Hawthorne Gets 3 Stars, Doshi House Does Veggies Right

After anointing four different restaurants with four stars in the past 12 months, Houston Chronicle critic Alison Cook awards Italian-inspired Hawthorne an almost as rare three stars. In a room that's "dim and supper-clubby and discreet," chef Riccardo Palazzo-Giorgio "cooks with classic Italian discipline, keeping the number of ingredients to a minimum and coaxing maximum flavor from them." The only downsides are a dearth of inexpensive wines and an overcooked seafood dish that leads Cook to conclude "the kitchen is defter with meats than with creatures from the sea." [29-95]

Houston Press critic Katharine Shilcutt heads to Third Ward coffeeshop, art space and vegetarian cafe Doshi House where she finds some intriguing choices. "While Doshi House clearly hasn't set out to be a full-scale restaurant, the homemade meals it serves are good enough for it to be considered one of the best new restaurants the Third Ward has seen in years. Art space, coffeehouse, community meeting spot or cafe — whatever it is to you, Doshi House is nothing if not welcome." [Houston Press]

THE BLOGS: Urban Swank samples soul food at Esther's Cajun Cafe and Soul Food. The Woodlands Eats visits Mexican restaurant Los Arcos Mexican Kitchen.