A New Chef, Trained in Michelin-Starred Kitchens, Revamps the Menu at Texas Restaurant | Eater Houston

"Michelin-star–trained chef Jonathan Lestingi, who worked at the Inn at Little Washington and at notable New Orleans kitchens including Brennan’s, Willa Jean and his own Oxalis, joined the resort’s restaurant last summer and has reoriented the menu toward Southern ingredients with international influences while avoiding "fusion confusion." He introduced weekend brunch (fried chicken and waffles; ricotta pancakes with house-made honeycomb butter; and a signature shakshuka with poached eggs, fire-roasted spicy tomato sauce, merguez sausage, feta and avocado) and expanded dinner offerings. Standout plates include a blackened redfish topped with leek ash, cucumbers and fingerling potatoes on a cream-cheese tzatziki; six-hour Bordeaux-braised chuck short ribs with black-eyed peas, pecan gremolata and fresh horseradish; cast-iron vegetable polenta with sweet potato, creamy polenta and preserved lemon butter; hickory-smoked fried chicken wings; and a smoked-onion béarnaise that complements steak frites (and could be used more broadly). Dessert highlights feature a bourbon-forward tres leches styled like an Old Fashioned, with orange bitters in the whipped cream and a whiskey-soaked cherry. The kitchen aims to showcase Southern products in creative, approachable preparations and serves dinner, weekend brunch and daily happy-hour specials." - Brittany Britto Garley