Date Visited:  Monday, September 10, 2012

Lucio’s is a BYOB establishment, but they do have a selection of approximately 50 wines you can purchase, with a few served by the glass. We decided start with a glass of white wine, so Jeff started with the Kunte Sonoma Sauvignon Blanc, while Pam had the Waterbrook Washington Chardonnay. Jeff’s had a great mineral nose, while the flavors of grapefruit and other citrus tempt your taste buds. Pam’s chardonnay was lighter with apricot, apple and just a hint of the buttery characteristics.

It happened to be their first day with a new menu, so we were the first to order two of the dishes which were personally brought out by the chef. He was eager for our comments and suggestions with each dish.

We started with the Beef Carpaccio which was topped with truffle oil, parmesan and a chiffonade of greens. Fresh ground pepper was added at the table by our server. The plate was quite large, and the flavor was perfect.

We were ready to order our entrees, but there was another item on the appetizer list that kept calling our name: oxheart with homemade spaetzle. The oxheart was rubbed with a proprietary spice blend that included three different types of cumin and two types of paprika. As a side note, they make/grind many of their spices onsite to insure freshness. The oxheart was cooked rare to avoid any hint of a leathery texture, and was delicious ~ a little gamey without being overpowering with a classic red meat flavor and a bit of spice. The spaetzle was a nice contrast to the spice of the oxheart.

Since Lucio’s is BYOB, we brought a bottle of 2003 Prelude a Grand-Puy Ducasse from our cellar. The $5 corkage fee is reasonable. It was a nice, if mild, variant of the bordeaux blends.

For her entree, Pam ordered the sea scallops which were perfectly seared. It was served with a butternut squash risotto that was garnished with saba vinegar. Risotto is one of Pam’s favorite dishes, and she thought it was cooked just right and enjoyed the chunks of butternut squash throughout.

Jeff ordered the prosciutto wrapped pork chop which was complemented with a fig sauce. Also on the plate was duxelle, asparagus and mashed potatoes. The pork was cooked perfectly and the prosciutto wrap was well crisped. While delicious, in comparison, the asparagus and mashed potatoes were uneventful.

We were completely full following our meal, but the desserts were not to be ignored. We chose to split the goat cheese panna cota which was a wonderful choice. It had a smear of a port raspberry reduction with chopped candied pecans, and it was very creamy. The flavors blended well, however we craved more of the reduction.

We arrived at 6pm but most people did not start arriving until 7pm. They have a wonderful patio area in the back which I’m sure we will visit when the weather cools down.

Menu Link:  http://www.luciosbyob.com/index.php/menu/dinner

905 Taft Street
Houston, TX 77019
(713) 523-9958
http://www.luciosbyob.com/