I am well aware that it can be a little unkind of food writers to descend upon a restaurant the first official opening night. On the other hand, it’s an excellent way to distinguish the professionals from the amateurs, the prepared versus the inexperienced.
A “first look” at a restaurant is intended to give readers (and potential consumers) an idea as to what’s in store for them over the first few weeks of a restaurant’s young existence. It’s not a review; think of it as being more like a snapshot. Sometimes, the place is a wobbly fawn still getting its legs underneath it. Caracol, however, has all the characteristics of a beautiful stag on the run.*
The quality that first struck me about Tracy Vaught and Hugo Ortega’s new place was how inviting it looks from the outside. The front is entirely glass, but the golden lighting inside makes the space look warm and comfortable. The spacious main dining room and bar are contemporary, but not cold. While you’re there, check out the intensely striking, minimalist artwork. Each painting has a critter that is indicative of the type of coastal Mexican seafood that you may find being served, such as fish, crab and squid.
Let’s start with seafood. The softshell crab soup was a pleasant surprise. Softshell crabs are roasted, halved and bathed in a deep red ancho broth. I also found much to love about the spice-rubbed huachinango zarandeado (shaken red snapper, photo above). It’s roasted over fire in a wooden grilling basket. The “shaken” part refers to the regular turning that the fish needs in order to cook on all sides.
Any restaurant would be proud to put its name on the ceviche here. The conch meat is dense without being chewy, and the marinade has just the right amount of citrus to enhance without overpowering the subtle flavor.
I’ve never been much of an eggplant fan as it’s often bland, but I’ll make an exception for the silky, smoky rendition here called berenjina a las brazas. It might be described as a warm and rich rendition of baba ghanoush. Also notable is the camote a las brazas—deeply roasted sweet potatoes with a bit of condensed milk.
I’m looking forward to trying the tacos de gusano. Caracol either sold out very quickly on opening night or didn’t have them available just yet. What are they? Tacos with sautéed dried maguey worms, guacamole and salsa verde. Did I just gross you out? Come on, foodie! The chapulines (grasshoppers) tacos at Hugo’s proved to me a long time ago that bugs can be a worthy and even palatable protein source. Personally, they remind me a lot of pepitas, or roasted pumpkin seeds. Even if you find they are not to your taste, at least you can say you tried them.
Like all of Vaught and Ortega’s other restaurants, Caracol benefits from Sean Beck’s wine list. There is something to compliment both the lunch and dinner menus, and I loved his audacity to feature a crisp Austrian white with a Mexican menu. Typically, you’ll find Spanish and Chilean wines – bright, young reds – dominating the majority of wine menus in Mexican restaurants.
Unlike Ortega’s other Mexican restaurant, Hugo’s, Caracol’s menu and wine list is blessedly brief. Although I admire the breadth and variety at Hugo’s, it was a relief to not have to suffer the paradox of choice.
By the way, Caracol is far, far away from being a Hugo’s clone. The service reminds me a bit of August in New Orleans, even though the fare is obviously very different. At August, what struck me about the service was how it was both impeccable and comfortable at the same time. There was nothing stuffy about it, and that is at least the way Caracol is getting started.
In other words, it’s getting off on the right foot and although it’s too early for evaluation, I believe we’ll look back and regard Caracol as one of the best restaurant openings in Houston for 2013.
*It should be noted that chef Daniel Bridges, who was previously at the Hotel Bellagio in Las Vegas and moved to Houston to work on the Caracol beginning in March of this year, was let go from his position just two days after before the restaurant opened. He’s a talented member of the culinary community, and we hope that he stays in Houston.
CARACOL 2200 Post Oak Blvd. #160 713-622-9996 caracol.net