I don’t know about you, but I’ve grown rather tired of the grand standing chef, who aims for fame, all in the name of promoting their restaurant(s), never, of course, themselves. The sort who seems to have lost sight of the reason the best cooks are compelled to enter this exhausting and difficult business: their desire to feed diners and delight them with a dish so scrumptious the memory of its first palate awakening bite stays with you for a long time to come. 

Imagine then how refreshing it was to dine at The Remington at the St. Regis Hotel Houston, a very under-the-radar restaurant led by talented executive chef Garret Fujieda and his sous chef John Signorelli. It’s obvious from reading the menus alone that this quiet, thoughtful duo are having so much fun in the kitchen melding flavors that pair naturally with one another but don’t play upon cliché either. Take their grilled blue prawns (head on for maximum flavor) over crisp southern blue biscuits topped with a corn gravy, grilled onions and a green tomato relish ($15). It deliciously plays on our regional Southern tradition without coming off as contrived. In fact, Signorelli says, “We’ve focused on creating an American regional menu offering dishes that have elements from every geographic area important to U.S. food history.”

Or ponder New England black mussels ($14) but made modern by steaming them open with lemongrass and ginger in a spicy sambal broth. A cast-iron beef tenderloin with smoked cheddar potato casserole and a green peppercorn Kentucky bourbon sauce ($39) feeds the Midwestern appetite, while the Pacific Northwest contribution comes in the form of a cedar planked salmon (request medium rare, natch) with a warm potato salad, currant and sage bread pudding (adorably portioned) and mustard dill cream ($28).  

The two talented toques also conspire to deconstruct a dish and aim to make the whole reinvented one greater than the sum of its parts. Such is the case with their wasabi tempura fried tuna California “unrolled” entrée ($34). Where a barely fried (still beautifully rare tuna beneath its crisp surface) is spread before a pyramid of sushi rice, pile of pickled cucumber, dice of fried avocado with a smear of chili mascarpone cream spread across the plate for dipping.   And with new wine impresario Don Derocher on board pouring and gently advising, you’ll find a fun food and wine experience that belies its formal, but comfortable garden room setting.