oxheart is Justin Yu's baby. minimal decor, minimal space, minimal menu and utterly perfect. reservations are an absolute must - and once you find the coolly located space in houston's warehouse district, you'll feel you're transported to another city. one where walking to places is the normal. dare i say NY-ish even. you walk up to the packed spot and feel like you're eavesdropping on a private party. seated either at the counter or a smart wood table, you can see the chef hard at work. on the farm-to-table menu you have 3 selections - 4 course meal (meat), 4 course meal (vegetarian), 7 course tasting which is sort of like a combination of the two previous.
our menu for the night:
over ripe nectarines and sour green plums, fig leaf, green tomato, salted coconut, ‘delfino’ cilantro…
‘yellow lunar’ carrots cooked in elderflower vinegar, cured and smoked triggerfish, chickpea, horse mint
crawfish warmed in butter, texas rice, green coriander seeds, and fermented carrot
barley and sunflower seed stew, purple broccoli, vine beans, brandade of gulf hake
heirloom potatoes roasted with vegetable ash, juniper, sofrito of chard stems
sirloin of heritage pork coated in nori, roast cucumber, nasturtium flower and leaf
steamed cake of ‘chiogga’ beets, chocolate namelaka, beet creme.
missing from the list was the fresh baked bread of the day by in house baker Karen Man.
each dish. delicious. and the next even more so. it was a treat awaiting each course. even the men of the group raved about the vegetarian dishes in the meal including some of the best potatoes you'll ever have. i've seen reviews where they likened the dishes to an episode of chopped. i can see it. the random concoction of ingredients seemingly haphazardly put together. orchestra in your mouth? yes please.
so dinner was divine as well as our dinner party, dining amongst fabulous friends is always a treat.
5/5
oxheart
1302 nance st
http://oxhearthouston.com
