Three Chronicle Reviews, Plus Houston Donut Envy

Three reviews from the Chronicle this week: first up, Virginia Wood stops by Louisiana-influenced Cherrywood Cafe and finds the food "hearty" and "satisfying," but wishes they offered beignets. Consider that wish seconded.

Claudia Alarcón revisits Hyde Park favorite Vino Vino and finds the menu has been upgraded from a wine-list backdrop to dishes that are "complex and well-executed without being too froufrou or over-the-top." She also called the charcuterie plate "hands down the most thoughtfully arranged and beautifully garnished that I have ever had." High praise!

Rachel Feit reviews Papalote Taco House for the Chronicle and calls Sergio Varela's interior Mexican recipes "yum!" after licking her fingers clean. [Chronicle]

Houston Press reviewer Joanna O'Leary has a little case of Gourdough's envy: "I've often bemoaned the lack of good donut shops in Houston....Back at the hotel I savored my large-and-in-charge donut with hot milk and promptly drifted off to sleep, dreaming of a world where Gourdough's opened a Houston branch." [HP]

Cherrywood Coffehouse. [Photo: Cherrywood / MySpace]