Convenience Big Store: Alison Cook reviews Josephine's, a spirited fusion of Southern, Gulf Coast flavors

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I found some spectacular churros for you this week — the version at the new Comalito CDMX-style taqueria at the Airline Farmers Market eclipsed my former favorites, shattering a record that has stood for nearly a decade.

In my review of Midtown's Josephine, I got to champion the cause of farmed Gulf oysters, which have gotten so good in recent years. If you haven't tasted the Barrier Beauties out of Galveston, you should. And don't sleep on chef Lucas McKinney's fabulous fried oyster salad.

Bao Ong wrote about the transformative effect Tik-Tok food critic Keith Lee's $1,000 tip may have on server Leslie Haynes and his family. It's a good reminder that the folks who mind our tables have rich lives we know little to nothing about.

I'm a little dizzy from all the Italian restaurant openings. They're tried and true ways to make bank in Houston, but these days I find myself wondering if and when the bubble will burst. This week brought notice of Tavola, in the Post Oak space where the French La Table once reigned; and of the new Lombardi's in Uptown Park, from the Dallas restaurateur who owns Toulouse.

Another import, the New Orleans-based Acme Oyster House, suffered the abrupt closure of its splashy Tower Theater location. I wasn't surprised. It opened during the pandemic, when I had quit writing negative reviews, but my first meal there was so dreary I never returned.

Alison Cook, Restaurant Critic

Alison.Cook@houstonchronicle.com

The fried oyster salad served with apples, bitter greens, shallots, almonds, lardons and fried oysters is seen at Josephine's on Gray Street, Friday, Dec. 1, 2023, in Houston.

Photo by: Jason Fochtman, Staff Photographer

Alison Cook review: Josephine's in Midtown offers a spirited fusion of Southern, Gulf Coast flavors

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