Too often, the concept of healthy fare conjures up fears of dishes being boring and bland. That couldn’t be further from the truth at Roots Bistro. Chef German Mosquera is making some amazing dishes there.
Our favorite dish was Hawaiian baramundi and lime spiced honey comb. It was as fine of a fish as I’ve had anywhere in Houston. The dab of honeycomb went very well with the skin-on fillet. I fell in love with their version of “Korean barbeque sauce,” a preparation that includes soy, tamarind and garlic. It appeared as a modest dab on three of our plates. I was happy to see it every time.
I found the grey morel pasta dish utterly fascinating. The morels were huge and tender. It was a complicated dish, with the additions of garlic whistle (the unopened buds and stems of garlic), cilantro, dense and woody summer truffle, sprouted mung beans and a generous four quail eggs with runny yolks. The yolk made for a rich sauce to slather the other ingredients into. As complex as this dish was, everything worked together beautifully, and there was enough seasoning to carry it through.
The chevre and peach pizza, made with True Luck cheese, had a beautiful flavor; chunks of perfectly ripe peach worked very well with the mild goat cheese. However, it really could have stayed in the wood-fired brick pizza oven another few minutes. That would have helped crisp the center and caramelize the peaches and cheese. If you do order the pizza here, ask for it to be crispy. I think the kitchen will happily accommodate your wishes.
I wanted to like the rich, sweet and salty flavor of the sea bean, golden chanterelle and garlic whistle dish, but an unwelcome grittiness — that we think came along for the ride with the chanterelles — put this out of favor.
More successful was the wild gulf shrimp dish with its end-of-season fiddlehead ferns. The shrimp had been obtained that morning from the Shrimp Boat Projects. It was very fresh, and the ferns provided a great contrast both texturally and visually.
We had a chat with Chef Mosquera and were able to tour the kitchen. A gorgeous brick oven sits in an alcove near the dining room; the restaurant keeps an large inventory of oak logs in volume to keep the fires burning. Chef Mosquera showed us a stock of fresh watermelons, sweet potato greens, and other treasures that would show up on the following day’s menu. The menu changes regularly based on what’s fresh and available.
Roots Bistro has a fairly compact kitchen. Chef said he’d love to have a pastry chef there, but there is just not much workspace and he wasn’t sure where he’d be able to station one.
After trying the desserts, I agree that an expert touch would be helpful. The flavor of the vegan donuts was great, but the texture reminded us more of pizza dough or a pretzel. My photographer and I had dissenting opinions on the crispy peaches and coconut cream dessert: The peaches had been brushed with olive oil prior to their roasting. I opined that they were a little greasy, however he didn’t see that as a problem.
This is why it’s good to eat with a friend. No one has a golden palate.
Did you know that avocado goes really well with chocolate? Neither did I, until I tried the avocado chocolate mousse at Roots. It was a unique dessert and might even be a little bit good for you.
Was Roots perfect? No. But I didn’t need perfection. What I received was more valuable—a taste of inventiveness. It is only through trying unusual combinations that innovation is accomplished. There is a great deal of innovation going on at Roots. It just needs to be polished up a bit, but it’s heading in the right direction.
ROOTS BISTRO 507 Westheimer, 713-524-1000 rootsbistrohouston.com