Lunching at Lambert’s (2731 White Settlement Rd.) last week, Chow, Baby was reminded of that advice-column staple, the woman just turned 30 who’s complaining that she’s tired of flaky, flashy bad boys and is ready to settle down with a good steady man – if only she could find one.
Sometimes, the columnists will answer, they’re in the last place you’d expect. Lambert’s has recently taken over the building formerly occupied by the flaky Jack’s Off the Wall and the flashy Pedro’s Trailer Park, and it’s pretty amazing how drop-dead-sexy Lou Lambert and erstwhile-bad-boy Grady Spears (the two are also partners in yummy-burger Dutch’s, on University Drive) have already turned this former home of the half-baked into a smooth, solid, grown-up restaurant that you know will treat you right. Chow, Baby wants to have its babies.
No busty-blonde mural, no faux graffiti remain; the new whitewashed brick walls, widely spaced heavy wooden tables, and leather-accented chairs murmur airy-urbane. There’s money here, but Lambert’s has an Austin-like lack of pretension, a comparison that would have occurred to Chow, Baby even if it didn’t know about the unpretentious original Lambert’s in Austin. The music is adult-eclectic – George Jones to Corinne Bailey Rae – and the dressed-down-as-a-uniform servers, though still learning the menu, are friendly and enthusiastic. You can count on them.
Chow, Baby is taking its time getting to know Lambert’s Texas-steak-and-seafood menu. Not so much out of mature self-control, but rather because $60 worth of take-home research – including herbed mustard-crusted sea bass ($28), a cabrito sandwich ($9), and boar ribs with plum barbecue sauce (appetizer $9) – liquefied in the Great Blackout of 2008. (Chow, Baby loves its block: Hearing engine-rumblings Saturday night, all the neighbors ran out to the curb waving their arms and hopping with excitement, shouting “Oncor truck! Oncor truck!” Made Chow, Baby crave a Dreamsicle.)
But what Chow, Baby ate on site was comforting, solid, and grow-on-you delicious. Thick, house-fried tortilla chips were the delivery mechanism for roasted green chili queso ($7), which came with a cooling scoop of pickled vegetables; fried green tomatoes ($9), dressed with a mellow roasted-tomato vinaigrette, got a dollop of crab remoulade that got more exciting with every bite. The first taste of smoked chicken ($18 with roasted root vegetables, superbly seasoned) prompted a “Yeah, that’s good,” which subsequent bites promoted to “Wow, that’s really good” as the rich Mexican-chocolate rub kicked in. See, if you want a grown-up love that lasts, you can’t rush it. Just let it develop.
The tough part of starting a grown-up relationship is the years of baggage on both sides. Could Lou Lambert really make a bread pudding that would live up to Chow, Baby’s unreasonable expectations? And could coconut-detesting Chow, Baby learn to love Lou’s pride and joy, his legendary-in-Austin coconut cream pie ($6)? The answer to the second was a rush of unexpected (we were being mature!) teenage lust for the mildly flavored yet decadent custard, the flaky crust, and the babe-magnet bits of shredded roasted coconut. And the sole salvaged bite of blackout-casualty maple bread pudding ($6) hinted that this, too, may be a long-term keeper. Chow, Baby has been in lot of restaurant relationships, but it has the tingly feeling that Lambert’s will be more than a flash in Fort Worth’s pan.
Contact Chow, Baby at chowbaby@fwweekly.com.
