It was last Thursday evening, and the three of us sat at a table against the bank of west-facing windows at Oxheart, the new and much-anticipated restaurant from chef Justin Yu, baker Karen Man and sommelier Justin Vann. There is no a la carte menu available at this time, and we were happily working our way through the fourth course of a seven-course dinner, our heads together as we all peered at the images on my friend’s cell phone. Hmm, ogonori. Which item on our plates looked most like the picture on the tiny screen? It turned out to be the itty-bitty branch of brown seaweed served with our caramelized carrots and umpqua broccoli. (We had to look that one up, too.)
And this is how our meal went, as we were presented with plate after plate of fascinating foods that either looked nothing like we expected them to or were so new to us that we had to Google them. The printed menu only helps a little, since it lists the ingredients but offers few clues as to format.
Take, for example, Justin Yu’s “softly scrambled farm eggs, ‘snowball’ cauliflower, yeast and herbs.” We were presented with the tenderest, lightest, most ethereal scrambled eggs I’ve ever eaten – just a tablespoon or so – with tiny nubbins of cauliflower and a kind of dusting that was sort of salty and meaty. “Raw ‘Amish’ snap peas, mushroom, crème fraîche, cured and smoked mullet roe” turned out to be a soup course, with the mushroom being a mushroom tea (or broth) and the mullet roe the chef’s own kitchen-made bottarga.
A mostarda – a condiment typically made of pears, quince, apple or figs – is here made from early-season local strawberries. It is served with ox heart that is first poached and then roasted in beef fat so that, when sliced, it looks almost like seared tuna.
And one of Karen Man’s desserts – “a layered cake of heirloom carrots, sunflower seeds and coriander” – brings an amusing taste and textural sensation that combines a slightly crunchy dacquoise with silky mousse on top and that crazy layer of cilantro (coriander) in between.
Our favorite course of the evening was surely the Gulf oyster “warmed in its shell, red bunching onions, young leek, brown butter” that is served in a heavy pottery fused-together bowl and saucer. It was luscious and rich, and a single oyster was just right, although we all said at the time we could eat several more.
These tasting menus — three different menus are typically offered each evening and priced $45 to $75 — are well measured. With all of the other courses, we left Oxheart satisfied but not gut-busting full. By the way, we had read other reports of slow service and lulls between courses. We had no problems like that when we visited (and every seat in the restaurant was occupied).
Oxheart, as noted above, is from a trio of ambitious and creative young foodies who each has an impressive resume. (You can read about their backgrounds on the Oxheart website.) The restaurant, which took over the location that used to be Latin Bites (and Dharma Cafe before that), doesn’t yet have its wine/beer permit, but you are welcome to bring your own, which seemingly everyone did except us. Sommelier Justin Vann is a serious wine guy, so once the permit is secured you can anticipate some interesting and offbeat choices.
If there was a criticism to be made of the food at Oxheart, it is that all of the courses tend to be room temperature. Nothing was hot or cold. That may be partly a choice, but in the case of the soup course with the mushroom tea, it would have been better warm. I suspect that the handsome, albeit heavy, pottery used for service sucks the heat from the food.
Speaking of the pottery: Like the knives used at the tables and the heavy leather aprons worn by the staff, the dishes are made by a local craftsman. And, of course, all of the foodstuffs (as much as possible) are raised or produced locally. There’s produce from David Cater at Utility Research Garden, seafood from PJ Stoops at Louisiana Foods’ Total Catch Market, meat from Morgan Weber at Revival Meats et al.
The Oxheart space is very small and very chic in a modern industrial way – the interior design is by Gin Braverman. Every rustic table has a view of the open kitchen, as well as drawers that contain rolled-up napkins and flatware so that you can replenish yourself. We had a marvelous experience here, both gustatorily and intellectually. This is brave new food for Houston.
OXHEART, 1302 Nance Street just off McKee, 832-830-8592, oxhearthouston.com. Dinner only Thursday through Monday. Read the cover story from the February-March issue of My Table, which includes Oxheart, here.