Brasserie du Parc, Houston

Foie gras. Crème brulée. Both dishes I adore, and thus have dedicated labels for on my blog.  And both dishes that most certainly don't come to mind as something you'd get for delivery.  And yet, I did.

Ok, interesting choices, yes.  Was I in Paris?  Or at least somewhere known for French food?  Nope.  I was in Houston, TX of all places, and after a couple nights of excellent fusion Creole food (think: cajun crab cakes, creole shrimp empanadas, blackened grilled catfish, epic slices of pecan pie, etc from Goode Company Seafood), I was ready for something different.  I had bbq planned for the next day, so, I had my Texas bases covered.  I could get whatever I wanted, and, I decided that foie gras was what I wanted, when I saw it pop up on a few local menus.  We don't really have foie gras in San Francisco anymore, so this was a real treat for me (and actually, it had been several *years* since I last had any!).

I found a well rated French brasserie just two blocks from my hotel that sounded great.  Nearly every review raved about the foie gras - either recommending it as a starter, or as an add-on to any dish (which they offer).  Even those who just go for drinks and bar snacks mention the foie gras sliders.  Incredible foie gras, just down the street?  Yes!  And when I saw crème brulée also on the menu, I was sold.  While I'd had crème brulée more recently than foie gras, it still isn't something I get all that often, even though I love it.  

So why delivery? No, I wasn't too lazy to stroll down the street.  I was stuck at my hotel because I had evening work meetings, and thus, delivery it was (I had entirely ruled out the hotel restaurant, Zutro, as the breakfast and lunch and dessert items I had the previous days were all pretty awful).  I knew this brasserie, or at least the items I wanted, was a very risky choice for delivery, and really did second guess it, but, the restaurant was so close I had some hope.  I also had leftover blackened catfish and asparagus from Goode Co Seafood to finish up, so, I literally just ordered the foie gras starter and crème brulée dessert to go with my meal.  I knew that if it was a complete fail, I still had a main dinner (and of course I had backup dessert on hand too).

I can't tell you much more about the restaurant, since I didn't visit in person, but what I can say is that this worked out better than I could have imagined.  I was so, so pleased with my hotel room meal, and yes, I was video conferencing with work meetings, with a glass of wine and seared foie gras, and no one even thought it was odd.  

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I ordered easily on Door Dash, and my food arrived fairly quickly, and well packaged.  That said, the foie gras was a bit cold when it arrived, so I put it into my HotLogic portable oven for a few minutes (it was already warm heating up my fish) while I poured my glass of wine, and that made it even better.  I was shocked how well that portable oven worked to lightly warm it!  I can't believe I'm saying this, but, yes, I recommend getting takeout foie gras ... and if I was in Houston any longer, I would have gladly ordered from Brasserie du Parc again (and for more of the menu too, as it all sounded great).

Seared Foie Gras. $20.

This was my first time having foie gras in several years.  Yes, really.  I know, I kinda couldn't believe it when I realized it.  After an epic few months years ago when the foie gras ban was coming to California of eating foie gras tasting menus multiple times a week, and a few years after that of eating it anytime I ventured out of state, I think I just moved on a bit from that obsession.  And then I stopped eating out at nicer restaurants much, then there was a pandemic, etc, etc, so, somehow, I just didn't have foie gras in several years.

The menu just said "foie gras" with no further description, and I know reviewers say it changes out frequently with different garnishes and seasonality, so I had no idea really what I'd get.  I just knew there would be seared foie gras involved.

I was quite pleased when it arrived nicely packaged, a practical size slice of foie gras, perched on a butter soaked toasted brioche bun, with two sauces on the side.  I appreciated that the sauces were separate, so they wouldn't make everything soggy.  I couldn't wait to dive in, and turned my video conference camera off for a few minutes, so my co-workers wouldn't see me feasting on foie gras while they were in the office.

The foie was well prepared - good sear on it, nicely cleaned, still with froth on top.  It was a touch cold, so after my first glorious bite, I did put it in my travel oven to heat it up, and that honestly made it good as fresh.  I couldn't believe how well it worked.  So the foie gras itself, expertly done, no issues at all.  ****.

The brioche bun was a little more butter soaked than I'd like - given that brioche is already rich, and the foie gras was plenty fatty, the extra buttery grease was just a bit more than I'd like.  It was lightly toasted, and buttery brioche is always a nice pairing with foie gras.  ***.

The two sauces tied it all together well.  One was blueberries, seemingly in a light reduction.  I'm not sure I've actually had blueberries with foie gras before, but it worked much like any other fruity pairing, with a bit of sweetness and freshness to offset the offal.  The other I think may have been a red wine reduction?  Or some kind of foie gras emulsion?  It was a thin sauce, and I ended up dunking the bread into that first, and then topping the dunked bread with some foie and berries.  Neither sauce was mind blowing, but both paired well with the rest of the dish.  ***+.  I had a little of the sauces left over, and drizzled them over my burrata and proschuitto snack the next day, and that was a fantastic pairing as well.

Overall, a well composed, nicely executed dish.  I appreciated the portion size as a proper individual portion - I wouldn't have wanted to share, but it also was appropriate as an appetizer, and wasn't too much.  And, wow, who knew, delivery foie gras could work out?  I truly enjoyed this, and would get it again if I ever happened to be in Houston staying down the street ...  ****.  The $20 price was entirely reasonable.

Vanilla Bean Crème Brulée. $9.

"Classic vanilla bean crème brulée, orange madeleines, strawberries."

I nearly gasped when I opened my takeout bag and saw the crème brulée.  I had my hesitations with ordering crème brulée for delivery too, but, wow, they made it look good!  It is hard to tell from the photo, but this is actually a much wider container than a standard ramekin.

While I obviously missed out from the experience of having this freshly bruleed to order, with a cool base and lightly warm top, I was still impressed.  Interestingly, it didn't excel at one of my standard evaluation points for crème brulée: the "tap test", as the top was only lightly caramelized.  But it didn't really matter.  The pudding itself was so glorious I did not mind.  The consistency was perfect, thick and rich, and the vanilla bean was evident.  It really was flawless in the pudding department.  I savored every drop of it.  And although the caramelization layer on top was a touch thin, it imparted a stronger caramel flavor than I would have expected, and that accented it well too.  The sugared berries were a nice garnish, and I did add some of my own fresh blueberries as well.  So, the crème brulée, not a perfect ***** since the tap test was only a low pass, but still, ****+ and the best I've had in many years.

The only element of the dessert I wasn't into was the madeleine, but that was pretty much expected, as I don't ever really care for madeleines, and I don't really care for citrus desserts most of the time, and, it did seem a bit odd with my crème brulée.  I didn't mind that it was there, but it didn't add anything to the dish for me.  ***.

Overall, definitely far above average, incredible for delivery, and the $9 price was amazingly reasonable.  I'd get this again too.