A few years ago, Houston Restaurant Weeks, which is currently taking place and spans the entire month of August, used to be a singular week. The restaurants participating were few and far between, and it was easy to pick out the standout choices. This year, however, with more than 100 restaurants participating, the choices are mind-boggling. Everyone has a short list, and it just so happens that Philippe Restaurant + Lounge (1800 Post Oak Blvd.) was on mine.
Philippe is one of the few restaurants offering not a two-course, but three-course prix-fixe for lunch. The price? A mere $20. Subtract the three dollars the restaurant will donate to the Houston Food Bank, and their net is just $17. I expected a good value lunch for that price, but I wasn’t really expecting a “wow” lunch when I arrived at Philippe recently for my lunch date. But that’s exactly what I got.
I went a bit over the top, ordering an off-menu bone marrow special in addition to my three-course prix-fixe. I’d seen a picture of it posted on Facebook just the night before, an impressive, long half-sliced bone with marrow arranged artfully on a plate next to a Southwestern chipotle-type sauce, a bed of sautéed kale and creamy grits. The earthy, decadent, fatty essence of bone marrow spread like butter on house-made baguette is an indulgence worth its weight in gold, tres Français, and truly magnifique.
I could have stopped there, but I still had my entire prix-fixe to enjoy. My French onion soup, topped with a thick melted cheese cap, splashed over the sides of the bowl every time I tried to dip my spoon in for some broth. I ended up removing the entire cheese topping and placed it on the adjacent plate, adding a bit of cheese to each spoonful of soup for the full effect. The soup was rich, chock-full of tender sweet onions, the broth savory without being overly salty.
Already happy with my first two courses, I didn’t realize that the ooh-la-la moment would come next. A gorgeous, generous plating of coq au vin was presented, and I couldn’t have asked for a more beautifully plated dish. A glistening, dark chocolate-colored red wine gravy artfully coated the entire plate, while the aromas of herbs and wine wafted upwards, scintillating my senses.
The dish was topped with smattering of crisped lardon, pearl onions, three bright orange carrots and an herb-crusted brioche, while underneath it lay a bed of foie gras-mashed potatoes. “I used the fat drippings from the foie gras,” chef Philippe Schmit told me later. “It’s healthier and more flavorful than regular fat,” he added. Hmmm, I don’t know about that, but I do know that Philippe’s coq au vin was the finest I’ve had in years, better than some I’ve eaten in France.
Truth be told, the coq au vin with foie gras-mashed potatoes would have been worth $20 by itself, but for the HRW menu, I had one more course to enjoy. Three chocolate sauce-covered ice cream-filled profiteroles completed an already superb meal. It’s one I’ve been thinking about and telling everyone about ever since, and it’s the reason why I’m returning tonight to see what’s on Philippe’s HRW dinner menu.
PHILIPPE RESTAURANT + BAR, 1800 Post Oak Blvd., Suite 6110, bet. Westheimer & San Felipe, 713-439-1000, philippehouston.com