|
|
|
|
Rob's Review
Starlite
Hey there restaurant fans: We seem to be moving into our "Star
Trek" phase of dining out in the River City. We have the just
recently opened Star Canyon downtown [which we'll review in a couple of
weeks], and the Starlite on W. 34th st., the subject of this week's review.
Starlite hung
out its sign back in December and it's been off to the races ever since.
Continuing the "restaurant in a house" tradition popularized by
such stalwarts as Zoot and Mars and the Paggi House, Starlite is both
inviting and intoxicating. Their food is very good. Four Season's alumnus
Chris Howard is the Chef and the man knows his way around the kitchen.
Start with the Blue Crab and Corn Chowder. Most chowders of this ilk that
one finds these days are heavy on the corn and lite on the crab. Not so at
Starlite. The soup had ample morsels of crab and a full, rewarding flavor.
Another crowd pleaser is the Chevre Crostinis. Chevre, for the uninitiated,
is goat cheese. Crostinis are toasted bread morsels. The combination of the
two at Starlite is compelling, and when you add the balsamic syrup, it's
downright irresistable. The dish is served with grilled asparagus stalks,
which bring a contrast to the aesthetics of the plate.
Next I tried the ribbon
noodles served with chanterelle mushrooms.
Chanterelles are very big on most food fanatics lists and for good reason.
They're delicious. And they work wonderfully in this dish. The noodles
were al dente and the imported parmesan was the perfect touch. The
coalesence of flavors was very pleasing. Also very appealing was the Miso
basted salmon. This dish preserves the flavor of the salmon while setting up
a very intriguing culinary pairing.
For dessert I tried an
astonishing Banana Pudding Brulee. Now normally, combining creme
brulee, the dessert du jour for Texas these days, and banana puree sounds a
bit out there. But the result is totally decadent. This item works at every
culinary level you could imagine, especially for a banana junkie such as me.
Well, the young power brokers
or has been/wanna be again power brokers, have already discovered Starlite,
so saddle up your mount and get over there. Tell'em Rob sent you. Starlite
is an 624 W. 34th St. Just dinner. And that's probably just as well.
Because if you went there for lunch, you might not make it back to work.
|
