Restaurant
Review: Simposio, Houston TX
 After
ten years at its original Galleria-area
location, Simposio Ristorante has moved
out west and completed a swanky build-out
that includes a lounge and patio in addition
to the large, frescoed dining room with
tables that sparkle with sleek Italian flatware
and modern Murano stemware.
Owner Vasco Luti is much in attendance,
presiding over the dining room like a proud
father - and with good reason. In addition
to the lush new ambiance, Luti has brought
a young Italian chef to the kitchen, with
excellent, exciting results.
Chef Igor Rosi is a native of Pescia,
Italy, and at the tender age of 24, he's
enthusiastic and adventurous in the kitchen.
In addition to Simposio's menu of Italian
classics, Rosi offers a "Chef's
Choice" menu that changes regularly
and seems to be the place that Rosi really
lets his creative impulses run wild. Dishes
like ravioli filled with osso bucco and
served with seared scallops in a lemon,
butter and sage sauce certainly push the
boundaries of your everyday Italian food.
But then again, that seems to be part of
the point at the new and improved Simposio.
And even in the few moments that a dish
may miss the mark ever so slightly, the
effort and excitement that are so clearly
attached to each easily make up for it.
 Dishes
to love have included perfectly seared
red snapper served with light-as-a-feather
truffled potato soufflé. Deliciously
tender grilled rack of lamb that
we ate completely clean, along with the
accompanying broccolini puree. A classic
vitello tonnato was as good as any on
this side of the Atlantic. Savory veal-stuffed
agnolotti (half moon pasta) was delicately
dabbled with rosemary-scented jus, somehow
making it simultaneously light and satisfying.
And we were happy to find that the excellent
Mediterranean-style fish soup made the
journey west - it was always a favorite
at the original location. Even a dessert
won us over - a lemon cream served with
fresh berries and caramelized lemon peel.
On the other hand, there were some misses.
Like the aforementioned ravioli filled with
osso bucco meat and served with seared scallops
in the lemon, butter and sage sauce. We
kept wanting to wipe off the sauce and just
eat the ravioli, or else just eat the scallops
and sauce -- but not all of it in the same
forkful. Speaking of osso bucco, Simposio
also offers this classic as a main course.
Unfortunately, the one we tasted was just
not as melt-in-your-mouth as it should have
been. Instead it was a little stringy, verging
on stuck-in-your-teeth tough. Finally, when
we order anything with Bolognese sauce,
we want that rich, meaty, slightly creamy
stuff -- not the rather thin version we
tasted atop slightly gummy pasta.
The wine list is heavily Italian, happily,
with plenty of appealing choices from Tuscany,
Piedmont and beyond at pretty reasonable
prices, and includes a few moderately aged
bottles like a tasty 2000 Rocca delle Macie
Chianti Alfonso at $58. On the downside,
California and other New World choices are
mostly uninspiring and generic. We'll stick
with the Italian choices.
Service seems to be occasionally struggling
to rise to the new standards, but it's mostly
in the details. Like every single plate
at our entire table being placed sideways.
Or topping off the water after virtually
every sip. Or asking too often whether everything
was okay, when we were clearly and happily
immersed in conversation and eating. Or
mysteriously disappearing just when we actually
did need something. But we suspect these
things will even out sooner than later.
Simposio Ristorante
8401 Westheimer
713-532-0550
www.simposioristorante.com
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