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Contents Reef Is Open Corleone Is Open Word Is...Sage Who's on The Next Cleverley Show Reader Comments Opening-Marini's Empanada House Don't do what I did Job Bank Museum Discounts for CNL Subscribers Fun Food Facts The Author Warm Red Wine Survey Results     Who knows what's happening in Houston's restaurant scene?   Cleverley Knows   Sign up for free newsletter     OK, I'll start a blog   "People" have been asking me to start a blog. I thought my ten year old newsletter was my blog. I guess it's not.   OK, I'll start a blog. Sometime soon. Good grief. Isn't there enough content out there already? Web sites, newsletters, blogs, You Tube, email, text messages, television, radio, movies, videos, magazines, newspapers. Who has time to absorb it all?     What's Hot, Hip & Happening in Houston's Restaurant Scene Serving Houston's Diners Since 1997 June 26, 2007 Sample Newsletter Celebrating the 10th Anniversary of Cleverley's Newsletter 1997-2007   Reef Is Open Photo: Sous Chef Brandon Treanor, Partner & GM Bill Floyd Chef/Partner Bryan Caswell We've been talking about Reef for months on our radio show and in this newsletter. We visited the new restaurant in May and loved it. The sea foam green dining room is big and open with concrete floors, wooden tables and chairs and a wall of windows facing the street. The temperature controlled glass wine storage room runs the length of the dining room and has its own wine angel. Good wine list with over 1,500 bottles and wines by the glass are served at the proper temperature. I loved the roly-poly glassware. The kitchen is open for display and you can sit in high chairs that belly up for a close encounter of the culinary kind. The menu is short and sweet. Most of the items are from the sea but there is a pork starter and a rib eye entree. What we had: . Carnitas, Cool Raita - 9. The pork is from Niman Ranch. . Crunchy Soft Shell Crab, Taqueria Pickle Vinaigrette - 14.50 A real treat. . Roasted Grouper, Pecan-Shallot Cracklins, Braised Collards, Pot Licker Jus - 23. This was a table favorite. . Grilled Scallops, Truffled Polenta, Mushroom Ragout - 23. This was what I ordered and these were some of the best scallops I've ever had. Sweet, tender and cooked perfectly. Not a sliver of tough silvery muscle on them. There were only four scallops but they yielded four bites each. It was enough. . Crispy Skin Snapper, Sweet & Sour Chard, Tomato Brown Butter - 25. Chef/owner Bryan Caswell uses a special secret spice in this dish that tasted a little like Dr. Pepper (it wasn't). Used on fish, this was a surprising flavor, but a pleasing one. (I know where he gets this special spice, but I am sworn to secrecy. Hint: It's a store on the Katy Freeway.) Dessert - Reef calls it 'Sugar' . Milkshake "No Minors - 8. This is Caswell's 2007 version of a Brandy Alexander. (He's not going to like the fact that I told you that.) Kudos to him for reaching back and bringing forth this retro beverage for us to enjoy in the 21st century. The "No Minors" tag is a nod to the infamous margarita bar on Westheimer of the same name. All of the desserts were really fine: the panna cotta, molten chocolate cake and the Vietnamese coffee tart; $8. each. What I think is brilliant is the juxtaposition of the bar to the restaurant. It gives the impression of being two different venues. You enter the restaurant and to the left is the bar and to the right is the dining room. The bar, (called 3rd Bar-I don't really understand the name) also has it's own street entrance down the block a bit that's actually more impressive than the entrance to the restaurant. The bar has it's own menu and they'll serve until 2 a.m. on Thursday, Fridays and Saturdays! Yea! You've got to try the hamburger sliders. Made from ground rib eye on home made yeast rolls, these little delectable tidbits (3 for $8) are winners. I suggested to Caswell and partner Bill Floyd that they offer latenight curbside service. It would be so cool to call ahead and order a couple of sacks of sliders for that 2 a.m. ride home on the Katy Freeway. Not a night owl? You can try these little beef bits of heaven for $1 each during happy hour on weekdays. Another goodie is that Reef offers complimentary valet parking, a rarity for a midtown venue. Reef is located at 2600 Travis @ McGowan, Houston. Web Site Corleone Is Open Still recovering from his grand opening bash on Thursday night, Chef Ryan Hildebrand was on the Cleverley Show on Saturday and said his new restaurant, Corleone Bar & Grill, is now open for business. They had 40 covers on Friday night, their first night of business. There are only 6 items on the menu and there's no pasta. But Hildebrand said that if someone really wants pasta, he'll make it happen. Located behind the 16 year old Patrenella's restaurant at 813 Jackson Hill, in the Heights area of Houston, Corleone will be a welcome addition to the neighborhood I'm sure. Web Site Word Is...Sage Word is that Houlihan's restaurant on Sage at W. Alabama will soon change its name to Sage. Who's on The Cleverley Show Saturday, June 30, 2007 . Jerry Greenfield, Jerry from Ben & Jerry's Ice Cream . Chef Bradley Manchester & Fawaz Salaam, Hotel Zaza   Reader Comments "I am a gourmand myself, and enjoy good food. I appreciate finding out about places I have yet to discover. Your newsletter is one of the vehicles I use to make those kind of discoveries." Joanne "Tidbits is a great section to catch up on the latest trivia and big news in the restaurant biz." Bob "I love your newsletter - it's a foodies' delight!" Sarah Gish, Gish Creative Opening-Marini's Empanada House In a week or so, the Marini family will open a second location of their popular Empanada House. It'll be in the Carillon Center. Their other location is on Mason Road in Katy, Texas.   Job Bank Hospitality Jobs . Jimmy Wilson's Seeks Restaurant Managers . Crowne Plaza Houston North at Greenspoint Seeks Director of Catering . Omni Seeks Executive Administrative Assistant to the GM . Retreat at Artesian Lakes Seeks Executive Chef . Rainbow Lodge Seeks Servers, Wine Stewards, Bartenders Lodge . Carrabbas Kirby & Carrabbas Voss Seek Waitstaff, Hostesses, Carry-Out Positions, Busboys, Kitchen Staff . White T-Cloth Restaurant Seeks Executive Pastry Chef Click here to view all jobs and contact information www.RestaurantAndHotelJobs.com Museum Discounts for CNL Subscribers WOW! I have a coupon for you for the Houston Museum of Natural Science, all exhibits, that will get you the steepest discount offered anywhere. Frogs!, Imperial Rome, IMAX, the new Gem Exhibit, all Exhibit Halls, Cockrell Butterfly Center & Burke Baker Planetarium. Click here for printable coupon "I enjoy reading your newsletter. I also appreciate that you also are enabling us readers to get a discount at the Museum." JT Fun Food Facts How much do you know about what you eat? Take the America Fit quiz from TIME magazine and test your knowledge. Take the quiz The Author Photo: Cleverley with Wolfgang Puck Cleverley Stone knows her way around a menu. . Publisher of Cleverley's Newsletter, online newsletter about Houston's restaurant scene, since 1997. www.CleverleysNewsletter.com . Host of "The Cleverley Show," talk with taste, the radio program for people who love to eat. Saturdays at Noon on CNN 650 Radio News in Houston. www.Cleverley.com Warm Red Wine Survey Results Houston, we have a problem with our wine service. 94% say that red wine is served too warm. Click here to view Cleverley's Newsletter survey results   Thank you for reading Cleverley's Newsletter! To sign up for free newsletters, visit www.CleverleysNewsletter.com. Have news or comments? info@cleverleysnewsletter.com Copyright 2007 Cleverley's Newsletter. All Rights Reserved Reproduction without written permission is strictly prohibited. www.CleverleysNewsletter.com