Texas Foodlovers

Carol Davis is totally adamant about this: it's Cat Spring, not Cat Springs. "That's one cat, one spring," she says, stalking briskly across yet another of her 600-plus acres an hour west of Houston near Sealy.

She is right about the town's name, such town as there is. But now, thanks to Carol, a longtime Houstonian who returned to her roots in the country, there's also one unexpectedly wonderful restaurant, one quirky bed and breakfast, one nature-kissed wedding venue, one ranch raising bison, horses and miniature donkeys - and one very not-miniature dream for the future.

"I knew I could go back there anytime I wanted," Carol says of her life in the big city, reeling off the ballets and other cultural events she once enjoyed. "I knew it would always be there for me. But out here I knew my heart could sing." Could it ever!

And a large part of her song has been the free-form, one-day-at-a-time creation of a destination that would lure people from her old urban digs while delighting a vast array of well-to-do former city dwellers with ranches around Cat Spring. For these and other "locals," the launch of Carol's at Cat Spring last April was nothing less than a culinary cavalry arrival, an eatery blending fine dining worthy of Houston with chicken fried steak and fried catfish any Texas hole in the wall would be proud to dish up.

As for the rest, the dream has simply and slowly formed around Carol's - or more precisely, around Carol, a German-heritaged, blue-jeaned, cowboy-booted, dog-rescuing, roping, riding bit of a visionary who can't quite decide if she's Dale Evans or Walt Disney. Best of all, it's her place - so maybe she'll never have to decide.

Sitting on the grass beside the lakeside gazebo in which couples get married, sipping the Cakebread merlot Carol just brought back from a winery tour of Napa Valley, it's hard to believe the mixture of pluck and luck that has carried her home to the country. After all, speaking only German until starting school in what she insists was really one room, working as a child on the Warda ranch her family owned since 1875, she might have done a lot of things differently. But since she didn't, her father packed her off to Houston after high school to find some kind of job.

That job as a court reporter (the official stenographer at all legal proceedings) became not just a job but a career and finally a thriving business. It wasn't quick or easy, of course, requiring Carol to supplement her income and/or purchase years of training by working evenings as what they once called a Spacette, an usher at the Houston Astrodome.

Carol's business life after founding Carol Davis Reporting, Records and Video has taken her not only across America but to London, Mexico City, Canada and her family's native Germany. The Houston-based firm has offices in Austin, Beaumont, Corpus Christi, Dallas and San Antonio, letting it do what it does best statewide. And it also lets Carol, finally, be Carol.

This means she'd come home to the country. This means she'd buy land and, each time she could, buy more. This means she'd pull together and renovate a series of houses large and small, tying them together under the name "Blisswood at Lehmann Legacy Ranch," a bed and breakfast that sleeps about 30 - "depending," she explains pragmatically, "on who can sleep with who." And this means she'd need to feed these guests, some way short of making them forage through the woods for themselves.

The solution: the 83-seat Carol's at Cat Spring, a kind of '50s-'60s-generic-somewhere-out-west roadhouse that has taken on the rustic charm of a classy hunting lodge, complete with mounted heads of game animals from the farflung fields, jungles and savannahs of the world.

Knowing she was dealing with an interesting clientele - people who've flown off to London or Paris for one meal, alongside people who've barely made it onto I-10 in Sealy - Carol chose a logically two-pronged approach. She wanted to make sure she always had chicken fried steak, fried catfish and even stuffed jalapenos (which she insists are two hot for her). Yet she also wanted to serve the finest in world-class meats, including wild game that reflected the feel of the restaurant, not to mention the heads on the wall. There'd be bison tenderloin and bison sausage from her own ranch, along with a changing array of boar chops and duck breasts with creative sauces and sides, many prepared with vegetables and fresh herbs from her own organic garden.

This was not your typical chef assignment, for which Carol selected not your typical chef. For one thing, Doug Atkinson is a fifth-generation Texan with a fine-dining pedigree that won't quit. Most recently running Ruggles at the Ballpark in Houston for Bruce Molzan, he also picked up pointers over the years from Robert del Grande at Houston's Café Annie and Stephen Pyles at Dallas' Star Canyon. Throw in lessons-for-life from Robert McGrath, Kathy Ruiz and even influential Frenchman Herve Glin, and you have more than a resume. You have a flexible mastery of technique, plus the very yee-hah-meets-foie-gras palate that Carol had in mind. Doug came in as a consultant, to tell someone what to cook. He ended up cooking it himself.

"Some people here get scared when I serve them grits with truffles," reports Doug. "I tell them, hey, you've been eating grits all your life. You just need to keep on open mind."

There are four separate menus at Carol's: a brand-new lunch, plus other lists covering dinner, Sunday brunch and the very country Sunday Supper. Each menu is all about the restaurant's split personality, with items grouped into "local favorites" (you know the ones we mean) and then pretty much whatever Doug feels good about cooking.

Best bets from among the appetizers include the cleverly named Armadillo Eggs (jalapenos stuffed with cream cheese and crabmeat, quick-batter-fried and rushed out with welcome ranch dressing) and the Texas Antipasto - a medley of Carol's own bison sausage with marinated cheese, roasted peppers, pickled okra and so-called Texas caviar (made with black-eyed peas where fish eggs tend to be). If there could be a restaurant concept called Texas-by-Way-of-Tuscany, this appetizer would surely point the way.

The cooking here is so real and flavorful, in fact, that the line between "local favorites" and the chef's own creations is a narrow one. Do sample, for instance, Doug's Ranch Hand Branded Ribeye, his (if you're feeling insufficiently carnivorous) Padre Island Redfish with sautéed crawfish and lemon butter, and absolutely his Farmer Herman's Pork Chop, the latter turned instant classic by homemade apple butter sitting atop the brined and lightly smoked thick chop. ("Pork chops and apple sauce," Doug laughs. "It's so Brady Bunch!") If fried catfish is indeed a local favorite, you can also trade up easily to Colorado River catfish, broiled with lemon pepper and topped with white wine butter sauce.

Desserts are as well-prepared as they are large. Current favorites include the Italian cream cake and anything made with lots of chocolate, though rumor has it Carol's might serve the world's best pecan pie. After a lifetime of Deep South near-obsession, we'll be the judge of that.

As a symbol of Carol's commitment to something beyond what anyone who's ever heard of Cat Spring might expect, she has sided a chef from Ruggles with a manager from Ruggles, letting him oversee service and handle the ambitious wine program. Even after Houston and years traveling the country to open nightclubs, Michael Williams admits he was surprised at how quickly this place took on a life of its own. In other words, customers who looked like they'd order a Miller Light picked out a $200 reserve cabernet instead.

"We're here for the ranchers, not the ranch hands," Michael says, knowing full well that part of Carol's charm is being pretty much here for both. Then, more thoughtfully: "In my life, I've been part of a lot of great things. Now I have a chance to do something great."

CAROL'S WILD MUSHROOM TAMALE
Consulting Chef Doug Atkinson

1 æ cups masa harina
1 º cups hot water
10 tablespoons vegetable shortening, chilled
1 ½ teaspoons salt
º cup cold chicken stock
1 pound wild mushrooms, finely chopped
1 tablespoon minced garlic
2 tablespoons olive oil
2 teaspoons minced fresh thyme, divided
½ pounds Texas goat cheese
º cup whipping cream
Diced tomato
Cilantro leaves

In a mixer with a paddle attachment on low, add the masa harina and slowly pour in the water. Increase speed until well incorporated, about 2 minutes. Mix in shortening and salt. Slowly add stock just until smooth. Allow mixture to cool.

In a sauté pan, stir together the oil, garlic, mushrooms and about ½ the thyme until liquid has evaporated. Set mixture in refrigerator until chilled. Spread a sheet of parchment paper over a flat, clean work surface. Using a rubber spatula, spread the masa mixture evenly across papers - about 1/8 inch thick, 10 inches long and 6 inches wide. Place an even line of mushroom filling down the center of the masa. Take the bottom edge of the paper and fold over filling, enclosing it in masa. Roll the paper to form a tube of masa, then twist the ends shut to seal. Steam the tamale for 25 minutes, then let cool to room temperature before unrolling the paper.

For the goat cheese mixture, combine cheese, cream, remaining thyme and salt to taste until smooth. Place mixture in a plastic bag. When ready to serve, slice the tamale into º-inch pieces and place on a serving tray. Top each with a spoonful of the goat cheese mixture. Garnish each diced tomato and a cilantro leaf. Makes 36 hors d'oeuvres servings.

CAROL'S SOUTHWESTERN CORN
Consulting Chef Doug Atkinson

1 pound corn kernels, cut from husks
½ red bell pepper, diced
½ jalapeno pepper, miced
1 teaspoon chopped garlic
1 tablespoon butter
1/8 teaspoon salt

In a large pan, sauté all ingredients except the corn in the butter. Add the corn, toss a couple of times and sauté until kernels are tender. Season with additional salt and pepper to taste. Serves 10.