Gravitas
This entry was posted on 10/28/2008 3:36 PM and is filed under New American Casual, Casual Chic - Jeans Allowed.
UPDATED REVIEW: OCTOBER 2008
Gravitas continues to be one of our favorite places. It's open later in the evening, so we dropped by the other night after the ballet. Although not packed, the restaurant was still quite lively at 10:00, complete with a celebrity -- an Astros baseball player who we didn't recognize without the assistance of our waiter.
We can't resist the delicious bread from the co-owner's Kraftsmen Bakery. And we love dipping the bread in the olive oil and seed mixture. We enjoyed a generous and very tasty appetizer of steak tartare. And then moved on to the nightly special -- chicken fried steak with mashed potatoes and green beans (but of course). The crust was quite flavorful and very nicely fried. This was a very good version of a chicken fried steak; unfortunately it's only available on Fridays. We also enjoyed the venison chili, steaming hot, topped with melted cheese, and wonderfully spiced. While we don't always recognize the wines at Gravitas, we appreciate the affordable prices. The service was amiable and efficient.
ORIGINAL REVIEW: JUNE 2006
We've really liked this place from the start. The space is contemporary, and the scene is quite lively and quite loud -- don't go, even at lunch, if conversation is really important. This is a good place to take an out of town guest who still thinks of Houston as a place for barbeque and rodeo.
We've eaten here quite a few times, and the food has consistently been very good. Some dishes have been great, others just very good, but we've never had a real disappointment. There's also alot of variety on the menu. The mussels are very good (but not as good as Cafe Rabelais), and they come with some of the best French Fries in town (arguably, better than Cafe Rabelais although not the same skinny style). A duck special one evening was particularly memorable. We've heard comments from others about the service, but ours has always been attentive. We had a disappointing experience finding a decent red wine by the glass on our last visit, but the waiter graciously brought samples.
Aside from the acoustics of the restaurant, the only other negative is the bowl shaped plates upon which it is nearly impossible to balance your utensils. Unless you like your knife to slide constantly into your food and be covered in sauce, this does tend to be aggravating.
807 Taft
713/522-0995
