Event: Preview of Lucille's in the Museum District

One of the fringe benefits of food blogging is the opportunity to try new places before they open and help get the word out if they have some good food and a nice atmosphere.  I was one of a group of food media in Houston that was invited to a special luncheon at Lucille's at 5512 La Branch in the Museum District--the culinary baby of Texas Chef Chris Williams.  The name comes from his Great Grandmother, Lucille Bishop Smith, who was one of those old school Southern Cooking Mamas, much like my Great Aunt Willie back in rural Mississippi.  Unlike my Great Aunt, Lucille Bishop Smith established one of the first collegiate-level commercial food and technology programs at Prairie View A & M University, created one of the first all-purpose hot roll mixes, and served food to historical figures such as Martin Luther King, Jr. and Eleanor Roosevelt.  

Chef Chris Williams

Chef Williams himself has been travelling the globe (studied at Le Cordon Bleu in Austin, TX) and has worked in Lithuania, England, and other parts of Europe, the US and Canada over the past few years in order to enhance his knowledge of different kinds of cuisine and hone his craft as a chef.  He's also a dad with two young boys, and like him, I get the challenge of trying to balance work while trying to raise 2 kids to be good and responsible adults.  He also is living in his old neighborhood in SW Houston where he grew up, and waxed on about how he had been all over the world, but knew somehow if he ended up back in Houston, he'd never be able to leave again.  (I know the feeling, and a few other folks I know can relate--right Lily?)  His most recent Houston work prior to starting Lucille's was with Max's Wine Dive, where he started his own side business doing catering.  The side businesses helped him raise the capital necessary to start Lucille's and has helped him as he has gone through the task of getting his restaurant up and running.

Sounds like a man I'd love to have a beer with and shoot the proverbial stuff with.

Chef Williams bills Lucille's as a "Culinary Art History of Southern Cooking."  If you look over their menu, they have a ton of old school Southern dishes like Chili Biscuits (red beef chili, stylized as sliders on homemade biscuits) and Braised Oxtails, with sides like his famous dinner rolls, and modern takes such as Watermelon salad as well as a roasted chicken with Chimichurri and asparagus.  I was invited to a closed lunch tasting with several other food bloggers (including Eric Sandler of Eater Houston, Phaedra--a representative of My Table Houston and Chuck--a photographer that focuses on food and fandom) and media on August 31st, and I came away pleased with most of what I got to taste.  Okay, enough talk--let's eat!!!

We were served a tasting menu that included Tomato Salad, Watermelon Salad, Fried Green Tomatoes, No Crumb Crab Cake, Fishy Fry, Pork & Beans, Braised Oxtail with Potatoes & Veggies, and Shrimp & Grits.    It was a nice representation of the restaurant and were an interesting take on some traditional Southern dishes.

Of note:  the Tomato Salad and Watermelon Salad had some ingredients (Greens, Tomatoes) which were grown in Chef Chris Williams Garden he is keeping in the back of the restaurant.  This is a nice touch and reminds me of several places in Oregon, Washington State and British Columbia that do likewise.

Tasting Report Card 

Watermelon Salad on left, Tomato Salad on Right
This was not how it was presented--this is how I ate it

The Watermelon Salad a nice sweet cool treat with some savoury elements & a little garlic.  It had baby arugula, which tasted fresh, feta cheese and onions, and had a vinegar based dressing.  I never thought of Watermelon in a salad before, yet I found I liked it quite well--I'm always fond of heritage watermelon. Grade: A

The Backyard Tomato Salad  has at least 4 kinds of tomatoes; fresh and tasty stuff.  Given how many kinds of tomatoes there are, and thinking about how families  in the South might grow more than a few varieties of tomatoes and other vegetables in their backyards (my Dad did this, as do a number of other family members) it made sense on a couple of levels. It included some bacon, a crunchy large garlic crouton./toast point, and had a bleu cheese vinaigrette dressing. It was a little more ordinary than the Watermelon salad, but I still liked it.  Grade: B+

No Crumb Crab Cakes

Fried Green Tomatoes: These were fried in cornmeal, were a little spicy, and the tomatoes themselvces had a crispy, fresh taste, not mushy.  My Great Aunt made fried green tomatoes, which I'd tried as a kid, and these were up their with hers with a spicy kick.  Grade: A

No Crumb Crab Cakes: These crab cakes were made with Wonton, lemon confit and jumbo lump crab.  The had an herbal quality and were nice, but did not stand out as much as they could have.  I may be a little spoiled and used to having Cajun style spicy crab cakes from my time growing up in Southern Louisiana. Grade: B+

Fish Fry, Crown Style

Fish Fry: This was a whole fish served with a creamy succotash and fresh greens.  This dish had a VERY nice presentation--wrapped almost crown style, it reminded me of some fried whole fish served at many Chinese and Vietnamese restaurants over off of Bellaire Boulevard in Chinatown.  This was a savoury fried red snapper, was very meaty and came off the bone flaky.  The succotash with tomatoes in a creamy sauce was also quite tasty.  Grade: A

Pork & Beans, Lucille's Style

Pork & Beans: Braised Pork Hind shank, with fava beans, English peas and black lentils.  THIS was REALLY GOOD!  The pork was very tender, sweet & peppery.  The beans good complement gave you different textures and tastes to complement the pork.  This dish was praised most by the group that tried it.  The shank bone was picked clean and someone quipped  it should be used to make soup!  Grade: A+

Braised Oxtails

Braised Oxtails:  This was served with Yukon potatoes.  The beef was quite sweet and very tender.  Again, growing up in Louisiana we had a Creole lady who lived near us for a while who made Oxtail stew and would share with the neighbors.  These oxtails were a little bland compared to hers but they reminded me of good comfort food.  Grade: B+

Shrimp & Grits

Shrimp & Grits:- Stone mill grits served with a slightly spicy andouille sausage in a sherry tomato broth.  These were a little spicy & savoury.  I could see eating this at Sunday Brunch, and found them to be another creative take on a Southern favourite.  Grade: A+

After we'd had all the tasting dishes, Chef Williams came out to sit and answer some questions from us for a bit.  Williams is a very soft spoken, but friendly man with a keen sense of focus and a methodical approach.  He was very keen to let us know a bit about the history of the location--how it had alternated between being a residence or a commercial space such as a restaurant or a bar.  Williams had been looking around for a location and had spotted the building while taking his sons to the Children's Museum.

Sign in the back, a mosaic of her recipe cards.  

A lot of the property is built using original wood, repurposed or refashioned into the restaurant itself.  I liked the large windows, the abundance of natural light during the day there and the window right into the kitchen to see what was going on.  He also talked a bit about one of his Great Aunts and his Grandmother, one of whom would not sign off on his first attempts at his Great Grandmother's recipes.  Apparently Lucille Bishop Smith could be a bit protective of some of her recipes and may have kept some of them secret or not kept together.  However, one of his great aunts had managed to piece a lot of them together and allowed him access to them, which helped inspire some of his menu.  In fact, the large Lucille's Sign in the back of the restaurant is a mosaic made from recipe cards that were his great grandmother's.  As a kid growing up in the South, I'd seen many of those kinds of recipe cards at my own great-aunt's, and could relate a bit to Williams.

Personally, I am looking forward to coming back after they've been open about a month to give their Butcher Burger a try!

Lucille's has had its soft opening on August 28, 2012.  It will be fully open for the hours  posted below as of September 10, 2012.

Lucille's is located at:
5512 LaBranch
Houston, Texas 77004

Hours of operation after Sept. 10, 2012:
Monday 11 AM to 3 PM
Tuesday– Friday 11 AM- 10 PM
Sat. Brunch 10 AM - 3 PM/ Dinner 5PM - 10PM
Sunday Brunch only 10 AM- 3 PM (May occasionally do a Sunday evening cookout)

And remember to Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
在家，你们!!!