They’re just so pretty! And I have Martha to thank. Or rather, I have whoever tests Martha’s recipes to thank. It’s her sugar cookie recipe and her royal icing recipe, and I would share them. Would, I say, but will not. I’ll find a more appropriate occasion like when you’ll actually feel like baking Christmas cookies, a year from now. Now, though, is not the time. Now, people are considering diets and resolutions (two things I just don’t touch – why set myself up for failure?). Now, is the month of meh. It’s unfair, I know, to ask you to stick with me for a year just so you can make these, but it will be worth it!
Instead, let’s talk about gifts as I hope you still are enjoying yours. In November 2001, I found myself, along with my aunt and uncle, finishing the last stages of cleaning out my deceased paternal grandmother’s apartment. Lest you think, “Oh sad,” know that it was her time and she knew it was her time, and her passing was both sad and a relief and her positive attitude about death made the event okay. My grandmother knew she was about to go, and got rid of a lot of stuff before her passing. That said, there was still a lot of stuff. Stuff. Remember George Carlin’s famous monologue about stuff, acquiring stuff, and how the size of your house is a reflection on the amount of stuff you have? If you don’t, seek it out – funny as anything! Well, in that moment of cleaning, I realized that if I went over to the other side, my friends and family would be stuck cleaning a lot of stuff, and really what was the point of all my stuff (except for the kitchen stuff which is all very important and necessary, mind you). I am not perfect so therefore I still have a lot of stuff and have acquired more stuff since this realization seven years ago, and in fact, I got married and so I have A LOT more stuff. And what are gifts? Gifts are treasured stuff, but stuff nonetheless. Focus Molly, what about gifts? Ah yes, well cleaning Grandma Hazel’s apartment informed my attitudes about gifts and stuff in that I try to give experience gifts whenever possible (sometimes inspiration lacks and we’re off to the store). I also try to request experience gifts when asked.
This Christmas marked my first with the in-laws, lovely people who live in the suburbs of Houston, Texas. In fact, it was my first time visiting Texas outside of an airport so lots of firsts this Christmas. They inquired as to what we might like to receive for Christmas and Brian told them that a nice dinner is always appreciated. Boy oh boy, did they ever deliver.
Reef.
At this point I should insert a photo of the outside of the restaurant, but I don’t have one. I was so focused on the menu and the food and the deliciousness of it all that I forgot that perhaps you would like to see the outside of the place. So here’s a picture of the menu, taken in our kitchen in the Hudson Valley:
Reef is a restaurant parked in a former car dealership on the edge of downtown Houston. It’s new, it’s hip, it’s edgy. It has cement floors and modern tables, and lots of blue. A huge glass-enclosed wine cellar sits on the far edge of the restaurant floor which provides lots of entertainment as you watch the beverage stewards ascend and descend the ladder in the cellar retrieving that perfect bottle of wine for your fish dinner. Oh, and the kitchen is open and even has viewing windows from the reception area in case you’re bored and desire to learn how to shuck an oyster.
Reef is fairly new but has received lots of accolades. Bon Appetit magazine called it the best seafood restaurant in America in its December 2008 edition. The bar was set very high. Luckily, it did not disappoint.
We all ordered appetizers.
Brian had the blue crab ceviche served in a coconut-lime reduction with blood oranges. Ceviche is basically fish that is “cooked” through exposure to citric acid. As the fish is not heated, the highest quality, freshest fish is most appropriate in a ceviche preparation. Ceviche should taste fresh and the flavor notes should not smother the actual fresh flavor the fish delivers. The ceviche at Reef was spot on!
Brian’s mother ordered the jumbo crab cake which came with a spicy vinaigrette. The pairing of crab with chiles may seem on the surface like an unlikely pairing. However, the sweetness of the shellfish, which is augmented by the sweetness of the coconut milk, is tempered by the spiciness of the chiles leading to harmony on the plate.
Brian’s dad had baked oysters with swiss chard and bread crumbs with Asiago cheese. The luscious oysters and the crunchy bread crumbs were a lot of fun in the mouth.
I decided to test the restaurant. I ordered the market salad wondering before it arrived if it would contain out-of-season vegetables with a dressing the salad station cook didn’t love. Happily, the market salad contained veggies currently available at the market, including different types of squash, with a lilting vinaigrette which made the whole dish sing.
Our main dishes were even better.
Salmon, so ubiquitous it suffers often from lackluster preparation and presentation, was melt-in-the-mouth fabulous! Slow-baked, it was served with a not overly creamy Meyer lemon risotto and chili oil. I love hot sauce so I appreciated the brightening power of the chili oil.
The pan-sauteed redfish was spicy and yet paired nicely with a Spanish inspired side dish of broccolini, golden raisins and pine nuts. The grilled Amberjack, a fish native to the Gulf, was firm, meaty, and sweet. A new play on meat and potatoes, it was served with plantains and long beans and a pomegranate jus. A roasted grouper screamed Southern with its collard greens and pecan-shallot cracklins. The chefs and cooks at Reef must really appreciate how fun textural contrast can be for the diner because this was yet another case of the soft flesh of the fish meeting something wonderfully crunchy.
You can imagine after consuming this delicious food that a debate about dessert ensued. I was the guest so I tried to defer to the hosts, but they knew, Brian knew, and I knew that given my new profession I would have to try something, anything off the dessert menu. All parties participated in the decision-making. We settled on a chocolate lava cake. Overdone? Perhaps, but for a reason. It’s a crowd-pleaser and it’s one of those desserts that the restaurant either phones in or actually cares about. I was hoping Reef would prepare something demonstrative of the latter.
By the time the waiter approached to take our dessert order, we had debated at length the if, and then the what, so we were firm in our decision. Yet, we folded like a deck of cards when he suggested we should also have the adult milkshake. We bounced our heads in the affirmative while muttering “Well, sure,” and, “If you suggest it,” and “Thanks for the recommendation.”
The cake hit the spot. It had nice crumb and the chocolate filling provided a pleasant mouthfeel. The adult milkshake was good: vanilla ice cream with Kahlua. For those of you who know me and my family, it was no brandy milk punch. The chocolate cigarette that garnished it looked as if it was made in-house which impressed me now that I know how difficult they are to produce.
Overall, Reef deserves its accolades. Service never lacked. The wine list was comprehensive and fairly priced. The food was fabulous. The only drawback was those darn cement floors as they did nothing to absorb the noise and at times we had to shout at each other over our well-plated food.
Reef
2600 Travis
Houston, TX 77006
713.526.8282
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