LOCAL Houston | The City Guide November 2016 | Page 22
PERFECT PAIR
Pairing Up with Springbok
DID YOU KNOW HOUSTON HAS A SOUTH AFRICAN RESTAURANT
& SPORTS BAR? We’re never short on options for our Perfect Pair, but
seriously? SERIOUSLY. Springbok, downtown on Main just off the light rail
Central Station, is just that. The understated but appropriately manly detail
of the interior decor gives off a great atmosphere for game watching and
fine dining. Downstairs, Springbok is a solid restaurant and bar, while
upstairs seems best suited as an upscale sports bar with some great leather
couches and plenty of TVs, and space for those group events.
While we say upscale, service and overall atmosphere at Springbok is very
casual and down to earth. This is the kind of place you can order a well
drink and a well-done steak, or a craft cocktail and steak cooked perfectly
medium rare. Springbok just wants to serve high-quality, unique food and
drinks in a nonpretentious atmosphere where you can watch all the rugby
and good old American sporting events you crave. Centrally located in
Downtown, you better believe they have a solid following of lunch and after
work crowds, while on weekends they offer another quality option for a late
night out by indulging you in the “happier hour” which starts after 9pm.
do it right, lemon juice from the charred lemon. There’s some tasty baby
spinach and potatoes in the dish as well, which unless we told you, you
would never realize was inspired by fish stew. But this is not fish stew; it’s
a heck of a meal from a Michelin-trained California transplant chef and his
crew (in case you want to blame someone after you get caught drinking
the broth out of the skillet, which is not shown here). It just tastes so good!
The easy route would be to pair this Texas Redfish with a glass of wine.
It would have worked just grrrreat. But what works even better, especially
with the chorizo, is this rosemary lemon drop. The rosemary really brings
out something in the chorizo. The beauty of that rosemary lemon drop
(look at the separation in Kennon’s photo) comes from mixing BJ Hooker’s
(premium Texas) Vodka, housemade rosemary simple syrup, lemon juice
and Creme de Violette, which is Austrian and literally macerated violet
flowers which result in that purple hue you see in the photo. This drink, like
the Texas Redfish, is delightful, so if you get one, might as well mentally
prepare for drinking two. If it were us, we would have a second Texas
Redfish as well.
Now that you’re fully convinced a trip to Springbok is in your future, let’s
get into our pair, which was the result of significant deliberation amongst
the staff. The Texas Redfish is prepared, then cooked with the skin on and
set in a broth bed of local chorizo, white wine, shallots, garlic and if you
By Mike Cook
Photography by Kennon Evett
SPRINGBOK TEXAS REDFISH + ROSEMARY LEMON DROP
SPRINGBOK | 711 Main Street | Houston, TX 77002 | 832.767.5574 | www.springbokhouston.com
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L O C A L
| november 16