As far back as the 1820s in the United States (Delmonico’s), and a bit further back in France (1760’s – Boulanger), naming an eatery after yourself has been a pretty common thing. It signifies pride of ownership and pride in the quality of the food being served. To me, though, naming a restaurant after your parents is far more intimate and, in addition to pride, undoubtedly carries love and honor.
n 2018, when famed Houston Chef Chris Shepherd transformed his wildly popular restaurant, Underbelly, into a (now) wildly popular steakhouse, he named the restaurant after Georgia (mom) and James (dad). Additionally, as the Steakhouse project was something Chris had wanted for a while, it was important that it keep his passion for authenticity and quality. The restaurant’s credo is they “serve the food Chris cooks at home-cast-iron seared steaks, lots of cold seafood and seasonal sides.”
Though best known for his various Underbelly related projects, Chris has been feeding Houston very well from wonderful places as far back as the late 1990s. He started his fine dining career at Brennan’s of Houston, staying seven years at the esteemed satellite restaurant. In 2006, he opened Catalan Food & Wine, which was named one of Esquire’s Best New Restaurants in America. (John Mariani’s 2006 write-up alone will make you hungry and nostalgic.)
Chef Chris’s personal and restaurant accolades have been a steady crescendo ever since.
In 2011, Time Magazine named Underbelly the “most anticipated new restaurant in America,” and in 2013, the restaurant received praise in the New York Times. In the same year, Chris was named a Food & Wine Magazine ‘Best New Chef.’
2014 brought a highly coveted, Best Chefs in America (Southwest) award from the James Beard Foundation (he was also a Semifinalist, James Beard – Outstanding Chef 2019)
It’s important to note that in 2015, in the middle of great personal success, Chris launched a charitable foundation called Southern Smoke. It was initially chartered to support folks with multiple sclerosis after a friend and former sommelier Antonio Gianola was diagnosed with the disease. In 2017 the organization shifted its focus to support the vast numbers of people in the food and beverage community impacted by Hurricane Harvey. Fast forward to 2020, and Southern Smoke has again been of tremendous help to the food and beverage community now drastically affected by the Covid economy.
To date, Southern Smoke has distributed more than $6.1 million-both directly to people in need via the Emergency Relief Fund and to organizations that represent the needs of people in the industry. As Chris says it, Southern Smoke was created to “take care of our own.”
It was this last bit of amazing information that had brought Chris and his Underbelly Hospitality Group to the attention of a friend. We had both started following the fantastic food pictures from both Georgia James and One Fifth Houston over the last few months, and after a few months of various levels of lockdown, we decided to meet in Houston and check out Georgia James.
We took a short Uber from our downtown, virtually empty hotel to the Montrose district restaurant. A long corridor past a beautiful glassed-in wine cellar brought us to the reception desk.
There is a hard to define friendliness to the staff at Georgia James. It’s not overt; it seems to be a very genuine comfortable friendliness. I’d experienced it a few weeks before over the phone and got the same impression in person.
Though the farmhouse look of Underbelly has completely given way to mid-century modern wood and Art Deco metalwork, the thoughtful home cooking and comfort touches have remained.
Dinner menus were in keeping with most restaurants these days, and a quick snapshot of the QRcode brought us to the very straightforward offerings for the night (a nice touch was the center monogram with the beautiful Art Deco “GJ.”)
Though the focus of the restaurant is undoubtedly the superb dry or wet-aged steaks, the “beginnings,” entrées, and sides have the splendid diversity that Chris has made his hallmark. “Viet-Cajun” Roasted Oysters share the space with ‘Collard Greens and King Crab Dip.’ Chicken Thigh Yakitori is in the column just to the left of the French Onion Soup.
An impressive “Raw Bar” section features East and Gulf Coast oysters, Tuna tartare with Sweet Gochujang (Korean chili sauce), toasted peanuts and sesame, and various King Crab and Shrimp options just to make decisions difficult.
Being a steakhouse, the traditional “Slab Salad” made with iceberg lettuce, black pepper buttermilk, Shropshire blue cheese, and lardons is the featured salad along with a Caesar and a local farm mixed green.
With four of us at dinner, we managed to spread the selections around a bit. An option for a later date will have to be the “Baller Boards,” large charcuterie boards filled with various steak and seafood entrées for sharing. (though ask for a bigger table if that’s your plan for the evening)
One delightful surprise happened early in the meal; at the center of our table was a small ramekin with a lit, floating wick. When bread was brought to our table, the wick was removed, and we were surprised to be told that the oil was indeed beef drippings and we could use it for our bread! (still smile about that)
On to dinner – I have a particular fondness for east-coast oysters, and the Massachusetts Silver Bells available that evening were perfect; meaty, mild brine, and delicious. I really like a cold Chablis with fresh oysters, and Sommelier Jeffrey Young recommended a fine 2018 Domain Louis Michel Vaillons Premier Cru. There were beautiful citrus notes, white flowers, and peach; overall, it was an excellent pairing.
Some of the best steaks I have ever had were dry-aged, and the (65 day) Long Bone Ribeye was definitely my first choice for the meal. At 30 ounces, it was easily sharable and was neatly carved tableside.
Two of our companions selected wet-aged ribeyes, accompanied with the largest King Crab Legs I’ve ever encountered – only the largest center sections seemed to be served (none of the tapered ends.) They were presented cleanly cut in half and served with garlic butter for dipping.
One of the key elements to Georgia James’ success (and indeed all of Chris’s properties) is sourcing their products. All the steaks on the menu (except the Wagyu) were from 44 Farms in Cameron, Texas. The family-owned ranch has been in business since 1909 and is recognized as one of the country’s premier Black Angus producers. It is likely that the Wagyu beef was sourced from purveyors like KOW Steaks, an Iowa-based ranch-to-table wagyu beef supply company run by Jon Urbana.
Sustainable methods emphasizing livestock health and responsible pasture management are in keeping with Chef Chris’s whole philosophy about the food he serves.
In all cases, the beautiful steaks were prepared as advertised, in cast iron pans.
A steakhouse can really shine with great sides, and at Georgia James, most of them seem to have a Southern accent. We tried the flavorful Brown Butter Mushrooms, enjoyed the elegant Sweet Potato & White Cheddar Gratin, but the Smashed & Fried New Potatoes with green garlic aioli was simply one of the most delicious dishes I’ve ever had. Our waiter had suggested them, and we completely understand why.
Wine is one of my favorite pastimes; I collect it, I study it, and I love sharing it with friends, so it’s always a pleasure to peruse a new wine list. Though a separate QRcode would link me to the drinks and wine menu, our waiter was kind enough to bring me a (fifty-page) bound copy.
Somm Jeffery had explained that the general direction of the wine collection is towards smaller, family wineries, but the cellar does host some very celebrated houses.
For the seafood and various appetizers, the list has over seventy white wines from France, California, Austria, Germany, and Italy, including some familiar names but many new to me. (A cool surprise was even a white wine from Armenia!)
As we were in a steakhouse, the best part for me was seeing the nearly three hundred reds from various regions of the world, some with good vertical selections.
The list is wonderfully heavy on the various regions of France; Burgundy, Bordeaux, and Côte du Rhône, but contains many notables from California, Italy, and Spain.
Various vintages of Domaine de la Romanée Conti, Chateau Margaux, and Colgin are available for the deepest of pockets, but many reasonable favorites like Chateau Ferrier, Haut Bergy, and Clos L’Eglise are thankfully available.
In addition to cocktails and a good selection of Texas craft beers, Georgia James has a massive selection of American Whiskeys, Bourbons, French Brandies, three pages of Scotch alone, and an impressive selection of Japanese Whiskey.
With our dry-aged steak, I went a little more dear than usual and selected a 2009 Calon Ségur; 2009 being an excellent Bordeaux vintage and the celebrated Saint Estephe house getting some of the very highest ratings for that year.
The wine was marvelous and interestingly had a different blend than usual. The 2009 was 90% Cabernet Sauvignon, with only 7% Merlot and 3% Petit Verdot. Throughout, there were notes of wet earth, tobacco, and spice followed by black fruit/black currant. It was enjoyed throughout the meal, getting better as the evening progressed.
The last part of our dinner was on par with the rest. We ordered the Roasted Banana Pie, a silky Panna Cotta with a raspberry sauce, and one in our group opted for a plain (but delicious) bowl of vanilla ice cream.
Earlier in the evening, I had noticed a Tokaji on the menu and decided to treat our table to the 2007 Királyudvar Furmint Sec. When we think of history in the U.S., we think in terms of our founding in 1776 or perhaps Pilgrims in the early 1600s – hundreds of years seeming significant time. The scale is so different for things European as the crazy thing about Királyudvar is that the estate has been making wine as far back as the 11th century and supplied wine to the Hapsburg court. The nose was flowers and citrus from the very start and had enough acid to balance the sweet nature of Tokaji.
At the end of a beautiful evening, in perhaps a different way than planned, I think we absolutely got the diversity of experience that is the driving force of Chef Chris Shepherd.
Georgia James is at 1100 Westheimer Rd, Houston, TX 77006.
By Richard Arebalo
OTL Features Edditor