Of all the great performances that pass through downtown Houston’s Hobby Center for the Performing Arts, one of the greatest, happily, isn’t going anywhere. So whether you’re attending a one-night-only show or one of the blockbusters like Disney’s The Lion King, thanks to the Cordua family, the best pre-theater meal you can imagine definitely has not left the building.
You know you’re in the world of pater familias Michael Cordua and his talented chef-son David when this platter of “chips and salsa” turns up, the chips made from plantain instead of corn and the “salsas” ranging across the tropical universe. With roots in Nicaragua - and restaurants like Churrascos, Americas and the casual Amazon Grille to prove it - the Corduas always take the broadest, most delicious views of our part of the world. “The most yummy,” Michael Cordua would surely note by way of correction.
Sometimes, in creative ways, Artista’s points of reference go far beyond Latin America. In France, a tart Tatin is a dessert made with sliced apples. And that is the basic construction for this tomato tart Tatin made with confit tomato with creamy burrata cheese atop a crust of parmesan and rosemary. There’s even some tossed mesclun greens on the side, as though to help explain why the dish is listed as a salad.
Shopping for a format closer to home in Texas, one of the best ways to start a meal at Artista is this plate of ahi tuna taquitos. With the now-familiar sushi-grade fish plus crabmeat, mango, avocado and tobiko caviar, all on a crispy rice-paper shell, these tacos are a reminder that one of the best ways to have dinner here and make it to your seats on time is ordering a bunch of starters. Clearly, the Corduas are just fine if you opt for the small-plate approach.
The quiz question: when is a pasta dish not likely to feel heavy? Answer: when it shows up naked. Okay, so that’s a bit of wordplay, since the Italians call pastas like these gnudi (pronounced “nudi” and understandable exactly as it sounds). Except these gnudi spoons aren’t really naked, a kind of super-light ravioli stuffed with spinach and ricotta and delicately sauced with porcini mushroom cream.
Carnivores rejoice, since the family that gave Texas its first Churrascos restaurant a long time ago has no particular vegetarian thing going on. The best proof of this is this dramatic appetizer portion of smoked lamb lollichops. Starting with what my youngest daughter used to crave as “lamb on a stick,” this dish wanders all the way to India - picking up a spicy vindaloo glaze and creamy, cooling raita along the highway. The “fries” you get with that are yucca, a powerful Cordua touch borrowed from the Americas.
If you’re still interested in an actual entree at Artista (or like me, kind of on the fence), one of the best ways to talk yourself into ordering one is this roasted striped bass. The fish is wild-caught, meaning it’s both mild and flavorful at the same time, and outfitted with warm leeks in a vinaigrette. What you see mostly when it arrives, though, is the haystack of fried potatoes on top. I’ll look for a needle in that haystack anytime.
By the time our striped bass arrived with a side - in our case, this terrific wild mushroom bread pudding - it was almost time for the show to start. Dessert would have to wait for intermission, which is a pleasure you wouldn’t dare embrace with a restaurant blocks away in downtown Houston. Still, I have to emphasize that Artista is open for lunch during the week and for dinner even when there’s absolutely nothing playing at the Hobby Center. If you want neither rush nor crush, you should let the dazzling entertainment of Michael and David Cordua be your evening’s big show.
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