Friday I kicked the weekend off with a new restaurant. I did not plan well in advance and wrapped up a late afternoon at the Houston Museum of Natural Science’s Butterfly Center. I went to my Open Table app and found the closest, least expensive and available restaurant in the area. I did not have the ability to search based on kid friendliest as I had children with me. I settled on Brasserie Max and Julie.
I have not had the best luck with french restaurants in the past. I took a chance on this one because we had a short window for dinner and I did not want fast food. I enjoyed the ambiance and felt like I left Houston and went to another city. Nevertheless, I quickly observed there was tension in the room.
The first sign of tension was the fact we were under dressed. Yet, I love testing restaurants and how they treat you based on your appearance. As long as my attire is covering my body, it should not matter if I decide to where a college sweatshirt or a suit. If you mistreat me because of my clothing, I won’t come back.
I also realized quickly that this restaurant is not the best choice for kids. There were wine glasses all over the table. I actually think they used them for water glasses as well. We managed to get through dinner without incident but I could see the staff on needles wondering if we would break one.
The worst attitude came from the manager. It appeared she had a permanent twist in her mouth. When a disgruntled employee came in to handle a matter, I became concerned when he mentioned, “it is the way you treat people”….I looked for the exit quickly just in case it was about to be a Texas showdown. She was definitely French and shrugged him off as if she didn’t understand that everyone carries a gun here. I was hoping my food came fast so we could get out of there.
The food: Despite the discomfort with staff drama, the food was amazing. I am not a snap pea fan at all but I ate every bite. I had the salmon steak dinner and it was great. I actually shared it and was full on the half portion. I really want to come back but I am one of those people who believe service is just as important as food. Our waiter did his best but I could tell there was a lot of tension. Treat your people better and I can try again.
On Saturday, restaurant week kicked off. I had an internal countdown for its launch and really did not know where to start. My colleague mentioned Roost and I recalled passing the restaurant before. The sign is very basic and not enticing. I had no idea what I was in for.
We went very late and grabbed the last table available. It was almost 10 pm and the restaurant was packed. They do not take reservations unless you have a party of 6 or more. I noticed the restaurant week menu said everyone at the table had to participate and no sharing. That’s kind of hard not to share at a family style restaurant.
I ordered the restaurant week choices of cauliflower, vegan shish kabob and beignets. I am not a fan of cauliflower on any day…but OMG, this is the best cauliflower I have ever had. I could not get enough cauliflower. Please, give me more! The sausage and vegetables were great too. I was not very excited about the bulgar wheat. By the time dessert came, I was pretty stuffed, but I was able to slide in a few beignets with coffee ice cream.
Service was magnificent. We had a waiter who was very laid back and attentive. He made sure all of us had everything we needed. I am definitely going back to Roost. Their menu changes every 6 weeks but the cauliflower and a couple of desserts (they only have 3) are menu constants. What a great way to kick off restaurant week.
Share where you plan to go or have tried this year for restaurant week.