Street Feed

Houston Street's "creative American" fare has a lot of potential

Comments (0) By Mark Stuertz Thursday, Feb 27 2003

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Jumbo shrimp pappardelle proved the prefect escape from the prime steak disaster. Sautéed in lobster sauce, the shrimp were firm and succulent and sown with blotches of spinach and roasted garlic framing rich pasta. A menu description made mention of cherry tomatoes, but we were unable to locate any.

Though gracious and earnest, service functioned in slow, plodding bursts, leaving a 20-minute gap between our initial drink order and its execution, even though we were virtually the only patrons in the place. And drink delivery was the moment our server chose to inform us that one of our companions couldn't have her Virgin Mary because the Bloody Mary mix cache was exhausted. Likewise, menu outages were relayed after we tossed out our preferences instead of before. Appetizers and entrées appeared in agonizingly slow increments, too, but to be fair it must take a long time to inflate a quail.

Karlisch

There's no need to be hungry when you're downtown--not with Houston Street just around the corner.

Details

Open for lunch 11 a.m.-2:30 p.m. Monday-Friday; open for dinner 5:30 p.m.-10 p.m. Monday-Thursday, 5:30-11 p.m. Friday & Saturday $$$

Quail: $6
Rabbit pappardelle: $7
New York strip: $26
Sonoma chicken: $18
Pork chop: $19
Shrimp pappardelle: $21
Apple tart: $7
Beignets: $7

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Desserts were a topsy-turvy performance as well. Apple tart, a circular pie with tightly tiled apple slices fanning out along the perimeter, was anchored on fluffy pastry. Tart juicy apple sections added a homey fall fragrance punch to this pizza-like meal ender.

Beignets with an accompanying urn of chocolate sauce stumbled irretrievably. These fritters were tough, chewy and dense instead of light and fluffy. Cook these babies a little longer and the Titleist moniker would have felt right at home.

But don't get me wrong. Houston Street is a Dallas thoroughfare with a lot of potential. The dishes are always visually compelling and, to a lesser extent, cogent on the tongue. The bugs should be easy to squish or at least spritz with some chemical, and if the staff gets tired of downtown, Mrs. Miller bellowed several other toe-tapping hits, such as "These Boots are Made for Walkin'." So drop an anabolic booster and hit the street.