Cooking with fire
Collaboration between chef Michael Mina and lifestyle expert Ayesha Curry explores global grilling, smoking and live fire cooking
Sinaloa Chicken and more await at International Smoke.
THE CONCEPT
A global take on cooking with live fire, grilling and smoking from superstar chef Michael Mina and cookbook author/food-television personality Ayesha Curry. The restaurant began as a pop-up collaboration at Mina’s San Francisco test kitchen; the Houston outpost is the country’s second International Smoke.
THE SPACE
The former Straits location in CityCentre has been converted to a more casual dining room with full views of the working kitchen. Walls and columns have been painted with wispy lettering that spells “smoke” in different languages. A huge outdoor patio should be completed soon.
THE FOOD
Executive chef E.J. Miller has worked with the owners to create a menu with influences from Vietnam, Mexico, Thailand, Korea and India that reads like the kind of culinary melting pot Houston already embraces. That means starters such as Gulf shrimp soup with red curry, coconut and peanuts; Vietnamese shaking beef lettuce wraps; and smoked burrata with peaches, corn and prosciutto. Main dishes range from “Sinaloa” chicken flavored with achiote and chiles to smoked Korean short rib with kimchi and sticky rice to Punjabispiced snapper with cucumber raita. It’s also protein heaven. Smoked pork ribs can be had in three different styles: American barbecue, al pastor and sesame-gochujang. The 44 Farms beef selections include filet mignon, bone-in strip loin and tomahawk rib-eye that are wood-grilled and served “Argentine-style” with chimichurri sauce.
THE DRINKS
Beer, wine by the glass and cocktails with imaginative flair. The Voice of Tansen pairs pineapple and tamarind with Suntory Whisky Toki and Averna; Curry Up Now mixes Woodford Reserve bourbon with curried sherry and bitters; and Siam Queen joins rum with raspberry, lime and Thai basil. Two punch bowls are meant for sharing: “I Got 5 on It” (Absolut Elyx vodka, Espolon tequila, hibiscus, lychee and chile flavors) and MangoMezcal-Rita (Del Maguey Vida Mezcal, mango, lime and worm salt).
ONE MORE THING
Mina’s test-kitchen collaborations also included chef Hugo Ortega, with whom he’ll launch Mi Almita, a Mexican restaurant set to open in Los Angeles in 2019.
THE DETAILS
800 Sorella Court, CityCentre, 713-714-0126; internationalsmoke.com. Open for dinner 5-11 p.m. Mondays-Saturdays, 5-10 p.m. Sundays. Happy hour in the bar/lounge is 4-6 p.m. and 9-11 p.m. Mondays-Fridays.