Cavatore, House of Bowls, Killen's BBQ and More

While neighborhood favorite Cavatore might feature friendly service and a charming atmosphere, Houston Press guest reviewer Nicholas Hall finds that most of the food just doesn't measure up. "I did not love my daughter's choice of ravioli con carne, finding it about the same as the lasagna, though I certainly wouldn't call the thick, rounded discs of pasta overcooked. Nor did I care for my order of saltimbocca alla romana, a dish recommended by our waiter. Dry medallions topped slices of prosciutto and a pile of perfectly good sautéed spinach, the whole thing overly salted and missing the sage required of the dish. I thought I detected a hint of rosemary. Sauces tend to be separated here, leaving unfortunate and discordant pools of this and that clamoring for attention. It's not a joyful noise." [Houston Press]

Over at Houstonia, features editor Katharine Shilcutt heads to Chinatown to try House of Bowls and checks out Washington Ave's new burger joint The Chopping Block. Although not all of the burgers work, she concludes that if it trims the "massive list of burgers down to the ones that really make sense .... I can see the new burger joint becoming a bit of a destination in its own way." Things are better at House of Bowls, which Shilcutt calls "the city's biggest and best Hong Kongese restaurant" and recommends the salt and pepper chicken wings and French toast. [Houstonia]

The Blogs: Texas BBQ Treasure Hunt writes that Killen's BBQ brings a restaurant to Houston that can compete with the best in Austin. Hank on Food awards an A to Witchcraft Tavern & Proivision Co. Bayou City Bites satisfies a craving at The Original Kolache Shoppe.

[Cavatore/Google+]