TX, Houston, Vargo’s

TX, Houston, Vargo’s, 2401 Fondren, 77063 (713) 782-3888 http://vargosonline.com

Vargo’s is an amazing restaurant on Fondren just north of Westheimer in West Houston. The house and grounds are meticulously maintained and provide an extravagant background to an excellent meal. It was dark by the time we arrived for dinner, so we were unable to see the full extent of the grounds, but we were able to stand on the balcony and look out over the lake and watch two swans serenely gliding across the water. The restaurant provides valet parking, but self-parking is still an option in the large on-site parking area near the front entrance to the building.

The restaurant promotes itself as the ideal place to hold a wedding and a birthday party or a company dinner – any event that requires catering in elegant surrounding. On the night we dined there were two events taking place in other parts of the restaurant, a large private party that may have been a wedding rehearsal in the dining room by the lake and a buffet for a large gathering of Sikh families (at least that was my guess from the turbans many of the men were wearing)

We went a small private birthday celebration and enjoyed an excellent dinner with unobtrusive but mostly efficient service. Our reservation was handled promptly. But was probably not necessary on this evening. In the dining area where we were seated there were only three other tables – out of eight or so - occupied and there was plenty of room between the tables so we could talk and laugh without disturbing or being disturbed by other diners.

We passed on appetizers, preferring instead to share a Caesar Salad and concentrate on the main course. Both main courses were excellent. The Pecan Crusted Red Snapper was light and delicate and served off the bone with a medley of mixed vegetables and a basil lemon butter sauce on the side. Vargo’s Elegant Stuffed Chicken is a chicken breast stuffed with sautéed garlic, mushrooms, spinach and sun-dried tomatoes and topped with rosemary sauce, also served with a medley of mixed vegetables. My friend judged it to be excellent.

We shared a bottle of Estate bottled Vouvray from the Loire valley. A light easy to drink wine made from Chenin Blanc grapes. Vouvray is not a complicated wine. It is normally drunk within a couple of years of bottling and this wine had a hint of sweetness and nice hint of apples and pears, perhaps the best description is fruity. The wine brought back a flood of memories of evenings spent in the Pontefract Castle wine bar off Wigmore Street in the west end of London, sipping on Vouvray after work in the early 1970’s.

An excellent dinner that cost $112.00 including a 20% tip plus $5.00 for the valet parking attendant.