Drive through the curving roads of The Colony’s Grandscape development, and you’re met with a lineup of landmarks: a Ferris wheel with air-conditioned gondolas, a furniture store that spans 100 acres and two white circus tent-like structures meant to host live performances.
Yet, there is one building that still manages to stand out in this menagerie. Its architecture is reminiscent of a tall steamboat on one side, overlooking a pond, and earthy clay-toned LEGO pieces on the other.
Windmills, named after the famous jazz song, “Windmills of Your Mind,” is the creation of Kamal Sagar and Shibanee Sagar, founders of the Total Environment brand. Their concepts began transforming the idea of real estate design in Bangalore, India, many years ago. The company’s focus is rooted in nature-based aesthetics and materials, including apartment complexes that offer balconies outfitted with real grass.
Moving this concept to Texas gave them the ability to expand into crafting luxury houses in Frisco with stunning wood-paneled interiors and rooftop gardens –– they call this development “Tapestry.” Windmills opened three years ago with a mission: to offer standout cuisine, craft beer and a stage for jazz.
The Brews
As I approach the entrance to Windmills, my eyes are drawn to a large circular window that peers into their microbrewery. Rows of fermenters and serving tanks hold thousands of gallons of beer, connected to bar taps by extraordinarily long hoses that snake through the establishment unseen.
After Head Brewer Michael Harper greets me near the downstairs bar, we climb a staircase to his main territory. The second level features a grand view that is open to the tables below, a wide bar top that stretches dozens of feet across the space and a staff-only entrance to the room that holds the fermenters. The Windmills website promotes a beer that is said to have notes of “fruit salad and graham crackers,” and it leads me to ask: How does beer acquire its distinct flavor and aroma?
“It comes down to four ingredients: hops, water, yeast and barley, and we’re able to make a world of flavors,” Harper says. “It’s a byproduct of fermentation and the hops and this process is something humans have been doing for centuries, and yet, we’re still learning so much.”
Harper has been brewing for 12 years and started his journey at the American Brewers Guild in Vermont. Each batch takes anywhere from three to seven weeks from start to finish and is noticeably unique, which is perplexing when you consider that there are no flavor additives. He begins pouring a lineup of their most popular offerings, each exuding a specific personality.
The Trumpeting Ecstasy IPA leaves a strong melon scent in the air. The Power Chord Pilsner is best identified as tropical tang: pineapple with a floral burst. My favorite, the Wolf Am I Belgian ale, is reminiscent of a rich dark chocolate cake with literal cherries on top –– it is meant to resemble a black forest cake. The Flying Ales IPA is unmistakably cloudy in appearance and wafts out hoppy, herbal aromas. And unlike any other brewery in Texas, the top seller here is their Origami Harvest Hefeweizen, which Harper accurately describes as having a profile of bananas and cloves. (Hefeweizen beers are popular in India, so it makes sense that it would be a hit with these dishes.)
“Beer starts a conversation,” says Harper. “I want to make sure that I’m making something for everybody. If there’s always something new to learn, it keeps my mind active.”
The Bites
After concluding a behind-the-scenes tour of their sparkling clean brewing facilities, it’s back down the staircase and into the main dining area. Chef Suresh Venkataramana, the director of culinary relations, sits across from me to explain Windmills’ unique take on Indian cuisine. He built the menu based on his decades of experience, which include growing up in the diverse food map of India and graduating with a degree in culinary sciences, moving to London to study under Michelin-starred chefs and, eventually, returning to his home country to learn from the world’s strongest experts: grandmothers.
“When I came back to India in 2012, I did a culinary tour for two and a half years, going to small towns, learning from mothers and grandmothers, the authentic way of making certain dishes,” Venkataramana says. “Every forty miles that you travel in India, the cuisine changes, the flavors change, the taste profiles change, the ingredients change –– it’s very vast.”
Venkataramana has been with Total Environment for 12 years, and he has concocted numerous staple dishes for the company’s restaurants that have allowed the brand to consistently remain among the top 50 best-ranked restaurants in India. He moved to Texas because of Windmills, which opened over three years ago. His strategy was to design dishes that kept all the original authenticity but could be enjoyed even by those who were afraid to try Indian cuisine. It’s worth noting that many dishes here come out with sauces on the side, so diners can choose their own adventure.
“Indian food is not about spice, it is about flavor,” Venkataramana says.
For many dishes, Windmills uses a traditional Indian tandoor, which is a cylindrical oven that reaches temperatures of 500 to 600 degrees Fahrenheit and is used to cook meats and naan bread. Venkataramana asks which dishes I’d prefer to try, but given his expertise, I tell him that it’s best if he decides. As I wait alone at the table, I overhear servers discussing the fact that many people think Windmills is closed during lunch hours because they had a temporary stint during which they were not open during the daytime. Hopefully, the message will spread, because the food that arrives at my table lets me know that this would make an incredible lunch spot.
A thick wooden cutting board is placed on the table, acting as a stage for a mix of meats. Venkataramana explains that he has brought out a sampling of lamb and chicken kebabs, lemon cumin shrimp and three unique sauces that incorporate ingredients such as curry leaves, orange zest and avocado. Each meat is deeply marinated and accompanied by thinly sliced herbs and fruits that form a relaxing color palette. In a perfect world, the sweet and savory guava chicken is an example of how I’d like all meat to taste. The ground lamb kebab has a balanced blend of cilantro and garlic. And, despite never having had a previous inclination to eat shrimp, I can’t pass up the delightful yellow color of this one –– and I am thankful I didn’t.
This sampling is generously followed by an array of various kulchas (stuffed naan), each with its own profile. One of them utilizes truffles, wild mushrooms, caramelized red onions, porcini and garlic labneh. The kulchas sit parallel to a serving of tandoori chicken, which is marinated overnight and roasted in the tandoor. The Windmills menu also includes steak, but some would be surprised to learn that it isn’t an addition made only for Texans. Venkataramana says that various regions of India do consume beef, despite what some might initially believe.
“We were quite fascinated with the quality of beef you can get here,” Venkataramana says. “There are many regions in India where they use beef. [Our various beef dishes] are very well accepted.”
When I ask to sample one dessert of the chef’s choosing, he decisively brings out all five. Huge plates hold a zesty carrot halwa cake, a decorated creme brulee and a huge saffron cheesecake that is embellished with diced berries, mint and a half-honeycomb-shaped chocolate piece, all swimming in a bed of ghee. I work my way around, trying bites of each one while attempting to not look like a food hoarder. My favorites include the pistachio mango mousse cake and the chocolate flourless cake, which hides shreds of coconut and cardamom and sits next to raspberry gelato.
The Ballads
Visualize a jazz club in the 1960s, with its sultry lighting, tabletops with burning candles and the sounds of piano and saxophone reverberating around the room. The unique architecture of Windmills revitalizes this vision for modern eyes with its pale red, orange and wood tones; a stage lined with books; intimate lighting and supreme acoustics. In fact, there is not a pillar in sight, which ensures that sound travels through the space uninterrupted. While there’s no live band on stage right now, music is playing over the speakers, and from the way each beat energizes the room I could swear someone was on stage.
As I glance around the room and box up the leftovers that I am already looking forward to eating, I notice framed images of jazz artists. They were handpicked to play at Windmills, as well as at Total Environment’s locations in India: renowned musicians, such as Jeff Lofton, who was inducted into the Texas Music Museum; John Scofield, a pivotal figure in jazz since the 1970s and Grammy-nominated Anat Cohen. The mission here is to create a global stage for the art of jazz, and there were no shortcuts taken when outfitting the building with top-tier audio equipment. The genre certainly makes the most sense in this atmosphere –– its soulful expression ties back to the harmony of nature.
Windmills makes the upscale feel approachable, forgoing typically popular pieces, such as chandeliers, and replacing them with organic shapes and a primal warmth, opening up the room for anyone to try something different, whether it is through tasting or listening.
Each furniture piece adds to the narrative: tables that make you feel like you’re sitting in the trees and camel leather chairs that were handcrafted and imported straight from Rajasthan, India. The overarching goal is to encourage guests to shed their preconceived notions about cultural cuisine, beer and musical genres.
“There is so much in this world to see and experience,” says Venkataramana. “Do not stop yourself from experiencing.”
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