Last week, I read an interesting article on how men are so exasperated when women in their lives can’t decide where to eat. It’s the total opposite with me. I decide where to eat 99% of the time. I usually book our weekend restaurant reservations on Mondays. I was pretty sure that I booked for BCN this weekend but for some reason, I just didn’t. This threw me off completely, so, for once, I let D decide where to eat.
He chose Quattro because he said that we have been loyal patrons to this restaurant for the last 8 years for a reason— it is always consistent in it’s quality and service. I have good memories of this place. I remember how we always have our Easter Brunch here because Beans loves the egg-hunt and there’s always an Easter bunny handing out treats.
This is B with the Easter Bunny. He’s about 8 years old in this pic. I can’t wait for him to find out I posted this.
This is also our go-to restaurant during New Year’s day when I’m too lazy to cook.
This was 5 years ago. Getting an early buzz courtesy of the amazing bellini is always a good way to start a year.
D’s criteria in choosing a restaurant is based solely on the wine list.
This is the real reason why we are here. He wanted to get this bottle. Luckily, it was really good.I had Jalapeño Mule.The server recommended that we start with Padini – they contracted this cheese maker from Italy. It is very similar to Parmesiano-Reggiano without the saltinessI loved, loved, loved this wild caught octopus. Perfectly cooked and paired with olives and grilled potatoesD had 30 day dry aged filetThis tiramisu was made table-side and it totally stole the show. The lady fingers are freshly made and soaked in espresso with marsala.
Yesterday, we had a really bad experience in a once-loved restaurant. It has all been settled now. Manager has apologized and all. But for once, it’s nice to dine and have everything the way it should be. That is Quattro. From the time they lead you to your table, to the way they pour the wine, everything is done correctly. D made a great choice.
My quest to find the best lechon in Houston led me to Aqui, the new Southeast Asian cuisine created by Chel Paul Aqui, a “Top Chef” champ who is behind the success of of several Austin restaurants. Another food blogger told me about their lechon and urged me to try it and see if it’s up to my expectation.
I always make it a habit of viewing the restaurant’s menu before I decide to book. The restaurant opened less than two weeks ago so their menu is not up in their website. But since lechon was already promised, I decided to wing it. Imagine my surprise as I sat down and realized that the menu is filled with Filipino dishes. EVerything is certainly familiar except that the presentation was really unique, and well, fancy.
There is a column called “Perfect Bites” and you can choose one or a couple of delicious samplers. I chose three of these as my appetizer.
Dinuguan and Rice Cake – pork jowls cooked in pork blood on top of a rice cake (puto)Ensaymada – brioche with scamorza filling topped with Iberico ham and Manchego cheese
I used to bake ensaymada back in the Philippines. But I was not fancy then. I just topped it with cheddar cheese. I am serisouly considering baking these brioches again, this time with all the fancy trimmings.
Tapioca Dumpling with ground pork, peanut and salted radish. This was too salty and spicy.D had a Filipino classic – Yellowfin Tuna Kinilaw, it had coconut sauce and jackfruit. It even had the siling labuyo which frankly, should have come with a warning as it is super hot.So here’s my LECHON. They serve the belly part and the requisite crispy skin.It came complete with all the trimmings: the liver sauce, atchara, kim chi and nam chimD had the Bistek – this is a fancy-fied version as it uses Wagyu steak, cooked medium well.I had Turon for dessert – it had banana cream, instead of the real banana. It reminded me of fried ice creamD had this chocolate curry mousse with cocoa crumbs. I never thought curry would go well with chocolate.D with his Cotes-du-Rhone
My verdict: Every dish turned out great. I was very impressed by the creativity on what used to be everyday food that I had growing up. The lechon, however, was still not up to what I expected. This was more like lechon kawali (deep fried pork belly) and not the conventional lechon, which is the whole pig roasted in a spit.
I am happy, however, that someone elevated the Southeast Asian cuisine to this level. The restaurant is located in the Montrose area, right in the heart of all the hip foodie hangouts and it hangs with the best of them. The last time I was in a similar restaurant was back in New York, 2013, at Purple Yam when they made it to Michelin publication. It’s a hight time that Houston would have one as well.
