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Tag: Houston (Page 3 of 3)

Brockhaus Arrives: Semifreddo and Salmon Tartare … Reserve Your Place at The First Supper

August 26, 2014 / / 2 Comments

 

Brockhaus is here. Join us on September 27 for The First Supper, and stay tuned for more.

Brockhaus is here. Join us on September 27 for The First Supper, and stay tuned for more.

Two years ago I left Dubai to work in three of Europe’s finest restaurants. I staged at Arzak, Amador, and Spring, and though I was able to stay in those great kitchens for a short period of time only, the cooks and chefs I worked with and for taught me a lot. I will forever be grateful for the opportunities they gave me.

Those experiences helped me fine-tune the skills I developed in my own kitchens and through years of self-guided learning and dinner parties. Over the years, friends and guests have encouraged me to cook more formally and introduce my food to more people. That time has come.

I am in Houston now, and am proud to introduce The First Supper, a six-course meal that will take place in September. The evening marks the launch of Brockhaus, a culinary think tank focusing on dining events, discussions, cocktail gatherings, symposia and educational programs. Stay tuned for details.

Fried sage deserves a place at your table.

Fried sage deserves a place at your table.

Here is the menu for The First Supper:

1st salmon tartare / roe / crème fraîche

2nd sea and earth: scallop / lardo / bean purée 

3rd prawn / sorrel

4th bisque of wild mushroom / pomegranate 

5th duck breast / peaches / port

6th bacon semifreddo / pigñola brittle

 (complimentary wines served with each course)

If you wish to attend, please RSVP by September 10 to [email protected]

For details – and if you have questions – call 718-360-3988.  Suggested donation of $100 per person.

I have assembled a very fine team for Brockhaus: Isaac Johnson, a sommelier and restaurateur who has worked in Austin and Houston; Vanessa Treviño-Boyd, a sommelier with experience in New York and Houston, among other places; Angela Shah, a journalist and writer who has dined with me across the globe; and Christopher Stanton, a great cook who has worked with me in kitchens in Abu Dhabi, Dubai, and Houston. We look forward to meeting you, nourishing you, and introducing you to some great and unique wines and some very interesting people.

Bon appétit!

Plate of the Day (Think Malaysian lobster)

March 2, 2014 / / 0 Comments

Houston’s Chinatown, and the street signs are in Chinese (not sure if it’s Mandarin or Cantonese … ). Everywhere you look there are restaurants, and bars, and massage parlors and places for a foot massage. Last night we bypassed the massages and went straight for the food.

Chris, Anna and I ventured out to try Mamak Malaysian, and we were impressed. It’s BYOB, so we started with a bottle of Prosecco, followed by a Gewürztraminer. Appetizers of taro-enrobed fried shrimp and a roti, the latter of which is worth a repeat order.

Next came a curry soup, for my money the best dish of the night. Rich, coconut-milk broth, fish skin, tofu, scallions, and very good noodles, noodles that maintained their firmness until the bowl was empty. And it was a large bowl, ample for three people to share. We also had nasi lemak, which is the national dish of Malaysia. Small fish – very small, think infant anchovies – peanuts, fresh cucumber slices, other assorted vegetables, all surrounding a mound of rice.

We then decided to share a main course (see photo below), the restaurant’s “famous” lobster. It’s actually two lobsters, barbecued with shrimp paste rubbed on the shell, with peppers, both hot and mild. And for $25, it’s a bargain. It will also have you making a trip to the lavatory to wash your hands mid-meal. The meat was tender, and briny, and fresh, and the lobsters came to the table too hot to handle … we were forced to wait a few minutes before we could pick up the claws and knuckles and crack them, releasing the sweet meat. It was worth the wait. There’s a reason it is Mamak’s “famous” dish.

Anna takes the claw in hands.

Anna takes the claw in hands.

Two lobster, slathered in shrimp-paste sauce.

Two lobsters, bathed in a shrimp-paste sauce.

Roost Has Hooked Me

February 22, 2014 / / 4 Comments
This is one of the best things I have put in my mouth in a long time.

This is one of the best things I have put in my mouth in a long time.

There’s a Notes list on my iPhone that grows larger daily. It’s a list of restaurants in Houston I plan to visit. Last night I crossed one off of the roster, a restaurant about which I have heard a lot, good things. It’s called Roost.

I have been looking for a restaurant here with “personality,” which in my book means, loosely, “not slick and shiny, not a place that looks as if it belongs in a hotel lobby or was designed with ‘wow’ in mind.” Too often, I have found lately, more attention is devoted to wall hangings and shiny displays than it is to the food. Roost, however, has the type of personality I want. Small space, a bar at which two people can sit, lots of wood, simple tables and chairs, eclectic decoration on the walls. It’s in a house on a fairly quiet street in a residential area of Houston, and my dinner there was one of the most enjoyable evenings I’ve spent dining in this city thus far.

I arrived a little after 6 and waited for Angela at the bar, which overlooks a small room that has a pass-through to the kitchen. A Sixpoint (in a can, a tallboy) was my order, and I sat and drank and watched the activity as diners began walking in. Roost does not take reservations for parties of fewer than six, but outside the restaurant picnic benches provide perfect seats in which to wait for your table. The chef and owner, Kevin Naderi, was out out at those tables lighting the heat lamps.

Angela arrived, and we took our seat at a table along the back wall that gave us a perfect view of the dining room, which by that time was filling quickly, mostly parties of four, with a few couples mixed in. The menu at Roost has just been changed, and I was impressed: highlights to my eye were hanger steak, mussels in a red curry, an oyster stack, an off-menu special of redfish. And the “famous” cauliflower.

An oyster stack at Roost is a good thing.

An oyster stack at Roost is a good thing.

We ordered the cauliflower, the oyster stack, an order of the mussels, and the hanger steak, with a bottle of Hahn pinot noir. In short, every dish was very good, especially the fried cauliflower, with its sauce and pignoli and onions. (It is usually served with bonito flakes, but we asked from them on the side, though I later nestled them on top of each floret.)

Hanger steak done with class.

Hanger steak done with class.

The fried oysters were breaded perfectly, and the sautéed spinach under them was a great touch. The mussels were cooked well, full of flavor, which the curry (tomato-based) complemented ideally. Hanger steak medium rare with kimchi rice (a half order) and a runny egg came to the table with aplomb: nice temperature, fine flavor, though it could have used a bit of salt at the end.

You like crisp-on-the-outside doughnuts? How about coffee ice cream and pistachios? Then get this.

You like crisp-on-the-outside doughnuts? How about coffee ice cream and pistachios? Then get this.

Finally, the beignet-like round donuts and coffee ice cream finished our meal. (And a note about the service: Some of the best I have encountered in Houston. Not obsequious, informed, calm, and each plate came out with perfect timing. We were able to enjoy the meal in a relaxed manner. Someone has conducted great training at Roost.)

Dining on rabbit and lamb with Chris Stanton

August 23, 2013 / / 3 Comments

I’m in Houston, and I’m eating a lot, immersing myself into this sprawling city’s culinary offerings. Angela and I have dined at several places recently, and I have been solo at some others. With one exception – Triniti – the food has been good, some of it very good, including an excellent snapper at Reef and some wonderful Thai (including a soft shell crab) in the waterside town of Seabrook, south of Houston toward Galveston. Angela especially loved her scallop and shrimp curry there, and the evening ended up at the bar with two of the town’s finest, one of who gave us his recommendations, which included a sushi place in Houston.

Yesterday for lunch I had tacos at Tacos A Go-Go … pork and chicken guisado (stewed). Perfect bites, long, slow cooking, corn tortillas. All for $4.00. Last night Chris Stanton, a friend and former colleague of mine from the Abu Dhabi and Dubai days, and I shared a table at Provisions, and the meal began with Bone Marrow Brioche/Tomato Jam/sheep’s cheese, followed by Ham O’ Day (a prosciutto from America’s Midwest).

Provisions' Ham 'O Day

Provisions’ Ham ‘O Day

I would have liked more marrow and marrow taste in the bread pairing, an opinion that Chris shared, and the tomato jam was a tad too sweet, but the cheese was excellent – a bit crumbly, soft mouth feel, slightly creamy yet pungent. The ham, which came atop a light mustard sauce, imparted a salty taste at the back of the palate, which at first Chris and I did not like. But then a funkiness set in, and that made us hunger for more. We agreed that the curing was carried out well, and we were happy.

We were drinking a 2008 Bodegas Aster Crianza, and the ham’s funkiness enhanced its taste. At $32 a bottle it is one of the least expensive wines on Provisions’ list, and is a good value.

Sweet (overly sweet) lamb ribs at Provision

Sweet (overly sweet) lamb ribs at Provision

To the lamb. And to Korea, because that’s the first thing my brain thought of when I put one of the ribs in my mouth. They were crisp on the outside, and fairly tender meat was underneath. Unfortunately they were overly sweet. We tasted plum and brown sugar, and I would swear that some molasses was in the mix. We wanted less sugar, richer meat. But that did not stop us from finishing the dish. (We turned our attention to the paté before we finished the ribs, and when we returned to them they had cooled off, which enhanced their taste. They were better close to cold.)

Rabbit paté en croute, fit for a fine Spring

Rabbit paté en croute, fit for a fine Spring

A first bite of the rabbit paté told us that, while excellent, it should never be ordered with the lamb ribs. Pea tendrils graced the top of the rabbit, and a bite of that dish, followed by a taste of the ribs, took us from the freshness of spring to a brisk and smoky autumn evening. Too jarring, too discordant. Both great plates, but if they eloped their romance would never last.

How many people does it take to make pasta?

How many people does it take to make pasta?

Chris prepares pasta, in the Dubai kitchen that Angela and I shared.

Chris prepares pasta, in the Dubai kitchen that Angela and I shared.

Chris and I shared an apartment in Abu Dhabi in 2008, and when I first met him I considered myself very fortunate, because he loves food, and he loves to cook. And he is a good cook, intuitive. We teamed up well in our kitchen, and produced some great plates together, including a salmon tartare cone (thank you, Thomas Keller) and, with the help of his parents, a wonderful Thanksgiving dinner for 14.

During our dinner at Provisions Chris asked me as we were eating the ham how much I knew about curing meat, and told me that a visit to the Staten Island home of a friend of his father’s marked the beginning of his passion for food. Chris was 8, and they made fresh pasta and sliced some homemade prosciutto and drank some wine made by a grandfather from Italy. Chris showed me a photo of the salumeria in that Staten Island home, and I share it with you. (Please notice the crucifix at the upper left of this photo. It is indeed blessed meat.)

Meat cures on Staten Island. (Photo courtesy of Chris Stanton)

Meat cures on Staten Island. (Photo courtesy of Chris Stanton)

I replied that I knew a lot about the process of aging and curing, but other than dry-aging a steak I have never had the opportunity nor time to do it. That is going to change, however, and Chris and I are making plans to create a salumeria of our own, so stay tuned.

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