Monthly Archives: January 2017

Roux Pour

In life, the best laid plans are sometimes trumped by the magic of serendipity. This is one of those of moments. We were not planning on having a heavy brunch because we are still reeling from all the food from last night’s Fort Bend Care charity dinner.  But while hunting for gourmet spices in Home Goods (yes, they have quite a selection), we saw some Cajun spices. Just like that, D and I got a craving for same New Orleans cooking. As we were out in the parking lot, we saw  Roux Pour and I remembered my friend Cheryl saying that they just started serving brunch on Sundays.

As we were approaching the restaurant, a car pulled out so we instantly got a parking spot. For those unfamiliar with Sugar Land Town Center, it is an awesome place (it has my spiritual place, Sephora), but parking is such a b—ch, so off-putting. Finding a spot is like finding a four-leaf-clover!

A live band started playing as soon as we entered. I love dining with live music. And just when I thought all the start were aligning, I read the menu and saw “Bottomless Mimosa”. This is gonna be a great day!!!

Roux Pour specializes in New Orleans cuisine. On Sundays like today, they have Jazz brunch. The sound, the sight and the smell all spell party! So festive!

This is their array of entrees. In  the adjacent room is the soup/gumbo section, as well as the omelet, dessert and prime rib section.

D is really a dear when it comes to these things. He diligently shuttles back and forth to get me food because he knows I really hate getting up once I’m seated for a meal. He is also nice enough not to overstuff my plate. Notice how he has a firm grasp on plate real estate. He knows how to arrange the food so the flavors don’t overlap.

My first plate —crawfish mac n cheese, shrimp bisque, prime rib, jambalaya and half a dozen oysters
My second plate—more shrimp bisque, boiled shrimps and God-knows how many oysters. I am shameless at this point. The oysters were good!!! It paired well with my third glass of mimosa.
I really wasn’t sure if I had room for dessert. But the white chocolate cake and the cinnamon banana smelled really good. I had these two while D had cheesecake.

We decided to eat really slow and just enjoy the jazz band. Pretty soon, I was sneezing incessantly, signaling that I am already full. That was some brunch! I’m really happy that we tried this place. There are still many things on their menu that they didn’t serve for brunch that I wanted to try. I will definitely be back for that.

 

 

Righting a Wrong

Vallone’s is D’s favorite steak restaurant in Houston. So when he got the news about his promotion, it was not a surprise that he chose to celebrate it here. As luck would have it, I also got an email from their management that they have finished their renovation and it would be nice if we came in to check it out. I had no doubt that this is a good choice to celebrate another milestone in D’s career.

The last time I was here, I was on this crazy diet that made me order fish in this amazing steak place. What was I thinking??? All throughout our meal, I kept reaching over to get a piece of D’s steak. He did not like that. So for sure, this time, I won’t make the same mistake. I will definitely have a steak!

This is what the renovation was all about. In place of the big window overlooking the streets, a wall was built with an amazing light wall fixture made of different kinds of lightbulbs.
Cabernet and Strawberry Basil Hickey—off to a good start!
This is a smoked salmon pizza—crust is actually crispy potato strips and the sauce is chive creme fraiche
This is me righting a wrong—I had a 55 day dry aged rib-eye
D, of course, had filet mignon
Predictably, I ordered truffle mac n cheese because it was on the menu. We ended up taking home 3/4 of this because the steaks were quite hefty.
Dessert is midnight cake —a dark Belgian chocolate cake.

Renovated or not, Vallone’s continues to impress. It never bother me that the old windows actually overlooked the crowded streets. I guess, the new look now has improved the ambience a thousand fold. Food quality and service is still impeccable.

D is a very hardworking man and this promotion is well-deserved. True, we don’t usually wait for a reason to have great steak. But having a reason to celebrate takes the guilt away from the binge. Sure, sure. Whatever makes us sleep at night, right?