HOUSTON – (By Michelle Leigh Smith) – Amalfi Ristorante Italiano & Bar draws a lively crowd each afternoon around 3 p.m., not only Italian businessmen but also fathers bringing their children after soccer and well-dressed women dining together. The menu features dishes such as Salmon Scozzese, Branzino con Gnocchi al Limone e Carciofi, and simple plates like Fichi con Prosciutto di Parma e Balsamico—imported Parma prosciutto with fresh black mission figs finished with aged balsamic vinegar.
Chef Giancarlo Ferrera opened Amalfi three years ago and quickly earned recognition on Alison Cook’s Top 100 Restaurants list. The restaurant’s open design by Crafft Studio and architects Filo Castore and Chris Leisher reflects careful attention to detail. Yellow roses on white tablecloths highlight the vibrant yellows in the Vietri tile. The wine list is strong and will include Ros’Aura by Feudi di San Gregorio rosé for Houston Restaurant Weeks.
Located at 6100 Westheimer, Amalfi will launch Houston Restaurant Weeks (August 1–September 4) with a three-course dinner priced at $45. For every dinner sold during the event, the Ferreras will donate $7 to the Houston Food Bank.
When Martha Stewart visited Amalfi during the Super Bowl, she was enthusiastic about the experience, according to Lisa Ferrara, the chef’s wife. Stewart chose Branzino al Sale—a whole Mediterranean sea bass encrusted in rock salt and roasted in a wood-burning oven—and finished with Pasticceria Amalfi, a house selection of miniature macarons, chocolate truffles, chocolate horns filled with dark mousse, fruit tarts, panna cotta nocciola and ricotta-filled cannoli.
Chef Ferrera comes from a culinary family in Italy and refined his skills at the two-star Michelin restaurant Patrick Guilbaud in Dublin, where he mastered French techniques. He then served as Executive Chef at Houston’s Arcodoro for 12 years. His cuisine includes thoughtful touches such as using capers instead of salt, pairing sea diver scallops with baby zucchini mousse and chanterelle mushrooms, and incorporating black truffles—dishes that highlight his refined approach.
Houston Restaurant Weeks
Cleverley Stone founded Houston Restaurant Weeks to help combat hunger in the Bayou City. This year more than 250 restaurants have committed to donating a portion of their proceeds to the Houston Food Bank. Restaurant Weeks provides an accessible opportunity to sample upscale dining that might otherwise fall outside a typical family budget.
Arthur Mooradian, general manager of Del Frisco’s Double Eagle Steak House in the Galleria, was a top donor to the Houston Food Bank through Restaurant Weeks for several years. He notes that ordering the items on many participating menus separately would usually cost far more than the special Restaurant Weeks price. Del Frisco’s $45 offering has attracted diners by pairing items such as a 12-oz. filet mignon and crab cakes in Cajun lobster sauce with thin green beans.
Other notable offerings this year include a $25 dinner menu at White Oak Kitchen featuring pistachio-crusted salmon or shrimp pad thai. In the west, Sal y Pimienta Kitchen at CityCentre presents South American flavors with a $35 prix fixe dinner or $20 lunch special—options include a seafood brochette, butterfly-cut grass-fed tenderloin from Uruguay, and crab meat with beurre blanc and shrimp marinated in anticucho sauce served with rustic mashed potatoes. Seasons 52 in the same center also offers a three-course Restaurant Week dinner with choices such as wood-grilled filet mignon, roasted half chicken or wood-grilled pork tenderloin.
Roadster Grill closes
The Roadster Grill in Bellaire has closed after 14 years in business at the intersection of Bellaire Boulevard and Bissonnet. The property at 5210 Bissonnet was recently acquired by Sion and Michael Saghian, the father-and-son owners of SagsTex, Inc., who also operate Brisket BBQ in Bellaire and have been in business for 35 years.
The new owners repainted the former blue building in a neutral bisque tone. Prior to Roadster Grill, the building housed a Taco Bell.
Lua Viet Kitchen Coming to Montrose Area
Transwestern has announced that Lúa Viet Kitchen will open its first location at Alabama Row, a new development at West Alabama and Mandell in the Montrose area. Transwestern’s Alex Kelly served as the exclusive advisor for Lúa Viet Kitchen and represented the fast-casual Vietnamese restaurant in its 2,500-square-foot lease.
MC2 Architects, the designers behind MF Sushi in Houston’s Museum District, are the restaurant’s design team.
“The market is missing a fast-casual concept that serves delicious, authentic yet modern Vietnamese food,” said Nick Nguyen, co-owner of Lúa Viet. The restaurant will focus on fresh, locally sourced ingredients and prepare dishes without MSG, emphasizing quality organic components and antibiotic- and hormone-free chicken and beef.
Mardi Do, co-owner, added: “We will serve traditional Vietnamese recipes and dishes but elevate the taste and dining experience. We are after robust flavors.” Lúa Viet Kitchen is scheduled to open late in 2017.