One Star for Dosa Factory; High Praise for The Pass

The Houston Press' Kaitlin Steinberg heads to The Pass, the formal dining area of The Pass & Provisions, where she finds new reasons to visit the highly touted eatery: "The restaurant recently debuted its newest tasting menu, which features some of the most creative and gusta­torially tantalizing dishes the [Terrence] Gallivan and [Seth] Siegel-Gardner team have served. There's also a new vegetarian/gluten-free/almost-vegan menu that mirrors some of the ingredients and flavors of the regular menu, only without gluten and, for the most part, any animal products." She likens her meal to a theatrical production and concludes: "If you want a classy meal, go to Brennan's or Tony's or Da Marco. If you want food with a wink and a nod served by two tattooed guys who may or may not be punking us all, go to The Pass."

The Chronicle's Alison Cook awards the Dosa Factory one star, noting that some of the more traditional options surpassed the playful fusion iterations (like a pizza-style Indian crepe), since she "wasn't really sold on the modernized dosa versions" and "came to admire a couple of the classics here." Cook also notes that in trying to elevate the crepes to a knife-and-fork semi-fast-food option they sacrifice the "ethereal textures" that should define dosas. She raves about the idli dishes, writing that they "are billed as the tongue-twisting 'idlilittles,' which means they are ingenious miniature versions of the cushiony steamed rice cakes."

More reviews: Urban Swank's Joanna O'Leary raves about Persian grill Kasra, writing that her only disappointment is that they don't deliver. H-Town Chow Down finds that the calzone may be better than the pies at Crust Pizza Co., and Hank on Food gives Mario's Burger and Taco House an "A" for its Mexican dishes and burgers.