Yelapa Playa Mexicana

name of restaurant :: Yelapa Playa Mexicana

address :: 2303 Richmond Ave.

hours :: M-Sa 11AM - 11PM

meals served :: L & D
prices :: $10 lunch, $20-30 dinner

dress code :: casual

reservations :: walk-ins welcomed

website :: www.yelapatime.com

review :: It's a good omen when, as you walk up to the door of a seafood restaurant, you catch a faint salty whiff of the sea. My increasingly frequent rambling quests to find new lunch spots near my work had led me here - Yelapa Playa Mexicana - and a gentle ocean-y tang practically emanated from the kitchen here.

Relatively new, Yelapa was nearly devoid of diners when I stepped inside - but the waiters were welcoming and the place had a laid-back feel to it. The main room was cabana'd out but not kitschy - cozy, with some modern touches. A bar and a secluded patio stood on one side while on the other side darker, more intimate dining spaces snaked off further back amongst racks of wine.

Billed as "fresh, local seafood with a Latin American twist" (i.e. expensive), my interest was only piqued after I learned about a $10 lunch menu. Ten bucks nets you 2 choices from the "nooner" menu - choices range from ambitious takes on familiar Tex-Mex to more mundane "home-style" dishes - the latter being a spicy red pozole (soup with pork and hominy) with a side of homemade tortillas here, a bowl of cheesy shrimp n' grits with chorizo there.

Among the gutsier choices you'll find "the real guacamole" - more like a salad with avocado, pineapple, dill, lime, tortilla chips embedded throughout and an arc of sweet cinnamon sauce to the side... it sounds (and should have been) ridiculous, but it was just really, really tasty.

The ceviches are another good example of their fetish for mixing disparate flavors. On top of a solid foundation of impeccably fresh-tasting mix of shrimp, scallops, and fish, one had artichoke hearts, tarragon, olives, and mustard -which made for a delicious, tart salad-y affair. Another was a bit more traditional, the margarita-marinated seafood naked on a bed of tortilla chips except for a few strategic bits of jalapeno and mint, alongside a shot glass of "leche de tigre" - tiger's milk, rimmed with salt. If that sounds scary, believe me it is. Apparently it's the leftover juices from the ceviche-making process, in all it's salty, sour, fishy glory. Altogether, the dish was like the essence of ceviche taken to the nth degree. If you're looking for something different, you've found your place.

Despite my fears to the contrary, the two dishes that come with the nooner menu are more than enough to fill you up nicely. Combine that with perhaps a Rio Red grapefruit agua fresca with basil or maybe a dessert - how about the absurd _cinco_ leches cake? - and you've got a recipe for not getting any more work done the rest of the day.

rating :: 5 forks
reviewed by :: John Malone

Feast

name of restaurant :: Feast
address :: 219 Westheimer Road
hours :: 5-10PM, lunch F, Sa 11AM-2:30PM
meals served :: L & D
prices :: lunch $13-16 , dinner $21-28
dress code :: casual
reservations :: walk-ins welcomed
website :: http://feasthouston.googlepages.com/home
review :: Based on some good press (and boredom), I decided to pop on over to Feast for lunch. I was a bit apprehensive; Feast has a reputation as an eatery for the "adventurous", you see. The British chef & owner imported their "nose-to-tail" cuisine to Houston - homey, hearty "peasant" food that's not afraid to use the whole animal. Think fried pig tails w/ dipping sauce, snail fritters, black pudding, stuffed calf's heart... you get the picture.

The place really does have a cozy vibe - stout, dark wood furnishings in what basically looks like a converted home (what I imagine one in Europe would look like, no less). There's also a nice upstairs deck with views of downtown - so I've heard - but I was comfortably perched in the main room amid a small, thirties+ crowd.

To my surprise, most of the menu is actually "normal" stuff, but I'm feeling a little bold so, at the recommendation of the friendly waiter (who I later found out is the wife of the owner - the equally-pleasant English chap who showed me to my seat), I start with a "chicken onion". It turns out to be a whole onion marinated in olive oil (and other stuff I forget), covered in chicken skin and baked in an oven. The deliciousness will haunt my dreams forever.

Next I sampled the lamb stew with dumplings and mashed potatoes. It's as good, aroma-tastic, and filling as you can imagine. I can put away food as good as anybody, but their 3-course lunch meal put me under the table. I barely finished the upside-down plum cake w/ ginger for dessert (not for lack of trying). Red-faced from a bottle of "Imperial" Stout, I returned to work stuffed and weirdly happy (and sleepy) .

I can't wait to return and taste whatever other surprises they may have to offer, plus I felt the price-to-quality/quantity-of-food ratio was ridiculously reasonable, at least for lunch.
rating :: 5 forks
reviewed by :: John Malone