Lunch at Ouisie's

Today, my husband and I went to lunch at Ouisie's Table for Houston Restaurant Weeks.  I would describe the decor of this restaurant as similar to a country club with "old money" patrons.  There were six large dining rooms.  We were sat in The Khaki Club.  My husband and I had a little chuckle about this because he was wearing jeans.  I only saw one other customer wearing jeans.  Everyone else was dressed the way country club members would dress.

The Houston Restaurant Weeks menu is as follows.  My husband's choices were in yellow.  My choices were in pink.

1st
Crispy Little Crab Cakes
With corn relish & our house jalapeno tartar & cocktail sauces

Pecan Salad
Mixed greens with caramelized pecans and a goat cheese crostini

Soup du Jour
2nd
Seared Chicken with Poblano Cream Sauce
Filled with brie cheese, spinach, toasted almonds with sautéed broccoli & cauliflower and grilled asparagus

Shrimp and Cheese Grits
A spicy sauté of gulf shrimp, mushrooms, bacon & scallions over cheese grits

Ouisies Original Meat Loaf
With chipotle ketchup, mashed potatoes and glazed carrots

Salad, Soup & Sandwich
Roasted beets and celery salad with mixed greens, red onions, cherry tomatoes, oranges sections, toasted almonds tossed with poppy seed dressing, and two little pimiento cheese sandwiches, and a cup of soup du jour

Crispy Crab Cakes

These were so delicious.  The lump crab meat inside was delectable.  It was soft and plump.  The crispy outer casing was the crunchy opposite and the perfect complement to the inside.  The sauce was a combination of jalapeno tartar and traditional cocktail sauces.  The corn relish tasted fresh and buttery.

Pecan Salad 

The mixed baby greens had a light coating of balsamic vinaigrette.  The pecans were coated with a hard caramelized sugar.  There was a slice of pear and apple each.  And a piece of crostini (toast) with a goat cheese spread on top.  There was enough goat cheese to spread on the apple and pear slices.  It added a refined saltiness and soft texture to the crisp and grainy fruit.  

Along with our appetizers, we ordered drinks.  My husband ordered the Rusty Nail cocktail.  I ordered a glass of Argentinian red wine off of the list "Red Wines for the Adventurous."  It was dry and smooth.  My husband's cocktail had a distinct licorice flavor, which was from the Drambuie Scotch Liqueur.  We both delightedly sipped on our drinks for the duration of the lunch.

Right before our entrees were served, we each received a small plate of muffins.  Pictured below: On the top left was a jalapeno bread.  On the top right was a ginger bread (our favorite).  It was very sweet and could almost pass as a dessert.  On the bottom was a corn bread.  It came with softened butter for spreading.

Shrimp and Cheese Grits

The shrimp was very tender.  I hate when you get shrimp that's rubbery from being overcooked.  The grits were so fine that they looked like a bed of mashed potatoes.  And the sauce was amazing.  

Seared Chicken with Poblano Cream Sauce

I absolutely loved the crispy fried outer layer of the chicken.  I could hear the crunch inside my mouth.  The chicken was stuffed with spinach, toasted almonds, and brie cheese.  And it was smothered with a poblano cream sauce.  It was savory and flawless.

I may have mentioned before that I hate cauliflower.  But this cauliflower was buttery and herby.  This is the best cauliflower I've ever tasted.  The broccoli and asparagus were perfectly seasoned and I ate every bite.

Although dessert was not on the Houston Restaurant Weeks menu, my husband and I decided to splurge and ordered the Lemon Ice Box Pie.  Our waiter told us it was his favorite.

Lemon Ice Box Pie

The graham cracker crust was obviously freshly made and superbly toasted.  It crumbled on my spoon and crunched inside my mouth.  The lemon zest added a lively tang on the last few bites of our pie.

This was the end result of our pie.  We devoured it.

I highly recommend Ouisie's.  The service was impeccable and the food was titillating.