Restaurant
Reviews: Rainbow Lodge, Houston TX
After some thirty years at its original
location, Rainbow Lodge moved operations
to the 100-year-old log cabin that used
to house another long-time Houston restaurant,
La Tour d'Argent.
La Tour shuttered years ago, and the cabin
had lost its rustic elegance appeal and
was just plain rustic when Rainbow Lodge
owner Donnette Hansen came across
it in her search for a new location. With
years of overgrown brush and neglect, the
cabin needed some immediate TLC before Rainbow
Lodge's collection of hunting trophies,
fishing and livestock paraphernalia could
be properly showcased - never mind actually
serving customers.
 But
after about a year of what must have been
a lot of hard work, with Hansen landscaping,
planting herb and vegetable gardens, and
generally sprucing up the place, Rainbow
Lodge has reopened and, in our opinion,
is better than it's been in years. The signature
game meat dishes are still at the forefront,
but now they are under the capable hands
of Chef Jason Hauck, who has supplied
substantial doses of finesse and elegance
while keeping Texas and Gulf Coast ingredients
like achiote spice rubs, chipotle infusions,
chorizo and habañero peppers.
Thankfully, this is not yet another local
steakhouse. Instead, Hauck serves up dishes
like the Grilled Duo of Lamb - a
paillard and a delicious double chop with
crisp-roasted potatoes, teardrop tomatoes
and tender arugula. The Wild Game Mixed
Grill is laden with venison, duck, elk and
wild boar - each carefully prepared and
seasoned. If that's too much to contemplate,
go with the tender and not particularly
gamey-tasting Pan Roasted Elk Chop,
with its mountain of sweet potato shoestring
fries and chipotle-infused reduction sauce.
 Other
recent standouts have included a flavorful
grilled buffalo ribeye, almond-crusted
rainbow trout with creamy rosemary fontina
grits, a butter-poached lobster starter,
and a brunch dish featuring fried eggs atop
a chorizo, corn and Mexican cheese roulade.
The wine list is extensive, with samplings
from here and there, at mostly decent prices.
We'd like more Rhone reds to choose from,
but that's just us.
Desserts haven't done a thing for us so
far (again, that could be just us), but
the "Texas on the Plate" cheese
course was something we'd go back for
every night. Featuring cheeses from around
the state, including the delicious Veldhuizen
Family Farm's Paragon (raw cow's milk) and
Pure Luck Dairy's Sainte Maure chevre, among
others, and served with brioche toast, quince
preserves, spiced pecans, pears and local
honeycomb (and preferably served with a
glass of the suggested and reasonably priced
Taylor 20 Year Tawny Port!) - it was both
beautiful and tasty.
Dinner Starters $7-$14
Dinner Entrees $17-$49
Open lunch and dinner
Rainbow Lodge
2011 Ella Boulevard
Houston TX 77008
713-867-8666
www.rainbow-lodge.com
|
 |
