RESTAURANT REVIEW: Zaranda

I've extolled the virtues of legendary Houston restauranteur Hugo Ortega in the past, but I have yet to review any of his restaurants since starting Adrian Reviews. Before getting into the nitty gritty on his newest spot, allow me to do a quick ranking of his existing venues (FYI: all are "very good" or better).

1. Xochi: the crown jewel in the H-Town Restaurant Group empire, this is the pinnacle of Oaxacan cuisine. A beautiful spot in the Marriott Marquis downtown, this previously ranked #1 on the Houston Chronicle Top 100, and is my #3 Mexican restaurant in town
2. Hugo's: the O.G., a true Mexican institution in Montrose that every Houstonian needs to visit at least once in their life (there's even an outpost in Terminal D at IAH if you're flying abroad and still have time to spare after spending 4 hours in TSA lines, but obviously it doesn't compare to the original)
3. Urbe: Mexican street food in Uptown Park, the most casual and whimsical of the collection, and the one that I've enjoyed most often in the past few years
4. Caracol: coastal Mexican kitchen in the Galleria area, very high-quality cooking, but my personal taste tilts slightly towards the above entries
5. Backstreet Cafe: the only non-Mexican restaurant on here, the menu here leans more new-American, and honestly I only have it last because I haven't been in a LONG time. They tore it down to construct a new building in River Oaks, so I'll have to revisit once it opens and see if it belongs higher.

You can't go wrong with any of these, so when the James Beard Award-winning chef Ortega announced a new location across Discovery Green from Xochi, you better believe that it got my attention. Housed in the recently-constructed Norton Rose Fulbright Tower, an architecturally magnificent edifice hilariously shaped to totally cover up the hideous Embassy Suites hotel, this might be HTRG's most gorgeous space yet. A large, airy dining room curves around the ground floor of the high rise, with soaring windows opening up to the park. Already surprised at the capacity, I was even more shocked when we were led via a hidden staircase to the second story, where the handful of tables had a bird's-eye view of the green space across the street.

As with any Hugo joint, margaritas are front and center on the drink list. That includes the lavish "Greatest Margarita Ever Sold", priced at an eye-popping $34 and also seen at some of the other locations mentioned above. But the rest of the cocktails are pretty reasonably priced, and I really relished the "Conejo Malo" with chile de arbol-infused Amaras mezcal, lime, pasilla-morita-ancho-infused orange liqueur, mango-carrot juice, chiles toreados syrup, and a carrot-Tajin rim. Vibrant and refreshing, the bright orange beverage was delightfully spicy, but wonderfully balanced by the sweetness of the fruit-veg juice. I'm developing an affinity for carrot cocktails of late, but regrettably the power of my contact lens prescription has yet to improve.

The menu explores the cuisine of "Las Californias", imagining that the historical area encompassing Alta & Baja, from Northern California down to Cabo San Lucas, had never been separated by a geopolitical border. There's lots of seafood, a staple of the Mexican part of the region, as well as some meats and vegetables that are more representative of the American portion. Multiple small sections of three to five dishes comprise the bill of fare, so I tried to diversify and sample as many as possible.

To begin, from the "Crudos" came the Taquitos De Atún, a tuna crudo with soy, sesame, ginger, green onion, chile piquín, and furikake. I don't need to reiterate my affinity for tuna tostadas, though this was a slightly different vehicle for the raw fish: small blue-corn tortillas were fried into mini crunchy taco shells, making for an easy bite, and the Japanese seaweed powder added a nice pop of umami. The peppers were nuanced, which leveled the dish well, even if I would have been happy with a handful more for additional heat.

The "Antojitos" consisted mainly of tacos, including the Tacos De Nada, fried corn tortillas filled with octopus, potato, banana peppers, pickled vegetables, and served with a side of fire-roasted salsa roja tatemada. The name does not refer to the cephalopod (that's pulpo en español), nor is it expressing gratitude to the handheld, but rather means "tacos of nothing", pertaining to the thin layer of mashed potato filling that defines this classic Sonoran street food. Zaranda's version should perhaps be called "Tacos De Algo", because the chewy (but not too chewy) octopod was definitely more substantial than the name suggested. Some acid from the veggies and lovely smokiness of the salsa made for a well-rounded mouthful.

There were several oyster dishes in the "Conchas" section, but we opted for the Cazuela De Bivaldos, with mussels, clams, mole amarillo, white wine, and canario peppers. This dish, meaning "casserole of bivalves", is more akin to a stew, with a delectable yellow-orange base from the Oaxacan mole and Andean chiles. Nicely plump mollusks bathed in the sauce, which was easy to sop up with some toasted bread served on the side. It was around this time I realized that every dish so far (as well as the ones to come) contained a dusting of small white grains that I struggled to place. The waiter was able to identify them for me as amaranth, which I suppose can provide some additional starchy texture, but I suspect here were used largely for decoration. I wonder if they have an amaranth guy whose job is to just come through and shower every finished plate with the tiny seeds? Sort of a very specific Salt Bae (remember him?) tribute.

I wasn't missing the "Tostadas" zone of the menu, but instead of my usual tuna, we instead went with the Tostada De Langosta. Hunks of poached lobster sat atop the flat blue-corn base adorned with a swipe of refried beans and a disc of crispy fried potato, with bits of onion, garlic, corn, and serrano chiles, and finally garnished with some stunning charred avocado. The crustacean was decadent, buttery as can be, and the smorgasbord of other ingredients made for all manner of unique bites. More of the red salsa was available, but not really necessary in my opinion. This was a really luxurious take on the tostada, perhaps not one that will replace my beloved tuna for routine consumption, but a nice elevated change of pace.

If you've made it this far and are still wondering what "Zaranda" means, congratulations, you're about to find out. The restaurant takes its name from the wire basket traditionally used to grill seafood over hot coals. Camarones Zarandeado (the adjetivo used to describe cooking via this technique, which comprise the signature entrees here) were large shrimp served with cucumber salad, housemade adobo, and a salsa trio. Also provided was a sobaquera, a massive thin flour tortilla (if you've eaten at Lupe Tortilla, you may recognize the giant unleavened flatbreads, which I now realize are actually a thing, and not just their invention) from which you can make one enormous or – more practically – multiple smaller DIY tacos. The langoustine-esque prawns were grilled to perfection, and the smoky sauce was a great complement to their inherent sweetness. Really quite delicious!

While this turned out to be an entirely maritime dinner, there are steaks as well, including a yummy-sounding picanha, though I passed on this since somehow I've eaten more of that cut in the last year than the rest of my life combined (excluding one epic Fogo de Chão engorgement that nearly required a stomach pumping). Speaking of eating to excess, we were too full for sweets, but there are some spectacular looking desserts here, including a "chocolate sea urchin" and a white chocolate "sand dollar". Next time.

To conclude, this is a really strong addition to the downtown culinary offerings, one that is located in a prime spot for before or after Rockets and Astros games, concerts, or just a night on the town. Hugo Ortega never disappoints, and this is no exception. Great food, a beautiful space, and enough intriguing options that make me want to return sooner rather than later.

RANKING UPDATE: While this was a thoroughly satisfying meal, the competition in the Best Mexican section of my Houston Restaurant Guide is extremely stiff, so this doesn't quite crack that top 5 (though it may be getting the same treatment as Best Indian/Pakistani and Best Japanese/Sushi soon and expanding to a top 10). However, it does place ahead of a couple of H-Town Restaurant Group's other venerable establishments. The updated hierarchy:

1. Xochi
2. Hugo's
3. Urbe
4. Zaranda
5. Caracol
6. Backstreet Cafe

NEXT UP: Writing about my least favorite meal of the day.