple syrup shaken and strained into a quaint coupe cocktail glass and garnished with a lemon peel.  Served cold, both slightly sweet and tart, but wonderfully balanced, it is very flavorful and refreshing and possibly too easy to consume on a warm day.  I’ve enjoyed several since then at Public Services.  They do it much better than most places, as they do most cocktails.
 
Public Services
202 Travis (at Franklin), (713) 516-8897
publicservicesbar.com

I was fortunate in years past to travel to Italy with the Gruppo Ristoranti Italiani (now Gruppo Italiano) in their gastronomic treks highlighting high quality Italian food and wine producers.  One of those trips, to the region of Molise, was to La Molisana, a commercial pasta maker on the outskirts of the regional capital of Campobasso.  The visit included a tour of the modern factory and subsequent five-course feast in their demonstration kitchen.
 
Though the dinner was terrific – pasta figured prominently in every dish and well-made and well-paired wine was plentiful – a highlight for me were the instructions on how the proper way to prepare dried pasta, directly from the pasta maker.  But, everyone knows how to boil pasta, don’t they?  Not really.  And, the instructions from one of the co-owners drew considered interest from those within earshot in what was an extremely food-savvy group.
 
The instructions:
 

1. Bring copious amount of water to a boil.
2. Add a generous amount of salt.
3. Add the pasta.
4. Close the lid until it returns to a boil.
5. Remove lid.
6. Cook pasta until done.
7. Drain the pasta.

 
It is quite simple, though closing the lid after adding the pasta was seemingly new to most.  It was to me.  As to the amount of water for the pasta or the amount of salt, a generous amount of each was understood. 
 
Plied by our hosts that night with an enormous box containing nearly ten pounds of pasta – and subsequently encountering stares in the airports in Rome, Lisbon and Newark afterwards – I used those instructions when cooking it, and with the pasta since then.  I could really tell the difference with the La Molisana, though.  The quality of La Molisana is superior to what I typically use – and even better than DeCecco, which is excellent – and the improvement certainly lies in that rather than in any optimal cooking process.  La Molisana is available at H-E-B, at least online.
 
But, it is nice to know the optimal way to do it.

​I was in Chicago last weekend for a cousin’s wedding with Michelin as a ready guide for restaurants in the West Loop where I was staying.  I was wary of Michelin in this country having heard from at least one restaurateur friend that the reviewers really did not understand American dining habits, though that was a few years ago.  Thankfully, the Michelin guide turned out to be as useful as did last month in Italy, and helped make the weekend even more enjoyable, and caloric.
 
To start the weekend’s dining, I terrific meal at The Publican, which wears a Bib Gourmand distinction from Michelin – very good food and good prices.  In fairness, The Publican would have likely been on my list anyway, having been highly recommended by friends and family and having seen it on more than one of the food and travel shows.  Fresh, flavorful apricots highlighted a salad to start with burrata and a very appropriate supporting cast that included crisp greens, which proved to be perfect feeling warm after the walk from the hotel and also to preface my entrée of crisp veal sweetbreads.  Maybe sweetbread is a better description as it was a single large piece battered and fried, “like a schnitzel” according my very good waitress.  In a seemingly odd and busy sauce that combined a bagna cauda-inspired sauce and that used for veal tonnato, it was quite complementary to the meat / gland with the prominent flavor of anchovy somewhat masking the nickel-taste of the sweetbreads.  I was very happy.  Actually, I was happy soon after receiving my first drink, a half-liter of draft Andechser Weissbier Hell, a Bavarian hefe-weizen from the famed monastic brewery near Munich that is fairly rare in this country.  It was fresh and absolutely terrific, and among the very best hefe-weizens you can find; in the league with the redoubtable Ayinger Brau-Weisse.  There were more drinks and some more food, including a complimentary dessert and a very enjoyable meal in a bustling, fun setting.  I am not sure how it received a Bib Gourmand citation, though.  The food prices were fair and even low for some of the proteins, but the beers – something in which the aptly named Publican specializes – were very high.  The wines are slightly expensive and without much of selection or seemingly that well selected.  Minor quibbles.
 
The Publican was followed digestifs in the form of mescal at Rick Bayless’s’ Leña Brava.  The next morning Roister from the Alinea group impressed me as very deserving of its Michelin even just for a breakfast dish, a not-so-Southern take on biscuits and gravy.  As enjoyable as that was, the michelada I had to accompany it was easily the best michelada I have ever had, spicy courtesy of Japanese peppers but balanced and quite flavorful.  Stephanie Izard’s Little Goat Diner served an even better breakfast the next morning, This Little Piggy Went to China.  This was sesame cheddar biscuit in a couple of halves, on one rested a Sichuan-scented pork sausage then sunny-side up eggs with a chili garlic chive sauce. And chives scattered about with about ten blackberries.  Both Chinese or Sichuan and American at the same time, for breakfast.  Everything was good in itself and complementary like the blackberries whose slight sweetness made a welcome pair to the piquant sauce and sausage, especially later in the dish.  All good.
 
It was a good trip, in a terrific neighborhood for dining and imbibing, and helped by Michelin.
 

​Of all of the stops during a recent two-week trip to Italy, I was most wary of dining in Venice during.  I had never been to ultra-touristy Venice but knew it long had a reputation for restaurants serving poor food at high prices to visitors.  It had been somewhat allayed by the experiences of a fellow food writer who raved about dining in the several days she and her husband had spent there a few years ago.  But, early this year, a restaurant near the touristy center made international news for charging Japanese students over €1,100 (over $1,300) for just four steaks, a platter of fried seafood and a few drinks. 
 
Thanks in large part to the trusty Michelin guide, the three days in Venice saw good and very good meals with just one exception.  It wasn’t recommended in Michelin, of course.  The restaurant that I hoped to visit that evening was, but mobility issues in our group precluded a walk there – or water taxi.  The restaurant we ended up was close by and had a menu filled with Venetian specialties.  It was seemingly as untouristy as a restaurant might be near the Accademia in Venice.
 
Taverna San Travaso might have been, but our meal was pretty lousy.  It was a bad meal and the worst of my two weeks in Italy last month.  I definitely felt like a ripped-off tourist afterwards; the restaurant was not trying at all. 
 
A harbinger of the mediocrity, and worse, was the pitcher of prosecco we ordered to start.  A pitcher of prosecco was quite appropriate with the hot weather, and a cool way to start, especially since we don’t often see sparkling wine on tap and by the pitcher.  It wasn’t really sparkling though.  It was effervescent, if with more than enough bubbles to bring it beyond the level of still wine.  It was not terribly good, either, though deservedly inexpensive.  Soon after the carafes arrived were the mixed antipasti.  The Caprese di Bufala, or Caprese salad, featured pale red, thick and lifeless tomatoes that were about the worst I had ever seen in nearly ten trips to Italy.  Given how good tomatoes typically are in Italy, I had only once had witnessed tomatoes nearly as bad.  Awful.
 
It got worse, though, at least for my brother.  He ordered a seafood soup as his first course.  It was terrible.  Inedible, in fact.  He asked a couple of others to try, too, to their disgust, and had to send it back.  With nothing but a shrug from the waiter.  I am not sure if it was even taken off the bill.  My starter was not nearly as bad, but not what was advertised, and rather fraudulent.  It supposed to be bigoli in a duck ragu.  My bigoli, which is a type freshly made pasta from the region that is like a softer, thick spaghetti was just thin, commercially made spaghetti.  The simple duck ragu was not bad, but straightforward and rather simple without much in the way anything other than thin duck meat and jus.  At least my pasta was thoroughly cooked.  The two orders of gnocchi at the table were vastly undercooked, often doughy and quite unpalatable.
 
The rest of the meal was not nearly as bad.  My veal scaloppine al marsala featured veal that was far from tender, grainy and not very enjoyable by itself in a simple, sweet-than-it-should-be sauce.  The dish was barely mediocre and something I might expect from a below average Ruby Tuesday.  It was probably worse than that.  The bland fish filet that both my father and a brother ordered might have been better but far from what you might hope for from a restaurant steps from the sea, and far from what my brother catches in Galveston Bay.
 
Overall, Taverna San Travaso was very disappointing visit – one that a fair amount of wine and good company could not entirely overcome – and restaurant I would highly recommend missing if in Venice. 

​
This unappetizing gray dish was supposed to bigoli with a duck ragu.  Instead, spaghetti with some dull duck meat was a better description, but there was far worse served for our dinner.

​The second amuse bouche featured a pressed cube of guinea fowl, I thought I overheard one of my family members repeating the chef’s description, along with a circular dollop of a rich aioli atop .  The meat was excellent, and with the rich sauce, unctuous, and absolutely delicious.  I was humming audibly with delight at the end of the table.  I was also about uncontrollably audible for the first one, a wedge of a Belgian waffle tasting almost solely of terrific Parmigiano.  The rest of the meal including a stellar version of the local classic tortelli d’erbette, silky egg-laden ravioli filled with ricotta and bitter beet spinach and complemented with amazingly flavorful grated Parmigiano that helped make this best pasta dish I had during my two weeks in Italy.  Excellent veal belly, with succulent, salty fat eaten together with the tender meat was very enjoyable, much better veal than I am used to in Italy.  A cheese course was Parmigiano, of course, the king of cheeses at 24, 30 and 36 months respectively.  This was easily the best meal during the trip for me.  This was at Parizzi, a restaurant bearing a Michelin star in Parma that I dined a couple of weeks ago.
 
The current Michelin Guide for Italy, which I picked up just for the trip, was on point yet again.  We were five-for-five with very good meals from restaurants mentioned in the guide.  In addition to Parizzi in Parma, there was Da Ermenio in Assisi, Bussa-alla Torre in Murano, La Franceschetta58 in Modena, and Ai Gondolieri in Venice.  This continues the luck I have had with Michelin in Europe.  If it is in the Michelin guide, it is worth visiting.  It doesn’t matter if it does not have a star or Bib Gourmand designation – excellent food that’s a good value – it usually serves very good food.  It hasn’t been perfect.  During my previous visit to Italy several years ago, a restaurant with star in country southeast of Rome turned out an unbalanced and unsatisfying meal – a set menu featuring just a series of all heavy dishes during the summer.  It subsequently lost its star.  That another meal a return to Bib Gourmand restaurant in Siena that did not live up to its initial visit were the only two of the numerous Michelin-directed restaurants I’ve visited.  It even did good work in Ireland years ago.
 
I’m heading up to Chicago for a weekend soon.  Maybe I’ll put the American Michelin inspectors to a test, as Chicago is just one of four American cities that Michelin judges.  Their European brethren have been spot-on for years for me.  Something to mention, is that the Michelin recommended restaurants always skew higher price wise.  There is nothing in it that will be a cheap eat, often good values, but never inexpensive.  You’ll be on vacation, though.  Enjoy yourself.