Food for Thought

For real comfort food, Bistro Calais is a tried-and-true favorite

Bistro Calais, nestled in The Gardens of Bammel Lane
Photo by Barbara Kuntz
The cozy, friendly ambiance of Bistro Calais
Photo by Barbara Kuntz
The restaurant is mixing up wine-based cocktails, and now you can BYOB.
Photo by Barbara Kuntz

What with the glut of new chef-driven eateries popping up — Branch Water Tavern, Haven (love the yeast pull-a-parts and fried green tomato croutons here), The Rockwood Room and Stella Sola — being a food writer these days is all about new, new, new.

That’s why when I decided to eat out the other night, I went sans PR people and chose a place I haven’t been to in awhile: Bistro Calais. And I remembered why I used to love this place.

For one thing, it’s in the 1880-era, 3,166-square-foot De Chamues Cottage nestled in The Gardens of Bammel Lane, a little lush historic square on the edge of River Oaks. The hardwoods, the cozy interior, the wall of glass overlooking the gardens and the bandstand all create a warm and friendly ambience. It’s like visiting old relatives after a long absence.

But there are a few new things going on at the BC. Executive Chef Phillip Mitchell recently bought out his founding partners and is now running the ship as well as the kitchen, which means the menu is changing up a bit. What began as a French bistro is now more of a Bourbon Street eatery.

“There’s a lot of folks in River Oaks from New Orleans and Lafayette,” Mitchell says. “So the food is more Creole and Cajun now.”

Think seafood crepes, spicy shrimp beignets, po-boys and cornbread muffins. Mitchell has dumped his food distributers and prowls the markets each morning seeking fresh foods for his changing menu. He’s adding a budget-friendly Tuesday night all-you-can-eat comfort buffet for $12.

“Chicken pot pies, poor man’s gumbo and New York strip roast are some items you’ll see,” Mitchell says.

Another change is that you can now BYOB. The restaurant is mixing up wine-based cocktails, along with the wine and beer offerings it has always stocked, which should make the crowds who come for cabaret nights with the likes of Sharon Montgomery very happy. As will the new bar menu items like fried sweet potatoes with truffle oil.

Tucking into the delicate seafood crepe and sipping a glass of Mommesin Macon-Village Chardonnay among the twinkling Christmas lights, I had to wonder why I hadn’t been here in so long. And I began to wonder what other old favorites I’d been neglecting lately. And, Lord help me, I thought of Whataburger. Are their burgers, fries and chicken fingers with gravy still as good as I remember from my Corpus Christi days? I wonder.

Should auld acquaintance be forgot  and never brought to mind? As Robert Burns wrote so long ago, now is the time to remember some of those meals that we’ve forgotten and revisit some of those restaurants we haven’t been to in awhile.

Which reminds me, I haven’t had the Molina boys' José dip in a long time either.

unspecified

And a new speakeasy

Goode Co.'s mesquite-fired Tex-Mex restaurant coming to River Oaks in March

Courtesy of Goode Co. Restaurants

Goode Co. is bringing its mesquite-grilled fajitas to River Oaks.

Levi Goode is ready to share more details about his plans to bring Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina to the River Oaks Shopping Center.

As CultureMap reported in October, Goode has claimed the former La Griglia space for Kitchen & Cantina’s fourth location; it will also be home to a speakeasy-style bar called Bar Buena. With construction well underway, both the restaurant and the bar should open in March.

The chef and restaurateur explains that part of the decision to open in River Oaks stems in part from the good-natured grief he’s been getting about the restaurant from regulars at his four establishments on Kirby Drive. They wanted to experience its food without having to drive to the Heights or Memorial.

“Everybody is very territorial on where they live and eat,” Goode says. “I think it’s funny. I’ve been getting lots of jokes about Credence and Kitchen and Cantina, ‘Are you ever going to do this inside the loop?’ It was exciting we were able to secure a really iconic restaurant space and evolve it into Kitchen & Cantina.”

Turning La Griglia into Kitchen & Cantina requires extensive renovations. One that people will notice immediately is that the bar has been moved back a little bit to make it easier to enter the restaurant. A large tree in the middle of the dining room will emphasize its high ceilings.

One element that will remain are the concrete pavers that local celebrities signed when the restaurant opened. Its a nod to the space’s history and as well as a bygone era of Houston restaurants.

Just as Credence’s speakeasy Sidebar has a distinct feel from the main restaurant, Bar Buena will have a difference environment than Kitchen & Cantina. Occupying La Griglia’s former private dining room, the bar takes inspiration from Goode’s extensive travels throughout Mexico, including to places like Jalisco and Oaxaca.

“Bar Buena is going to be a bit more refined than what we’ve done at Kitchen and Cantina,” he says. “If it’s ranch-inspired, very Texas-Mexican frontera, you’re going to get more a polished finish at Bar Buena. It’s a small space, very intimate. A place where we’ll be well suited for great hospitality with small bites, great cocktails, and tastings of agave-based spirits.”

Of course, the food menu will be familiar to anyone who’s dined at Kitchen & Cantina’s existing locations. Like all Goode Co. restaurants, it features meats grilled on mesquite. Expect favorites such as fajitas, redfish on the half shell, carnitas, and campechana along with an extensive selection of agave-based cocktails.

Courtesy of Goode Co. Restaurants

Goode Co. is bringing its mesquite-grilled fajitas to River Oaks.

river oaks news-you-can-eat openings