2005 XL Dining Guide: The Top 10

Wink
1014 N. Lamar Blvd., 482-8868

In many restaurants, chicken is a throwaway dish, a utilitarian item reluctantly thrown on the menu to bridge a variety of tastes.

At the small, upscale Wink, chicken is treated the way a four-star restaurant should handle all its dishes: with an emphasis on outstanding taste delivered consistently to the table.

To do that, says chef-owner Mark Paul, Wink begins with free-range, antibiotic-free birds that come with a superior flavor.

Size is an issue, too. The restaurant's basic philosophy calls for smaller portions, enabling diners to savor multicourse meals. That meant going with a game hen; half can be served without upending the portions.

Wink then modifies it regularly — the restaurant's menu changes daily — by altering the sides and sauces served with it. One recipe, for example, calls for the pan-roasted hen to be accompanied by salsify (a root vegetable), snow peas, baby carrots and an apple cider reduction.

The pan-roasting, which contributes to the significant flavor of the chicken, and the sides, which add complexity to the plate, elevate this chicken way beyond a throwaway dish, underscoring the overall strength of Wink.