area.memorial Archives - HTownChowDown

One of the more interesting and unique restaurants in Houston is Peli Peli. Specializing in South African cuisine, the upscale restaurant brings new ingredients and dishes to the diverse Houston restaurant palette.

Peli Peli Kitchen is the fast casual concept that brings the flavors of South Africa to Houston in a more relaxed, affordable setting. It has opened on the west bound I-10 feeder at Campbell, easily accessible from downtown or the west side.

(Disclaimer: The team at PPK was so anxious for us to try their new restaurant they invited us to a special tasting, sent their corporate jet to whisk us from the Woodlands to Houston’s near west side, and plied us with their well selected house wines and craft beers before sending out course after course for our degustation. OK, they didn’t send the jet.)

The team behind Peli Peli is an experienced one. Partners Thomas Nguyen, Aiki Kong “Michael” Tran, and Executive Chef Paul Friedman, bring their expertise in operations, marketing, finance, and of course cuisine and menu development.

Stepping inside the bright, airy space, your eye is immediately drawn to the beautiful original artwork that covers different surfaces throughout the restaurant. The seemingly abstract art represents different aspects of the business, from the partners, to South African references, to interesting details that reflect the concept and sensibilities of the Peli Peli operation.

But how’s the food? We previewed several of the dishes on the well curated menu. Here are our first impressions.

Smoked Salmon Rosti

First up was one of PPK’s breakfast dishes, the smoke salmon rosti. This South African take on a large breakfast taco includes smoked salmon, chopped hash browns, sautéed spinach, goat cheese, capers, a poached egg, hollandaise, and PPK’s signature peppadew peppers, wrapped in fresh naan.

It’s one of the most exciting takes on a breakfast taco we can remember tasting. Chef Paul skillfully combines the smokey salmon, creamy hollandaise, warm, comforting hash browns, and the zesty zing of the peppers. It’s an entirely new flavor profile, but one we’re already craving again.

Huguenot Porkbelly on Brioche

Next, we sampled one of PPK’s cleverly conceived sandwiches. Warm, slightly sweet brioche was combined with hearty slices of pork belly, rubbed with hickory mesquite and slow roasted. Combined with fried onions, cilantro, and peppadew peppers, the balance of this dish was delightful. It’s the perfect grab and go lunch for those in a hurry but not willing to compromise on flavor.

Braised Oxtail

This classic from the American South was slow-cooked until the incredibly tender meat falls off the bone. The subtle, layered flavors are sure to delight any aficionado of southern cooking

We’ve always enjoyed Chef Paul Friedman’s South African fusion cuisine at Peli Peli, and are impressed by how the team has edited and distilled the essence of what makes that restaurant wonderful into this new elevated fast casual concept. If you’ve been to Peli Peli you’ll love this place; if you haven’t, it’s an accessible, affordable introduction into the bold flavors and wonderful experience of South African cooking.

As our readers know, Houston's vibrant food scene isn't limited to Tex-Mex, BBQ, and burgers. As our nation's most multicultural city, dining options span the list from African to Vietnamese, with pretty much everything in between.

And Vietnamese is a big deal here. Houston is home to one of the nation's largest Vietnamese communities, and these immigrants have brought the delicious foods of their culture along with them. Vietnamese restaurants thrive in Houston, and range from tiny mom-and-pop pho shops to thriving local chains like Kim Son.

Imagine our surprise when we got a note from Houston's home-grown upscale burger empire, Beck's Prime, talking about the Banh Mi sandwich they were adding to their menu. We received a generous invitation to visit any of the Beck's locations and sample this interesting new offering (along with a couple of others).

Burgers and Banh Mi. If that's not 21st century Houston casual dining, I don't know what is. But we had to wonder how good a Beck's Prime banh mi would be. To determine that, we put together a crack tasting team and ventured over to the Woodands' own Beck's Prime location.

Befitting this multicultural offering was our multicultural team, consisting of your humble editor and real estate guru / celebrity foodie Huy Dang, the man behind the stunning @uberbites Instagram account. His knowledge of Vietnamese cuisine far exceeds mine, and he has a very keen palate. He's also a sharp dresser, adding a badly needed touch of class to our dining party.

On a blustery February at noon we converged on Beck's Prime on Grogan's Mill in the Woodlands, skillfully avoiding the road construction that rendered the parking lot all but inaccessible. Even with the construction Beck's was doing a strong lunch business. Woodlands residents know their burgers, and Beck's are among the best. But we weren't here for the burgers.

Beck's staff demonstrated their usual flawless hospitality, and we ordered and grabbed a table. In short order the food came out. Front and center was the new banh mi.

Banh Mi at Beck's Prime

No, this is not your Aunt Thuy's banh mi. The traditional french loaf is replaced with one of Beck's signature egg buns, the fatty mystery pork usually found has been replaced with lean, chargrilled, generously-sliced pork sirloin, and the vegetables were crispy, very fresh, and freshly cut.

Biting into the sandwich revealed the bright, sharp flavor profile that defines the best banh mi. But the textures were very different. The rich egg bun didn't have the traditional chewy mouthfeel of french bread. The pork flavor was more prominent than in a more pedestrian banh mi, and a gentle kick of sriracha brought a garlicky heat to the sharp tang of the onions, cilantro, and jalapeño.

The result is a very good sandwich, although it's far from a traditional banh mi. Huy confirmed that Beck's had altered the traditional components, but he approved of the result, and nary a scrap of banh mi was to be found on either of our plates at the conclusion of the meal.

The second offering we sampled was another new pork sandwich from Beck's: Hickory Prime Pork. A far more traditional sandwich, it included the excellent sliced pork sirloin, pickles, onions, and Beck's house made hickory BBQ sauce.

This riff on the classic BBQ pork sandwich was much more traditional. The hickory BBQ sauce accented the rich pork flavor, and the classic pickle/onion accoutrements made for a very familiar sandwich. Our only beef (no pun intended) with this sandwich was the mildness of the sauce - a smidgen more heat (or a lot more heat, if you prefer weapons-grade sauces as Huy does) would bring this good sandwich to the next level.

All in all we were impressed by these new offerings from Beck's Prime. Over the years Beck's has offered not only some of the city's best burgers, but also very good non-burger offerings for those who weren't in the mood for mesquite-grilled ground beef. These new items continue that winning formula, and we predict that they'll both be popular all across Houston.

Beck's Prime | Locations all around town

UPDATE: Chef Stone has left Vallone's to pursue other opportunities.

Vallone's, the hot new steakhouse project from the team behind Tony's, has named Jay Stone as its Chef de Cuisine. Vallone's is a collaboration helmed by Tony's executive chef Grant Gordon and Tony's GM Scott Sulma. Tony Vallone, Houston's legendary restaurateur, is rumored to be consulting on the project as well.

(Tony Vallone has a storied history of discovering and nurturing great culinary talent, including top Houston chefs Mark Cox [owner and executive chef of Mark's], Marco Wiles [owner and executive chef of Da Marco] and Olivier Ciesielski [owner and executive chef of L'Olivier], who all perfected their craft under Tony's watchful eye.)

Chef Jay Stone

Chef Stone was formerly executive chef at Spectrum Catering, and was the driving force behind the Wicked Whisk food truck, cited by Houston Mayor Annise Parker as her favorite food truck.

(He also collaborated with Corkscrew BBQ's pitmaster Will Buckman on the groundbreaking Wicked Corkscrew pop-up experimental dinner, the first to combine the techniques and recipes of a classically trained chef with the award-winning meats of one of Texas's top BBQ joints.)

We've been big fans of Jay's innovative cooking since we first got to sample it, and are looking forward to seeing what he'll produce in collaboration with the consummate culinary professionals of the Vallone organization.

Having Jay Stone and Grant Gordon collaborate in the kitchen reminds me of the friendship (and rivalry) between the two great 20th century artists Pablo Picasso and Henri Matisse. The collaboration and creative tension that can result from having this much culinary talent under one roof promises to make Vallone's one of the city's most exciting kitchens.

We're fans of Black Walnut Cafe, the fast casual restaurant that started in the Woodands and has spread across the Houston area (and is soon coming to Austin and Dallas). One thing we love is the large, eclectic menu - it's a place we're not hesitant to visit with people whose food preferences we don't know.

And the menu is ever-changing. For the next few weeks, Black Walnut will be testing a few new items each week, and soliciting feedback from patrons who try them via a secret website, revealed only to those who try the dishes. We love the idea of getting direct feedback from customers, and what makes it even cooler is that one lucky customer will get the chance to name one of the dishes on the menu! (There's also a $100 gift card involved, which is certainly a good thing.)

We were excited about the opportunity to provide feedback about which items would make the next menu, so we accepted the generous offer to come sample this week's selections.

First up were the pork tacos. They're served street taco style on a sheet of aluminum foil. Of course, being a nice place like the Black Walnut, the foil was on a plate.

A generous portion of pork carnitas was served on warm corn tortillas, topped with shredded lettuce, fresh avocado slices, a bit of red bell pepper, and a mild peppery sauce. Biting into the first one, we enjoyed the smooth, mild flavors. The slight smokiness of the pork carnitas was accented by the creamy avocado and the mild heat from the sauce and peppers. Adding a zing of citrus from the provided lime slice brightened things up.

Next up was the turkey burger. I hear the assembled readers asking "Turkey burger?!?! Have you gone mad?" But I'm willing to sample even slightly disturbing things for science. And for our readers. The turkey burger is served open-faced with a side of Black Walnut's tasty sweet potato fries.

The patty is hand formed from high quality ground turkey, pressed fairly thin, griddled with a nice caramel-colored sear, then topped with swiss cheese and veggies. Biting into this burger was a big surprise... I LIKED IT. The expertly seared turkey patty had a nice savory flavor - the seasonings used were spot on. It didn't taste like a beef hamburger, but it was a very good sandwich that I would gladly order again. And I've never said that about a turkey burger before in my life. Kudos to the chefs at Black Walnut Cafe for doing the impossible.

Last up was an item that I saw, but didn't sample. It's an Eggs Benedict burger.

An English muffin is stacked with a hand-formed griddled beef burger patty, then layered with a poached egg, bacon, and hollandaise sauce. Not being a fan of poached eggs I decided to pass on this one, but it looked well constructed and the hollandaise sauce smelled very good.

We applaud Black Walnut Cafe for this decidedly social approach to vetting new menu items, and we look forward to seeing which of these dishes makes it onto the new menu. (Our vote is for the amazingly good turkey burger, and if it ends up being named the "You Won't Believe It's Turkey Burger" you'll know we won the contest.)

These dishes are available for tasting for a limited time, but will be replaced with other new tasting options each week. We plan to work our way through each week's offerings, and would love to hear from our readers as they sample these brand new creations.

Black Walnut Cafe | Several Locations

The Chronicle's restaurant critic, Alison Cook, posted an amazing account of an unpleasant experience at Jonathan's The Rub, a small, high-end restaurant in the Memorial area.

UPDATE: Apparently this isn't an isolated incident. another patron reported a similar encounter.

You should read the entire account, but to summarize, Ms. Cook ordered a steak medium rare, it came out overcooked, and she sent it back. Instead of graciously handling his kitchen's mistake, the restaurant's chef/owner, Jonathan Levine, confronted Ms. Cook, and ultimately threw her out of his restaurant.

As you can imagine, there was a great deal of discussion about this, both in the food community and among the Chronicle's readers.

It was astonishing to me to hear folks actually defending a restaurant for serving an improperly cooked steak, and criticizing Ms. Cook for not smiling and accepting what was delivered.

Many businesses deliver products that have expensive components. When the business screws up and delivers a defective product, the customer is well within their rights to reject it and request what was ordered. The business eats the cost of the component, and hopefully learns how to improve their process so they don't turn out as many defective products.

(And yes, there is skill involved in cooking steaks. If you can't reliably cook a steak to order, you probably shouldn't be cooking steaks in a restaurant.)

Businesses that survive recognize this. A mistake is the time display amazing customer service, and turn a customer into a fan. Apparently Mr. Levine doesn't realize this; he'd rather alienate a patron and then make excuses about being a New Yorker when he discovers the patron is the Chronicle's food critic.

A $15 piece of meat is dirt cheap compared to all the negative publicity a dissatisfied customer can bring in this modern age of the citizen reviewer. There are a lot of places to eat in Houston, and I see no reason to spend my money at a place that won't stand behind the product they put on the plate.

There's a reason that Tony's has been in business for 40 years; they know how to keep their customers happy. Restaurateurs who complain about an empty house would be wise to emulate this approach.

Grimaldi's Pizza, the legendary Brooklyn pizza joint, has opened its first establishment in the Houston area. Located across the Southwest Freeway from Sugar Land's First Colony mall, Grimaldi's has been delighting local residents with their three types of pizza: Red (traditional margharita) White (with garlic) and Green (with pesto). Prices aren't cheap, but for those seeking NY-style pizza, it's a lot cheaper than a plane ticket to La Guardia.

Closer to town, Russo's New York Coal-Fired Pizza has opened their second location on I-10 at Echo Lane. Befitting it's Memorial location this is a higher-end pizza joint, with a beautiful interior that complement the crowd-pleasing coal-fired pizza.

In an unrelated article, the Houston Business journal mentioned that Smashburger, the Denver-based chain, is scouting sites in the Woodlands, Memorial, and Sugar Land areas.

Smashburger opened its first Houston location near S. Main and Kirby to rave reviews.