OUR REVIEW OF OCEANAIRE

You know the world has turned a few times when the best new seafood restaurant to hit our stretch of Gulf Coast in ages hails from Minnesota. Yet in this era of global seafood, it’s actually far less important that you’re close to an ocean than that you know how to reach people who are. Once the system is in place, dayboats pulling into Hawaii or Chile are as close as the chef’s cellphone – and in some cases, ready to fly you fresher fish than some guy on a dock just 100 miles away.

The Oceanaire Seafood Room, landing in the Galleria’s new Restaurant Row during the holiday shopping rush, has pretty much mastered the fish-by-cellphone thing since its beginnings up north in 1998. It brings to local tables an established rep it has no interest in losing, a comfortably elegant décor with the just the right touch of 1930s Art Deco ocean liner, and a commitment to celebrating the greatest traditions of American seafood cookery. With a delicious bit of irony, most of the classic recipes from which Chef Jeremy White takes his cue were invented in days that saw seafood served only along America’s coastlines. In many cases, his hyper-fresh updates of the classics not only take these traditions far from the coasts of their origin but make them better as cooking in every conceivable way.

Take Oceanaire’s rendition of Lobster Thermidor, for instance – as tired and moldy an old dish as can be imagined, now terribly dated with its all-encompassing glop of cream, butter, breadcrumbs and too much cheap sherry. Chef White seems to have deconstructed the dish into its flavor components and produced a fresh, zippy, surprisingly light but lush spin that’s all about chunks of sweet lobster and lump crabmeat. The other elements are held back, applied strategically, a splash here or there. A dish no one needed to try has become a dish everyone needs to try, a transformation that proves to be emblematic of what the new Oceanaire in Houston is all about.

In keeping with its concept and seafood’s global shipping lanes, each night at the restaurant produces a dated chalkboard list of what seafood is in the house. While certainly showbiz plays a part in such lists – showbiz being another word for what restaurants like to call presentation or the “complete dining experience” – it also is a kind of guarantee. Nothing is served that’s less than perfect just because it’s listed on some printed menu. On the night of our recent visit, the chalkboard listed 25 fresh items, from finfish like Block Island swordfish and Carolina white trout to New Zealand “green lip” mussels and Jonah crab claws. Interestingly, there’s a strong sense of wine-like “terroir” in Oceanaire’s treatment of seafood. Fish, it seems, really are what they eat, so it matters deeply where they come from. This geography fetish carries over bigtime to the Oyster Bar, where you might enjoy a bevy of bivalves from Prince Edward Island, Nova Scotia, Maine and Massachusetts. Cold water is a must here, it would seem.

For appetizers at Oceanaire, the number of promising choices can overwhelm. Best bets we’ve sampled include Baked Oysters Creole with a bit of andouille crust, Topneck Clams Casino (that Sinatra-like Italian-American classic) and the quite different, much lighter Ahi Tuna Tower, with avocado, mango and jicama pico de gallo. In some dishes, it’s all about the crunch. Oldtime faves like Shrimp de Jonghe, Escargots and even a 95-cent “Tomato Juice Cocktail” turn up, but so do newtime faves like Crab Cake (hewing the current party line of lots of crabmeat, almost no breadcrumbs) and the Thai-spiced Red Curry Mussel Stew, memorable for its coconut milk and basil. Chef White’s cookbook collection seems as global as his seafood – a Houston thing indeed.

In addition to the option of fresh items simply grilled or broiled with sea salt, lemon juice and extra-virgin olive oil, there are no fewer than 15 entrees listed as Oceanaire Specialties. In addition to that glorious Lobster Thermidor and the wonderful swordfish from Block Island (up by Rhode Island, which is much smaller than Texas) served with garlic essence and herbed crimini mushrooms, we like the Monterey Bay Fisherman’s Stew (bouillabaisse gone to Sicily, in much the style of San Francisco’s cioppino) and the Whole Fried Arctic Char, an Asian concept from the start with its citrus-soy glaze and crunchy daikon sprout salad. Among the main courses built around shellfish (in case you haven’t had enough by filling your table with great shellfish appetizers), we prefer the Massachusetts diver scallops with braised salsify and a garlicky gremolata glued together with melted Asiago.

Make no mistake: just as any modern steakhouse must appeal to seafood lovers, any modern seafood house must do the same in reverse. A couple of great steaks are offered, along with high-end know-their-home-address chicken, pork, veal and lamb. And when all the entrée plates are cleared, you will want dessert whether you’ve “saved room” (what a quaint concept) or not. All the expected things are done well at Oceanaire, from Key Lime Pie to Baked Alaska, from Tres Leches (now there’s a dish that came out of nowhere) to Crème Brulee. Classics all. Yet you might just let your server set the Super Caramel Brownie at the center of your table. More like a mammoth slice of chocolate cake than a brownie anybody’s Grandma ever thought about making, this one comes with whipped cream and a generous ladling of both chocolate and caramel sauces. Let the feeding frenzy begin!

SHOW & RECIPE FOR FEB. 10

THE FLAVORS OF CATALAN
Though it studiously avoids using the word “tapas” – one of the many dining trends that came and went in America in the ‘80s – the new restaurant called Catalan picks and chooses all the best and lasting elements of the craze, then inserts razzle and dazzle of its own. On today’s edition, chef Charles Clark (of Ibiza fame) and Catalan chef Chris Shepherd talk about how they took the concept and made it real for diners. As a result, the foods and wines of Catalan make it perhaps the hottest restaurant in town.

MUSIC TO OUR EARS
Talk about an embarrassment of riches! Anthony Brandt of Musiqa and Matthew Dirst of Ars Lyrica join us in studio to talk about their upcoming combined Valentine’s concert, an event Delicious Mischief will be hosting with oh-so-French food and wine from our friends at Le Mistral. And while we’re at it, we’ll visit a while with French-accented Antoine Plante, he the honcho of Mercury Baroque, which also has a concert on our February radar. Now if everyone will just bring a musical instrument, we’ll at least have a trio!

WINES FOR VALENTINES
Despite the huffing of some restaurant waiters about “amateur night,” Valentine’s remains along with Mother’s Day one of the top days for dining out in our culture. We always figured there was some relationship between the two, though they clearly fall less than nine months apart. Our buddy Steve Ehrman of Fosters Wine Group joins us with his selection of the perfect wines for the perfect romance. And you can enjoy these vintages whether you join the hordes in our local restaurants or settle in for a quiet, hopefully candlelit dinner at home.

POACHED PEARS IN WHITE WINE

6 large, ripe pears, peeled and cored but left whole
1 cup sugar
2 cups dry Italian wine
1 tablespoon grated orange rind
1 teaspoon grated lemon rind
2 cloves
1 stick cinnamon
3 tablespoons toasted and chopped pistachios
1 dozen Italian almond macaroons

Place the pears in an enamel fireproof baking pan small enough so that they can stand upright. In a separate saucepan bring the wine, cloves, cinnamon and sugar to a boil, simmer for 5 minutes. Strain over the pears, seal the dish with foil and poach over moderate heat until the pears are pierced easily with a fork. Remove them with a slotted spoon and place them in a glass-serving bowl. Raise the heat and reduce the liquid to about ¾ cup. Pour though a fine sieve over the pears, and refrigerate until well chilled. Just before serving, sprinkle them with the toasted pistachios and serve almond macaroons on the side. Serves 6.

OUR REVIEW OF CATALAN

Like so many food crazes, the Spanish “tapas craze” went the way of the Hula Hoop almost as soon as it started turning up in major U.S. cities throughout the 1980s. The Ballroom in New York is no more – indeed, its brilliant Peruvian-Chilean-Spanish-German-Italian chef Felipe Rojas-Lombardi was tragically and prematurely taken from us. Here in Houston, Arturo Boada’s downtown landmark Solero has faded from the culinary scene, our own affectionate memories of the place pretty much wiped out by too much red wine. Yet Spanish cuisine remains a tantalizing and still-undervalued international treasure, an invitation to the same rustic genius found in Tuscany or Provence.

And that’s where the new Catalan fits in. In the shadows of the Pyrenees, with its tangle of Spanish, French and Basque influences, Catalonia (the typical English spelling) is best-known via its largest city on the sea, Barcelona. Yet as envisioned by owners Charles Clark and Grant Cooper of Ibiza fame and realized fresh daily by Chef Chris Shepherd from Brennan’s of Houston and sommelier Antonio Gianola from DaMarco, Catalan has settled into the dining landscape as though a beloved, timeless, mandatory fixture in a matter of months. It seems destined (and it certainly deserves) to outlive not only any trendiness still clinging to tapas but any excitement attached to being the hippest, hottest new food and wine destination in town.

The thing is, Catalan both is and is not a “tapas restaurant.” In traditional Spain, the very idea of a “tapas restaurant” is almost senseless. Spaniards prowl the streets for tapas and wine BEFORE going to a restaurant or home for dinner excruciatingly close to midnight. There is, however, a definite and delicious tapas presence reflected in the longest section of Catalan’s menu, so sweetly called not “tapas” but “Small Plates to Share.” Still, the guys here learned from others’ mistakes: instead of realizing later (or too late) that Houston diners demand large entrees, they built in main dishes along with soups, salads and sides from the ground up. Most diners, therefore, order tapas here like appetizers, then plunge headfirst into some reasonably dazzling entrees. It’s an entire Spanish evening, with several locales telescoped (profitably) into one.

It’s worth noting, however, that you can and sometimes should make a full meal from Catalan’s generous collection of Small Plates, the best being the spicy garlic Gulf shrimp (a Spained-up version of New Orleans-Sicilian barbecue shrimp), the classic Spanish tortilla (a potato omelet made with no Mexican-style tortillas in sight) and the Arborio-dusted calamari with jalapeno-lime dressing (a nifty escape from corporate-Italian batter-fried with marinara sauce). In keeping with the current chef fetish, there’s a mandatory pork belly starter, fatty but flavorful, and given amazing depth by Steen’s cane syrup. Going this tapas-only route lets you also enjoy the coolest thing about Gianola’s wine program at Catalan: an affordable chance to sip your way through three-ounce “tastings,” thus enjoying three, four or five different wines in the course of your meal. We can imagine few things better outside the privacy of our own home.

The soups at Catalan are Spain’s greatest hits album: a tomato-kissed gazpacho and a warming, lush cream of garlic. Salads hail from somewhere wonderful between Spain and France, the best being crispy frisee with bacon lardons, pomegranate and tarragon dressing. There’s even a neat spin on Caesar, mildly deconstructed into baby Romaine, rocket lettuce and something called “anchovy confit.”

While fewer in number than the Small Plates, the predictably named Big Plates lack nothing when it comes to making an impression. Things we’ve loved best so far include the beef filet a la plancha (maybe from that carnivorous Broadway musical called Man of la Plancha!) served with olive oil whipped potatoes and a thankfully mild-tasting anchovy butter, and the seared tuna with ham-hock braised lentils (Spanish-French soul food) and whole roasted sweet shallots. The seafood stew is essentially Gulf Coast bouillabaisse, featuring virtually every seafood in the kitchen in a light but lively garlic, saffron and tomato broth – a reminder of Catalonia’s connections via Barcelona to the larger Mediterranean world.

Many of the main dishes at Catalan come with terrific sides; but if your preferred entrée does not, never fear. Just be sure your table gets one or more of the following: bacon and sage grits, olive oil whipped potatoes, Cabrales cheese gratin and, our favorite, cauliflower puree. It’s the cauliflower dish for people who don’t think they like cauliflower. Still, don’t use up all the space that might hold dessert. You absolutely need the white chocolate and dried cherry bread pudding (showing Chef Chris’ debt to Brennan’s and therefore to the Commander’s Palace branch of that family in New Orleans) and the chocolate lover’s Nutella crepes with cinnamon ice cream.

SHOW & RECIPE FOR FEB. 3

THE LATEST FLAVORS FROM N.O.
Today’s opening segment checks on the progress of post-Katrina New Orleans from a restaurant that truly takes “location, location, location” to heart – Muriel’s on Jackson Square. We chat with proprietor Rick Gratia and new executive chef Guy Sockrider on the challenges of staying in business and keeping food, wine and service standards high while waiting for the once-and-future New Orleans tourist to return.

SOUTH AMERICAN VINTAGE
In a world that regularly embraces the wines of Australia and even acknowledges great new vintages from South Africa, we think South American wines (especially those from Chile and Argentina) remain both super bottles and super values. We sit down for a tasting during today’s Grape & Grain segment with a representative from the winery built by Nicolas Catena. And we’ll make the pleasurable acquaintance of malbec, a grape used for blending in France but now claiming its own place in the South American spotlight.

THEATER ON A MISSION
Jeannette Clift George joins us from A.D. Players, talking about her decision 40 years ago to create Houston’s – and perhaps America’s – first “Christian theater company.” A lot of shows have come and gone at A.D. over four decades, but Jeannette remains true to the notion that quality professional theater and moral instruction are not mutually exclusive.

BALINESE SATAY WITH NASI GORENG

Satay:
6 shallots, peeled
3 pieces lemon grass
2 cloves garlic
1 tablespoon cilantro leaves
2 tablespoons oil
2 chicken legs and thighs, deboned and cut into serving pieces
½ teaspoon crushed red pepper
3 tablespoons sugar
½ teaspoon salt
1 teaspoon ground turmeric

Nasi Goreng:
2 tablespoons vegetable oil
1 cup pork cur in small cubes
1 onion, diced
2 cloves garlic, minced
1 teaspoon finely chopped fresh ginger
1 fresh chile pepper, seeded and diced
1 cup finely chopped carrots
1 cup finely chopped red bell pepper
1 cup finely chopped green bell pepper
1 cup peeled and chopped raw shrimp
4 eggs, beaten
4 cups cooked white rice, preferably kept overnight in the refrigerator

In a blender, make a paste of the shallots, lemon grass, garlic, cilantro and oil. In a bowl, combine the paste with the chicken and all remaining satay ingredients. Cover and refrigerate for 12 hours. When ready to serve, skewer 4-5 pieces of chicken on bamboo skewers that have been soaked 10 minutes in water. Grill until cooked, 5-7 minutes. Heat the oil in a wok, then brown the pork. Add the onion, garlic, ginger, chile pepper, carrots and bell peppers, stirring until softened. Add the shrimp and stir once or twice, then the beaten egg. Fold vigorously into the mixture like an omelet., When egg is still a little runny, thoroughly combine the cooked rice and the soy sauce, turning with a spatula over the heat until the rice begins to crackle and pop. To serve, fry 8 eggs sunny-side up. Mound the rice on plates using a bowl for shape, then top with each mound with a fried egg. Arrange 2 skewers of satay around the rice. Serves 8.

SHOW & RECIPE FOR JAN. 27

DINING IN TOULOUSE
In France, the word Toulouse might be identifying a famous food city or a very short artist whose surname was Lautrec. In Houston, though, the word brings back memories of a Tanglewood favorite named Café Toulouse. Chef-owner Scott Castell joins us to talk about his creation of a new place in the old space, Bistro Toulouse.

GENTLE FIRE IN A GLASS
Many wine lovers (including this one) remember their first sip of cognac – the soft caress of its almost perfumed heat in their throats. In this week’s Grape & Grain segment, we sit down to taste with a real Frenchman from the Cognac region to learn what this wine-related spirit is and is not, along with where it does and does not come from. After this, you won’t be singing that old song “Brandy” anymore!

VERY POPULAR SCIENCE
The Houston Museum of Natural Science in Hermann Park says 2006 was their best year ever, with something over three million visitors. That No. 3 turns up again, since that attendance makes the Houston museum the nation’s third most popular museum, after the Smithsonian in Washington and the Metropolitan in New York. Museum President Joel Barsch joins us to talk about the big year ahead.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
VIETNAMESE BEEF PHO

Broth:
5-6 pounds beef soup bones
1 pound beef chuck or brisket, cut into pieces
2 onions, lightly charred over flame
4-inch ginger root, lightly charred over flame
5 star anise
6 whole cloves
1 (3-inch) cinnamon stick
1 ½ teaspoons salt
4 tablespoons Vietnamese or Thai fish sauce

1 ½ pounds small dried banh pho noodles (rice sticks)
½ pound round, sirloin of London broil, set in freezer 15 minutes and sliced paper thin
1 onion, thinly sliced and soaked in cold water for 30 minutes
4 scallions, green parts only, chopped
1/3 cup chopped cilantro
Freshly ground black pepper

To make a clear broth, parboil the bones and beef in water for 3-5 minutes to release the impurities. Drain and rinse them with fresh water, cleaning any residue from the stockpot. Return the bones and meat to the pot. Add all remaining broth ingredients. Pour in 6 quarts of water and bring to a boil. Reduce heat to gentle simmer and cook for 3 hours, skimming impurities from the top occasionally.

To prepare the bowls, soak the dried noodles in hot tap water for 15-20 minutes, until softened. Quickly blanch the noodles in boiling water, just 10-15 seconds, then remove with a strainer. Divide the noodles over 8 soup bowls. Add the raw paper-thin beef atop the noodles, along with the soaked onion. Bring the broth just to a boil and ladle into the bowls, cooking the thin beef. Garnish each bowl with scallions, cilantro and pepper. Serves 8.

Show & Recipe for Jan. 20

THE BUSINESS OF DINING
Poor management, thieving employees, cursed locations – you hear a lot of reasons given whenever a restaurant gets into trouble or closes its doors forever. But Bret Wieman and his wife Cheryl Kirsten have built a successful business in Houston buying places that have fallen on hard times and doing all the right things right – while keeping as many employees as possible. Talking to them is a real education in what really matters when it comes to a restaurant making it.

MASTERS OF SCOTCH
We’ve always been fascinated with Scotch whiskey, even though we haven’t always liked drinking the stuff. Those tastes of smoke and peat its fans adore has always struck us as an “acquired taste” – one we never got around to acquiring. Still, when every few months now, we sit down for a Grape & Grain tasting at Spec’s with Scotch ambassador Simon Brooking, the combination of the whiskey and his accent keeps bringing us around. We’ll be tasting the “heather on the hill” from Brigadoon before long.

PAOLA AND THE DANCE
Certainly the Dominic Walsh Dance Theater is a Houston treasure, as has been recognized both locally and nationally – and part of that treasure status comes from the small group of gifted dances that has gathered around the company’s namesake. No one of those is more important to the look and style that “is Dominic” than Chilean-born, Greek-heritaged Paola Georgudis. The lovely Paola joins us to talk about an upcoming celebration of two Italian choreographers.

This Week’s Delicious Mischief recipe…
FOIE GRAS AND SHRIMP RAVIOLI

1 ½ cup diced foie gras, cleaned and deveined
18 large shrimp, peeled
¼ cup heavy cream
Salt and freshly ground black pepper
2/3 pound all-purpose flour
3 large eggs, beaten
1/3 teaspoon salt
4 teaspoons vegetable oil
½ cup foie gras or duck fat
2 whole leeks, white part only, julienned
2 cups duck stock
2 cups shrimp stock

To prepare the filling, puree 1 cup diced foie gras with 10 of the shrimp. In a saucepan, bring the cream to a quick boil and let cool down. Add to the foie gras-shrimp mixture, processing until smooth. Season to taste with salt and pepper. Let cool. Mix the flour, eggs, salt and oil in a large bowl. Using your hands, shape into a ball, cover and let rest for 1 hour. Divide the dough into 2 equal parts and roll each out into a large, very thin rectangle. Fill 1 square with 1 tablespoon about 1 inch apart, then cover with the other pasta square. Cut out ravioli using a pizza cutter and crimp the edges sealed with a fork.

Prepare the Leek Fondue by heating the foie gras or duck fat in a pan and braising the leeks for 20 minutes, until very soft. Drain on paper towels. Saute the remaining shrimp in the fat. Prepare the Shrimp-Foie Gras Essence by reducing the duck and shrimp stock over high to only 1 cup. When reduced, puree the stock with the remaining diced foie gras. Cook the ravioli in boiling salted water for about 5 minutes. To serve, make a mound of leeks on each of 8 warmed dinner plate, then set 2 ravioli on top. Spoon the Shrimp-Foie Gras Essence around the plate. Garnish with sautéed shrimp. Serves 8.

SHOW & RECIPE FOR JAN. 13

So my friends… you have to join us for the new, improved Delicious Mischief, Houston’s own food, wine and arts radio program, this Saturday from 11 a.m.-Noon on CNN 650. Though there are often surprises, our scheduled guests Jan. 13 include:

THE WHOLE ENCHILADA
One of the great thrills of moving to Texas is discovering the joys of the allegedly humble enchilada. Except when the enchilada is made by Sylvia Casares-Copeland of Sylvia’s Enchilada Kitchen, it isn’t humble anymore. Like so many things in food, the enchilada is less a recipe than a delivery system, opening the door to wonders inside familiar or not so familiar. Sylvia joins us top taste our way through some of her best enchiladas, as well as to talk about what makes them special.

SPECTACULAR ARCODORO WINE DINNER
Arcodoro has long been one of our favorite “Italian” restaurants, at least partially because it’s pretty much the only one specializing in the foods of the island of Sardinia. The reason for this is simple enough: chef-owner Efisio Farris hails from Sardinia. And on Jan. 15, Efisio and his chefs are joining wine guy extraordinaire Phil Cusimano and the wholesale division of Spec’s for an incredible wine dinner with the vintages of Valdicava. Efisio and Phil join us in studio for a bit of a preview. Knowing these two passionate guys, it won’t be a calm event.

BRUNCH IS THE BEST
Don’t you just love brunch, that leisurely Sunday meal that blends some of the best dishes from breakfast with some of the best dishes from lunch, and often involves alcohol to boot. Well, to drink, actually. We check in with our good friend Martha Beaudry, a Houston realtor who is devoted to the art and science of brunch. In fact, Martha has a brand new website to tell us all about, www.brunchbeat.com, with all the best places to go and try. From now on, Martha, if we buy a house from you, will you at least take us out to brunch?

This Week’s Delicious Mischief Recipe…
CURRIED LAMB AND CHICKPEA SAMOSAS

1 tablespoon olive oil
1 pound ground lamb
2 medium onions, chopped
3 cloves garlic, minced
1 cup cooked chickpeas
2 tablespoons homemade garam masala
2 tablespoons chopped fresh cilantro
1 package prepared phyllo dough
½ cup melted butter

Heat the oil in a large pan and sauté the lamb until browned and fat is rendered. Add the onion and garlic, stirring until caramelized, then add the chickpeas and garam masala. Stir for 3-5 minutes. Pour into fine sieve and let grease drain for 15-20 minutes. Sprinkle with cilantro. Let cool. Meanwhile, unfold the phyllo and cover with a damp cloth so it doesn’t dry out. Cut the pastry into 5-inch squares. Create base by layering 3 strips of phyllo, then spoon about 1 tablespoon of lamb-chickpea mixture onto bottom corner and fold remaining phyllo over top diagonally, to form triangle. Fold the edges with melted butter to seal. Place the triangles on a lightly oiled pastry sheet and bake until golden in a preheated 350-degree oven, about 10 minutes. Serves 8.

DELICIOUS MISCHIEF COMES HOME TO CNN 650

HOUSTON – Delicious Mischief, the fast-paced Houston food, wine and arts radio program presented by Spec’s Wine, Spirits and Finer Foods, returns to CNN 650 at 11 a.m. Saturday Jan. 6.

Host John DeMers said the move was motivated by a combination of the CCN affiliate’s continued interest in his show and the FM station’s decision to switch to a sports format in early 2007. According to DeMers, the mixing of food, wine and the arts with highly respected local, national and international news is a natural.

"Everybody knows CNN," he says. "And here in Texas, everybody knows Spec’s. This opportunity lets us put these two respected brands together, in pursuit of all the best food, wine and fun.

I’ve been hosting this show in Houston for four years and, before that, for more than 12 years in my hometown of New Orleans. I still get up every Saturday morning excited to go to work – if that’s what you insist on calling it."

Delicious Mischief features spirited conversation with local and national chefs, cookbook authors and the occasional guest from the arts/entertainment world. Each show is structured around a central segment called Grape & Grain, during which DeMers talks and tastes his way through some of the world’s finest wines, spirits and beers. This is usually his favorite part of the show.

The author of 34 published books, most about food, drink, travel and religion, DeMers is the former food editor of United Press International, the global news service for which he also covered plane crashes and Mafia trials, Super Bowls and championship fights, and later food editor of the Houston Chronicle. He currently serves as editor in chief of ArtsHouston magazine. His latest books include "Wanderlust" (written with Houston chef Joe Mannke) and "My Home Is Your Home" (written with Capri-born Andrea Apuzzo). Over the decades, DeMers has traveled on assignment to approximately 130 foreign countries.

For the stage, DeMers has penned the Houston-set love story musical "Deep in the Heart," produced so far in Galveston, Austin and Houston, as well as the new musical about the history of the Lone Star State, "Texas at Heart," currently being readied for production in San Antonio.