Midtown's Weights + Measures serving up freshness for Houston Restaurant Weeks

HOUSTON, Texas (KTRK) -- If there's a unifying theme to Weights + Measures chef-partner Richard Kaplan's lunch menu for Houston Restaurant Weeks, it's greenery. Nearly all of Kaplan's dishes are topped with beautiful green herbs, adding a pop of freshness to everything that hits the table.

Situated on Caroline Street in Midtown, Weights + Measures is a mid-century modern eatery serving up a wide range of American cuisine.

"The basic concept of the restaurant is to open a very approachable, neighborhood-type restaurant with high-end food," Kaplan said, "that people are familiar with but is done in such a way as to be higher quality."

The HRW lunch menu, which ABC13 stopped by recently to sample, holds true to Kaplan's vision. Classic favorites like pizza are dressed up with roasted carrots and dukka, an Egyptian spice mix. Salad dishes feature sophisticated yet accessible flavor profiles, and the classic linguine has a tantalizing kick of saffron.

For those with dietary concerns, many of the lunch dishes are plant-based, and several of the dinner options are gluten free.

This is the second year that Weights + Measures has participated in Houston Restaurant Weeks, a charitable endeavor from the city's restaurateurs that benefits the Houston Food Bank.

"We're happy to participate. We love supporting the food bank," Kaplain said.

For those looking to check out Weights + Measures for the first time, Kaplan recommends heading over for lunch or early dinner to beat the crowds. Reservations are recommended but not required.

LUNCH MENU

First course

• Soup of the day
• Deep-fried quail legs
• Butter lettuce salad with roasted garlic bleu cheese dressing and pickled raisin gastrique

Second course

• Baby gem romaine Caeser salad with grilled chicken breast, spiced walnuts, house pancetta and anchovy
• Linguine with wood-grilled tiger shrimp and saffron tomato butter
• Roasted carrot pizza with Point Reyes toma, Fresno chiles, cilantro, sauce soubise and dukka

DINNER MENU

First course

• Wood-grilled halibut tartine with green olive tapenade and orange zest
• Honeycrisp apple and celery salad with toasted pecans and fennel front lemon vinaigrette
• Ribeye meatballs with Calabrian pepper ragu and toasted pugliese

Second course

• Wood-grilled black hill ranch pork steak with French lentils, heirloom cherry tomatoes and wine braised celery
• Grilled citrus skirt steak with iceberg slag, cherry tomato, house pancetta and green goddess
• Hand-cut fettuccine with oak smoaked lobster, spinach, cabernet tomatoes, rosemary lemon butter and toasted panko

Third course

• Doughknots with cardamom sugar and honey
• Flourless chocolate cake with ancho chili gelato and chocolate hazelnut bark
• Cornmeal crepes with roasted figs, grilled pears and vanilla creme fraiche

Weights + Measures is located at 2808 Caroline St. Lunch service runs from 11 a.m. to 2 p.m. on weekdays. Dinner service begins at 5 p.m. Monday through Saturday and ends at 10 p.m. Monday through Thursday and 11 p.m. on Fridays and Saturdays.

Report a typo to the ABC13 staff