Oxheart
The season's first potatoes with juniper, chard puree and a garlicky sofrito of chard stems as served at Oxheart.
Gulf Oyster with Calabrese broccoli, herbs and green tomato water as served at Oxheart.
Crawfish poached in butter with fermented carrot, green coriander seeds and Texas rice as served at Oxheart.
Pastry chef and co-owner Karen Man at Oxheart restaurant on Nance St. Monday June 4,2012. (Dave Rossman/For the Chronicle)
Unexpected wine pairing for Oxheart's crawfish course: a 2008 Francois Mikulski Passetoutgrains, a blend of gamey and pinot noir.
Pastry chef and co-owner Karen Man at Oxheart restaurant on Nance St. Monday June 4,2012. (Dave Rossman/For the Chronicle)
Raw Hakurei turnips and radishes with creamy goose egg yolk, smoked creme fraiche and sheep sorrel as served at Oxheart.
A vintage owl pitcher used for coffee service at Oxheart.
Pastry chef and co-owner Karen Man prepares dessert at Oxheart restaurant on Nance St. Monday June 4,2012. (Dave Rossman/For the Chronicle)
Dessert pairing with chocolate/beet cake at Oxheart: Trappistes Rochefort dark Belgian ale.
Karen Man's layered cake of chocolate and Chiogga beet with a beet gelee as served at Oxheart.
Seared terrine of pork cheek with vadouvan spice and a brunoise of turnip and cutting celery stems as served at Oxheart.
Oxheart pastry chef Karen Man's pretzel rolls with mustard butter.
Beets with granola, wheat berries and bitter almond as served at Oxheart.
Wiley Robertson's art for the Oxheart men's room. Photo by Alison Cook
Sommelier Justin Vann wears one of the custom leather server aprons designed and crafted for Oxheart by Kyle Kubin. Photo by Alison Cook
Chef/owner Justin Yu with his top 100 restaurant window cling at Oxheart on Nance St. Monday June 4,2012. (Dave Rossman/For the Chronicle)
1. Oxheart
This tiny Warehouse District restaurant may just represent the future of Houston dining. Chef Justin Yu’s food is that personal, that precise, and that daring in its refusal to let major hunks of protein dominate its painterly plates. Three tasting menus are offered each evening — four courses for a modest $49; seven for $75; and a vegetable-centric four-course “Garden menu” for $49, reflecting Yu’s time at Napa Valley’s vegetarian mecca, Ubuntu. These very modern meals, assembled with meticulous technique, would attract notice in any of Europe’s or America’s food capitals. Yet Yu’s cuisine could be served nowhere but Houston. It is intensely seasonal and local, devoted to what is best and most forward-looking from Gulf Coast producers, whether they be farmers or bycatch fishermen. The results can be as simple and pure as a mosaic of watermelon radish slices poached briefly in butter and dotted with arugula emulsion, or as intricate and emphatic as seared terrine of pork cheek, seasoned with the masala blend called vadouvan, and set astride the tiniest, tart dice of turnip and cutting celery stems. Even the season’s first potatoes, in multiple colors and varieties, emerge from the open-to-view kitchen with the importance of a luxury item. Striking baked goods and desserts by Yu’s wife, pastry chef Karen Man, round out the constantly changing bill of fare; and super-smart wine and beer selections by sommelier and general manager Justin Vann complete a singular experience. (Do try the reasonably priced pairing options.) The tall brick-clad room, fitted out in spare industrial style, feels relaxed and intimate — and every bit as personal as the food. There are only 31 seats, so book well ahead. It’s worth it to eat so vividly, and to go home thinking.
Cuisine: American
Entree price range: $$$$
Where: 1302 Nance St.
Phone: 832-830-8592
Web: oxhearthouston.com
Tip: To navigate the panorama click and drag to move around the scene. Shift-click to zoom in. Control-click to zoom out.
Intro Next
View Larger Map
Comments