Skip to main content

Posts

Showing posts from August, 2015

Étoile Cuisine et Bar

The asparagus soup at Ă‰toile Cuisine et Bar was summery fresh goodness. It, along with some pommes fritte and Sancerre that I shared with my lunch companion, made for the perfect light plant-based meal. I have eaten lunch here several times but I've not been in for dinner, I need to remedy that soon.  Have you enjoyed the dinner menu at Ă‰toile Cuisine et Bar?

Crab Cakes and Chablis

Though I'm very fortunate to get to go out wining and dining all over Houston, we do occasionally stay in. However, even when I'm cooking for a quiet, weeknight meal at home, we tend to be treating ourselves. Homemade crab cakes (always more lump crab than cake) served with Premier Cru Chablis from the Fourchaume vineyard in northern Burgundy were the favorite food and wine pairing at home this week. The Chardonnay wines from this region typically have bright lemon aromas and flavors with crushed seashell mineral notes that always work perfectly with this dish. What's on your table this evening?

A Royal Announcement

Crown Royal Canadian Whisky recently announced the expansion of its portfolio with  two new offerings, the  Crown Royal Northern Harvest Rye   and the  Crown Royal Hand Selected Barrel which they showcased in Houston on Tuesday this week at an exclusive  tasting event  at The Honeymoon CafĂ© & Bar on Main St.  Acclaimed  Master of Whisky and fellow Houstonian, Mayra Isais, led a guided whisky tasting to the delight of attendees.  Crown Royal Canadian whisky has a smooth, elegant style that Mayra  says  is a reflection of its aristocratic origins.   Seagrams created this brand in 1939 to pay homage to  the king and queen who were visiting Canada for  a grand tour . It was only available north of the border until 1964. Since then, it has become familiar to a much larger audience.  Crown Royal Canadian whisky is now the number one selling Canadian whisky brand in the US.   Guests were also treated to a selection of delicious Northern Harvest Rye cocktails that could

An Afternoon in Galveston

As a Houston native, I can say that going to Galveston has been a part of every summer of my life for as long as I can remember and, as some family pictures would indicate, I've been going since before I can remember. Like New Yorkers escape to The Hamptons, many Houstonians escape to the little island paradise to the south. There is no better time to escape the city heat than in August. My daughter and I woke up with the spontaneous urge to take in some sea air so we headed south on I-45 to spend the day in our local oasis. In less than an hour we were in Galveston's historic Strand District ordering an early seafood lunch before we headed to the beach. We opted for the Black Pearl Oyster Bar and Grill to get our fix of the local fare and then headed to the touristy Stewart Beach. After a couple of hours of sun and surf, we were back in the car and home by dinner. I have traveled to some of the world's most amazing beaches and while these destinations offer t

Fate + Family = Wine

From the August 2015 issue of Galveston Monthly magazine