Wine & Spirits - August 2017 - 12

MINNEAPOLIS: BELLECOUR

HOUSTON: XOCHI

PHILADELPHIA: BARIL

In a luminous space in Houston's new Marriott Marquis, Xochi is chef Hugo
Ortega's homage to Oaxaca. Ortega, who won the 2017 James Beard Award
for Best Southwest Chef, puts the wood-burning horno to good use, turning
out succulent roasted meat and seafood, but it's worth exploring the more
"traditional" preparations as well: Among the seven moles Ortega puts out is
one made with ants (chicatana); the appetizer queso de rancho is made with
three types of insects. The wine selection is equally fascinating: beverage
director Sean Beck offers 170 labels, from a debina from Greece to an
old-vine, dry-farmed carignan from Chile, and showcases 20 from Mexico,
including Santo Tomás Uva Blanca, made from the mission grape. Of course
no Oaxacan homage would be complete without mezcal: Beck's selection
runs 28 pages. -Jamal rayyis
1777 Walker St., Houston; 713-400-3330, xochihouston.com

Michael Franco worked
at Philadelphia's Le Bec
Fin for years, beginning
his tenure by wheeling
the elegant barrelshaped cheese cart
through the dining room.
Eventually shifting his
attention to wine, he
learned the skills of a
sommelier through Le
Bec's extensive cellar.
Now he has his own
place, Baril, French for
barrel and an echo of Barrel's, the name of a South Philadelphia bar
his grandfather opened in 1959. Where Le Bec was gleaming gilt and
crystal chandeliers, Baril is a down-to-earth neighborhood bistro, but
Franco goes out of his way to source a dynamic selection of wines,
from Bru-Baché Jurançon to Bancroft Vineyards's Pennsylvania-grown
chambourcin. The menu sticks to French bistro classics-coq au vin,
onion soup, ratatouille-and don't miss the Bordelaise Burger, topped
with caramelized onions, mushrooms and aged cheddar. Or skip dinner
and go straight to cheese; the elegant cart, a gift from Perrier, is the very
same one that Franco pushed at Le Bec Fin. -emily Teel
267 S. 19th St., Philadelphia; 267-687-2608, barilphilly.com

NYC: VILLANELLE
Precise, seasonally driven food is the name of the game at Villanelle, a new Greenwich
Village spot just steps from the Union Square Greenmarket. The unassuming mushroom dish
should be called "more mushrooms"-a hunk of meaty portobello suspended in an herbinfused mushroom tea and purée, topped with a heaping mound of crispy black trumpets;
the season's first sugar snap peas are coddled in crème fraîche with Thai basil and mint.
The folks behind the bar pay homage to the market as well, working under general manager
James Shields's belief that anything purchased from the farmers' market can be utilized in
a cocktail. Bitters, amaro, orgeat, tinctures, three types of oleo saccharum and dozens of
syrups are all made in house, from scratch, daily. The lemon oleo gives a Negroni riff a new
lease on life in their Felted in Davos. -deanna Gonnella
15 E. 12th St., NYC; 212-989-2474, villanellenyc.com
12

WINE & SPIRITS

AUGUST 2017

photo of Bellecour by Eliesa Johnson; Xochi by Julie Soefer

The menu at Bellecour would look right at home in Paris's Marais neighborhood: foie gras au
torchon with strawberries, grains of paradise and toasted brioche; soupe à l'oignon; moules
frites with sauce marinière; and pommes de terre infused with the drippings from the poulet
rôti. Minneapolis prodigal son Gavin Kayson, who already has garnered a James Beard Award
for Spoon & Stable, throws in a few Midwest touches-turnips accompany the duck à l'orange-
but generally hews to the classic French bistro theme. So does pastry whiz Diane Yang. Honey
vacherin with morello cherry sorbet, anyone? Meanwhile, wine director Nicolas Giraud mines
every corner of his native France for gems such as a sciaccarellu-niellucciu blend from Domaine
Comte Abbatucci in Corsica, or a pristine sauvignon blanc from Domaine Toterau in Quincy.
Or there's always Pol Roger Champagne served by the glass to wash down those escargots en
croûte or boudin blanc. -Bill Ward
739 Lake St. E., Wayzata, MN; 952-444-5200, bellecourrestaurant.com

http://www.bellecourrestaurant.com http://www.xochihouston.com http://www.barilphilly.com http://www.villanellenyc.com

Table of Contents for the Digital Edition of Wine & Spirits - August 2017