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Our blogger J.C. Reid wrote about the perfect carbonara in a four-part series. Click here to read it.: J.C. Reid photo
Suzy Till wasn’t happy after a recent visit to Macaroni Grill, 5802 Westheimer.
She writes:
“Once in a while I want something very rich and decadent. I ordered one of their new specialities: Spaghetti Carbonara. What a surprise!
“It was a bowl of their homemade spaghetti with a poached egg on top -- no sauce of any kind. The waitperson assured me that was how carbonara sauce was made. The acting manager came and again assured me that was proper carbonara, but brought me me a side of a very thin white sauce with a lemon flavor. No way.
“Has no one at Romano’s Macaroni Grill ever had carbonara sauce in Italy or at a grand Italian restaurant? I went on line and found many recipes with the heavy cream, lots of butter and a full cup of grated Parmesan or Romano cheese. My 1966 edition of Modern French Culinary Art calls for a 1/2 stick of butter, a cup of heavy cream, three egg yolks and, of course, ham, bacon, pancetta or prosciutto. How can a national chain insist on this very high calorie dish being made with a poached egg on top as the only sauce?”
Reader raves
Mariluz Wofford: El Portal to San Juan, 16215 Clay, 281-861-7633
“I was pleasantly surprised to find (this) new Puerto Rican restaurant in the northwest part of town. The menu is small but the food is excellent; they have daily specials. They have different versions of the famous mofongo, and the dessert is tembleque. If you have never had tembleque, you have to try it. Portions and prices are very reasonable. On Thursday nights they have a “Bohemian Night” with music, and on weekends there are additions to the menu. It is a family-owned restaurant and they have very good service.”
Jo Strejc : Canopy, 3939 Montrose, 713-528-6848.
“From the engaging staff, a bartender who cares if you like your drinks (and doesn’t just say “well, we always make it that way”), to a waiter (Matt) whose attention to detail and friendly attitude made our evening great, we loved Canopy. The food is excellent; freshly prepared and artfully presented. Sitting back in the calming, eclectic and comfortable restaurant, we had a great evening. I don’t know how Canopy wasn’t on the top of our favorites list, but after a dessert of white chocolate and fresh blueberry bread pudding to top off a great meal, it’s surely earned a place of honor. It’s nice to see a restaurant that isn’t outrageously priced and works hard to make your dining experience great. I hope other W&Ders will try and enjoy Canopy.”
Reader question
Sylvia Sada writes:
“Can anyone tell me where to find really good New Orleans-style BBQ Shrimp with its delicious buttery dunking sauce and French bread? Driving to New Orleans is not an option.”
Off the top of my head, I can think of four spots serving barbecue shrimp:
Danton's Gulf Coast Seafood: 4611 Montrose, 713-807-8883
Hank's Cajun Crawfish: find the nearest location at hankscrawfish.com
New Orleans Famous Chicken and Waffles, 17375 Tomball Parkway, 281-970-0531
The Rouxpour: 2298 Texas Dr. in Sugar Land, 281-240-7689
Readers, do you know of other places serving barbecue shrimp?
I was going to pass on commenting on the ranter...however i couldnt resist. Because i am curious what kind of real research went in to her googling of carbonara recipes? seriously..of the top 5 recipes that werent "all receipes" 2 that i clicked on by Rachel ray and Tyler Florence called for no cream...just egg yolks. Further...if you wikipedia carbonara, it says that cream isnt typical in itallian versions of the dish. This lady needs to get over herself and learn a thing or two.
I was born and raised in Italy... carbonara never has cream, chicken, onions, green onions, peas or anything else that American restaurants like to add. Egg, pecorino, guanciale (or pancetta) and lots of pepper. That's it. Macaroni Grill was wrong as is any recipe with cream.
You seem confused
Happen to know Vincent's and Nino's, two restaurants on West Dallas, do a New Orleans Bbq shrimp. According to Vincent Mandola, he added it to the menu after eating it in New Orleans.
My question to Suzy Till: why in the world would you ever go to Macaroni Grill expecting to find anything authentic? Houston has some amazing Italian restaurants that will cost about the same amount of money. The only liquid, other than that from the eggs and melted cheeses, that goes in Carbonara is a small amount of white wine, then pancetta.
A true Spaghetti alla Carbonara has no cream.
I think the ranter is thinking of Alfredo sauce. Order that next time. Carbonara is bacon, parmesan and eggs. And thank you for letting me know where I can get it properly made. Most restaurants add cream to satisfy the American expectations.
did anyone else notice that she went to a French cookbook for an Itallian recipe?
There is not a single restaurant in Houston who makes a proper CARBONARA. It's almost as though this dish is beneath them and thus, they must jazz it up. We honestly never eat pasta out. When we do it's usually at Piola where they actually know how to cook pasta al dente.
Have you tried the Carbonara at Romano's Macaroni Grill?
W & D on Tuesday; a pleasant surprise.
Mela Tue.i think you might try the Carbonara at Coppa..its quite good and very authentic..
But she doesn't want authentic carbonara. She wants alfredo sauce with bacon. If that's what they have at Coppa then she might like it.
I don't think authenticity is always the most important aspect of a dish, but if your going to call it Carbonara, then make it that way. MBRICH got it right. The carbonara at Coppa may be good in your estimation, but it is certainly not authentic. Having made it many times since J.C. Reid's well researched article debuted. I think the labor intensive aspect of the final stages of execution are problematic for any cooking line that is even remotely busy & the high food costs associated with guanciale tend to inhibit most places from authentic replication. The closest I've had in Houston was at La Dolce Vita, where it is made with rigatoni, but they are always happy to substitute with spaghetti. I've heard Chef Gordon at Tony's will on occasion make it as a special request, but I've never had the pleasure.
Right on, Fulmer. That's what I said about Coppa's initial article when it showed that the chef used mortadella (a type of bologna) instead of pancetta. I said it was not authentic. Other "foodies" on this blog disagreed and got personal.
I happen to have a great carbonara recipe courtesy of my Italian grandmother. It uses bucatini - not spaghetti. Bucatini is a thicker type of pasta and looks like a long, skinny noodle. Because of its consistency, it creates a better, more authentic carbonara dish. (In Italy, bucatini are known as "priest stranglers." Don't ask.)
Second, the sauce - or topping, if you prefer - is very simple: beaten eggs, pancetta lightly sauteed in pepper and olive oil, a pat of butter and some pecorino romano cheese. You can also add some Italian flat-leaf parsley to give it some additional color & flavor.
Like most Europeans, I don't use exact measurements of these ingredients. Why bother? If you like something, add more of it. If not, limit it. That's how we cook around here. Too many cooks are hung up on exact measurements and get anal-retentive about it.
Buon apetito!
it's more of a sign of the times...these young culinary grads need to make a name for themselves, not by excellence in tried and true cuisene but to change the status quo by change alone...their way to protest the world,ala the occupiers...a culinary degree and $5 will get you a cup of basic Starbucks
Indeed. Thanks to the "Art Institute" of Houston rolling out a culinary arts program (holding back laughter) the chain hack houses like Olive Garden and Macaroni Grill now have hiring preferences for students and graduates from AIH. The poor rubes who borrowed loans they will take a lifetime to repay to attended this "program" are taking $9/hr jobs as line cooks, particularly because no 5-star establishment will ever touch them.
Keep in mind that most assistant managers in these chain places began their careers with no culinary experience, and are the ones running the kitchens. If at all, freshmen managers with any background in food typically come from places like Wendy's. When the boss knows less about food than the people he has working under him it isn't a good combo.
Yeah, I feel good about going to OG or MG armed with the knowledge that some bitter wanna-be chef is back in the kitchen cranking out plates of lasagna he didn't even make, and might have added a little something special to it before it landed on the plate...
The recipe I use for Carbonara is eggs, pecorino, or parmesean, or both (yum) and I usually use a combo of Pancetta and prosciutto. I always get a creamy texture in the end, but I never use any milk or cream. It's yummy and very heavy so it's something I only make maybe once every few months.
Also, what kind of food is served at Canopy? We love trying out new restaurants. There's just too many in this city and the suburbs to go to the same place over and over again.
Carbonara does NOT have cream as we have established. It is one of my favorite dishes but I don't usually order it because when if there is cream in the recipe the answere is always yes. For some reason it has become acceptable that "carbonara" is alfredo with some bacon thrown in. If any one knows where I can find some real authentic carbona I'd love to know...simply pasta, cheese, eggs, pancetta and some salt and pepper....) YUMMMM
Auntie Pasta's on Bellaire at S. Rice intersection. Awesome and reasonably priced. Never had a bad meal there.
Macaroni Grill is an upscale version of Olive Garden. Please.
OG used to offer carbonara on their menu many years ago, and even their version was a bastardization of the authentic recipe when they used frozen bacon bits and instant bechamel sauce.
People, get over yourselves. Spending on overpriced crap at a chain restaurant and complaining about it doesn't make you a foodie, not that it's anything to be proud of in the first place...
Very well put, CabbRoll&Coff.
Indeed Carbonara doesn't include cream. What do you expect from someone who gets her Italian recipes from a French recipe book? Does she get her American recipes from a Chinese cooking book? This woman has no idea of how Carbonara should be.
I learned to make Carbonara from a friend in Italy, you can make a very decent carbonara with eggs, panceta and a good parmesan freshly grated.
"mortadella (a type of bologna)" - now this kills me. Mortadella is mortadella and it comes from Bologna/Emilia Romagna. Bologna/Baloney is an American word for mortadella but it is not accurate.
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