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Italian Restaurant Opens in Texas Medical Center Sept. 23

Envision an Italian restaurant, and random images arise – red-checked tablecloths, big bowls of pasta swimming in marinara sauce, baskets of pencil-thin breadsticks, Chianti in straw wine caddies.

Then along comes a new Italian eatery that shatters outdated stereotypes and calls into question everything you thought you knew about Italian cuisine.

Such is Trevísio, Houston’s newest Italian restaurant, set to open in the heart of the Texas Medical Center Sept. 23. Billed as a "modern" Italian dining establishment, Trevísio breaks from tradition with a menu that offers surprise interpretations loosely based on classic Italian recipes, along with a host of original and inspired creations.

Located at the intersection of Bertner Avenue and Moursund Street, Trevísio tops the new John P. McGovern Texas Medical Center Commons building. The restaurant provides employees, visitors and students at Texas Medical Center institutions the opportunity to experience upscale dining within walking distance.

"It’s no longer necessary to give up a parking space, then navigate traffic and construction to get to a restaurant. Trevísio is in our backyard," said Andrew Icken, Texas Medical Center executive vice president.

Because the Commons building that houses Trevísio is encircled by two 64-foot high water walls, the "water" theme is continued inside the restaurant, which features its own indoor water wall and aquatic colors of blues, golds and chromes throughout. The carpeting incorporates a blue, swirling, wave-like design, and light fixtures are crystal pendant clusters that dangle from the ceiling like water drops. Floor-to-ceiling glass walls offer up to 250 diners at 55 tables a panoramic view of the Texas Medical Center. The design is elegant, as is the menu.

"This is not an ‘in-your-face’ Italian menu," said Executive Chef Alan Ashkinaze.

"Traditional Italian dishes tend to be heavy, with lots of sauces. Modern Italian cuisine is lighter, more graceful," continued Ashkinaze, newly arrived from several stints as a celebrated chef at such distinguished New York City establishments as the Stanhope Hotel, the Waldorf Astoria Hotel, and the Boat House – a $12 million restaurant in Central Park that rivals the world-famous Tavern on the Green.

To grasp the ambience of Trevísio’s flavor philosophy, Ashkinaze suggests you imagine yourself standing in central Italy, then looking beyond the Italian border to neighboring regions of France, the Mediterranean, and North Africa. Foods from these cultures have infiltrated Italy over time, resulting in Italian cuisine that goes beyond traditional Italian.

"When you open Trevísio’s menu, you’ll find more atypical than typical," Ashkinaze said. "Going beyond geographic borders provides us with permission to produce some amazingly innovative dishes."

Consider, for example, giant, sweet-tasting sea scallops, resting on an arrangement of peeled and blanched asparagus, which in turn are embedded in a compote of baked and chopped tomatoes seasoned with basil, olive oil, and sherry vinegar. Drizzled atop the layered presentation is a zesty parmesan vinaigrette.

For Texas-sized appetites, Ashkinaze has created a bison steak (a healthier, leaner alternative to many beef cuts) aged to perfection, then cured with a coffee-based rub. While steaks predictably are accompanied by baked potatoes, Ashkinaze offers hearty home fries mingled with a host of vegetables and fruits, including roasted corn, baby tomatoes, and – of all things – grapes. It works.

"Ingredients should sometimes complement, sometimes contrast. I’m looking for a burst of flavor one moment, a subtle blend of tastes the next. Textures should sometimes meld together, sometimes stand apart. It’s all a balancing act, an interplay. My job is to make it all come together," Ashkinaze said, whose skill is rooted in years of education and experience.

While attending the country’s No. 1 hotel/restaurant management college at the University of Nevada-Las Vegas, he worked as a cook at the Golden Nugget hotel and casino, and was asked at age 21, while still in school, to manage a popular, new Las Vegas restaurant owned by the Golden Nugget’s catering director.

Upon graduation, he returned home to New York and enrolled in the Culinary Institute of America, which is to the United States, what the Cordon Bleu is to France.

Equipped with a degree from the institute and some of the best credentials in the nation, Ashkinaze worked his way up the culinary ranks, which are more complicated than the hierarchical ranks in a Fortune 500 company’s organizational chart. In the culinary world, the top-ranking position is that of chef, followed by the chef de cuisine (if the restaurant owner is also a chef), then executive chef, executive sous (second) chef, banquet chef, and finally, other sous chefs. Downward are a host of chefs who specialize in assorted fare, such as those in charge of pastries (chef de pasticcerie) or sauces (sauciers). Various levels of cooks, waiters and servers follow.

It was while Ashkinaze worked at Peacock Alley, the three-star French restaurant at the Waldorf Astoria in New York City, that he met David Edwards, a British transplant who managed the hotel’s food and beverage operation. Edwards, who now enjoys a reputation as an entertainment entrepreneur, went on to accomplish such impressive feats as opening the MGM Grand in Las Vegas and the Atlantis Resort and Casino in the Bahamas.

Today, Edwards is a Houston businessman and owner of downtown’s popular Mercury Room, Boaka Bar and Zula restaurant. Edwards’ company, Big Night Ventures, owned jointly with business partner George Ciotti, will operate Trevísio through a management contract with the nonprofit Texas Medical Center, which owns the restaurant and its attached conference facilities. Immediately upon securing the management contract, Edwards convinced Ashkinaze to leave New York and come to Houston as Trevísio’s executive chef.Trevísio’s role will be to serve the Texas Medical Center community, but Edwards believes the restaurant will soon become known as one of the finest dining destinations in the city.

Trevísio opens to the public Sept. 23, serving lunch and dinner in its main dining area and breakfast in the Roma room, a separate restaurant overlooking one of the Commons building’s two, 64-foot exterior water walls. Catering is also available for Trevísio’s adjoining conference facilities.

Breakfast Monday through Friday, 6:30 to 10 a.m.; lunch Monday through Saturday, 11 a.m. to 2 p.m.; dinner Monday through Saturday 5 to 10:30 p.m.; closed Sunday.

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©2006 Texas Medical Center

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URL: http://www.tmc.edu/tmcnews/08_15_02/page_01.html