It’s not easy to find The Lost River Grille (7620 Katy Freeway, 713-680-2800), since it seems to be connected to Spellbinder’s Variety Theatre in the Marq*E Center. Its discovery is worthwhile, however, for the decor alone: a surreal, dreamlike interior unlike any other place you’ll ever visit. In this whimsical fantasy world, human and animal sculptures and figurines are scattered about in a style that can be best described as art nouveau meets Las Vegas. An appetizer that will ensure you won’t encounter any vampires along the way is the garlic flan ($8.95). Loads of cloves of roasted garlic have been pureed and blended with melted cheese, then topped with finely sliced roasted red bell pepper and finished with a rich mushroom demi-glace, which helps round out the flavor. Roasting the garlic softens the punch and adds an unexpected sweetness so that vampires will be the only ones kept away. Dinner only.
This article appears in Aug 1-7, 2002.