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BITES& BO��TES HOT NEW RESTAURANTS WORTH A VISIT FA-LA-LA-LA-LEAKS BRAISED IN BEEF CHEEKS. IT���S THAT TIME OF YEAR WHEN EVERY CHEF AND RESTAURATEUR PLANNING A CONCEPTUAL NEW EATERY RACES TO OPEN BEFORE THE HOLIDAYS. SLIDING IN UNDER THE WIRE ARE SEVERAL NEWCOMERS WHERE WE DASHED TO DINE. BY LAURANN CLARIDGE COSTA BRAVA BISTRO Restaurant management veterans Kitty Bailey and Angeles Due��as are an impressive duo whose combined tenures at Caf�� Annie, Ouisie���s and The Cord��a Group���s concepts have prepared them well for their ownership role at Costa Brava Bistro in Bellaire. Their cozy nook is ensconced with warm, dark woods and old-world feeling, with still lifes propped casually about ��� a look that complements their affection for the fare of France and Spain (the latter, Duenas��� homeland). While Bailey has been a ���xture in the front of the house her whole career, here you���ll ���nd this eager cook in the kitchen, recreating dishes such as a sophisticated gazpacho Andulaz ($5), steamed mussels and frites ($15), Duenas��� grandfather���s paella ($25) and beef ���let with Roquefort cream and Lyonnaise potatoes ($28) ��� dishes she once only created at home for the sought-after dinner parties the two host together. Dessert chez Costa Brava brings out Bailey���s Francophile taste for hazelnut cr��pes and apple tart on buttery p��te feuillet��e. Meanwhile, gracious host Duenas scours the country for compelling wine choices to go with Costa Brava���s crave-worthy lunch and dinner menus. 5115 Bellaire Blvd., 713.839.1005; costabravabistro.com. Chef Chris Williams Sparrow Bar + Cookshop The Pass and Provisions ARTISANS For years, chef and former University of Houston professor Jacques Fox taught classic techniques rooted in French cuisine to young minds seeking a career in the hospitality business. Today he���s putting his own lesson plans into practice. At Artisans in midtown, Fox plays host to diners who, like his students before, are invited to sit theater-style on the front row or elevated at a four-top to peer into his bustling open demonstration showcase kitchen. Never leaving those days of higher learning far behind, Fox and co-owner David Denis (��cole LeN��tre, Le Mistral restaurant) recreate classics such as steak tartare ($18) and black-pepper-crusted beef tenderloin ($36) with their own tasty spins. We love the scholarly approach they���ve taken, foraging (and paying a tad more) for great ingredients, from Hudson Valley foie gras for their pan-seared dish accented with a savory baklava and saffron-poached pear ($22) to a vivid orange salmon from Tasmania ��� its tender ���esh cooked perfectly, the sweet skin crisp with a ���ne sheath of sugar caramelized beneath a torch before plating ($33). Another standout is the exquisite mediumrare-cooked seared lamb loin with corn galette and creamy ���ngerling mashed potatoes ($39). Desserts are a study in restraint by Nguyet Nguyen, while the wine list is a thoughtful variety dominated by French (bien s��r), Italian and California bottles. 3201 Louisiana St., 713.529.9111; artisansrestaurant.com. THE PASS AND PROVISIONS Artisans casual bistro, patio and bar known as Provisions, however, was all any foodie in town could chatter about for weeks before and after its debut. The Provisions menu, printed on a whitepaper table covering, features an ironic quote by outspoken British chef Marco Pierre White: ���At the end of the day it���s just food, isn���t it? Just food.��� The off-the-cuff remark truly belies the dining experience here, however. This concept is nothing if not meticulously studied. Ice varieties are apropos to speci���c cocktails, the silver place settings are charmingly mismatched, the beer list focuses on boutique (and Belgian) producers, and your bill arrives wrapped up in a sardine-fashioned can. Nothing here has been left to chance. The earnest, well-schooled waitstaff will likely encourage you to try one of the ���ve bread courses ��� for instance, a kimchi pan au lait accompanied by a warm egg yolk and cheese (in this case, a cremant from Vermont) priced at $9 each. We opted to take our own bread in the form of a pizza for the ���rst course. Happily we devoured the ricotta/ arugula/���ham ���o��� day��� variety ($15) ��� in this case, the ham was an American prosciutto that hails from New York City���s Hell���s Kitchen. Meals at Provisions are best shared, with tastes from sections dubbed vegetables, meat, pasta, ���sh and dessert. We also tried a harissaspiced bucatini pasta with shrimp, guanciale (unsmoked pig���s-cheek bacon) and broccoli ($22) and raw hamachi ���avored with yuzukosho (a chili laced Japanese seasoning) chorizo and radish ($19). The meal ended with a beautifullooking tarte tatin for two ($19), its pristine apples rendered soft under a veil of caramelized sugar and butter, ���ipped expertly out and into a Staub gray cast iron pan with two sides of sherry-laced ice cream and the best brewed cup of coffee (Kiambaa Cooperative from Kenya) my husband declared he���s had in years. 807 Taft St., Nosh 713.628.9020; passandprovisions.com. Costa Brava ��TOILE CUISINE ET BAR It���s time to thank the heavens above when the state of our local economy ��� less affected than our compatriots north, south, east and west of us ��� has the power to lure a chef the caliber of Philippe Verpiand from glorious La Jolla to Houston. Unheard of, right? You might think so, but like many of us expats who now call the fourth largest city our home, the French-born toque sees Houston as a new culinary frontier. Verpiand was raised in the Vaucluse region of France; his r��sum�� peppered with stints at Michelin-starred restaurants, as well as his own much-lauded successful eatery Cavaillon. His intimate ��toile Cuisine et Bar in Uptown Park feels nothing like Andre���s, the former occupant of the space. With warm limestone walls, whitewashed reclaimed wood paneling and tiny chandeliers dangling above farmhouse tables, this 90-seat eatery transports you to all places Fran��ais for both lunch and dinner. Sensational tastings ranged from a mushroom ravioli app napped with port and white truf���e oil to his very autumnal braised beef short ribs with butternut squash mousseline and roasted vegetables ��� a signature entr��e held over from his California days. While most chefs who excel on ��toile Cuisine et Bar the hot line will admit they can���t bake their way out of a Bundt pan, Verpiand is the unusual exception: His from-scratch classic thin apple tart (with house-made puff pastry, topped with vanilla ice cream and ���eur de sel���tinged caramel sauce) is better than any in town. Ditto, his panna cotta, the Italian custard Verpiand has Frenchi���ed by infusing the custard with caramel and topping it with a tart apricot coulis. 1101-11 Uptown Park Blvd., 832.668.5808; etoilecuisine.com. Sparrow Bar + Cookshop NOSH BISTRO Terrence Gallivan, Seth Siegel-Gardner The Pass and Provisions At press time, this project has been more than two years in the planning and was nearly complete. The Pass and Provisions, created by chef/owners Terrence Gallivan and Seth Siegal-Gardner, actually embodies two concepts under the former Gravitas roof (a location that was home to Antoine���s many moons ago). The Pass is the ���ne-dining division; when we visited, it had yet to serve its ���rst guest. The Lucille���s DECEMBER | PAGE 26 | 2012 Looking for a something rather exotic? Perhaps a bite of Indian, a dash of Korean spice, Singaporean and Thai? Meander into Nosh Bistro, a pretty platinum- and violet-hued dining den that also offers loads of cozy patio seating. Created by newbie restaurateur Neera Patidar and partner Kwan Lee, Nosh is situated under a canopy of old oaks off Kirby, adjacent to Allegiance Bank. This is a passion project for avid cook Patidar, who has collaborated on the small plates and sharing dishes with chef Carlos Gonzalez (who most recently worked with the Omni Hotel). Try starters such as chickpeas bathed in a warm, sweetly complex Indian curry, served alongside spears of grilled bread or perhaps pakoras, the fritter batter dotted with chopped spinach, potato and onion before it is fried and drizzled with a tamarind sauce. Or order a ground lamb pizza