Food journalism in town gets a boost this week, as Robb Walsh and Alison Cook both return after taking last week off.
Robb Walsh writes that Bellaire’s new Lemongrass Cafe is hit-and-miss:
[Chef Fah] Vora’s dishes are brimming with youthful exuberance. Spicy Thai ceviche is a Little Mermaid’s menagerie of scallops, shrimp and calamari in lime and pineapple juices spiked with cilantro, red onion and chiles. The vibrant South American-Thai seafood cocktail comes in a martini glass, and it looks as wild as it tastes.
Unfortunately, some of Vora’s experiments fizzle….
Vora is obviously a dedicated and hardworking chef. I’m confident that the process of trial and error will lead her to a menu of solid hits. She should have plenty of time to work on it. Bellaire is so starved for chic restaurants that the Lemongrass Cafe is already a local favorite.
Alison Cook is optimistic about Rancho Chicken:
I still think Rancho has the potential to produce the best takeout chickens in town. Just a few tweaks would do it: pulling the birds off the spit a few minutes earlier; getting the seasoning consistent. The place is mere months old, and there’s not enough volume yet to get a chicken right off the fire, with a still-crisp skin.
That could change, and it ought to. The young Mexico City-reared brothers who own the place, Jesse and Jeremy Schwarz, have some good ideas, and they’re trying to do things right. Even their side dishes have surprising integrity.
Dai Huynh searches Houston for the perfect Wiener schnitzel.
Joey Guerra visits the Speak Easy Lounge, and reports (unknown to me) that Opie Hendrix is the regular musician on Wednesday nights.
And finally, the following tidbit from the Chronicle whine and dine section begs for comment:
Lonnie Jones of Houston says he found the food very good and the waiter attentive at Cyclone Anaya’s Mexican Kitchen, 5761 Woodway, but he wasn’t happy with the parking situation.
“Every parking space in front was reserved by the valet parking people. The manager’s attitude was that’s the way he wanted it. The choice parking spaces should be left open for the customers and the valet parking spaces should be someplace else.”
The manager of Cyclone Anaya’s should actually be complimented! Parking in the shopping center where Cyclone Anaya’s is located is very limited. The restaurant’s solution is to provide free valet parking during busy periods. It takes an extremely grouchy soul to find fault with that. But there is nearby parking if, for whatever reason, a patron doesn’t want to turn over the keys to the valet. Just expect to walk more than 20 feet.
A short walk won’t kill you, Houston! Really. The food and service are well worth it! And while one normally doesn’t go to a Tex-Mex restaurant for wine, the Toad Hollow Reserve merlot is a nice wine that isn’t marked up ridiculously. They also serve a large quantity by the glass, in case you’re the oddball wine drinker (like me) among a table of margarita drinkers. For that matter, the margaritas (on the rocks, of course) are deceptively strong, and not overly sweet. It’s hard for me to find fault with anything at Cyclone Anaya’s.
