D and I spent the better part of this week acid-washing the pool. For those of you who don’t know what the heck that is, it is when you drain out the pool then wash its walls with acid to remove all the gunk and algae that has accumulated, giving the water a greenish sheen. Like most things in life nowadays, YouTube makes it much simpler than it looks. When D brought this up, I replied in my usual, never-say-die, rah-rah girl “sure, why not?”. In reality, it is back-breaking! Although, there is a lot of satisfaction to be had when you see what a huge difference a good scrubbing can make.
the left side of this pic is before the acid wash; the right is the after
By noon, we have finished the entire pool and also installed new LED underwater lights. We truly deserve a treat! This is a huge project which entailed so much physical effort. Not an easy feat since it has become so humid. We decided to go out for early dinner while we wait for the pool to be filled with water.
We decided to try B & B Butchers and Restaurant. This restaurant appears on top of every list of the best restaurants in Houston. We simply have to try it.
This is a 100 year old building. Indoor dining has elegant decor. Outdoors, it has a roof-top patio with wonderful view of the Houston skylineWine list was extensive and cocktail list was very creative. I had a Washington mule—Reyka vodka, lime and ginger beerThis appetizer is a must-try—Carpetbagger in a Half Shell. A mini tower of thick house bacon, filet mignon, and deep fried oyster, drizzled with spicy sauce and blue cheeseI ordered Dry Aged USDA Prime Bone-In Rib Eye. Twenty-two ounces!!! That’s why it’s as big as my face…Note how perfectly they cooked this as medium. Exactly how I like it, slightly bloody in the middle.D had Wagyu Filet Mignon. The perfect medium.It’s amazing how they cook their meats perfectly.For our side, we had B & B Mac n Cheese. Confession—I can’t NOT order mac n cheese. If it’s in the menu, I always order it.By the look of D’s face,the horrors of acid fumes in our faces are all but a memory.We had a humongous chocolate cake for dessert. A perfect ending.
This was clearly one of the best steak dinners we ever had. As Texans and steak-enthusiasts, this is a very loaded statement. Now we know why this restaurant tops lists all the time. It can’t be missed for those who are unapologetically carnivorous. What a wonderful way to reward ourselves for all the hard labor we did.
We had the good fortune of being at La Table‘s first Grand Brunch. La Table is a multi-level restaurant in Post Oak which features the Chateau (elegant dining), Marche (casual dining), Macarons (bakery), Privee (private dining).
First let’s get the pronunciation dilemma all squared away. So how do you pronounce “La Table”? Let me just tell you how it’s NOT pronounced : la tay-bl. I googled it (like I do with half of my life’s questions, the other half being You Tube). There are two acceptable ways: la ta-bleh (short e) or la taahb. You’re welcome, let’s proceed.
Brunch was served in the Chateau area, second floor
Grand Brunch is buffet. Ewww, i know. Not a big fan. The last buffet I’ve been to (not counting cruises) was at Four Seasons. We go there every New Year and Easter and each time we go, it seems to get bigger and bigger. No service to speak of, long queues on tables = bad dining experience. So I figured if Four Seasons can’t do it right, I will just give up buffet all together.
Their buffet concept is serving food family style. They bring a huge breakfast spread on the table.
Pastry basket, fruit plate, pancakes, heavenly brioche. For meats, theres a variety of sausages and bacon. And some roasted potato hash
It’s a lot of food, so very much in congruence with a “buffet” feel. There are several stations too. The huge difference is that you don’t get to carry your plate around, piling it on artlessly so as to save constant trips. You can go to the station and ask for whatever you want, they bring it back to you in a plate, nice and clean, and well, artsy.
Carving station had Beef tenderloin and several salmons. I chose the beef with Au Poivre Sauce. D had salmon but ate it all before I was able to take a pic. He obviously still hasn’t caught on with this food blogging thing..The Raw Bar – I chose shrimp cocktail, crab avocado salad. I had Mozarella and Tomato salad on the side.
Don’t think that it would be impossible to hoard you favorite stuff, like you would in usual buffets gigs. Our waiter notes that I devoured the crab avocado salad without taking a breath, he immediately offered me seconds….and thirds. I was slightly embarrassed. Then I downed my second mimosa and everything was great again.
Mimosa number 2Here is their dessert corner
There were so many dessert choices. So I was given plates to sample each.
Plate 1 – creme brûlée, lemon tart, blueberry pistachio tart and choco mousse. Winner for this plate is the blueberry pistachio tart.Plate 2 – pot de creme, french apple pie, my send serving of the blueberry pecan tart and strawberry and marshmallow dipped in the fountain.
Their bakery is something else. They have kouglofs—it’s an Alsation bundt cake. A typical one would have some dried fruit in it and some cherry brandy. It comes in chocolate and a sweet variety containing candied orange and raisins and almond and another savory one which has jalapeño.
I passed on the jalapeño flavored kouglof, but not on the madelines.This was our spread!
Obviously, buffet eating, despite its various presentations, is not for the faint of heart nor calorie conscious. There’s way too many food that you’ll ever need so the magic is on the quality of the food that you try, not on the quantity. This restaurant achieved both. Amazingly, our kind waiter allowed us to take our pastry basket home. Something Four Seasons would never ever do. So we were able to take home various croissants and cinnamon bread! We planned on having those for breakfast but as soon as we set it down, Beans inhaled it. It was that good.
They will be holding a Mother’s Day Grand Brunch this weekend. To those who haven’t made plans yet, don’t miss out on this one. It’s mom-approved!
