River Oaks is going a little wild.
Or at least the northeast corner of the River Oaks Shopping Center is, with the opening of Michael Cordúa's third Américas.
More subdued than the original Fauvian dreamscape — even sophisticated — the restaurant, designed by architect Jordan Mozer, still has plenty of character, from the textures on the walls to the oversize, almost animal-like furniture.
With a kitchen led by David Cordúa, the menu is roughly the same as the other locations, with a few updates and new items, including a ceviche flight with four versions — from the Japanese-influenced salmon with black sesame to a sweet Ecuadorian tilapia with sweet corn, red onion and habanero — plus lobster corndogs with a corn poblano dipping sauce, deconstructed BBQ pork arepas and taquitos with everything from plaintain-crusted shrimp and bacon-wrapped quail (an Américas classic) to a beef short rib cooked sous vide for 48 hours.
After a couple preview parties, Américas River Oaks (or ARO as fans are already calling it) opened this week.