HE SAID

Across the street from the Costco center in the Upper Kirby area lies a long strip shopping center in front of the Edwards Movie Theater that houses quite a few restaurants, such as Collina’s and Skewers, but the best among them, and certainly the most fun, is Oporto.  The self described food and wine bar is just that, but a lot more as well.  First of all, there’s a full bar so you don’t have to just stop at wine; they have plenty of specialty cocktails and can also prepare your favorite.  I began with a few martinis to loosen up after a long day at work; it’s always amazing how quickly that can happen if I try.  There’s a good vibe inside Oporto: the staff is friendly and busy, and seems like they all have intimate knowledge of each item as well as their own personal favorites.

As I looked over the menu, which offered lots of tapas, I immediately knew that I wanted both the prosciutto wrapped dates and the empanadas, without question.  We also ordered the arancini al pomodoro, which is crispy risotto rolled into balls, filled with mozzarella, and then baked in a tomato sauce. Although from the description, it sounded heavy, it was very tasty.  The crispiness of the risotto was surprising; I’ve never had it prepared like that before.

We also decided to try the crab and avocado crostini, which is crabmeat on top of a toasted piece of bread, and topped with herb aioli and wedges of avocado.  It’s delicious, refreshing, and light with a lot of flavor—I highly recommend it.  The empanadas that we ordered weren’t fantastic, but they were good. I wasn’t a huge fan of the way the pastry was baked or maybe it was the type of pastry; I like my empanadas to be denser, although the filling of spicy meat was very good.

For me, the star of the show was the prosciutto wrapped dates.  The dates are stuffed with goat cheese and fresh herbs, wrapped with prosciutto, then they’re baked. The light drizzle of port-balsamic glaze brings another layer to the complexity of this fantastic dish.  As you take a bite, you immediately taste the sweetness of the glaze combined quickly with the sweetness of the date, which has its own complexity of sweetness, then the richness and semi-bitterness of the goat cheese hits your palate, then it mixes with the date and a honey taste emerges.  As soon as you think it’s over, the thinnest portion of the bite is felt, the full saltiness of the prosciutto is added to the decadence of the experience, the only relief to the fact that the experience is over is the fact that it was only the first bite and there are several more.

This small plate of the prosciutto wrapped dates alone was certainly worth the price of admission.  I’m positive that Oporto offers more fantastic dishes like this, and I’m excited to try them next time. However, I know that this will be something that I order every time I go.  There are also many items on the menu other than tapas, and the menu covers many styles of cooking, too. Oporto is certainly a great place to go to share this fun eating style with a group of friends or your significant other.

-by Jed

SHE SAID

When I suggested that we review Oporto, Jed was hesitant.  He said, “That’s not a place we should be reviewing—it’s a lunch place in a Richmond shopping center.”  I’d scanned the menu, and I thought the appetizers sounded yummy—similar to Ibiza—so I insisted we go.  Of course, I have no idea how Jed’s going to review Oporto (our rule is that we don’t discuss the meal), but by the subtle “mmm…yum…mmm” reactions that kept escaping both of us, I’m definitely glad we made it a 2 Dine For date (and have a feeling he doesn’t regret it, either).

Oporto is described as Euro/Mediterranean inspired tapas, with the largest Portuguese wine selection in Houston.  We didn’t try the wine, but that gives me another reason to go back. I used to work near Oporto in this Upper Kirby neighborhood, and I’d been there a handful of times for lunch.  I always got a salad, which I remember being decent, but I’d never ventured onto anything else on the menu.  Jed and I walked in on a Thursday night around 7 pm, and it was packed; nearly every table was taken.

The place is tiny.  We sat ourselves and waited for a while before the waitress actually acknowledged us and asked us for a drink order.  She wasn’t exactly Jill-on-the-spot—she also brought Jed his second martini sans olives, which made it look naked, but that was the only negative the whole night. I actually overhead what appeared to be the owner talking to our neighboring table. It turned out that he was the owner’s brother-in-law and was subbing for the night.  He had an excellent demeanor and a big personality, and kept checking in on us as well, which made up for our waitress.

The only other thing is that the tables are somewhat on top of each other.  I didn’t mind it, as it gave it an NYC-style café feel, but I thought it was worth noting.  It’s probably not the best place for a big crowd, as most of the tables are twosies.

On to the food: we ordered tapas to share, of course.  The first was a Gruyere starter plate—my favorite cheese of the moment.  It was a perfect starter; I liked the way it was served, and loved the combination of the pear and cheese.  We were both pretty hungry that night, so it whet our appetites for more.  Next came the crab and avocado crostini, which was so hearty and tasty—the huge heap of crab made it the focus of the dish, and the avocado spear added a creamy and substantial element.  MMM….YUM!

Next came the empanada, which I last tasted at Latin Bites.  This one knocked the Latin Bites empanada off the charts.  It was flaky, hot, and melted in my mouth.  In general, I don’t love this dish, but Jed does, and I have to say Oporto’s empanada was one of the best I’ve had in Houston.   Finally, we shared mozzarella risotto balls, which had gooey, melted mozzarella steaming from the center.  It was solid with a slightly sweet marinara sauce on top.

 All in all, I really enjoyed this unexpectedly delicious meal.  I love sharing dishes with Jed, as it gives me the opportunity to try things I wouldn’t normally order myself. I also love being able to order dishes and have them come out minutes later—the beauty of tapas! I’ll be back to Oporto for sure- it surprised me in a good way.

-by Erika