Tenacity Supper Club: Thursday September 4, 2008

I will continue to say, as much as you are willing to listen, that if you are looking for some of the best and most innovative food that Houston has to offer, look no further than Chef Randy Rucker's Tenacity Supper Club. Certainly, I am not the first to say this and I am sure I will not be the last.

On Thursday, September 4, I once again attended a delicious Tenacity dinner. But the experience is more than well preparded food, it is the presentation, Randy's description, and the venue, which this time was Modern B&B.

As I began each course, the flavors of the foods burst with freshness and combine to make a symphony in my mouth. I am grateful that the dinners are not rushed, so I have time to recover from the assault of the wonderful sensations that wash over me as I eat each course.

If you have not tried one of the Tenacity Dinners, there are several coming up soon.

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Menu and Pictures

location – modern b&b

japanese hamachi, daikon radish, watercress consommé & ruby red grapefruit

live scallop, badia a coltibuono olive oil, preserved papaya puree & candied kombu

composition of tomatoes, fromage blanc & shaved bonito

local corn soup, miso, gulf shrimp & malabar spinach

confit of louisiana frog’s legs, fennel, smoked potato gnocchi & foamy parmesan water

crispy pork rillette, celery branch, almond cream, green apple & kecap manis

soft bittersweet chocolate, basil seeds, sweet & sour hijiki & cherimoya soup

Beaver’s Ice House – What’s Going On?

Last night I stopped by Beaver’s located at:

2310 Decatur Street Houston Texas 77007
Sawyer @ Washington Avenue
713-864-beav (2328)

after the symphony for a drink and a chat with the new Chef JJ (Jonathan Jones).

JJ has quite the pedigree, having recently worked at Cordova’s Americas in the Woodlands (which I never made it to) and he was founding chef at Max’s Wine Dive (know for its Texas inspired upscale comfort food), amongst many other accomplishments.

I asked JJ what we can expect from Beaver’s as he puts his signature on the place.

Initially, JJ plans to go back to some of the basics, that is Monica Pope’s (founder of t’afia and co-owner of Beaver’s) original recipes designed for Beaver’s and learn what his customers like and do not like. He also plans to add many specials to menu and pump up the desserts a notch or two. JJ and I discussed his admiration for the variety of types of cuisine that represents the Gulf Coast. As JJ said, Beaver’s was never meant to be known as a barbeque place but it got that moniker and it stuck. He plans to continue to tweak the menu with Gulf Coast specialties, representative of the variety of cultures from European, Asian, Creole, and Texan with fresh locally produced food.

Oh - my cocktail was great and strong – to bad I do not remember off the top of my head which one of the special cocktails I had, but I hear they are all delicious (which would be fun to find out myself.) I stopped by with a vegetarian friend and he had Chickpea Two Fry, which he enjoyed. JJ mentioned that the menu will continue to include many vegetarian options, and he is always ready to accommodate vegetarian customers.

I think it is time for me to give Beaver’s Ice House another look see, I suspect something wonderful is happening in the Sixth Ward and I for one, do not want to miss it.

How Bright The Light Shines in My Refrigerator

Just one day after I have gotten my electricity back, my refrigerator has been completely cleaned out. All that was left in the freezer was three bags of ice, bought in anticipation of needing to keep more food cold, bread, batteries, ice packs and edamme. Everything but the cheese was thrown away in the top part. I have not seen my refrigerator this clean since I bought it three years ago. It is a delight!

I bought some initial provisions at Central Market today. Electricity is a wonderful thing and I am fortunate to have it again.

Storm Provisions

I just got back from purchasing cheese, pâté, ice, a cooler, and two bottles of Prosecco at Spec’s. I got fresh bread and a bánh mì thịt nướng (grilled pork) sandwich at the nearby Vietnamese bakery. What was interesting is that it was no busier than a normal Saturday morning – unfortunately they canceled the cheese and wine sampling at Spec’s that was scheduled for today. But as usual the help at the downtown Spec’s was outstanding which is notable since they too are concerned about the storm.

Montrose Farmers Market – The Beginning

The Montrose Farmers Market is located in the parking lot of La Strata on Westheimer and is open from 9 -2 every Saturday. Today was their first day. Katharine Shilcutt Gleave wrote up a nice description of what was to come last Friday on Houstonist. Keep in mind it is their first week.

Here is what I found at about 9:30 this morning.

After driving into the side parking lot of La Strata:

322 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 523-1014
Get directions

I was starving because I had come straight from my exercise class and had not eaten. Lucky for me there were plenty of samples of the preparded foods.

The first vendor I saw was Affordable Organic Produce, which had a small but nice selection of organic produce. They also sell shares.

Opposite them was this vendor that sold beef, honey and vegetables.


Next I saw Pampered Sisters who sell soaps and candles and adjancent to them was Café Netties’ seasoning and sauces, which I seen at other markets, but have never tried because I am a devoted fan of Penzeys Spices.

By the way, Penzey's has a retail store on 19^th Street in the Heights. If you haven't gone there, I strongly suggest a visit.

As you can see, both ladies had wonderful welcoming smiles.

Across the way was Shirley Ann selling sweets. If the rest of her baked goods taste like the carrot cake I sampled, you are in for a treat. It was moist and just sweet enough with a wonderful spicy overtone.

Inside of La Strada were prepared foods.

The first vendor I went to was Vanille. I sampled their toasted almonds dipped in chocolate and covered with powdered sugar, wow is all I can say, you will just have to try it yourself. Then I tried the cheese crackers, which were crunchy with a nice spicy bite to them. Lastly I tasted their sandwich cookies with dulce de leche filling, verdict - sweet and satisfying. I would recommend everything I sampled.

Freshly made aromatic soaps. Okay technically not a preparded food.



Freshly prepared and frozen Indian Food - I have seen this vendor at the Bayou City Market and the one on Shepard on Sunday afternoons. I like everything I taste of theirs.


In the front of this table you can see three different types homemade pastas. I bought the homemade jalapeno fettuccine, but they did have two other less spicy but equally interesting sounding pastas for sale.

Behind the pastas are three salads made by Sage Salads. There were three salads today two quinoa (the ancient Inca grain that is an excellent protein source) and one kale.

One of the quinoa salads was made in a Chinesey style and the other had avocados in it, the third salad was made with kale. (I need to start cooking with kale.) They were a different style than then the ones I have tasted and enjoyed at Bayou City Farmers Market from Marian Bell’s Healthy Kitchen and Yaya's RAW Rah, which you maybe familar with already.

The market has potential and the location is good, we will just have to wait and see how things progress. I remember when Bayou City Farmers Market was this tiny and now look it. I definitely recommend you make this part of your farmers markets rounds, as it has enough unique things to offer with none of the crowds yet, to make it worth your while. It is also between the Bayou City Farmers Market and Midtown Farmers Market at T'afia.

Postscript

This is a photo of the jalapeno fettuccine I made with scallops and a cream sauce. The jalapeno pasta with its somewhat subtle peppery taste worked well with the scallops.

Check Out the Menu for the Tenacity Supper Club Tomorrow, Thursday, September 3

I could not resist the menu tomorrow night, so to celebrate the end of four weeks back at school I am headed to Randy Rucker's tenacity supper club tomorrow evening. There is still room for more people, so just let Randy know you are coming by clicking on his name or visiting his website for more information.

Our local chefs keep raising the bar on interesting and good food in Houston. Chef Randy Rucker is no exception, at his Tenacity Supper Club I have come to expect some of the best and most innovative food that Houston has to offer.

The menu sounds delicious, don't you think?

thursday september 4, 2008

location – modern b&b

japanese hamachi, daikon radish, watercress consommé & ruby red grapefruit

live scallop, badia a coltibuono olive oil, preserved papaya puree & candied kombu

composition of tomatoes, fromage blanc & shaved bonito

local corn soup, miso, gulf shrimp & malabar spinach

confit of louisiana frog’s legs, fennel, smoked potato gnocchi & foamy parmesan water

crispy pork rillette, celery branch, almond cream, green apple & kecap manis

soft bittersweet chocolate, basil seeds, sweet & sour hijiki & cherimoya soup

Whole Wheat Prosciutto, Spinach, Mushroom, and Onion Pizza

I am a pizza snob, I’ll admit it. I grew up in Northern New Jersey and I am use to a thin crusted, well season but not over layered type of pizza. Besides the pizza at Dolce Vita - Pizzeria Enoteca, which I think it is outstanding, I have yet to find any I really enjoy in Houston as much as mine. Although come to think of it, Absinthe Brasserie also makes a pizza that is good and they are open late.

I make my own dough and then use fresh ingredients. This one was made from my whole wheat dough, which I covered with a tomato sauce that included basil from the garden, oregano, salt, crushed red pepper, and fresh minced garlic. Then I added thinly sliced red onions, and baby bella mushrooms. I baked the crust with just those toppings in a 500 degree oven until it was almost done and then I added sliced and chopped prosciutto, baby spinach, and buffalo mozzarella. I baked until the crust was slightly charred and the mozzarella completely melted. It was just the way I like it, crispy and gooey but not to laden with ingredients that one needs a knife and fork to eat it with.