Southern Ties
November 15, 2011
Charisma. A deep, accented voice. A high reverence for roasted pork and cooking fats.
The crossover between sabor Latino and Southern style is a beautiful thing.
Presenting the perfect celebration of cultural combinations: The Bird & The Bear, a new bistro in
River Oaks now serving lunch, dinner and slow-crafted tapas with Latino passion and zest.
If Lewis Carroll followed up his classic Alice’s Adventures in Wonderland by opening up a
restaurant, it might just resemble TB & TB. Think chairs hanging across the ceiling in a haphazard manner.
Walls swathed in quilted crimson curtains. Playfully strewn chandeliers in a starkly monochromatic space
that seem to cloak the passage of time (you’re late, you’re late, for a very important date).
But let’s not journey too far down that rabbit hole. You need to eat. Luckily, you’re in the capable
hands of chef Elouise Adams Jones—she’ll insist you call her “Ouisie,” and as the polite and
obliging gentleman, you should.
Start your journey with an order of the Vuelve à la Vida, a mix of shrimp, octopus and scallops in
a spicy white wine sauce. Segue into a plate of crispy fried Gulf Coast oysters, lightly coated with
seasoned cornmeal. And just when your appetite appears to teeter on the brink of its utmost capacity,
gleefully ignore its cries for help with a braised pork osso buco.
The Cheshire Cat would be proud of you.