Issue link: http://papercitymagazine.uberflip.com/i/907630
OBSESSIONS. DECORATION. SALIENT FACTS. 24 C hef Robert Del Grande and his compatriots, wife Mimi Del Grande and Lonny and Candice Schiller, have been quietly reinventing Cafe Annie. With the arrival 35 years ago of the Californian-born Del Grande, Cafe Annie morphed from its original incarnation as a French bistro into the ground breaking Southwestern- style eatery that garnered Del Grande a James Beard Award, and the restaurant local and national acclaim. Once a paean to all things mesquite and poblano, Del Grande has changed with the times, adding a descriptor to the end of its name: Cafe Annie Wood Grilled Steaks and Oyster Bar. This signifies additions to the offerings traditionally coming out of this kitchen, not replacements. Adding to the breadth are dry- and wet-aged USDA prime cuts such as the classic rib eye (12 ounce, $45), and bone-in rib eye (24 ounce, $125 for two). There are the traditional go-withs often not seen stateside, such as whipped aligot potatoes and pan-roasted sweet corn with epazote and lime. And the much-loved WHAT'S IN A NAME coffee-roasted tenderloin has made a triumphant return (22 ounce, $125). While the second-floor bar and its fare have stayed dutifully intact, designer and Cafe Annie co-owner Candice Schiller has relocated the long scarlet brocade- covered banquettes along the perimeter of the bar to the first floor, an intimate space that was formerly a pass-through for those climbing the split staircase, now christened The Prime Room. Here, Del Grande and his team go old school, playing with bistro classics such as oysters on the half shell, shrimp remoulade, steak tartare, creamy onion soup, and the coup de grace: prime rib served three ways, a dish in the past served only on New Year's Eve. And finally, after years of turning away private parties of more than 60 (the capacity of their only private room), the second floor has been reconfigured to create Annie Hall, a private space that can accommodate up to 120. Cafe Annie Wood Grilled Steaks and Oyster Bar, 1800 Post Oak Blvd., 713.840.1111, cafeanniehouston.com. Laurann Claridge C r a f t y K i n g + Q u e e n : The brilliant a n d w i l d l y i n v e n t i v e Edward Lane M c C a r t n e y solos at Hooks-Epstein Galleries, just in time for gifting the unique and handmade. Assemblages in all shapes and sizes define McCartney's practice, which is defiantly not shy of color. Hear Glassell director Joe Havel in a chat with the artist Saturday, December 2, 2 pm (opening that night, through January 6). At Rice University's Moody Center for the Arts, Brooklyn-based Mickalene Thomas, a bona-fide art star, puts the tropes of Black femininity out there in canvases bedazzled with dizzyingly patterned fabric, crystals, and leopard print. The most poignant work is Waiting on a Prime-Time Star, a life-size living- room vignette inspired by her late mother, fashion model Sandra Bush. Screening on a '70s-era TV within the installation is a documentary about the power woman who raised and inspired Thomas (through January 13). Texas' Best: An under-the-radar talent returns to claim her place in "Out of the D a r k n e s s & Into the Marvelous," when Nancy O ' C o n n o r s o l o s a t B a r b a r a Davis Gallery (December 1 – 28). O'Connor distills time-based new media, including photography, slides, and video, paired with elaborate tableaux; the work was first exhibited in 1985 at the CAMH and has been honed to its essence, telling the remarkable journey of a ranch hand and his African-American community who impacted the artist's own life in South Texas … At Houston Museum of African American Culture, David McGee defies the confines of watercolor in his beyond-provocative retrospective presenting nearly 20 years of works on paper. Among the most powerful exhibitions of 2017, HMAAC's McGee show challenges the viewer to reflect upon issues of race and gender (through January 12). University of Texas at Arlington p r o f e s s o r B e n i t o H u e r t a c u r a t e s . Catherine D. Anspon ART NOTES Nancy O'Connor's Dream Chair, 1983-1984, at Barbara Davis Gallery Edward Lane McCartney's Radial Chromography #2, 2017, at Hooks-Epstein Galleries PHOTO MICHELE GRINSTEAD GRIFFITHS COURTESY THE ARTIST AND HOOKS-EPSTEIN GALLERIES Cafe Annie Wood Grilled Steaks and Oyster Bar