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PC'S PICK OF THE NEW BITES BOÎTES We've puzzled out the abundant new bistros, cantinas, grilles and even a rathskeller or two — to fashion a culinary map of the delicious and well-designed entrees to our local scene. By Laurann Claridge PAUL SEDILLO If you didn't know that Luke Mandola Sr. is one of 875 Sicilian Italians descended from a great-grandfather who immigrated to Galveston (and who grew up to be one of many Mandolas running food businesses in Texas), you might think he's a Cajun through and through. After all, the former proprietor of Mandola's Liquor Store — which opened in 1972, a year before his legendary Richmond Avenue crawfish haunt, Ragin Cajun, next door — has made Louisiana shrimp po-boys, red beans and rice, and those little spicy mudbugs his stock and trade for decades. When the liquor-store lease ran out, he and sons Luke Mandola Jr. and Dominic Mandola reinvented the space as LA Bar, a New Orleans contemporary creole joint inspired by a little place of the same name that he and his wife, Joan Benoit Mandola, frequent in her home town of Lake Arthur, Louisiana. The space, which opens up to Ragin Cajun, is not the least bit fussy, with big screens keeping you abreast of the day's sports. Indulge in Taste the Tradition of Louisiana, which offers three samplings of what they do best: seafood gumbo, red beans and rice, crawfish étouffée or shrimp creole ($9). Try the boiled crawfish steeped in RC's signature spices, salads and pastas, or take it up a notch with fresh fish selections such as pan-seared mahi-mahi with jumbo lump crab ($22). If LA Bar's rich grilled oysters ($18) and barbecue shrimp ($16) don't have you running back for more, nothing will. 4302 Richmond Ave., 713.355.2227; ragin-cajun.com. PAUL SEDILLO LA BAR LATIN BITES CEBICHE & PISCO BAR Oxheart Oxheart La Fisheria JENNY ANTILL JENNY ANTILL ROOST For those craving just a nibble of this and that, drop in early to chef/owner Kevin Naderi's new little no-reservations dinner spot, Roost. Graze your way through the intriguing New American menu — which pulls as much dairy, meats, fish and produce from local vendors and farmers as possible — in casual surroundings with a great bistro feel. Share plates include options such as tomato salad with burrata cheese and baby arugula doused with a basil vinaigrette ($10), chicken-liver mousse layered with parsley oil in a canning jar with crostini, mustard and jam ($10) and the most intriguing dish on the menu: roasted cauliflower with flakes of bonito that, when hit with the steam of the florets and miso dressing, rehydrate and sway as if they're being hit with a blast of AC — quite amusing, not to mention delicious ($9). 1972 Fairview St., 713.523.7667; What started as an offshoot to their family catering business downtown — 10 tiny tables that drew a loyal fan following — has given way to a bright, bustling eatery in Tanglewood with the capacity to seat more than 120 inside and out. Sister and brother, general manager Rita Castre and chef Roberto Castre, along with Rita's husband and beverage director Carlos Ramos, grew up in Peru. They wanted to export not only the country's zesty cooking roots but one of its trendiest cocktails, the Pisco Sour. Culling together traditional tastes of his homeland (which in modern times has incorporated the country's fascination with Japanese and Asian ingredients), Roberto's presentations are beautiful, painterly renditions of plates small and large. Some of our favorites include the colorful causitas, a trio of Peruvian whipped potatoes cloaked with three sauces and tastes, from shrimp escabeche to piquillo peppers ($14), as well as stunning scallops, each seared in its shell and prepared au gratin with herb butter, cheeses and a splash of Pisco ($20). Don't miss the fresh, fabulous ceviches, such as pulpo al olivo, aka sashimi-style sliced octopus drizzled with a purple olive mayo and sweetpotato purée with large kernels of Peruvian corn ($16), and sauté and wok dishes such as Peruvian-style fried-rice dishes ($15 to $18) and sautéed beef tenderloin marinated in a deeply flavored sauce of soy, oyster sauce, red wine and garlic ($21). 5709 Woodway, 713.229.8369; latinbitescafe.com. OXHEART LA FISHERIA Even if you don't recognize chef/owner Aquiles Chavez from his two Utilisima network TV shows, perhaps his signature curled moustache and soul patch will give him away. The recent émigré — a cookbook author, spokesman for the avocado industry south of the border and Twitter mainstay with 145,000 followers — has documented every step of his transition from superstar chef in Tabasco, Mexico, to upstart Houston restaurant owner. His La Fisheria, with manager/partner Mirna Cox, is a happylooking space just off Shepherd near the I-10 exchange: a blue-and-orange-painted house where waiters in Panama straw hats bring forth the sort of robust yet light Mexican fare you crave during Texas' warmer months. Think mini tostadas layered with raw yellowfin tuna and avocado ($5.50) or octopus ($6), red-snapper ceviche to be piled atop Saltines ($12,50) and shrimp tacos of the tempura sort, dressed with a tamarind-andchipotle sauce ($2.50). As the dinner hour descends, china replaces the enamelware dishes, even though the playfully stamped plywood tables remain cloth-less to retain the easygoing vibe. Entrees such as beet risotto with lobster tail ($30), grilled rib-eye with truffled mashed potatoes ($33) and red snapper pibil style with an achiote-paste rub ($25) showcase Chavez's range. Do some of the food terms stump you? (Xnipec? Xtabentun?) Not to worry. There's an abridged dictionary on the menu to get you up to speed. 4705 Inker St., 713.802.1712; lafisheriahouston.com. Roost Roost Latin Bites Cebiche & Pisco Bar LA Bar JUNE | PAGE 17 | 2012 This tiny eatery moved into the downtown warehouse-district spot that Latin Bites vacated when it moved to Tanglewood. The owners, husband-and-wife chef Justin Yu and baker Karen Man, share a wonderful zeal to forage for ingredients made and grown with integrity, and they've followed that passion around the world, staging with innovative chefs who have no doubt influenced their outlook here. Oxheart serves dinner only, Thursday through Monday, and seating is limited (30 seats), so reservations are a must. Arrive ready to feast on three progressively larger menu options that change weekly. The early spring menu ($49) is a four-course temptation, as was their garden menu, designed around seasonal fruits and vegetables with nary a piece of meat, fish or fowl in sight ($49). More ambitious appetites can indulge in the tasting menu ($75), a seven-course array that might start with beets and a savory granola, then move on to a Gulf oyster warmed in its shell with red bunching onions, leek and brown-butter noisette. Pair it all with wine and beer selected by Oxheart's master sommelier, Justin Vann. We like to think of the Oxheart clan collectively as our own budding Keller acolytes. 1302 Nance St., 832.830.8592; oxheart houston.com.