Food for Thought
In Cinq: La Colombe d'Or gets a new name & a hot chef, but it's still a grandedame
La Colombe d'Or
Jeramie Robison is a gourmet wizard.City Hall Bistro
Grilled branzino with lemon almondine at CinqPhoto by Marene Gustin
Cinq's braised short rib is like meat butter.Photo by Marene Gustin
I recently learned an old friend is moving back to Houston.
This was one of the first women I met when I came here in the mid 1990s, a woman who introduced to me to politics and to fine dining. We were the hip ladies who lunched, holding court at La Griglia on Wednesdays and Tony’s on Fridays. And celebrating any special event (Mondays!) at La Colombe d’Or.
I’m no longer in politics, but you know I’m still into Houston restaurants.
And even though it’s been years since I’ve hung out at La Colombe d’Or, I was lured back by the news that the restaurant has been updated and rebranded. Now called Cinq (for the five rooms in the luxury boutique hotel where celebrities and presidents have stayed, the five dining areas and the five senses) the restaurant touts itself as a hipper, more relaxed version of Steve Zimmerman’s classic eatery.
Don’t believe it.
Cinq is like that grande dame who’s come out of social retirement with, yes, maybe a very delicate facelift, but still with all the luxury, fabulousness and flavor you remember from the '80s and '90s.
And I say welcome back madam. I’ve missed you and I didn’t even know it.
Zimmerman is still there, although his sons Mark and Dan are taking more high-profile roles, and the tuxedoed waiters are now dressed in pastel button-down shirts and Zegna ties. And the spaces are brighter and refreshed. But Roberto is still there, the best restaurant employee in town. He actually remembered me and brought a glass of champagne right away. (That’s my kind of service.)
Call it Cinq, call it La Colombe d’Or, call it whatever. This is still one of the most luscious lunch and dinner spots in town. Still with service that rivals Tony’s legendary help. The only real difference … the food is actually far better than ever.
This is thanks to executive chef Jeramie Robison, brought in by the younger Zimmerman boys. Robison, a Louisiana native who looks like he’d be more at home frying up the food in a fish shack, is an unassuming lad who is the newest boy genius of Houston gourmet. Robison has actually worked at Dallas’ The Mansion on Turtle Creek and David Burke’s Fishtail in New York. He had just left Tesar’s in The Woodlands and was actually packed and ready to move when he got the call from the Zimmermans. Sometimes fate works that way.
Now, Robison is heading up the kitchens at Cinq and the new Zimm’s Little Deck.
“I’ve been pretty stressed out,” he says in his aw shucks kinda way. “But it’s been fun. And I have a solid sous chef now.”
He’s also got a dad with a farm that sends him fresh kale, cucumbers and collard greens from Louisiana weekly. What dad can’t supply, Robison picks up from scouring the local farmers markets. He makes his own sauces, pickles and even preserves in his kitchen laboratory. I did mention he’s a gourmet genius, right?
His tiny amuse bouche is a spoonful of delight: a mini lamb meatball nestled on a bed of heritage tomato compote that is salty, crunchy and divine.
And what this chef does with fish is almost biblical.
The grilled branzino, a silver-skinned Mediterranean sea bass, is firm with a delicate flavor. It’s plated with a tomato coulis and sauced tableside with a lemon almondine and makes a fine light meal. Hard to say whether it beats the pork tenderloin, with chef’s housemade three-chili rub, sliced thin and laid beautifully upon a potato puree and topped with a roasted corn relish and drizzled with a sweet granny smith apple sauce.
But wait, there’s actually something even better.
“The short ribs,” says Dan Zimmerman.
“Short ribs with mushrooms,” says daddy Steve.
“If I sat down here, I’d order the short ribs,” echoes chef Robison.
What are these short ribs they speak of?
Imagine the most tender, melt-in-your mouth meat. And then double that. These ribs are like meat butter. Put that knife down, you don’t need it. You don’t even need an appetizer or the French baguettes served with butter and salt. These ribs don’t need anything. Even without the corn veloute, red wine stewed cabbage, wild mushrooms and veal demi glace that comes on the plate, you could just suck up these tender ribs and be in meat heaven.
And while I sincerely recommend these ribs, I’m also happy to see that some of the old La Colombe d’Or classics are still on the menu. Yes, you can still get the lobster bisque (my old favorite go-to with a dash of sherry), the jumbo lump crab tower with avocado and citrus dressing and the famous rib eye with green peppercorn sauce. It’s so nice to see these old friends on the menu, as well as some new soon-to-be classics.
So, Deb, if you’re reading this, as soon as you hit town we’re getting the old gang together and dining at Cinq. It’s just like the old days, only better.
