Guard and Grace steakhouse ready to impress Houston

Filet Flight features 4-ounce portions of Prime, Angus and wagyu steaks at Guard and Grace. Filet Flight features 4-ounce portions of Prime, Angus and wagyu steaks at Guard and Grace. Photo: Gary Fountain, Contributor Photo: Gary Fountain, Contributor Image 1 of / 20 Caption Close Guard and Grace steakhouse ready to impress Houston 1 / 20 Back to Gallery

Troy Guard is good at making friends. Years before the Denver-based chef announced he was opening his first restaurant outside of Colorado, Guard visited Houston frequently to get the lay of the land and familiarize himself with the city’s outsize dining scene. And throughout 2019 he collaborated on a series of pop-up dinners with a few top chefs in town, such as Hugo Ortega at Xochi and Drake Leonards at Eunice.

Those dinners were both feel-good introductions to an out-of-towner and culinary precursors to the grand steakhouse that was being built for Guard at One Allen Center. Along the way Guard, with his ready smile and high-on-Houston disposition, charmed would-be diners as he and his staff patiently waited for Guard and Grace to open.

That wait ends Tuesday when the colossal 15,000-square-foot Guard and Grace – as impressive of a big city steakhouse as Houston has ever seen – opens for dinner. The Nov. 19 debut marks the official arrival of Guard’s TAG Restaurant Group, already a part of Denver’s restaurant landscape with 13 restaurants under eight concepts. Even before Guard and Grace opens, Guard is already scoping out the possibilities of bringing several of those brands to Houston.

HALL OF FLAVOR: We take you inside the new Politan Row food hall in Rice Village

Between the scope of the physical restaurant – a sleek, magisterial space designed to wow – and an imposing menu of international flavors orbiting an imposing collection of beef, Guard and Grace fits the ambitions of a city full of power and international clout.

Houston’s multi-ethnic diversity is a perfect place for Guard to flex his culinary flash and embrace flavors that influenced the Hawaii-raised chef’s career which includes work in Hawaii, Hong Kong, Singapore and New York.

“It’s truly an international city,” he said of Houston. “I get to be a little more creative here.”

Some of that creativity bears a local stamp. To his menu (about 80 percent of it comes from the Guard and Grace in Denver) Guard has added dishes he feels will appeal to the Houston palate: Roasted Texas redfish on the half shell with lump crab, shrimp and Pontchartrain sauce; whole deboned grilled red snapper with a lush tomato sauce invested with Asian flavors of shrimp paste, caramelized shallot, Thai chiles and fish sauce; oak-smoked chicken with preserved lemon salsa verde; Texas fried quail with Fresno chile hot sauce and buttermilk dressing; gochujang barbecue pork ribs with charred scallions and pickled vegetables; and wagyu bone marrow served with short rib marmalade and smoked aioli.

These dishes make nice with proven dishes such as tuna sashimi with jalapeno, ponzu and black lava salt; prosciutto tasting flight; lobster and shrimp roll with yuzu aioli; oak-fired octopus with white bean and celery salad and Spanish chorizo; Szechuan rack of lamb; crab bearnaise gnocchi; and hamachi crudo with jalapeno, truffled yuzu sauce and a sprinkle of pop rocks.

And then there’s the beef: Prime filet mignon, New York strip, dry-aged bone-in New York strip, and 21-day dry-aged bone-in ribeye; Angus filet mignon, hanger steak, porterhouse and prime rib; and wagyu filet mignon, ribeye and New York strip. Want a little of everything? There’s a filet flight featuring 4-ounce portions of Prime, Angus and wagyu steaks – all seasoned with Guard’s proprietary seasoning blend and grilled over oak wood flames.

While Guard’s biggest steak, a market-priced “ax-handle tomahawk” he calls the Brontosaurus Steak is a head-turning monster, his showiest dish will surely be his tribute to a Houston classic: Millionaire Fajitas, a theatrical presentation of charred rib cap wagyu presented with huitlacoche and gold (yes, gold leaf) tortillas, charred peppers and onions an a side of green chile enchiladas. It fetches the oil baron price of $400. Surely, the most expensive fajitas in Houston.

HoustonChronicle.com: The best dishes from Alison Cook's 100 Top Houston restaurants list.

Guard has entrusted his new baby to CIA-trained executive chef Daniel Virola, formerly of True Food Kitchen in Houston. Desserts and house-made breads are from TAG corporate pastry chef Joy Williams. The team includes a wine and cocktail program with beverage director Nikki Guard and sommelier Lexey Davis Johnson.

As for the restaurant’s look, it’s a lot to take in. The soaring, two-story space is all windows framed by 30-foot gauzy bronze sheers. Overhead, 4,600 bronze rods create a textural canopy, a metallic sky curtain that dips and arches above the dining room set on multiple levels. Done in shades of gray and blue set against industrial panes of exposed concrete and textured plaster, the dining areas feature multiple options of intimate two-tops, big booths, banquettes and round tables that are at once architecturally spare and luxurious. Guard’s huge open kitchen is a bustling place. The bar area could be Houston’s new power den. The second floor, flanked by a mezzanine, features private dining rooms with their own kitchen and bar, and a mural created by Houston artist Jessica Rice. BOSS.architecture is responsible for the restaurant's design.

Houston foodies have long been skeptical about out-of-towners who set up shop here hoping to teach this energy outpost how to eat. Guard, however, has done his homework about Houston, and moved a dozen of his TAG employees here to oversee Guard and Gun operations. The chef, too, has purchased a home in the Heights and may even take up permanent residence in Houston.

“We just want to be a part of this community,” he said.

Guard and Grace, 500 Dallas at One Allen Center, 346-326-0789; guardandgrace.com/houston. Open for dinner Monday through Thursday from 4 p.m.; Friday and Saturday 5 to 11 p.m. Lunch (Monday through Friday from 11 a.m. to 3 p.m.) will begin Dec. 2. At that time, social hour also will debut, Monday through Friday from 3 to 6 p.m.

Greg Morago writes about food for the Houston Chronicle. Follow him on Facebook or Twitter. Send him news tips at greg.morago@chron.com. Hear him on our BBQ State of Mind podcast to learn about Houston and Texas barbecue culture.