His nod to southern hush puppies is revealed in delicate orbs of cornmeal filled with whipped crème fraiche and a thimble of Kaluga caviar. Perhaps campechana inspired his ceviche? His velvety local snapper is first cured with salt then napped in a citrus cocktail of orange, lemon and lime served with crunchy fried purple sweet potatoes. He calls it “California food through a Houston lens.” Weiswasser’s initial menu offers what he calls mini Texas toast (griddled squares of brioche) topped with chicken liver puree, a button of butter and micro leeks.
His menu was guided not by the proclivities of the Houston palate but by a vision of what flavors work with Mutiny’s wine inventory. “It was a wonderful introduction to the dining scene,” he said. He dined at Hugo’s, Rosie Cannonball, UB Preserv, Himalaya, BCN and Rainbow Lodge. Weiswasser took the time to visit Houston to get to know its seasonality, flavors, farmers, vendors and culinary superstars. Weiswasser worked at Le Bec-Fin in Philadelphia and at Picholine and Daniel in New York as well as two years at The French Laundry in Yountville, Calif., before opening Glen Ellen Star. The tasting room leads seamlessly into the farmhouse, a restaurant space with a bar, communal table, and traditional table configurations for enjoying wine with a menu of small, sharable plates created by consulting chef Ari Weiswasser, chef-owner of Glen Ellen Star, a fine dining restaurant set in a farmhouse-style space in Glen Ellen, Calif. Staff wine stewards will further guide guests through tasting room offerings. The owners will rotate selections by inviting winemakers for special showcases where guests can interact directly with small producers.
Every bottle on the list will be available to sample by the glass guests will be able to purchase wines on site. The tasting room is where guests can sample from Mutiny’s curated list of 40 to 45 bottles from North American wineries that produce between 500 and 5,000 cases annually – truly boutique wine makers who are not commonly found at retail (the owners are acquainted with nearly every producer they’ll be offering). The space is divided among a tasting room and “the farmhouse” which both open onto expansive patios. The endeavor may not be new in the sense of combining wine tasting with retail sales, but the vision is almost startling in its refreshing definition of how fine wine can be enjoyed. SCHMEAR CAMPAIGN: New bagel shops help feed Houston’s hunger for better bagels
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