Up-YES, please!

Rating: ****
Location: Highland Village
Menu
Price: $$$
Reviewed: Dinner
Reviewer: Yas
Attire: Chic--Dress code enforced!
Up is one of Houston's newest restaurants and "hot spots."  This place has a "Sex and the City" vibe to it, has good food and a great view of the city.  However, there is a strictly enforced dress code for men: collared shirt, no open toed shoes and no shorts. While there is no dress code for women, Up definitely has a lounge atmosphere so if you are too casual you will definitely stick out.
short rib pizza: *****
This pizza comes with short ribs, fontina cheese, roquefort, caramelized onions and is topped with arugula and balsamic reduction. Who loves a lot of interesting toppings on a pizza? This girl. AMAZING.

salmon trio:  ****
This appetizer was pretty good, but the thin pita chips were a bit too fragile for the salmon and falls short of Hillstone's amazing Home Smoked Salmon.

pita chips + hummus: ****
Instead of bread and butter,  at Up each table starts out with pita chips and hummus.  Delightful and tasty!

jumbo lump crabcakes: ***
Not the best I've had, but decent.  Crispy on top and fresh crab in the middle.  I guess it was the seasoning that just didn't hit it for me.  The asparagus was grilled to perfection and the remoulade was awesome.

tuna: ***
Alright so the deal with this dish was the "citrus sauce" that came with it.  It tasted like a weak version of maple syrup and it was NOT what I wanted to dip my tuna in.  The tuna on the other hand was cooked perfectly as well as the asparagus, but the sauce ruined everything.

red fish fillet:  ****
The red fish was flavorful and grilled nicely and the mixture of green beans, sundried tomatoes and pine nuts actually worked nicely together.  Win!

pappardelle beef bolognese:  ****
Excellent! The pasta is homemade and the house ground beef sirloin is BOSS! Only thing that kept this dish from getting a 5th star was the "imported San Marzano tomato sauce." It was too sweet for my personal taste.

Yay for my sissy's birthday! It was a fun night and instead of ordering dessert from Up, we brought in red velvet Sprinkles cupcakes instead.  :-)