By all available evidence, father and son chefs Michael and David Cordua have embraced the opening of their fourth Churrascos location as a chance to rethink, well, just about everything. And they rethought in several contexts at the same time, including all the changes they’ve seen while opening eight restaurants in the Houston area over the past 25 years, the ups and down of their non-Churrascos concepts (Americas, Artista and Amazon Grill) and their first serious plans to expand the family’s brand into other parts of Texas. The result in the new Memorial Gateway development: a Churrascos that feels more new than old.
Have no fear: the star of the menu at the Cordua’s latest Churrascos is still… the churrasco, and a bizarre wonder it remains. Inspired by gaucho grilling on the pampas of South America, this technique has been filtered through the family’s homeland in Nicaragua and upgraded dramatically in terms of beef cut. It is like making fajitas with filet mignon, except certainly better. It’s been the Corduas’ signature for nearly all their quarter-century of making diners happy.
There are striking new design touches in the new Churrascos, which along with the new Vallone’s should quickly turn the Memorial Gateway into a first-class dining destination. Cordua restaurants have been design-driven for years, going back to the first New World wonderland called Americas on Post Oak, no longer with us. But this latest Churrascos marks the first time they’ve managed to get the bar front and center (tremendous energy flows from that alone) and the first time they’ve installed a true open kitchen. Needless to say, with their expansion plans, the goal this time was to create a basic design that will work over and over again.
Nothing about the restaurant, however, is more striking than its new menu items - which should fit happily for diners around the beloved churrasco and the family’s category-creating tres leches. Pictured at the very top, for instance, is one of several versions of arepa, orginially a kind of street-food griddled corncake proudly claimed by Venezuela and Colombia but here almost a personal pizza. The version pictured is even called a margherita, to be make that point. And I love these new “popcorn scallops” atop beet risotto, drizzled with popcorn espuma and given crunch by beet chips.
Another proof of food minds free to wander is this plate of fried calamari, that standard of Italian-American restaurants everywhere. Forget the marinara this time, though. These crunchy delights come sided with fried cheese squares, pork crackling (which for the Corduas and many of their customers translates as “pork crack”), spicy black bean sauce and the Nicaraguan pickled cabbage called vigoron. If anything, the new Churrascos menu is the most daring yet when it comes to showcasing Michael Cordua’s favorite childhood flavors, such as the black-bean-and-rice gallo pinto that now centers the tray of vegetables served to each table.
A change that has clearly excited the Corduas is the culture’s broad embrace of Japanese sushi, Italian crudi and other forms of raw seafood. By that measuring stick, Latin ceviche tends not strike folks as scary at all. The new Churrascos looks way beyond traditional Mexican ceviche, and even beyond the trendier Peruvian variation, to make ceviches filled with tastes and textures that haven’t exactly shown up here before. This trio, for instance, is crazy-good for its verde (blue tilapia with cucumber agua de chile, green apple and crispy kale); its ahi tuna with a crispy rice croquette, citrus, red chili and an unexpectedly Mediterranean blend of basil and black olive puree; and its lobster-rich spin on campechana with lush avocado and crunchy pork chicharron.
Taquitos, which got their first revolutionary fresh look at Artista with softshell crawfish, take another leap forward on the new Churrascos menu. Here the shells are formed of malanga (South American taro root) chips and filled with pulled pork, pineapple pico and crema fresca. The effect is light and tropical, like beach food in the middle of a multi-zillion-dollar big-city real estate development. And the wood its served on reflects the rustic, reclaimed feel of table and wall at every turn in the restaurant.
There are several terrific seafood entrees at the new Churrascos, starting with this pargo de lujo: grilled or pan-roasted Gulf Coast red snapper with jumbo lump crabmeat, shrimp, basil and a habanero citrus beurre blanc, all set atop a mound of clean-your-plate mascarpone mashed potatoes. Another excellent choice is the lobster and scallop in a light tomato broth, made memorable by delicate tamale dumplings that have been steamed (Yucatan-style) in banana leaves.
When it’s dessert time at the new Churrascos, you probably should turn to Cordua classics like the tres leches, or at least to ever-evolving spins on classics like the family’s tequila bread pudding. After tasting all I tasted last night, however, I opted for “simple” ice cream. And of course, it wasn’t that simple. Both the taste and the texture are pure island coconut, and it’s served in a caramel tuile that reminds me of the importance of sugar in those half-forgotten tropical economies. Sugar, among other great gifts, gives us rum. The new menu at the new Churrascos, now offered at the three older locations as well, gives us many great things as gifts for the holidays. It’s proof positive that what’s old can indeed be new again.
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