Fried grasshoppers in Houston?! Apparently it's all the rage at Hugo's. We didn't have the craving, but it did pique our curiousity. So off to Hugo's we went. After a round of the bartender-recommended sangria margarita (a nicely balanced marriage of flavors), we were seated and ready to get our grasshopper on. But it must not have been grasshopper season since they didn't have any to serve us. Though secretly relieved that our Fear Factor expedition would need to be postponed, we switched gears and looked over the menu.
We decided on the ceviche de pulpo (octopus) and queso flameado (flaming cheese). We adore ceviche , but are quite picky and had long given up on finding something to sate our palates. When the martini glass of octopus, tomatoes, avocadoes and onions came out, we were blown away by the flavors. Granted, this wasn't the traditional Peruvian style ceviche that we love, but it was had so many good points on its own that we gobbled it up pretty quickly. It may have been the nice chunks of octopus that did us in (not tough at all which is a pretty impressive feat), but we think it was the correct combination of flavors that allowed us to enjoy the citrusy, sour flavor so much. We may have even snuck in a bite with one of the crackers they provided, but don't tell our abuela! The queso flameado was equally tasty, though not what we were expecting. We were used to seeing a big performance with flames and singed eyelashes, but instead we got a demure presentation of the already warm cheese that was mixed table side with all the cheesy goodness enveloping the chunks of steak, green bell pepper and onions. We're betting it wasn't the healthiest choice on the menu, but it didn't have that greasy consistency that we'd come to expect from queso flameado.
Our server suggested the scallops and we quickly jumped on her recommendation. And, by golly, she was right! The scallops took our taste buds on a trip around the world. The naturally sweet taste was enhanced by the cornbread pancake served along side the scallops. Though we initially thought it would be too much sweetness for one plate, the flavors complimented each other very well. The buttery goodness of the perfectly seared scallops makes our toes tingle just writing about it.
Our dining companion ordered the Filete a la Oaxaquena was cooked per instructions, though it could've used a tad bit more seasoning. After a few dashes of black pepper, it was perfect. On the side was a nice heaping of mole. We'd heard that you either love it or hate it, and we were curious to see how we'd respond. Guess which camp we ended up in? The interesting flavors of sweet and savory together really did a number on us and we immediately sought out some more of the cornbread to erase the flavor. The idea of mixing chocolate with peppers was a little disconcerting to us. However, we were in the minority at the table since everyone else loved the mole.
Besides the fried grasshoppers, we'd heard nothing but rave reviews about the churros here and since it had been years since we'd had some authentic ones (complete with the side of Mexican chocolate), we were thrilled to see it on the menu. The churros were deliciously warm when they arrived at our table and the sugary goodness didn't flake off on the plates as we picked them up. The chocolate had that distinctively bitter taste and provided the perfect foil to the sweetness of the pastry.
To cap off our fabulous meal, we ordered a round of Hugo's famous mezcal! We don't usually prefer tequila, but we enjoyed the mezcal quite a bit. The smoky flavor really masked the bite of tequila that we don't usually appreciate. Though it wouldn't be an everyday drink for Houstonist, it definitely provided an appropriate ending to our delicious meal.
And in case you're wondering, yes, we'll be back to try the grasshoppers!
Hugo's
1600 Westheimer
713-524-7744
11am-10pm Mon-Thurs and Sunday
11am-11pm Friday and Saturday
flicker user: frankienose
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