Date Visited:  Thursday, December 20, 2012

Plonk is the brain child of Steve Miller. It is located in the nice negborhood of Oak Forest, and a bit off the beaten path, which is the way it is intended. The resturaunt bar has no sign and is tucked in behind a Wells Fargo bank. Tonight we met up with two of our friends, Randy and Rhonda, for a couple of glasses of wine and a bit of food.

Upon arrival, we were greeted and told to take any open table. Ordering at Plonk! is at the bar. After perusing the wine list, Jeff made his way to the bar and ordered a nice bottle of 7 Deadly Zins. It is a excellent zinfandel for the price, and has great berry flavors with cinnamon and pepper, and a smooth tannin backbone that holds the wine together.

As for food, we started with an order of the olives and a warmed Baby Belletoile triple cream brie served with a whole head of roasted garlic, honey and hazelnuts and their house made focacia bread. Both were delicious and we could have easily consumed 4 more orders of the cheese and focacia.

As were were enjoying the starters, Steve Miller came by the table to discuss his concept for the “bar” and why he started it up. His focus is to make this a great neighborhood bar where people come to enjoy drinks and get to know each other. That is why they have you order at the bar…so that you leave your table and interact with others.

Moving on, we ordered another bottle of wine, the Alpha Omega II 2009. It is a wine that has black cherries and cassis supported by chocolate. Retail it is a under $50 dollar bottle, and Plonk has it for $99. Not a bad markup for a wine bar.

We moved on to the main course next. Pam and I shared the Hanger Steak that is served with plantation grits, roasted cauliflower and an agro dolce sauce. The steak was tender and well cooked. Jeff loved the grits and overall the plate came together quite well.

Randy ordered the Tuxedo Halibut. It is poached in olive oil and served on a bed of black quinoa. The dish was plated well and Randy seemed to really enjoy it.

Rhonda ordered the The P-Funk pizza. This pizza ranks in the top 5 pizzas we have ever eaten. As per Plonk!’s description, it has sage and pumpkin seed pesto, poached Asian pears, Point Reyes bleu cheese crumbles, walnuts, smoked bacon and sage honey. The combination was questionable when on the menu, but it makes a fantastic pizza. Rhonda was nice enough to share a slice with each of us. The blue cheese with the balance of the smoky bacon and sweet honey was perfect.

For the table, we shared two orders of their brussel sprouts. Great carmelization and quite tasty.

After our delicious meal Scott took us on a brief tour of the house. The layout of the resturaunt has been thought out to encourage people interact, which lends to the main space being vibrant and noisy. The night we were there, the bar and bar tables were packed with only a few of the low tables taken. Back in the kitchen, it was amazing to see what they do in such a small space. The pizza oven is used for a lot of the cooking, not just pizzas. All the food coming out looked delicious.

We will be back to try more and recommend that if you haven’t found Plonk!, give it a shot.

1214 West 43rd Street
Houston, TX  77018
(713) 290-1070
http://plonkbistro.com/