Desserts and the intensely whimsical Perfect Egg may make more of a visual impact, but no dish at the new Southern French restaurant on Montrose Boulevard haunts me the way the thin pasta does.
When I first tried the dish in October, I said, “The beefy ecstasy is serious stuff—between bites, my lips were literally sealed by the sticky collagen cooked down from the tender chunks of cheek. Want an upscale take on a Lord of the Flies moment? This is it.”
The use of regional meat is right in the name and Eloise Nichols, one of two new restaurants this year from the siblings behind Adair Kitchen, is intended as a salute to Gulf Coast cuisine. But what makes this burger so special is its blend of flavors from distant lands. The grill-seared patty bursts with Middle Eastern seasonings, and is stacked with feta, pickled green tomatoes and sun-dried Indonesian sambal on a pretzel bun.
The use of regional meat is right in the name and Eloise Nichols, one of two new restaurants this year from the siblings behind Adair Kitchen, is intended as a salute to Gulf Coast cuisine. But what makes this burger so special is its blend of flavors from distant lands. The grill-seared patty bursts with Middle Eastern seasonings, and is stacked with feta, pickled green tomatoes and sun-dried Indonesian sambal on a pretzel bun.
4Filipiniana Restaurant + Bakery, ube Brazo de Mercedes
I have to be honest: I’m not sure I’m making the right choice here. I ate the pandan-flavored signature cake, layers of flan and pandan sponge and cream, right out of its Mason jar in a single sitting despite myself. But the airy meringue of the Brazo de Mercedes, with its chewy caramelized exterior and thick, sugary purple sweet potato custard filling, has a very slight edge. Maybe because it’s bigger and granted me more tastes.
5Filipiniana Restaurant + Bakery, ube Brazo de Mercedes
I have to be honest: I’m not sure I’m making the right choice here. I ate the pandan-flavored signature cake, layers of flan and pandan sponge and cream, right out of its Mason jar in a single sitting despite myself. But the airy meringue of the Brazo de Mercedes, with its chewy caramelized exterior and thick, sugary purple sweet potato custard filling, has a very slight edge. Maybe because it’s bigger and granted me more tastes.
6Kitchen 713, Thai ceviche
The newest entry, Kitchen 713 just reopened in its new Washington Avenue location yesterday. But in a preview, I was floored by the complexity of this spicy ceviche. Cured in coconut, ginger and aggressive lime, flounder is tender and mild. Stronger fish flavor comes from crispy chicharrones that garnish the plate along with micro cilantro. Shaved white grapes and hot Thai chiles contribute compelling notes of sweet and heat.
7Kitchen 713, Thai ceviche
The newest entry, Kitchen 713 just reopened in its new Washington Avenue location yesterday. But in a preview, I was floored by the complexity of this spicy ceviche. Cured in coconut, ginger and aggressive lime, flounder is tender and mild. Stronger fish flavor comes from crispy chicharrones that garnish the plate along with micro cilantro. Shaved white grapes and hot Thai chiles contribute compelling notes of sweet and heat.
8The Pit Room, chicken tacos
You don’t go to a barbecue place expecting to be wowed by the tacos. I ordered mine really more as a curiosity than with hopes of excellence. But that was exactly what I found at the Pit Room. Smoked, pulled chicken is layered with char-blackened garlic and crisp griddled cheese. But the real secret to the taco’s success is the tortilla made with brisket trimmings. You read that right.
9Murdoch's Backyard Pub, Popcorn pork
How did no one think of this before? At this hard-to-find Cypress pub, the best among a number of creative fried apps is this ingenious but simple presentation of pork belly. The cubes are cooked ultra low-and-slow in an immersion circulator before a trip to the fryer and a dusting of seasoned salt. A little danger makes everything sexier, and this has plenty of both.
10Murdoch's Backyard Pub, Popcorn pork
How did no one think of this before? At this hard-to-find Cypress pub, the best among a number of creative fried apps is this ingenious but simple presentation of pork belly. The cubes are cooked ultra low-and-slow in an immersion circulator before a trip to the fryer and a dusting of seasoned salt. A little danger makes everything sexier, and this has plenty of both.
11Ninfa's on Navigation, queso asado
I’ve gone on record with my feelings about the fajitas at Ninfa’s, but I have a serious crush on the dishes coming out of the new wood-fired oven. The most appealing is a round of oven-crisped cheese served with corn tortillas, tomatillo salsa, Serrano peppers and chiles torreados. Combined, the elements made the best vegetarian taco I ate this year.
12Ninfa's on Navigation, queso asado
I’ve gone on record with my feelings about the fajitas at Ninfa’s, but I have a serious crush on the dishes coming out of the new wood-fired oven. The most appealing is a round of oven-crisped cheese served with corn tortillas, tomatillo salsa, Serrano peppers and chiles torreados. Combined, the elements made the best vegetarian taco I ate this year.
13The Pit Room, chicken tacos
You don’t go to a barbecue place expecting to be wowed by the tacos. I ordered mine really more as a curiosity than with hopes of excellence. But that was exactly what I found at the Pit Room. Smoked, pulled chicken is layered with char-blackened garlic and crisp griddled cheese. But the real secret to the taco’s success is the tortilla made with brisket trimmings. You read that right.
14Zen Japanese Izakaya, chirashi
I went to this new Montrose Japanese eatery for the austere, kaiseki-style small plates. I ordered the the chirashi just to have a look at how the kitchen turns out basics. I was not expecting to see this. I don’t think I’ve experienced a prettier or tastier iteration of the dish. The a mix of admirably fresh seafood, including rosy tuna, squiggly octopus and explosive pops of roe, get extra panache from microgreens, shiso leaves, Asian pear and chiles, to name just a few.
15State of Grace, caramelle pasta
Like at Eloise Nichols, sometimes the Gulf Coast cuisine at State of Grace comes with influences from faraway settlers. These stuffed pasta (caramelle means candy, which the twisted noodles resemble) are filled with duck confit, but get their zip from a bath of kimchi-based sauce and a dose of crisped garlic. It’s so eclectic that it was fated to either fail miserably or soar. Lucky for diners, it’s the latter.
16Surya India, tandoori sea bass
The Washington Corridor’s new upscale Indian spot does pretty much everything right, but I can’t get the tandoor-singed edges of this buttery fish out of my head. The earthy spice rub would be enough to bring me back for bite after bite, but a spicy tomato chutney gives the tender slab of seafood an extra push in the realm of outsized flavor.
17Surya India, tandoori sea bass
The Washington Corridor’s new upscale Indian spot does pretty much everything right, but I can’t get the tandoor-singed edges of this buttery fish out of my head. The earthy spice rub would be enough to bring me back for bite after bite, but a spicy tomato chutney gives the tender slab of seafood an extra push in the realm of outsized flavor.
18State of Grace, caramelle pasta
Like at Eloise Nichols, sometimes the Gulf Coast cuisine at State of Grace comes with influences from faraway settlers. These stuffed pasta (caramelle means candy, which the twisted noodles resemble) are filled with duck confit, but get their zip from a bath of kimchi-based sauce and a dose of crisped garlic. It’s so eclectic that it was fated to either fail miserably or soar. Lucky for diners, it’s the latter.
19Zen Japanese Izakaya, chirashi
I went to this new Montrose Japanese eatery for the austere, kaiseki-style small plates. I ordered the the chirashi just to have a look at how the kitchen turns out basics. I was not expecting to see this. I don’t think I’ve experienced a prettier or tastier iteration of the dish. The a mix of admirably fresh seafood, including rosy tuna, squiggly octopus and explosive pops of roe, get extra panache from microgreens, shiso leaves, Asian pear and chiles, to name just a few.
20Café Azur, ox cheek fettuccine
Desserts and the intensely whimsical Perfect Egg may make more of a visual impact, but no dish at the new Southern French restaurant on Montrose Boulevard haunts me the way the thin pasta does.
When I first tried the dish in October, I said, “The beefy ecstasy is serious stuff—between bites, my lips were literally sealed by the sticky collagen cooked down from the tender chunks of cheek. Want an upscale take on a Lord of the Flies moment? This is it.”
Sorry, guys, when the clock strikes midnight on December 31, celebrities will not become immortal, bad people will still do suitably bad things and “Hamilton” won’t be at the Hobby Center until next season. But as much as my buddies on social media seemed to think it sucked to be alive in 2016, I had a year of damn fine eating.
Admittedly, I don’t have much data to which I can compare—2016 was my first full year in Houston. What I do know is how difficult it was to comb through the hundreds of restaurant meals I ate this year, then cull my initial list of 20 to a mere 10 plates. And that’s just dishes that were entirely new (not just new to me, which is still pretty much everything I eat), and not consumed at a special event or at a restaurant that has since closed or lost its chef responsible for a notable meal. In fact, all of the dishes in this slide show are currently available for you to graze on at will.
What separated from the chaff surprised me. In a year when seemingly everything that opened was part of a chain originating from outside Houston, the top 10 all came from local businesses. Some are new items at old favorites, but most are exceptional eats from restaurants that opened in 2016. I didn’t make a conscious effort to choose dishes of great ethnic diversity, but as you’ll see, that’s just Houston’s magic. So as we embark on 2017, let’s reflect on how perhaps the one we’re leaving wasn’t such a bad year after all.
In that spirit, I also want to give credit to my 10 runners up:
Alice joined Houstonia in November 2015 and has been relishing exploring the city’s vibrant food scene ever since.
She began her journalism career at age 13 with a cult film criticism ’zine. As an adult, stints with WWE Magazine and EatingWell led to her job as senior food writer at Vermont’s alternative newsweekly, Seven Days, in 2008. In that capacity, she became one of the state’s most well-known TV and radio personalities. Her first book, Vermont: An Explorer’s Guide, was published in 2015. Alice has won an AltWeekly Award for Best Food Writing, two Daysies for Best Print/Online Journalist, and two "Top Social Foodie" awards from Burlington Social Media Day.
