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My review of Vallone's steakhouse

2,981 Views | 22 Replies | Last: 8 yr ago by Farmer1906
Cole Trickle
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meh
CrossBowAg99
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They lost their chef right after opening. I haven't seen any press about them getting a new one.

[This message has been edited by CrossBowAg99 (edited 3/7/2014 1:50p).]
Ducks4brkfast
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everything i've heard about the place has been meh.
Finn Maccumhail
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I've not eaten there nor have I eaten at Tony's but the general vibe I get about the place has always been that Vallone restaurants are more about style than substance.
inch05
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Meh is generous (okay, maybe I'm piling on but, wow, what a let down).
Quantum ace
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Is that the place that has a $10 chicken fried steak lunch special?
LE_Funt
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Best steak I've ever had was at Tony's. Never been to Vallone's though.
WES2006AG
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I was at Vallone sright after they opened. It was just ok, dry aged steak was great but everything else was average or far below average.
jetch17
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I saw that the chef that left, Grant Gordon, was found dead yesterday
tremble
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jetch17
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quote:
Grant Gordon, one of the most promising young chefs to emerge in Houston in recent years, was found dead Monday in his home at the age of 28. The cause of his death has not been determined.
Only last week Gordon and his partners David Keck and Paul Petronella announced they were opening a restaurant in Montrose called The Edmont, a project that would be Gordon’s return to the Houston dining scene since leaving his position at Vallone’s steakhouse in February.
The Houston restaurant community reacted with shock and sorrow Tuesday.
Tony Vallone, the owner of Tony’s, the restaurant that launched Gordon’s culinary career in Houston, said he was proud of his young chef’s accomplishments. “I enjoyed being a mentor to him. We had a wonderful working relationship. I’m very sad over this tragic news,” Vallone said. “We had good teamwork. He loved to learn. His mind was open. He was a great student and had a quest for knowledge.”
Matt Marcus, a partner at Eatsie Boys, said he and Gordon became friends when they both worked at Cyrus, the Michelin two-star restaurant in Healdsburg, CA. But years before that, Gordon had called Marcus to get his advice about attending the Culinary Institute of America, where Marcus was enrolled. “I told him it’s not a party school. You go there to learn to be a chef,” he said. “That’s all Grant wanted to do.”
Marcus said he was in awe of Gordon’s talent at such a young age. “He’s one of the best chefs I know; one of the best chefs in Houston without a doubt.”
Roy Shvartzapel, principal and executive chef of Common Bond Café & Bakery, also shared with Gordon a connection to Cyrus, where Shvartzapel was pastry chef.
“We first met when he came to work at Cyrus. I didn’t know there was another Houstonian in the kitchen,” said the chef who added that he and Gordon shared the same birthday. “We were really good friends.”
Shvartzapel said he wasn’t sure that Gordon would be a good fit at Tony’s. “I’ll be honest, when he took on the position at Tony’s, I was a little bit skeptical. But he blew it out of the water. He’s immensely talented. The city of Houston lost a star today, for sure. He’s someone who already contributed to the evolved gastronomic birth in this city in the past five years.”
Chef Shvartzapel also said he knew Gordon as a “very gentle soul.” “Even in stressful situations he had a certain calmness to him. He was very soften spoken.”
And he was “very Houston proud,” Shvartzapel added. “He really loved him some H-town. He really did.”
Grant Gordon

Ronnie Killen, chef/owner of Killen’s Barbecue and Killen’s Steakhouse, both in Pearland, said Gordon was at his barbecue restaurant on Sunday. (Gordon’s last tweets were from his lunch at Killen’s, praising the beef ribs and calling Killen a “hero.”)
“I’m in shock. I just can’t believe that he’s not here,” Killen said Tuesday. “What a shame.”
Killen said Gordon and a few friends ate beef ribs, chicken-fried steak and other barbecue on Sunday. “He’s been here a couple of times. I always took care of him. He was at my steakhouse too, and he came to the pop-ups. He understood the hard work that went into it,” Killen said. “He said he never took pictures of food, but he took a picture of the beef ribs and he posted a picture of him and I.”
Killen recalled a night he made reservations to dine at Tony’s, but it was Gordon’s night off. “But he came in to make sure I was taken care of and everything was good,” he said. “To come in on your day off?”
Killen added, “The city of Houston has lost a great chef.”
Gordon burst on the local restaurant scene when he earned a rare four-star Chronicle review in 2011 when he ran the kitchen at Tony’s. Gordon started as a line cook at the restaurant and the then 23-year-old worked his way up to executive chef. In late 2013, he helped open Vallone open his eponymous steakhouse before departing in the spring.
In 2012, Gordon was named a semifinalist for the James Beard Rising Star Chef Award and included on Forbes’ list of 30 notable people under age 30.
Gordon’s first restaurant job was at age 16 at the fine dining Zula, where the inexperienced teen worked for free. His first paying job came when he was a senior at Memorial High School. It was at Rickshaw, a River Oaks sushi bar.
jetch17
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Sweet Maria, that's a lot of words

Me so sorry.
CrossBowAg99
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Killen Killed Gordon
BSD
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Just yesterday there was an article in the paper about his new restaurant, the Edmont.

On another note, Vallones is now delivering lunch according to the sign in my office.
Baldimore Zacharious
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You in the Nexun building?
BSD
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I'm just next door to Nexen. Y'all have the same sign up?
Al Bula
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Never heard of it. Meh?
long string
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100% Meh.

Way better options in this city.
BSD
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I actually like Vallone's for lunch but I've only ordered the onion soup and chicken fried steak. The only dinner service I've been to was part of an awards ceremony so it's always hard to judge on those. I thought the sides were great but the steak was meh. But then again, they were serving 40 people at once so its hard to get that done just right. When it comes to steakhouses, though, I have a favorite already in town (and I like doing my own to have with better wine and a fraction of the cost) so I'm likely to pass on Vallones going forward.
cab595
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I went once, and agree that is was just....meh. Too many steakhouse options out there to bother wth Vallones again.
Buck O Five
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Tough loss for this great food city.
agnatgas
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Speaking of steakhouses, the rib and I dined at Vallone's in Memorial City on Saturday night.

The wife had the 55 day dry aged New York strip and I had the center cut filet mignon. Sides included Wisconsin cheddar cheese potatoes and creamless creamed spinach. We split he wedge for starters.

It's expensive, but very good. Food and service were top notch. I would recommend and repeat.

idAg09
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Had Vallones last month without seeing this thread. Filet mingon was really good but not the best I've had. I think it was just as good as Vic & Anthony's or McCormick's..

Pasta was really good and the place is freaking nice. Service was really good, but it is expensive. It's worth visiting if you are into trying new places. Did I say it was nice? Oh and also convenient to us living in the burbs
Farmer1906
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quote:
Had Vallones last month without seeing this thread. Filet mingon was really good but not the best I've had. I think it was just as good as Vic & Anthony's or McCormick's..

Pasta was really good and the place is freaking nice. Service was really good, but it is expensive. It's worth visiting if you are into trying new places. Did I say it was nice? Oh and also convenient to us living in the burbs


Those are 2 very different places. I'd say McCormicks is closer to Saltgrass than V&A
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