The first Cretia’s on McKinney Avenue was ambitious—restaurant, lounge, bakery, boutique. The new one has reopened just down the street in the old Tijuana space, and it has (thankfully) dropped the boutique from its lineup. The vibe is still cozy and New Orleans-inspired, with a faux tin ceiling and antique furnishings. The exposed brick is contrived, but the space feels comfortable—kind of like your grandmother’s house, if your grandmother was cool. The menu is filled with mostly hearty, comforting dishes, such as prime rib, fried chicken, and chicken-fried shrimp with collard greens and gravy. We started with sliders. The filling was Dr Pepper and chipotle-braised pork tenderloin with sweet onions, a surprising, sweet-and-spicy twist. We shared pot pie, the protein of which changes daily, even though the filling—baby carrots, pearl onions, brown gravy—stays the same. Ours was the classic chicken, filled with whole chunks of tender white meat and topped with a fantastically fattening blanket crust. As a side, we chose mac and cheese, which thankfully was a classic ooey, gooey version with a crumbly crust. The bakery case is jammed with so many cakes, pies, cookies, and cupcakes that you might slip into a sugar coma if you stand in front of it too long.
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