CITYSCENE
|
|
>
Bar Annie
|
Bar Annie ushers in a new generation of dining at Houston's long-time favorite Café Annie. No longer do you need to commit to a multi-course extravaganza: Take a seat at the newly renovated bar, where chef Ben Berryhill offers the same sort of Texas-accented food that's made the café famous, but without the high prices. Snack on nachos with pulled pork and mole, or sup on mussels steamed in a cilantro-chile broth. To drink, order off the café's 3,000-bottle list, or save time and money with the short list of affordable (around $20) picks that Berryhill's wife, Marianna, compiles. Casual as it is, to avoid a wait call ahead. The bar is as packed as the Café itself.—Tara Q. Thomas
Bar Annie, 1728 Post Oak Blvd., Houston, TX; 713-840-1111
|
|
>
Block 7 Wine Company
|
One of the newest entries in Texas’s budding category of hybrid wine store/bar/restaurants, Block 7 Wine Company stands out for its far-ranging wine selection— priced barely above what you’d pay at a big box shop. Wine buyer Charles Kirkwood’s tastes skew toward lesser-known names and family-run wineries, making it the place to pick up gems such as Champagnes from André Clouet, Godmé Père et Fils and Camille Savès and still wines like Luneau-Papin’s Clos des Allées Muscadet, Palacio de Fefiñanes Albariño and Weinert’s Gran Vino from Mendoza. Pop in for a glass and grab a quick burger (go for house-style, topped with gruyère, smoked bacon, arugula and aioli), or settle in for a grander meal, like a 21-day dry-aged prime ribeye at an eminently reasonable $29.
—Wes Marshall
Block 7 Wine Company, 720 Shepherd Dr., Houston; 713-572-2565,
block7wineco.com (reviewed W&S, 4/10)
|
|
>
Cova
|
Cova lives a triple life, as wine shop, wine bar and upscale tapas joint. Owner and wine director Monsterville Horton's 40 by-the-glass (or taste) selections feature sought-after producers, including Italy's Schiopetto and Burgundy's Domaine Dujac; or open any bottle from the store's wide selection for a $10 corkage fee and enjoy it with a ración of seared tuna with onion marmalade.
—Carter L. Ray
Cova, 5600 Kirby Dr., Houston;713-838-0700; www.covawines.com
|
|
|
 |
|