Picture yourself sitting at a small bistro in Paris, the accordion strains of a classic French tune or perhaps some Edith Piaf in the background. You’re drinking a glass of vin rouge while perusing the menu, browsing through a selection of classic French standards like boeuf bourguignon, cassoulet and ratatouille.
In Houston we have but a small handful of restaurants specializing in French cuisine, but aside from the readily available steak frites, true French classics are somewhat hard to come by. What we get instead tends to be Texas twists on French classics, and while that’s all good and dandy, sometimes I just want the good ’ole stuff I’d find at that little bistro in Paris.
Philippe Restaurant + Lounge is more upscale than a bistro, but if you’re in the mood for classic French done the no-frills French way, you can definitely get it here. Though chef/owner Philippe Schmit started out with a menu that was more Texan-French than French, he’s been slowly re-introducing classic French standards like escargot, confit de canard (duck confit) and, more recently on the lunch menu from Monday to Wednesday afternoon, a huge, big-enough-for-two white truffle and parmesan soufflé, which I know for a fact you can’t find anywhere else in the city.
There’s nothing quite as French, quite as decadent or quite as difficult to prepare than a good soufflé, and Philippe’s version is good enough to elicit moans, sighs and whatever other sounds of food delight you might utter when you see the server bring out the big, steaming hot, jiggling tower to your table. In fact, even though I knew that I’d ordered it, an involuntary exclamation of “Oh, my God” escaped my lips when I saw the soufflé springing forth from the large eight inch white ramekin.
Served with a small side salad of mesclun greens topped with freshly shaved parmesan, the savory soufflé was light as a feather, the truffle and parmesan flavors restrained enough so that they weren’t overpowering.
Dessert was also excellent: a prettily plated, pâtisserie-worthy rectangle apple tart served with drizzles of caramel sauce and a house-made nougat ice cream rolled in crispy almandine crumbs.
Très francais? Without a doubt. Très delicieuse? But of course. In addition to the lunch soufflé service, Philippe recently introduced a weekday three-course-business lunch menu for $20. So you can indulge in a multi-hour, leisurely lunch with a girlfriend like I did, or have a brisk three-course sit-down lunch that includes Schmit’s famous coq au vin during a one-hour a lunch break.
And if you want a decadent dinner instead, Philippe is ready to serve. This holiday season, Schmit is doing a special five- or seven-course tasting menu during the entire month of December with highlights like Russian osetra caviar. For a Francophile, it doesn’t get much better than that.
PHILIPPE RESTAURANT + LOUNGE. 1800 Post Oak Blvd. at San Felipe, 713-439-1000, philippehouston.com