[Houston] T'afia

[FoodMan]

For my belated birthday dinner we headed over to T’afia last Friday April 9th. I have been wanting to try it out ever since it opened and especially since Robb Walsh’s review in the Houston Press.

The dining room is small, neat and modern looking with a bar at your left as soon as you walk in and the kitchen to the far left. Unfortunately we got there right on time for our reservation and we did not get a chance to sit at the bar or enjoy any of the Ratafias (the fortified fruit wines) that they offer.

The meal was excellent, simply prepared and tasty (sorry I did not get a copy of the menu ). I was hoping to get the Texas tasting menu, but that day’s main entrée (a petit fillet I believe) was not really very appealing to my taste. Instead we ordered two appetizers, Ravioli stuffed with cheese and tossed with a healthy dose of brown butter and pine nuts, and an Arugula salad with ricotta salata and a walnut vinaigrette. For main courses I went for a rabbit confit with a mixed bean ragout. This consisted of the whole rabbit saddle very tender and moist due to cooking in duck fat on top of a light mixture of well-seasoned mixed beans. My wife chose her own combination of grilled Yellowfin Tuna with a side of shoestring fried sweet potatoes, for a sauce she picked the soy lime vinaigrette. Again like most food here, a very simple dish based on fresh tasty ingredients.

Before dessert we got a cheese plate consisting of three different cheddars, with a selection of “crackers” and chardonnay pickled grapes. I pretty much polished this off myself (and it had a good ¼ lb in there at least). The cheeses ,all American, varied in intensity and flavor but all were excellent. The only name I remember was Shelbourne Farms (sp?). For dessert we also got two items; a classic crème brulee and a “Chocolate Mousse Sundae”. The brulee was creamy, with a nice thin caramel crust, very good but nothing unusual. The Mousse however was something different, it was one of the best I’ve had. I have been thinking about it ever since last Friday and I actually called the restaurant today to get an ingredient list to try and make something similar at home. It basically consisted of a rich thick dark chocolate and lemon mousse topped with soft whipped cream that was not quiet at the stiff peaks stage so it ran over the mousse a bit and had a slight tang (Crème Fraiche maybe). The whole thing was topped with a few macerated dried cherries, and drizzled with vinegar caramel and lemon honey. So so decadent, rich and delicious.

It seems I have talked so much about the food and nothing else, the service was very attentive and flowed in a good pace. With the meal we had a nice Texas wine blend whose name also escapes me. Overall, the experience at T’afia was excellent and I will go back for sure. Compared to other restaurants in Houston ,even major chains, T’afia offers great fresh food, pleasant atmosphere and good service at a very reasonable price, our whole meal (2 apps, 2 entrees, cheese course, 2 desserts, 2 glasses of wine, coffee, and espresso)barely broke the $100 barrier.

Elie

[Richard Kilgore]

Thanks for the detailed review, Foodman. This place continues to sound wonderful. It's on my list.

[Dana]

My husband and I dined at T'afia on Saturday evening in celebration of our birthdays (last week). We started with the "fries" of haricot verts and squash blossoms. They were deep fried in a light tempura batter and just divine. (who'd have thought of deep-frying green beans?) He ordered the halibut with quina(sp), and I selected the mixed grill - tuna, hanger steak and shrimp. We both enjoyed our selections tremendously. Chef Pope came to our table and visited for a moment - a nice touch. Dessert for husband was creme brulee and I got a duo of baklava and pecan pralines with creme anglise. We ordered a McPherson Merlot, (from Lubbock) but the wine list was pretty short - only 3 merlots with big price variances. The noise level was pretty high, but given the stark bareness of the decor, I not surprised. I had read about the minimal interior, but I really wasn't prepared for just how minimal it was. Exposed brick walls, concrete floors, no tableclothes and exposed heating ducts seemed odd given the level of the food.

We will go back again, but with different expectations.

[Kevin72]

Has anyone posted a review of T'afia yet? I've searched the forums and this is the only thread that comes up. So I'll post in here.

Ate there Sat. night and it was fantastic. I'm a sucker for any restaurant that touts local, regional foods so I was really impressed. I had:

>Farro and Hazelnut Salad

>Nieman Ranch's Salami platter (split for the table)--The meat itself was fantastic but there's only 6 slices on the plate, no crackers or rolls come with it to put it on.

>Duck confit with mustard fruits and Potato-celeriac gratin. The duck was superb, everything in taste I go for when roasting/braising meats.

The only misfire was that my mother ordered the fish stew or chowder and it said that it came with potatoes. The "potatoes" were literally like couple tablespoons spooned into the middle of the plate. No spoon came with the dish so we had to flag down the busy waiter to get one.

Dessert menu was also fascinating, particularly their cheese plate offerings. I wanted to try one but my wife insisted on the cheesecake so we went that route and it, too, was excellent.

Really enjoyed this place. Anyone else been?

[RebeccaT]

Hi Kevin,

I posted a review a couple of months ago on this thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry574917

I am glad you had such a great experience! We loved it as well (and need to get back there!)

[fifi]

Looky what I found... T'afia web site.

[Kevin72]

Hi Kevin,

I posted a review a couple of months ago on this thread:

http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showto...=0entry574917

I am glad you had such a great experience! We loved it as well (and need to get back there!)

Good assessment, particularly the last paragraph. Nothing so unusual but just classic, letting the ingredients speak for themselves mentality that impresses me more and more.

[LDLee]

Kevin,

There were some comments when I asked for recommendations on a place for birthday dinner. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=45261&hl=

I must be the grumpy one. My wife and I thought it was okay, not great. Disappointing since we really liked Boulevard Bistrot. Maybe our expectations were too high. Appetizers were good, entrees marginal, desserts very good, wine pairing blah. With over 60 bonded wineries in the state, I find it hard to imagine the ones she chose were some the best here.

We may go back if someone else pays. There are many other places we want to try.

[Kevin72]

Kevin,

There were some comments when I asked for recommendations on a place for birthday dinner. http://forums.egullet.org/index.php?showtopic=45261&hl=

I must be the grumpy one. My wife and I thought it was okay, not great. Disappointing since we really liked Boulevard Bistrot. Maybe our expectations were too high. Appetizers were good, entrees marginal, desserts very good, wine pairing blah. With over 60 bonded wineries in the state, I find it hard to imagine the ones she chose were some the best here.

We may go back if someone else pays. There are many other places we want to try.

I probably had the highest opinion of the experience out of the four of us. We had the same cheesecake, it appears . . . a highlight!

[VenusSavvy]

I didn't think the T'afia was that great either and i'm not grumpy! It was pretty simple food. I thought that Boulevard Bistrot was muchbetter. I do like the organic and local ingredients but the food was just OK.

Sorry to say I won't be going back

[Kent Wang]

Thinking about going to this place soon. Are reservations for parties of two difficult to get? Sorry for my lack of experience, in small-town Austin there is no restaurant that you cannot get a reservation the day of.

[Kevin72]

A couple days in advance should get you in.

[Kent Wang]

I loved it. We had the ratafia flight and the tasting menu with wine. I really like the use of Texas ingredients, especially the wines.

[FoodMan]

I loved it. We had the ratafia flight and the tasting menu with wine. I really like the use of Texas ingredients, especially the wines.

←

C'mon Kent...more details ! What was the tasting menu?

[Kent Wang]

C'mon Kent...more details ! What was the tasting menu?

←

Haha, OK, I was feeling lazy when I wrote that post.

First course: Pure Luck herbed goat cheese, pumpkin compote, crackers. Compote was very impressive. Goat cheese, good, but there's not much craft to just pulling ready-made ingredients out a container.

Second course: Mediterranean salad with mandarin-infused vinaigrette. I usually don't like citrus on my foods, but this was well executed.

Third course: Smoked trout, beet and fingerling potato salad. Flat Creek pinot grigio. My favorite course of the meal. I had no idea beets and potatoes could taste this good. The wine was amazing too, I'll definitely buy a bottle or two when I visit Grapevine Market next time.

Fourth course: Venison. I usually prefer medium but this was cooked to medium-rare and was really perfect.

Fifth course: Vanilla bean creme brulee. Not particularly memorable, but creme brulee is creme brulee.

What really struck me with this meal was how many times I was pleasantly surprised by something that I thought I would not like very much. This meal really expanded my culinary horizons.

We had just gone to Wink the night before and had their five-course tasting menu, so it's hard to not compare that meal against this one. I found Wink to be totally unremarkable and not nearly as innovative as T'afia. With the bill being about $15-20 less a person at T'afia, it is clearly a much better value.