Nancy's Hustle — Restaurant in Houston

2nd time back: Nancy cakes are still the reason I come back here. Lamb tartare: texture is nice, like tuna sashimi. However, flavors are lacking. I actually enjoyed the flat bread more than the lamb. I would skip this next time. Octopus texture was perfect. Soft and tender in the mouth. Just wish for more flavors than the occasional tartness of the capers. Roasted okra: there’s very little okra here. Not enough to feed a baby. Tahini curry is overpowering and tasted a little like undiluted Massaman curry. I would skip this because you don’t get your fair share of okra. Wagyu tri-tips was tasty. Was it worth the price? It’s questionable.

This was our first time here. The restaurant is small and a little noisy. I do recommend reservations and if it's cool outside then I suggest sitting outside. There is a first come first serve bar seating. The 1st thing we ordered was a butter pistol cocktail. True to its name the butter syrup comes through as well as all the other flavors. It was tasty and I'd order it again. My wife ordered a non-alcoholic melange messiah. This was a tart punch in the face with the fresno chili kicking in right away and so different and delicious. I would add a shot of white tequila to spice things up even more. We then proceed to order 3 starters and I would recommend getting it in this order: Spicy pork and butter dumplings: It has a mild flavor but with the combination of the sauerkraut, yogurt and dill there was an overall pleasant feel to it all. Nancy cakes: This was the most surprising for me. My expectations were low but when I spread the cultured butter and trout roe on the cakes and bit into it, there was a flavor explosion in my mouth. I hate using food cliches but the smooth creaminess and tartness of the cultured butter plus the umami wine notes of the trout roe was amazing. The cakes had the flavors of a well done biscuit but the fluffiness of a pancake. Someone get me the recipe for the Nancy cakes please. Gem Lettuce: This packs the strongest flavors of the 3. The anchovies in here are top notch and reminiscent of European style Cesar salad. Overall, the creativeness and flavors of these starters will have me coming back to try the rest of the menu with one exception. I was disappointed in the main course. Wood grilled half chicken: This chicken was grilled to a perfect moist and tender condition. This meal is too big and has to be shared by 2-3 people. My main issue with this dish is that the skin was overly salty. The chicken has been soaking in brine which is how they maintain the moistness and flavors. But to through more salt on top of that just had me tasting nothing but the Dead Sea with each bite. I couldn't finish it and had to pack it to go. The fennel aioli added nothing, but it may have been due to the saltiness of the chicken. Seared duck breast: The menu states this but when the dish shows up it is covered entirely by the sides. I would prefer to see a perfectly seared and crispy skin that has been rendered. Instead, all of that is lost and the star of the dish (duck) is overwhelmed by the mushrooms and garlic. I would have preferred to see this cut back and more of the cauliflower puree. Desserts: The crepes were light and easy to eat. The mousse between each layer made sure that every bite had sweetness but not too much. It was easy to carve from top to bottom with a spoon and take small bites. I would order this again. The ginger molasses cake was dry, crumbly and lacking in flavor. While the buttermilk sherbet really tasted like buttermilk, it wasn't enough to help the cake. I recommend skipping this dessert. Conclusion: The Nancy cakes is why I would come back again but I would skip the 2 mains and just dive into the starters. They were so good and set a high bar that the main courses fell short...

After reading some nice reviews in the Houston Chronicle and noting that the restaurant had been nominated for a James Beard award, a friend and I decided to give it a try. What we were expecting to be a pleasant dining experience turned out to be one of the weirdest experiences I've ever had in a restaurant. Because we were coming in on a Saturday, we knew to make reservations. When we got there, the hostess informed us that there would be a 30- to 45-minute wait before we could be seated. We understood because the place was busy. However, the hostess became defensive as if we were arguing with her, and we weren't. We kept telling her that it was OK, and that we understood. She did the same thing to a couple who got there about the same time we did. They also told her that it was no problem, and that they understood because it was busy. When she stepped away for a few seconds, the other gentleman commented that she acted like she wanted us to scream, holler, and argue with her. I had to agree. We wondered if she had been drinking, or if she was heavily medicated. Something was definitely amiss with her. We were escorted to a table in about 35 minutes, which wasn't bad. However, if we thought the hostess was bad, we found the waitress to be much worse. We tried to be friendly to her and engage with her--just common courtesy--but she was having none of it. She seemed really irritated. Rather than saying "Hi", she informed us that there was a two-hour time limit on the table. She reminded us two other times within the first few minutes we were there. We didn't plan on being there that long. She still seemed irritated and bothered when she took our order. Even as busy as the place was, our food came out pretty quickly but was just dropped on the table for us to sort out. While everything was OK, nothing really stood out as great. I just got a cheeseburger. It was good, but it was no better than a cheeseburger from Five Guys or Denny's. It was $17 for a run-of-the-mill cheeseburger. The fries weren't bad either, but they were nothing great. My friend had a swordfish entrée, which looked nice, but he said it was overcooked. Everything was just average at best. We were left befuddled as to how such a place would have been nominated for a James Beard award, unless there's a category for snotty and rude staff. They really need to work on their menu, and most of all, they need to find some friendly employees. I would neither go there again nor recommend it to anyone. It was just...

Service: 10/10 attentive and goes above and beyond we had a garlic intolerance and the server went and spoke to chef got menu and edited the menu with notes and details with how garlic is incorporated in what dish in what element etc.

Ambiance: 10/10 romantic mood lighting, but with a nice busy buzz that doesn't make you feel the need to whisper cautiously

Food: 10/10:

Voodoo doll cocktail: 7/10 on the sweeter side not too strong not too weak could be a bit less sweet

Nancy cakes: 100/10 If you don't order this? Jail. It's fantastic. Perfectly fluffy, and the combination of flavors is phenomenal. I could eat nothing but baskets of these with a tub of the butter and topping for the rest of m life and be happy.

Octopus: 8/10 Perfectly seasoned, and perfectly cooked. Octopus is so easy to mess up and instead of the disappointing rubbery texture I've been used to at mist resteraunts this was tender and delicious. Don't get if you don't like the flavor of olive oil. It's a bit strong.

Swordfish: 10/10 Delicious. It's on the saltier side, which I like, but if you make sure to make your bites well balanced perfect bites it's perfect. The creamy puree balances out the salt levels from the topping and fish. The tomato adds nice acidity. The swordfish is perfectly cooked. A nice crisp sear with still the tender shiny flakes it should have.

Parmesan cheesecake with black pepper honey: 6/10 the cheesecake is very well cooked. It's creamy, but there's definitely a sharper note of parmesan. The honey is really what ties everything together as a dessert. That being said I wish there was a crunchy crust component to this. It IS definitely on the more savory side. I found myself wanting to spread it on a cracker as an appetizer rather than eating this as a dessert

Pine nut pavlova: 6/10 again you need the perfect bite. Alone the goat milk ice cream though not pungent is very creamy and has slight note of the goat milk. The sorbet is very tart. I personally love that, but it was a bit tart even for me. And the pavlova while Perfectly baked os a bit sweet. In the perfect bite though the creaminess of the goat milk ice cream, the tartness of the sorbet, and the sweetness of the pavlova made for a very nice refreshing last bite to the...