Tafia is a true farm to table restaurant owned by local chef Monica Pope, receipt of a 2007 James Beard nomination, a Food & Wine Top 10 chef, and the feature of an Ad Hoc post about chef inspired gelato. You have to love a restaurant who's motto is "animals are treated well & don't do drugs; we start from scratch, using the best ingredients, mostly from around here."
Every Friday the restaurant offers a 3 course lunch for $22 with multiple choices for each course. Trying to maximize the moment, Liz and I agreed to each get a different dish, a strategy that worked until dessert!
First Course
Ding Ding, and the bout begins! Liz started with the portabella, heirloom bean puree, lavender black pepper pizzette and I the cornmeal-fried calamari with Thai dressing.
The pizzette was a little bit of a surprise as we were both expecting a mini-pizza topped with puree, but instead got warm pieces of pillowy-soft grilled flat bread and puree that was very similar to a hummus. The flavors in the puree were interesting-the mushroom component to the dish provided a meaty taste and while a delicate flavor, we didn't get any lavender notes. The calamari arrived with a loose and lightly fried cornmeal coating and a refreshing side of sauce. The meat was a little chewy & would have benefited from a little more cooking, but the sauce provided a nice touch.
Round 1 Critique: 3/5
Second Course
Before our second course arrived, the waiter asked me if I wanted a refill on my iced tea, but seeing that I was drinking a Diet Coke, I mentioned that I was would like a Diet Coke, but instead got iced tea, BUT I was glad I did! I'm not sure what Monica infuses in her iced tea, but the floral and vibrant taste it gave the iced tea was outstanding and negated the need for any sugar or sweetener.
For our second course, Liz ordered the Greek-style Longhorn burger with tzatziki sauce & caramelized red bell peppers and red onion while Drew ordered the braised Kobe beef short ribs with garlic gratin.
The burgers came out as a set of mini burgers on what were clearly homemade sourdough buns ( a win for us as if our wedding taught you anything, we LOVE mini sandwiches!). The burgers were every thing a standard very good burger should be, but the tzatziki sauce, light, creamy, and kissed with lemon, was a rock star and tasted like it came out the backdoor of a Chicago Greektown restaurant. The short rib was awesome, braised to the point where it was almost fork-tender, but had a great chew and flavor all the way through. The garlic gratin was (rather obviously) full of garlic flavor, but also composed of what appeared to be diced fennel and bread crumbs; for a fennel opponent, it was good. And last, but not surely not least, the pan sauce that accompanied the the short rib scored an 8/10 on the DDK gravy/ pan sauce/ au jus rating scale (so good I thought seriously about asking for a large side of sauce).
Round 2 Critique: 4/5
Third Course
I mentioned above that the game plan was to each get a different dish, but the plan went to the wayside when we saw Warm Huckleberry & Nectarine Crisp with Almond Whipped Cream on the menu. Tempted yet? If not, check out the pic below!
Warm. Gooey. Crumbly. Balanced. We both could go on and on. The dish came out warm, and despite the list of ingredients, all of the individual flavors came through yet melded together perfectly. I didn't mention this to Liz, but at the time I was thinking if Monica could/would sell this by the sheet pan and how much that would cost!
Round 3 Critique: 5/5
Overall Experience
Good food only goes so far, so it would be incomplete to end this post without mentioning the service, decor, and all that goes into making a dining experience what it is. The setting of our lunch transported us from the gritty downtown Houston area to a backyard terrace. We sat in a 3 sided enclosure with a roof with large paving stones with rocks in between them as a floor. Our service was a different story; we never received bread (when others did) and getting more beverages was a challenge. In short our waiter was never around.
Overall Critique: 3.75/5
I don't think Tafia is capable of providing a bad experience, but our visit Friday at best limped over the "good" line. In short, the appetizer course was a "should've been," the entree "spot on," and the dessert a "standout," but our experience ( and critique) proves the value of quality service in a restaurant. Monica, keep doing what you're doing, and the Keisers will see you next month!
0 comments:
Post a Comment