100 Favorite Dishes: No. 29, Fried Oysters at TQLA
HOUSTONPRESS.COM:
This year leading up to our annual Best of Houston issue, we’re counting down our 100 favorite dishes in Houston. This list comprises our favorite dishes from the last year, dishes that are essential to Houston’s cultural landscape and/or dishes that any visitor (or resident) should try at least once.
Unlike yesterday’s Favorite Dish, the oysters at TQLA can be enjoyed year-round. And I don’t just love this dish because it involves my favorite bivalve. I love it because of how thoroughly and easily it combines Gulf Coast, Mexican and Southwestern cuisines into one beautifully composed dish.
Crunchy blue cornmeal batter coats each plump oyster, bringing in TQLA’s signature Southwestern influence. The oysters themselves aren’t always from the Gulf — the ones above were from the Pacific — but they’re always fat and juicy nevertheless. And all six of the gorditos sit on a silky bed of chorizo cream.
And if you’re one of those traditionalists who doesn’t eat oysters out of season — even if they’re fried, and even if they’re not from the Gulf — give this runner-up Favorite a try: crawfish and pecan hushpuppies, served with a tomatillo cilantro sauce homemade jalapeño jelly. It doesn’t get more Texan than that.
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