The October Hit List: Ostia, One Fifth Mediterranean, Xin Chao, and More

After more than a decade away, much of it spent as a protege for California cuisine pioneer Jonathan Waxman, chef Travis McShane, a Houston native, is back home with one of the most anticipated restaurant openings of the year. Featuring a exhibition-style open kitchen and a custom Nobile stone-deck oven and grill, Ostia will specialize in New American cuisine inspired by Italy and the Mediterranean. Dishes like whole shrimp with harissa, aioli and lime, or pork chop with apricot mostarda and escarole hearts, reflect a farm-to-table ethos with an emphasis on seasonality. Lush foliage around the restaurant reinforces this theme, and it’s complemented by a robust beverage program  created by Houston-based master sommelier Jack Mason.

Dining status: Reserve a table for dine-in or patio seating. Takeout and delivery available.

She’s the blind chef who won Masterchef‘s third season; he’s the chef behind the former award-winning Saigon House Midtown. Together, Christine Ha and Tony Nguyen are the co-executive chefs behind Houston’s new modern Vietnamese restaurant, Xin Chao, where they interpret Vietnamese cuisine with a Texan spin. As with smoked duck salad with purple cabbage, jackfruit and a ginger fish sauce vinaigrette, which riffs on Vietnamese goi vit; or soy garlic butter-marinated Texas wagyu ribeye with skillet-crisped tomato rice, which channels bo luc lac. Order family style and don’t miss the cocktails: The frozen pandan colada is dreamy.

Dining status: Dining room and outdoor dining now open; delivery and takeout are also available.

Nancy’s is back, y’all. On hiatus since April, Jason Vaughan’s beloved bistro re-opened in late September with a new, socially distanced, COVID-friendly configuration. Get your fix of Nancy’s classics — yes, Nancy’s cakes are back! — or try something new, like the grilled duck breast with peach barbecue sauce, charred pickled okra, and duck-fat sticky rice. And just in the time for the fabulous fall weather, a new patio is set to debut in coming weeks. 

Dining status: Reserve a table for dine-in Wednesday through Saturday. Or call 346-571-7931 for curbside takeout.

Chef Hugo Ortega’s temple to Oaxacan cuisine makes its comeback as of October 1, with seating up to 75 percent capacity per state regulations. The menu won’t be as extensive as it was pre-COVID, but the favorites are all there: Bistec con mole de chicatana (ribeye with black bean tamal and chicatana ant mole); and tlayuda de res (a crispy large tortilla topped with grilled skirt steak and mole negro), not to mention the margaritas, which are stellar.

Dining status: Happy hour, dinner and Sunday brunch service only, with curbside takeout and delivery available. More info here, or call 713-400-3330.

Protected on all fronts by a plexiglas fortress — with dividers installed to separate the chefs from guests, and guests from each other — chef Patrick Pham and Daniel Lee’s 26-seat hotspot is back. Hand rolls are still heavenly, while otoro sashimi and crudo plates of sake tori with chili garlic, now delivered by hand through a small safety opening, are as breathtaking as ever. Seatings are offered as early as 4 p.m. on weekdays and 4:30 p.m. on weekends; snag the early seats if you want some uni. Now serving beer and sake.

Dining status: Dine-in only, with four seatings each night. Reservations required.

Darling patio and garden room aside, there’s another reason to hit this Heights charmer this month besides the excellent happy hour and chef Eric Johnson’s phenomenal scallops with succotash, corn fondue and cornbread. With a secret entrance through the wine cellar and its own cocktail and bites menu, SiP, aka Shelter in Place, is Houston’s newest speakeasy. Dive in with a Salted Watermelon (rum, salted watermelon, fresh watermelon, coconut and lime), choose from 40 wines by the glass, or peruse the list of 250-plus labels at leisure. Ready to call it a night? Take the festivities home with bottles to go at 40 percent off.

Dining status: Dining room and outdoor dining now open; delivery and takeout are also available.

Patio seating is a premium these days, so the fact that Traveler’s Table boasts two outdoor dining areas — one covered, with string lighting; the other open, with umbrella-topped tables — makes this Montrose gem all the more attractive. Saturdays and Sundays, take a sunny seat outside to sample custard lava French toast, or Vietnamese steak and eggs during their newly debuted Around-the-World Brunch. Come dinnertime, feast on hearty new fall menu additions, like lamb tagine or Caribbean braised oxtail.

Dining status: Open for dine-in, curbside take-out and delivery for brunch and dinner.

Two years in the making before its June debut during peak COVID, Musaafer is stunning in both conception and design. Consider the aptly named Sheesh Mahal (Palace of Mirrors) mezzanine room, where the walls are inlaid with 200,000 pieces of hand-cut mirror; or the fact that executive chef Mayank Istwal took a 100-day trip through India as research for his menu, turning traditional recipes into modern ones. The culinary hits abound: an onion xuixo pastry is otherworldly; a dal makhni, 72-hour slow cooked black lentil, unforgettable. And save room for dessert: mishti doi, a faux yogurt-mushroom dessert plated to resemble a fairy-dusted garden, is not only delicious but Instagram gold.

Dining status: Reserve a table for dine-in or patio seating. Takeout and delivery available. More info here, or call 713-242-8087.

Everything is the same but different at Brennan’s. Pecan pralines are still available as an after-dinner treat. Service is still impeccable.  But with dishes like crispy softshell crab served over a salad of tomatoes, cucumber and balsamic vinegar, new executive chef Joey Chavez brings a lighter (and welcome) touch to a traditionally heavy-leaning Creole menu. Splurge on a five-course chef’s tasting to try the show-stopping cornbread and truffle chicken two-ways. For added pleasure, let wine guy Marcus Gausepohl take care of the wine pairings, and order the bananas Foster for a tableside show.

Dining status: Dine-in, patio, curbside takeout and delivery. More info here, or call 713-522-971.

May 8 was supposed to be the last day for One Fifth Mediterranean, but COVID changed all that. On May 7, it was announced that One Fifth Mediterranean would continue until the end of the building’s lease — which means Houstonians can enjoy dips, salatim and mezze’s for that much longer. This month, One Fifth’s 1913 Bar Pop-Up continues every Wednesday, a temporary takeover by a local bar wherein $1 of each drink goes towards chef Chris William’s 1913 non-profit to feed needy Houstonians. Thursday evenings, One Fifth’s live patio music series continues. There’s no cover charge, but reservations are strong encouraged.

Dining status: Dine-in, patio, curbside takeout and delivery.

Have you ever wanted to call a sommelier and ask for help with your wine choices? Now you can. Montrose Cheese & Wine is one of six wine retailers in the country to offer complimentary, 30-minute one-on-one virtual wine consultations through Resy. Just make a reservation for a 30-minute time slot, and a wine professional from the shop will call you during your allotted time. Want to find a bargain wine that will pass for a Châteauneuf-du-Pape? Need help pairing wine to a specific cuisine type (Indian, Vietnamese, Spanish)? They got you. And master sommelier June Rodil is available upon request.