Houston's SAVOIR-Bistro food for fun (1-16-22)

 On our last night in Houston we took out some friends from the cast in the superlative opera we had just seen, Dialogues of the Carmelites. Some ordered cocktails, while I went right to the wine ordering a superb Domaine Parigot Hautes-Cotes de Beaune Village 2016 white & a yummy  Domaine de 3 Cellier "Alchime" 2017 Chateuaneuf du Pape. We needed a second red and moved on to a 2020 Arnaud Lambert Cabernet France "Clos Mazurique" which suffered only from a tad overchilling and warmed up nicely.

We had the charcuterie and cheese platter and the star on it was the Carrot Butter with the warm pita slices!! The Hummus with EVOO & Chickpeas was fabulous as well.

The excellent Brown Butter-Cabbage soup was a nice warm up on a chilly evening and the salads (Burrata & Blue cheese wedge) looked delish, but nothing more than what you see elsewhere. There was a gorgeous Trout Almandine as well as Pizza and Brie Burgers made with 44 Farms beef, brie, aioli, tomato and charred red onion(I wish the brie were a tad more melted) with the largest portion of Curly Fries that were out of this world.

Dessert was shared by all and was a magnificently presented(all fotos on FB) Fig Bread Pudding with Blueberry Sauce & Chocolate Ice Cream.

Best part of the meal was our friends and the wonderful time we had before we head back to DC soon.

Houston's XOCHI still makes Mexican magnificently (1-15-22)

 Our second night in Houston brought me back to XOCHI in the Marriott Marquis where I had first visited just over 2 years ago and fell in love with the traditional Mexican cuisine with elegant takes. The menu has been paired down, but they still have a Margarita menu, a mole menu and the best wine list I have ever seen in the USA for Mexican wines.

The standard maragrita is great and the Houston Stron is nice too made with Olmeca Altos Tequila, Combier, Aperol and lime. Our friend had the Age of Oaxaca (Mezcal Old Fashioned) made with mezcal & bourbon, Peychaud bitters, charred tortilla agave nectar, muddled orange and cherry and was declared nice and warm and smooth on a very chilly night here in the south.

The Guacamole is great and comes with Tostadas that are large crispy versions about 4" round that you break up and then dip; a bit thicker than usual and very tasty. 

We ordered three starters to share and all were superb from the Yelllowfin Ceviche special to the Ostiones di Lujo(as always photos on FB) where huge oysters are wood-roasted and then topped with mole amarillo, cotija cheese and bread crumbs; think Oysters Rockefeller south of the border. The Hongos en Mole Amarillo were fabulous and earthy with a ton of wild mushrooms, masa dumplings, green beans and again that delicious yellow mole.

Our white wine was a yummy Casa Magoni 2020 Chardonnay-Vermintino blend from Baja and the red was a superb(if pricy) 2015 Santo Tomas "Unico" Cabernet-Merlot blend which is usually one of the best red wines in Mexico, although perhaps the 2015 is bit less exciting. The wines did come a bit chilly and the white warmed up nicely and the red needed decanting to give it a chance to rise to room temperature. Our server was most accommodating in that we ordered each course as we proceeded rather than at the beginning, giving us plenty of time to enjoy, chat and just relax.

The portions are large as expected and we tried three mains from the Callo de Hacha: huge sea scallops in mole verde with white beans, green beans, chayote squash and masa dumplings; Cordoniz which I had last time made with large bacon wrapped quails with mushrooms, corn bread (made with poleo giving it a hint of mint) and mole almendrado(almond); the Enchiladas of the day were made with yummy brisket and we added some tasty roasted Cauliflower with Chintextle.

I love the food here as it has amazing spices and they are not afraid to make the food so flavorful that your mouth feels like it's on vacation south of the border.

We shared the Helados de Elote which I had last time and loved, but it was a bit odd this time around with a Texas blue corn whiskey ice cream which is great and the slightly weird corn custard ice cream shaped like little corn cobs and corn cookies. It was nice and refreshing, but next time around, I want to try something different.

Great meal with a friend I had not seen in 9 years made it even better.

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Head to HOU(ston) for Catalan cuisine at BCN Taste & Tradition(1-14-22)

 We have headed south for the weekend to attend the opera tomorrow (Dialogues of the Carmelites) and had some extra time in town so we chose BCN Taste & Tradition for its classy & cozy atmosphere and where we knew crowds would not be an issue. The beautiful dining room is indeed the perfect setting for fine dining with crisp white linens, fine crystal, blond floors and walls and some amazing art (several sculptures by Picasso). Our server Alfredo was attentive and made some great recommendations. We didn't think that the Texas-size portions would apply here, and Alfredo said that most Texans call the portions here small; well, we did NOT!

After we sat down some spicy Spanish chorizo slices were brought to the table with tasty crusty bread and EVOO with salt. We ordered the sparkling water and got the Vichy Catalan we knew so well from trips to Spain and especially Barcelona (by the way BCN is the airport code for Barcelona), where the salty sparkling water is the favorite; a tad too salty for me. I chose a rose to start from Bodegas Muga 2020 D.O.Q. Rioja made from Garnacha, Vivra and Tempranillo which was crisp and refreshing. 

Will and I decided to split both courses and he chose the yummy Fresh Beef Tartare with waffle chips which was seasoned well with mustard and capers and perhaps a tad too much pickle. Alfredo suggested the Pulpo and the octopus was a huge portion over a potato puree with EVOO and Smoked paprika; indeed one of the best pulpos ever.

We moved on to a spectacular 2008 Bodegas Frontaura Tempranillo "Apronte Reserva" which was full bodies but smooth and drank beautiful as it had aged so well. All the wines here are Spanish and the prices are fairly steep starting at $60-70 for the least expensive bottles!

My Lomo de Canejo was a wonderful Sous-vide Rabbit Loin with Porcini Rice(a monstrous portion indeed), sauteed artichokes, in a Vermouth & Caramelized Onion Sauce, while Will opted for the beautifully cooked Bacalao, a salt cured Spanish cod with a very rich Garlic & Honey Aioli, Potato Hash Pancake, Cabbage & Bacon, White Beans & Roasted Cherry Tomatoes. We were stuffed after eating 1/4 of each portion and shared them, but wished we could take a doggy bag to our hotel for another day! We have to remember Texas size portions the next days!!

We did save room for dessert and the manager said we HAD to have the Crujientes de Filo which was a nice small sized portion of crispy fillo dough with Catalan Vanilla brulee on top and aged rum raisin sauce. He was right and if you look at the picture on FB you will understand how we were able to finish this superb tasty dish.

Tonight, I return to Xochi where I loved the food just over 2 years ago.