Nathan Zucker
Nathan Zucker
Nathan Zucker
Nathan Zucker
Nathan Zucker
With change being ever the constant, the best practice, they say, is to be in the moment.
Or, as Ryan Costanza and Rick Margaritov assert, live in the Present Tense. That ethos informs their current endeavor in both word—the name of their restaurant—and action—how it applies to Chef Costanza’s cuisine and Margaritov’s hospitality.
A New York Italian who grew up cooking in his family’s pizzerias, Costanza broadened his culinary skills in Bali, Singapore, Korea, and Japan. The foods and cooking techniques of the Japanese are what drive him now. Partner and longtime friend Margaritov has logged over 20 years in the hospitality industry. He is focused on making Present Tense a lively community bar and eatery, welcoming to locals and visitors alike. Further, he is featuring inventive cocktails (mixologist extraordinaire with a penchant for Japanese cocktail culture, Kenneth Vanhooser, formerly of Le Loup, has joined the team) and a separate, by-reservation-only sake and omakase tasting counter to highlight (among others) Pure Land Sake, another of Costanza-Margaritov’s collaborations.
Diners first became familiar with the partners’ talents last year at The Hart, the Hawaiian-inspired restaurant and bar in Bento Living Chestnut Hill. The owners of that apartment-style hotel had brought them on to consult and oversee all food and beverage. When that ownership changed (it is now Placemakr Wedgewood Houston) it gave Costanza and Margaritov the opportunity for something totally different.
“The new owners wanted us to stay on,” says Margaritov. “Ryan and I agreed, but on the condition that we could tailor the concept and that the restaurant would be ours, separate from the hotel.”
While it shares some similarities with The Hart—the interiors, the central bar, the upbeat, Pacific tropics vibe, and some of the fare— Present Tense is a more complete realization of the partners’ vision. We’ll start with the beverage service. That menu is divided into cocktails, sake, natural wines, and beer. It’s easy to stop at the first page, a color-coded roster of creative drinks ideal for summer sipping. Each of the three that our group ordered arrived in a tall glass, forming a trio of summer pastels. Living Coral is a sake- based quaff that gets its pretty pink color and vibrant taste from the juice of red shiso leaves. Matcha, lime, and mint lend cool green notes to the herbal gin base of Lush Meadow. A combination of Japanese whiskies, sake, seltzer, and lemon oil is a complex and refreshing meld in pale yellow. Costanza regularly changes his menu, which is based on of-the-moment ingredients and arranged into five categories: Raw, Smaller, Larger, BinchŌtan Grill, and Sweets. Order a couple of plates from each section and prepare to share in a delectable feast.
The fish for his sashimi may alter—hamachi one night, kanpachi the next—regardless, the deftly carved filet slivers glisten in a pool of citrusy yuzu ponzu adorned with pomelo and watermelon radish. The much-coveted Hokkaido sea scallops star in the DIY hand roll dish, marinated in black truffle soy and sudachi (a tart limey juice). It’s fun (and oh-so flavorful) to make your temaki, patting sushi rice onto a sheet of nori, adding delicate pieces of scallop, and rolling it up. Our favorite from the roster of Raw is the Aged Tuna Toast, where cuts of the fish enrobed in sesame aioli and wagyu fat are spooned onto a slice of grilled seaweed sourdough. On a scale rating deliciousness, it is over-the-top.
The simply named Green Salad is a gorgeous melange of green leaf and butter lettuces in miso goddess dressing. Elements that complete it include edamame, toasted rice, and whisper- thin slices of green tomato, with an avocado half centered in the bowl. It gives a nice and refreshing balance to other richer dishes. That would include the Kakuni Pork Belly, which is a must-have from the Larger section. Doused in grilled peach hoisin sauce, the cubes of the succulent fatty meat possess sweet and savory tastes, punched up with slices of jalapeño. Accompanying that is a set of tender, house- made bao buns, greens, and sliced cucumber for you to make your own pork belly bao. Each bite is pure pleasure.
We’re impressed by Costanza’s preparations on the BinchŌtan, or Japanese grill. The charcoal grilled fluke (from the flounder family) is generous in size. He blankets the mild, white fish filet in miso beurre blanc, and places circles of young zephyr squash, like scales, across a section of the top. This entree comes with remarkably sweet hakurei turnips and the premium koshihikari short grain rice. The yakitori set is always worthwhile—our offering of the evening was skewered grilled chicken, three ways—breast with chili crisp, thigh with spicy yuzu and ground chicken meatball. Finally, don’t pass up the wedges of Japanese Sweet Potato. We recall an iteration of this from The Hart which we loved; this one, grilled in miso brown butter, and served with yuzu cream, lovage, and a scatter of bonito flakes, may be even better.
Regarding Sweets, we give you two words: soft serve. And, boy, are these creamy-dreamy confections the ideal ending to your Present Tense experience. We got the swirl of ube and sesame, brilliant in its contrast of deep purple and white, satisfying in its silky-smooth texture, distinctive in its tastes—the former imparting nutty, cocoa butter and vanilla- like flavors, matched well by the latter, which is blended with kinako—a finely ground soybean flour that has a subtle, sweet, almost peanut taste.
Margaritov and Costanza are excited about their venture, which brims with future tense possibilities. They’ve outfitted Hippo, a recently- opened bodega next door to the restaurant, with an upscale array of natural wines, beers, non- alcoholic beverages, such as St Agrestis’ Phony Negroni, as well as a coffee bar. And while the future does look bright, it’s the here-and-now that is everything.
(321 Hart St., 629-231-4006; liveinthepresenttense.com)