indulge
F+B TASTEMAKER THE POUR HOME GROWN TOP EATS STREET EATS
appear simple, but taste swoon-worthy. One bite of the chocolate layer cake with kieffer pears, rosemary and almond dacquiose, and you’re convinced the husband-and-wife team wants to challenge your palate.
The Causa de Pato at Latin Bites is a feast for the eyes with its purple potato causita, avocado mayonnaise and poached quail egg.
served with oversized ceramic plates made by Houston potter Three Dot Pots, and servers wear locally made leather aprons. If you crave quiet, Oxheart is it—and full of serious foodies. Kitchen counter seating is casual fun and the best way to watch the meticulous chefs in action. The lofty yet small dining room can get cheek-tocheek full (psst: you’ll hear your neighbor’s conversation). “My inspiration is to showcase the best vegetables and freshest ingredients possible,” says Yu, who worked in famous California kitchens like veggie haven Ubuntu. His Garden Menu might include a course of roasted and pickled okra with an 42
bayou city m ag a z i n e January/February 2014
enchanting accent of smoked black garlic and crème fraiche. Or lovely steamed young potatoes dressed with orange leaf and jasmine, with “fuyu” persimmon pudding, clementines and basil. It’s the stuff that makes you forget about meat. But it’s definitely not all about vegetables. The four-course seasonal dinner usually includes meat (or poultry) and a fish. A recent order of Gulf wahu with cane syrup, collard greens and pickles was a perfect symphony of flavors: perfectly cooked fish sweetened with glaze and slightly bitter greens kissed with salt from the housemade pickles. Pastry chef Karen Man’s (Yu’s wife) desserts usually entail laser-sharp angles and
Other chefs, like Roberto Castre of casual and bustling Latin Bites Cafe, allow you to feast with your eyes by focusing on presentation. Specializing in bold Peruvian fusion fare, Castre adds a six-course dinner tasting menu to his extensive a la carte menu quarterly, based on seasonal ingredients. Each course, which is paired with global wines, portrays Castre’s meticulous presentation style and keen use of ingredients to layer flavors. He dazzles guests with artful little gems that are almost too precious to eat. Witness tinier than baby carrots, micro cilantro, petite cuts of fish buried in colorful mini crocks, or jade green sauces made from herbs. Friendly servers deliver courses over about a two-hour period, explaining each dish, while the chefs huddle in the kitchen hard at work. Dinners start with tiradito, a cool marinated sashimi-style dish, as they do in Peru. Tiradito de Maracuyá is composed of fresh fish served with passion fruit leche de tigre sauce, avocado puree, baby radish, crystallized mint or rose petals and micro greens. After a gorgeous purple citrus-infused Peruvian potato causita brightens the table, a final course of Mandarin braised quail over Peruvian corn puree and baby veggies arrives paired with a silky Oregon Pinot Noir, presented by beverage director Carlos Ramos. Desserts are just as detailed. Try skipping it, and the passionate soft-spoken chef usually notices. “Please just have one bite. You’ve never had anything like it,” says Castre. Tiny balls of passion fruit sorbet topped with peppers for contrast, housemade cookie crumbles, “chocolate air” and gelato with edible flowers? Like most Houston chefs with out-ofthis-world tasting menus, he’s right.
MARK LIPCZYNSKI
PLATE PERFECTION