In January, David Cordúa, the executive chef of the Cordúa Restaurants, entered and won the First Annual Houston Truffle Chef of the Year Challenge with a clever take on a popular American pastry treat: He trimmed a matchbox-sized brioche, injected it with creamy mascarpone and topped it with shaved black truffle. A modified version of this – black American caviar has replaced the truffle – now appears on the new menu at Arista as “caviar Twinkies” ($27.95 at dinner, photo above).

It’s one of a slate of new menu items that Cordúa has introduced to freshen up the Artista menu. And it’s reminiscent of his father Michael Cordúa’s long-time fondness for “playing with food.”

Another newcomer to the menu is crab and calamari caprese salad: A tempura calamari steak is molded into the shape of a donut and filled with jumbo lump crab, peeled grape tomatoes, tiny mozzarella balls, basil oil and balsamic ($18.95).

There are also fried oyster and beef crostini served with truffle horseradish cream ($16.95), seared diver scallops with barley risotto ($32.95) and bacon-wrapped shrimp with “black beluga” lentils ($32.95). Long for the restaurant’s oldies-but-goodies? Of course the churrasco steak with chimichurri ($42.95) that made the Cordúa family famous is still available – there’s even a lamb version now – as is ceviche mixto ($18.95) and the tres leches cake ($10.95).

As the weather begins to grow milder (really, it will), Artista’s second-level terrace offers a magnificent view of downtown in either its daytime business mode or sparkling with a million lights at night. Note that prices are less at lunch.

ARTISTA, 800 Bagby in the Hobby Center, 713-278-4782, cordua.com/artista