Bistro Moderne

Cuizine Magazine: Houston's only free publication dedicated to ...

NAM E

ZIP

CUISINE

file:///home/martin001/Documents/cuizine_reviews/bistro_mode...

FEATURE

ANY CUISINE

ANY FEATURE

NEIGHBORHOOD ANY NEIGHBORHOOD

PRICE ANY

find it!

Bistro M ode rne - Hote l De re k TTR W ine Cafe

2525 W Loop S Houston , TX 77027 RESTAURANT REVIEW

17 Restaurant - Alden Hotel Arturo's Uptown Italiano Ashiana Indian Restaurant

Brunching Out 3/19/06

Backstreet Cafe

M. MARTIN

Bistro Moderne - Hotel Derek Bistro Toulouse Boom Boom Room Brennan's of Houston Coco's Crepes & Coffee Cova W ine Bar D'Amico's Italian Market Cafe El Pueblito Place Farrago W orld Cuisine Field of Green's Hugo's Kirin One Japanese Sushi Buffet Kubo's Sushi Bar and Grill laidback manor (closed) Last Concert Cafe Marine's Empanadas & Bakery Max's W ine Dive Niko Niko's Oporto Cafe and W ine Bar Pico's Mex-Mex Restaurant Rouge New American Cuisine

1 of 3

Bonj our bon bistro Brunch at Bistro Moderne

For this edition of Brunc hing Out, we venture out from our usual inner-c ity haunts. For years, this week's destination was simply referred to as "The Galleria Area"--no surprise, given that it's single distinguishing feature was that massive and still-growing shopping c omplex. Sinc e the late 90's, the term "Uptown" has seen inc reasing usage as the area diversifies and grows into something more than a mere shopping c omplex. At its worst, Uptown remains the provinc e of big-haired gals and their c owboy-booted beaus, trying (and failing) to buy a little c lass with their oil-patc h profits. At its best, Uptown gives truth to the notion that Houston c an be c onsidered a world-c lass c ity. Bistro Moderne, at the c orner of Westheimer and the 610 Loop, very muc h c onfirms that notion. It is often said that one eats first with one's eyes. If that is the c ase, then the very first c ourse is the very first view of the plac e where one will be dining. In the c ase of Bistro Moderne, that first visual c ourse is a feast in itself, thanks to the efforts of award-winning designer Jeffrey Beers. Bistro Moderne adjoins the lobby of Hotel Derek, one of Houston's premiere hotels. Both hotel and restaurant are designed with a simple yet luxurious eleganc e that sets one immediately at ease. Hotel Derek's goal is to be "The c ontemporary Leader of Houston Galleria Hotels", ac c ording to their website. Their c hosen methods for pursuing that goal are extraordinary style and impec c able servic e. As the designated on-site bar/restaurant, Bistro Moderne may be expec ted to share those goals--and they do. From the moment we walked in, my dining c ompanion and I were made welc ome with a level of grac iousness and professionalism rarely enc ountered in even the best of this c ity's restaurants. From the manager to the busboy, the staff was uniformly attentive and c ourteous and very good at their jobs. This should perhaps c ome as little surprise. Chef/c o-owner Philippe Sc hmit and his assoc iates have perfec ted their skills with multiple restaurant ventures in New York, San Franc isc o, and Chic ago. We had a c hanc e to speak

09/03/2009 09:38 AM

Cuizine Magazine: Houston's only free publication dedicated to ...

file:///home/martin001/Documents/cuizine_reviews/bistro_mode...

Saffron Moroccan Cuisine Tacos A Go-Go Tart Cafe Te House of Tea The Lodge at Bayou Bend TTR W ine Cafe Zula

briefly with Chef Phillipe before our meal, as well as after. He explained his vision for brunc h at Bistro Moderne, whic h inc ludes meeting the expec tations of brunc h diners, meeting the expec tations of his restaurant's more usual lunc h/dinner c lientèle, and meeting his own determination to do brunc h in a way that is uniquely 'Bistro Moderne'. Let's begin the review, as we did the meal, with the c oc ktails. Bistro Moderne's brunc h beverages inc lude standbys like Mimosas and Bloody Marys, as well as a fairly lively martini and c oc ktail menu (any restaurant that features Frank Sinatra as prominently on its sound system as Bistro Moderne is pretty well obligated to have a dec ent martini or two). All too frequently, brunc h mimosas suffer from poor ingredients--inexpensive c hampagne or frozen orange juic e, or both. No suc h problem here. The freshly-squeezed orange juic e was perfec tly balanc ed with a generous quantity of good, dry, c hampagne. Bloody Marys were equally well-done, seasoned to perfec tion with fresh horseradish and prepared absolutely right with Absolut Peppar vodka. A standout from the martini list was the key lime martini, an exac t taste-matc h to its namesake. On the less alc oholic side of things, Bistro Moderne also serves standout Illy drip c offee, and my c ompanion was delighted to disc over that she c ould order a c up of her favorite "Mighty Leaf" c hamomile/c itron tea. To rehydrate somewhat, we then ordered a bottle of Fiji water--and were surprised and delighted when it arrived in a c ooling sleeve that prec isely matc hed the rec tangular Fiji bottle (we were also fairly impressed with our server's storehouse of memorized Fiji trivia). Our meal began with the Salad Diane, whic h features an assortment of julienned beets topped with mesc lun field greens, garnished with a nic ely tart avoc ado dressing and small sprinkles of blue c heese. The beets were quite tender--perhaps lightly marinated, they did not taste pic kled. The flavors were nic ely balanc ed and set our palates for the next c ourse. Our salads were followed by an admirably-done steak tartare, served with toast points and fries, garnished with a single quail egg. The tartare was liberally seasoned with c apers and gherkins, to whic h the quail egg offered a nic e c ontrast. One hopes that the wider ac c eptanc e of sushi may have paved the way for an apprec iation of this delic ac y, whic h all too many Americ ans dismiss as 'raw hamburger, topped by a raw egg'. Cooking this partic ular 'hamburger' would have been a mortal sin. Ignoring Chef Phillipe's warning to leave room for the entire meal, my c ompanion and I ordered additional toast points, and made sure that not a single luxurious pink morsel went to waste. Next c ame the first of several brunc h entrees--the "Bistro Moderne Crepes". This signature edition of a standard bistro c lassic is stuffed with a mixed assortment of mushrooms and served with a pleasantly mild frothy brown sauc e and a c risp-fried sprig of basil. It is perhaps a trifle bland to a Texas palate, but very ric h, with the mushroom filling provided a very subtle and c omplex range of flavors. If c repes are a bistro standard, then our next dish took as its theme a c lassic brunc h ingredient. I have seen poac hed eggs used to good effec t in many variations on the c lassic themes of eggs Benedic t and eggs Florentine. To this list we may now add Bistro Moderne's Lobster Oeuf en Coc ette. The eggs are served in a poac hing tin on a bed of lobster and assorted dic ed vegetables, then c overed in airy and elegant lobster bisque. Like the tartare, this was not a dish that c ould be simply sampled and passed over. The bisque in partic ular had a

2 of 3

09/03/2009 09:38 AM

Cuizine Magazine: Houston's only free publication dedicated to ...

file:///home/martin001/Documents/cuizine_reviews/bistro_mode...

warm and subtle savoriness. Next, my c ompanion was served the grilled salmon on lentils, while I rec eived the hanger steak au poivre. The salmon was lightly and expertly grilled, with just a hint of c armelization. The bed of lentils upon whic h it was served was c ooked to a nic ely toothsome texture and nic ely seasoned with pommery mustard sauc e. The hangar steak, while good, was perhaps the least noteworthy offering we enc ountered. It was well-seasoned, well-presented and c ooked to medium rare perfec t redness. But it simply did not c ompare in flavor and uniqueness to Moderne's other and exc eptional offerings. Our last entree was a true brunc h c lassic , Frenc h toast--in this c ase served with spic y apple c ompote and garnished with fresh mint. This was c omfort food done simply and done right--generous 'Texas toast'-sized slabs of wholesome white bread (with the exc eptions of the c roissants, all of Bistro Moderne's breads and pastries are baked in-house), pan-fried in a ric h egg mixture and served with plenty of maple syrup. For dessert, we were offered the tarte au c itron and the fondant. The tarte was a zesty lemon meringue, served with lemon c onfit and lemon bavarois. The c itrus flavor was a nic e palate c leanser, as well as a pleasant bit of sweetness. The fondant was a ric h c hoc olaty affair, served with an exc ellent pistac hio ic e c ream and c herry sauc e. Both were wonderful. Brunc h at Bistro Moderne may either be ordered ala c arte or as a 'prix fixe' brunc h for the outstanding pric e of $24, for whic h one rec eives an appetizer, a main c ourse, a c oc ktail (mimosa, bloody mary, or bloody bull) and c omplimentary c offee. Other brunc h items are offered at exc eptionally reasonable pric es, with appetizers running $5 and main c ourses running between $11 and $16. This c ompares more than favorably with Uptown brunc h venues like La Strada or The Courtyard, whic h may in turn be hard-pressed to matc h either the ambianc e or quality of servic e. The summary: brunc h at Bistro Moderne is a c lassy, tasteful, and lively dining experienc e. Expec t world-c lass food quality and servic e at neighborhood bistro pric es. The food menu largely foc uses on Frenc h bistro and Sunday brunc h standbys, done with panac he and originality. The drink menu c ontains all the c lassic brunc h c oc ktails, as well as an interesting assortment of martinis and other c oc ktails. World-c lass designers and restaurateurs have c ollaborated in Bistro Moderne to c raft one of the most pleasing dining environments you'll ever enc ounter. Chef Phillipe Sc hmit has promised to c ontinue to find ways to define brunc h at Bistro Moderne as a unique and exc eptional experienc e. We believe him. Bistro Moderne 2525 West Loop South Houston TX 77027 713.297.4383

© 2007 Cuizine Magazine.

3 of 3

ABOUT US | CONTACT US | ADVERTISING | PRESS RELEASES | LINKS

09/03/2009 09:38 AM