SHOW & RECIPE FOR NOV. 10

ROOM TO GROW AT LA VISTA
Seems like just a few short years ago, the Houston eatery called La Vista was known as “that place you bring you own wine” – one of the few, in fact, that didn’t punish you for doing so with exorbitant “corkage fees.” These days, not only is owner Greg Gordon perfectly happy to sell you “his” wines if you prefer, and not only has he sprouted a new second location, and not only has he started serving lunch instead of dinner-only – he has one of those wine-themed private dining rooms that his fans are lining up to reserve.

NEVER TOO MUCH PIZZA
That’s our opinion, and it seems to be Anthony Russo’s opinion as well. While most things wouldn’t get very far in Houston on the strength of mentioning “New York” in their name – picture that wonder we’d call “New York Barbecue,” for instance – the tag definitely works for pizza. The style of pizza formed in Little Italy there as much as a century ago has become the standard for pizza in America. Sorry, Chicago. And Russo is now opening his 20th location of his New York Pizzeria in Houston to prove it.

A YEAR AT SEA
When the Oceanaire Seafood Room opened a year ago in the Galleria’s a’borning Restaurant Row, looking for all the world like an elegant 1930s ocean liner, it was easy enough to make jokes about a seafood restaurant company based far inland in Minneapolis. But thanks to the hard work of executive chef Trevor White, we here on the seafood-rich Gulf Coast have learned in the past 12 months to take Oceanaire very seriously. Trevor joins us in the studio to tell us all about the things he’s learned from us.

THAT OLE ‘GYPSY’ SPIRIT
In her lifetime, Gypsy Rose Lee became an American cultural icon – not bad for someone who was sort of a stripper. Out of her life filled with flash and dazzle came at least one musical filled with much the same, and that is the latest production at the Hobby Center from the ever-ambitious Masquerade Theatre. On today’s show, we’ll discuss the joys of “Gypsy” with artistic director Phillip Duggins and one of the show‘s stars, the incessantly dazzling Rebekah Dahl. We asked them to maybe send us a stripper, but then decided: No, that’s that other guy’s radio show.

THUNDER HEART BISON FAJITAS

1 pound Texas bison skirt or flank steak
Juice of 3 limes
½ teaspoon salt
½ teaspoon garlic powder
½ teaspoon chili powder
½ teaspoon black pepper
1 large onion, sliced
1 large green bell pepper, sliced
1 large tomato, chopped
Prepared guacamole
Prepared sour cream
Prepared tomato salsa
4 corn or flour tortillas, warmed

Using a mallet, pound the meat to about ½ inch thick, then place in a plastic bag with the lime juice, salt, garlic powder, chili powder and black pepper. Seal bag and marinate in the refrigerator about 8 hours. When ready to grill, caramelized the onion and bell pepper slices in a pan with a little olive oil. Remove the meat from the marinade and grill over mesquite goals to about medium rare, 2-3 minutes per side. Thinly slice the meat. Serve the bison slices atop the caramelized onion and bell pepper, with chopped tomato, guacamole, sour cream, salsa and warm tortillas on the side. Serves 6-8.