Full article here. - Frank`s Americana Revival

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FEBRUARY 2015
Houstoniamag.com
Kings of
Comfort
⬉
Colin and
Michael Shine
T here ’ s no one in the kitchen at Frank’s Americana
Revival named Frank, nor on the floor greeting guests or delivering heaping plates of fried chicken. Those tasks fall to longtime
chef Albert Estrada or one of the members of the Shine family:
patriarch and owner Michael, a jovial man in his 50s who knows
nearly every patron by name; elder son and general manager
Chris, who also runs the wine and beverage program in the
elegantly appointed White Star Bar; and younger son Colin,
the chef de cuisine who’s perfected Frank’s gumbo recipe and
guards it as if it contained all the secrets to the restaurant’s
success. And it just might.
Nearly three years ago, Frank’s Americana Revival was
Frank’s Chop House, a River Oaks steakhouse run by longtime
restaurateur Frank Crapitto. Located on the same site as The
Stables, another popular steakhouse and former Houston
institution, Frank’s Chop House was known for its chicken-
Kate LeSueur
Michael Shine and his sons have found success
in the simple things—in some cases, making
those simple things just a little snazzier.
We polled
hundreds of
Houstonia readers
about their own
comfort food
preferences.
Houston's 5 Best
Chicken-Fried Steak
Over the last 150 years, Texans have taken schnitzel, the signature dish of
German émigrés, and transformed it into something wholly and utterly their
own: a breaded, fried cube steak served with a peppery flour gravy that’s
second only to Ranch dressing in the Texas hierarchy of great creamy sauces.
Beaver’s
2310 Decatur St.,
beavershouston.com
The B in the massive CFBS here
stands for bacon: in lieu of cream
gravy, this Sixth Ward café finishes
its over-the-top chicken-fried
steak with bacon-mushroom gravy,
which you’ll also find dolloped
atop the accompanying mashed
potatoes. (Some devotees sub the
other side of fresh vegetables for
one of Beaver’s equally over-thetop mac ‘n’ cheese creations.)
⬅
Frank's
Americana
Revival
Frank’s Americana
Revival
3736 Westheimer Rd.,
frankshouston.com
Though a bit pricier than its rivals,
the CFS at this River Oaks hot
spot is worth every penny, thanks
to its perfect construction—a
batter that clings perfectly to
every bite and a sturdy, crackedpepper cream gravy that blankets
both the CFS and the fluffy
whipped potatoes on the side.
Goodson’s Cafe
27931 Business Hwy. 249, Tomball,
goodsonscafetomball.com
The folks at this establishment
have long proclaimed their
CFS “the best chicken-fried
steak in Texas,” and they’ve had
plenty of time to perfect their
recipe—65 years, in fact. Ma
Goodson’s version is particularly
known for its gravy, which
looks like it just emerged from
a hot skillet full of drippings.
Mel’s Country Cafe
24814 Stanolind Rd., Tomball,
melscountrycafe.com
Opened as Mary’s Fried Chicken
in 1977 by Charles Weirich Sr.,
fried steak. When Shine purchased the restaurant from his old
friend, he was determined to leave that chicken-fried steak
intact even as he turned the old chop house into a temple of
classic Southern favorites, “They’re not necessarily the most
trendy, hip, cool menu items,” admits Shine. But as a lifelong
restaurateur, he understood the appeal of something more
important and timeless than trendiness: comfort.
Soon, he was reworking the menu—which he’d purchased
along with the building and its employees—at the newly christened Frank’s Americana Revival in an effort to update its staple, classic dishes, even as part of its former name remained
behind. “We realized how many people loved the name,” Shine
laughs, so it stayed as a tribute to Shine’s great-grandfather
and his uncle—both Franks—as well as Crapitto himself.
Crapitto’s meatloaf recipe was one of the first that Shine
and chef Estrada tackled. “If we’re gonna do a meatloaf,” Shine
recalls thinking, “we gotta do the best damn meatloaf.” The
result was a beef, pork, and veal blend topped with bacontomato jam that quickly became one of the restaurant’s bestselling dinner items.
But nothing at Frank’s can compete with its fried chicken
and chicken-fried steak, which together account for over 20
percent of weekly sales “even when we’re out of fried chicken
for a day or two,” laughs Shine.
Today, business is up 65 percent at 3736 Westheimer since
Frank’s Americana Revival took over—a figure that Shine attributes to his family’s determination to evoke what he calls a
Comfort
Count
Should CFS come
with gravy on the
side or on top?
55% ➡ on top
29% ➡ on the side
16% ➡ doesn't matter
this Tomball institution acquired
its present moniker in 1994,
named in honor of Mary and
Charles’s only daughter, Melody.
Mel’s family still runs the place
today, serving CFS in two sizes:
a “small” 8-ounce portion, and
a large 16-ounce version—both
of which are served with cream
gravy on the side, as it should
be, in our opinion (see below).
Triple A
2526 Airline Dr.,
triplearestaurant.com
Though you can get it at lunch,
breakfast is the best time to
enjoy the relatively petite CFS,
along with two eggs, grits, and
homemade biscuits, at this place
next to Canino’s farmers market.
Your perfect morning comes
complete with a bottomless cup
of coffee, a seat at the low-slung
diner counter, and a fresh copy of
the newspaper of your choice.
“neo-contemporary” nostalgia—regardless of what one’s own
version of comfort food may be.
In the case of Katie Earthman Cullen, fourth-generation
Houstonian and member of the sprawling Cullen family—our
city’s answer to New York City’s Astors—it was beef stroganoff.
“Katie was turning 50,” recalls Shine, “and her grandmother
called to set up a ladies luncheon for her birthday,” dropping a
hint that Katie’s favorite childhood food was beef stroganoff.
Shine and Estrada whipped up a version with filet mignon, a
wild mushroom demi-glace, and house-made pappardelle. It
was an instant hit, and quickly became Frank’s Monday night
special. “It wasn’t a comfort food item in my house growing up,”
says Shine, “but it was in the Cullen family.”
Similarly, Frank’s keeps a supply of liver-and-onions on hand
as an off-menu item for the “10 or so customers that love” it,
and Shine worked with former governor Mark White’s wife
to create a recipe for chicken-and-dumplings with brined
chicken, fresh carrots and peas, and a pastry dough that
met and eclipsed her husband’s childhood memories of his
favorite dish.
Given the demo that inspires many of its recipes, you might
be surprised to hear that the clientele at Frank’s, attracted by
the restaurant’s reworked classics, is only getting younger. For
Shine and his family, however, it’s just as much about ensuring
everyone feels taken care of. “These are the things we love to
eat and that we’re passionate about,” he says.
“I’m serving something I would have made for you at home.”
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