Speaking of openings: Elouise Adams Jones, who also has Ouisie’s Table, will throw open the doors of her new The Bird & the Bear (2810 Westheimer) this Thursday, October 20. We ate there this past Sunday evening at the first ofseveral friends-and-family practice services. By the time the Rev. Jeffrey Walker, formerly of Palmer Episcopal and now of Austin, finished blessing the restaurant, using a white rose to sprinkle water, the party was underway.
A few hundred well-wishers happily tucked into tiny “sandwiches” of sea scallop filled with fried shrimp ($8), tres wedgies (three butter lettuce cups each filled with a different dressing — say the name out loud — $8), fried green tomato caprice ($8), foie gras over toasted brioche ($12), paella ($16-$25, depending on kind), pork osso buco ($26), Moroccan beef tajine ($26) and the now-famous “damn eggplant” with brandied oysters ($26). Wine flowed generously as GM/partner Wafi Dinari floated from table to table pouring red and white, a bottle in each hand.
The space, which used to be Rickshaw and was briefly Tony Mandola’s Gulf Coast Kitchen before the Mandolas moved into their permanent new restaurant on Waugh, looks great. There’s no mistaking the Ouisie’s Table pedigree, though this dining room feels more urban. The walls and wall of wine storage are painted black, and long banquette seating the color of a ripe persimmon runs along two walls. Numerous crystal chandeliers sparkle overhead, and more are on their way, I’m told. There are also two antique chairs hanging from the ceiling. (I don’t know the backstory on those.) The dining room is not large, but it is lively. A long, long bar forms a horseshoe looking into the kitchen.
The restaurant will be open for both lunch and dinner from the get-go this Thursday. For those of us who never seem to be able to break away from the office for a mid-day lunch, note that there’s a light bites menu served all afternoon.