Gravitas

807 Taft
Houston, Texas

We have been thinking about trying Gravitas since it opened a few weeks ago. Until last week, they were only serving lunch, so it wasn't until today that we got to try this Scott Tycer restaurant. Scott Tycer is the uber-chef at Aries on Montrose. He has won about as many awards as any chef in Houston and has even appeared on Food TV.

The restaurant is set back in a neighborhood right next to the beautiful new Federal Reserve building. It has an open industrial feel and is definately a place that can become a Houston hotspot. It's right next to the woefully inadequate Annabelle's Diner. They have a sexy looking bar area and will probably have an outdoor area at some point.

And now the food... This is definately a Scott Tycer/Jason Gould restaurant--SALTY. If you're one of those strange people who salt their food before tasting it, then you'll love this place. We started with the summer squash soup. Beneath the salt water, you could taste what squash soup should taste like.

Rekha had the Spinach salad with bacon bits and poached egg. She had this dish in San Francisco a few years back at a restaurant called Globe and loved it so much she still talks about it. Scott Tycer's version is good, but not quite great. We'd order it again in a heartbeat. Only, we'd ask them to go easy on the salt.

I had the grouper with string beans and bacon bits. Quite yummy. A bit salty, but that didn't interfere with the taste of the nicely cooked fish--crunchy skin and tender meat. I ate every bite of the dish in the time it took the maitre'd of Da Marco's to order at the table next to ours.

For dessert we tried the Godiva chocolate cake. It came with icecream festering in ice crystals. It also came too cold. Get this dessert to room temperature and we would have enjoyed the Godiva chocolate better. This dessert proves my theory that for some desserts, like chocolate cake, it's better to have a lot of a good (not great) chocolate, rather than a little bit of a great chocolate.

Scott and Jason, if you're listening... Please go easy on the salt. Saltiness was what we remembered of Aries and saltiness may define Gravitas. I want to love your restaurant. I want to root for the local guys. I want to be a regular here. But, the tinnitus in my ears (sometimes caused by high blood pressure brought on by salt) scares the shit out of me.