Date Visited: Tuesday, July 19th, 2016

We are back. Sorry for the hiatus but look for more reviews to come.

Today, we visited State of Grace for Jeff’s Birthday. Pam made a 6pm reservation for us, but since we came straight from work, we got there shortly after 5pm. While the hostess was more than happy to seat us at a table, we opted to have a cocktail at the bar and take advantage of the Happy Hour specials.

From 11am to 6pm Monday thru Friday, they feature a selection of oysters for $1.00 each. Our selection that day was Prestige – Gulf of Mexico, Tx; Point Aux Pins – Grand Bay, Al; Jean Lafitte – Gulf of Mexico, LA; and Blue Points – Long Island, NY. We enjoyed each, although Pam is more of a fan of the Gulf Coast oysters. In addition to the oysters listed above, they had another 8 available.

To pair with our oysters, we ordered cocktails. Pam enjoyed the Honey Plum Shandy, a Goose Island Sofie Sasion with plum ginger syrup, honey and lemon. It was a nice refreshing beverage for a hot day. Jeff ordered the Buffalo Speedster which is a blend of Buffalo Trace bourbon, Aperol and rhubarb bitters. In effect, it was a well made Old Fashioned.

We were enjoying the atmosphere of the bar so much, we canceled our table and stayed at the bar for the evening. Jeff ordered another cocktail, La Parilla. It starts with a reposado tequila that is infused with blistered serrano, serve that over rocks with triple sec, grilled lime and smoked salt with a mescal floater. This was a great drink with a bit of spice and little smokiness. Give it a shot on your visit.

For our next sampling, we had the crawfish hushpuppies topped with powdered sugar and served with cane syrup butter. You read that right, powdered sugar on hushpuppies. Jeff had the same reaction. They were light, flavorful and delicious; not overly sweet; and had a great texture.

Along with the hushpuppies we ordered the Knopp Branch Figs with evoo, sea salt and saba. The ripe figs were complemented by the sea salt and slightly sweet but acidic saba. This was a simple preparation but nothing else was needed. Pam ordered a Berlucchi Franciacorta Brut Rose that has a nice effervescence with good acidity and light berry flavors. The sparkling rose was a great pair for the figs and hushpuppies.

Pam moved on to another rose for her next beverage in the Henri Bourgois Sancerre. This is a 100% Pinot Nior rose with great ripe berry notes and hint of minerality, all complemented with a clean, crisp finish.

Moving on in the meal, we ordered the beef tartare and burrata. The beef tartare is served with fried oysters, lemon grass and green papaya. This dish comes off more like a salad than a traditional tartare. If you like the more traditional style, you will still enjoy this dish as we did.

Jeff loves good barrata and the flavors of this dish were spot on. The barrata was served on toasted bread with local peaches, pesto and saba. We prefer an intact burrata that has the mozzarella shell and creamy interior served untouched. This preparation had great flavors and was perfect for splitting between two people.

We finished the meal with their plums and cream panna cotta. The slightly sweet cream of the panacota against the plums and berries was a perfect conclusion to our meal. We split the desert giving us each just a few bites, which is more than enough of this rich dessert.

Overall, we were very impressed with State of Grace, and Ashley (our bartender) was great. We will be back, and hopefully next time we save room to enjoy some of the larger dishes.

Menu Link: http://stateofgracetx.com/menus

3258 WESTHEIMER ROAD
HOUSTON, TX. 77098
832 942 5080