Kathleen's Journal

Come Dine With Us Vicariously

Since Matthew and Courtney have moved off to college, we started a new tradition; upon their return each semester, we pick a fabulous restaurant and John, Courtney, Matthew and I enjoy a wonderful evening of fantastic dining together. The two restaurants we visited last year were Lynn's Steakhouse and Mazraff's.

Last Friday, on January 7, we experienced our third and best dining experience in Houston at Brennans. We made special reservations to sit at the Kitchen Table, which is as it sounds and is located in the kitchen, with lots of interaction with the waitstaff and all the chefs.

And, here is a picture of Courtney and Matthew seated at the table.

Of course, no one in the Karl Family can go to dinner without ordering wine with the meal and Chris, who they referred to as The Wine Guy (he is also a sous chef) suggested Dry Creek, a wonderful wine from California.

Wine Guy

Once seated,

we were invited, after our first course (Turtle Soup)(The sous chef said since soup was served at an exact temperature if we were walking around when it was served, he was afraid it would be cold when we sat down to eat it.), to walk around the kitchen and talk to the chefs. We could ask them questions, watch what they were doing, and make ourselves at home.

Second Course - Crawfish & Fried Green Tomato Salad
Boiled fresh Louisiana crawfish meat tossed in a creamy ravigôté dressing atop Southern style fried green tomatoes ~ paired with microgreens of Arugula

Two Chefs

Chef Michael

Sous Chef Sarah

Chef Ojan

Sixth Course - Cheeses from around the United States produced by small dairies paired with local honey comb.

Executive Chef Randy

And, now, for dessert! Joe appears at our table with a chafing table and we recognize the ingredients for Bananas Foster. We were delighted with this choice because, except for John who can pass on any dessert, Bananas Foster has always been one of our favorite desserts. It is always fun to watch anything made flambe and John was having fun taking pictures of Joe as he poured the brandy and dashed the cinnamon.

Bananas Foster

As Joe was putting the finish on the Bananas Foster, several waiters appeared from behind the wall and placed seven other desserts around the table. Brennan's calls this presentation of all their desserts - The Bomb. I think Courtney's expression captures rather nicely what we all felt. There were four of us, we had just completed six courses already (8 if you consider that we shared both the fish (redfish/salmon) and the meat (veal/lamb), and now we have eight desserts to taste!

Dessert Shock

Chocolate Molten

I had originally made our reservations at Brennan's for New Year's Eve, but Courtney and Matthew both took exception to that particular evening. When I made the reservations, with John's birthday on January 2, I mentioned that we would be celebrating this. When I changed the reservations to the 7th, I had forgotten all about the birthday and, of course, it had come and gone and been celebrated at home. When they brought the desserts, they brought a special one for John with a candle and "Happy Birthday, John" drizzled in chocolate around the perimeter of the plate. As he took a picture of his "birthday dish," one of the waiters approached him from behind and placed this delightful "Celebrate!" chef's hat on his head.

Chef John?

Doesn't he look happy and pleased with himself?

Chef John

The desserts you see around the table are:

Bananas Foster
A Brennan’s Family clasic flambeed tableside

Crème Brûlée
a creamy baked vanilla bean & Grand Marnier with a crisp caramelized sugar top

Creole Bread Pudding Soufflé
the richness of Creole bread pudding whipped into a light, fluffy soufflé served with rye whiskey sauce

Homemade Pecan Pie
a Southern classic – chock full of pecans and finished with milk caramel & vanilla bean ice cream

Medley of Sorbet
A trio of housemade seasonal sorbets topped with fresh berries & served in an almond tulip shell

Chocolate Molten
A warm, molten chocolate cake unmolded onto a bed of white chocolate sauce

Brennan’s Peanut Butter Cup
Better than Reese’s ~ layers of rich chocolate mousse & creamy peanut butter mousse in a chocolate shell, paired with homemade peanut butter ice cream

Just Desserts

At one point during the meal, Matthew said, "I need to have one meal each day like this!." I replied, "Stay in school and you could.!" Courtney just loved it and reflects this in this picture.

Utter Satisfaction

I shared our dining experience with Mother who said, "I want you to take me out to eat a dinner like that one time before I die." So, we are going to see if Mother can come to Houston to visit in the near future and John, Margaret, Mother and I will visit Brennan's Kitchen Table. Since we now know how wonderful it can be, I wonder if they can raise the bar on our next visit to their fantastic restaurant.

Posted by Kathleen at January 13, 2005 12:57 PM