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.