Kick-start your New Year’s Resolution at Big Eyed Fish, 908 Henderson. All month long, the restaurant will be offering its signature turtle soup and char-grilled Caesar salad combo for $15.
Pondicheri, 2800 Kirby, will be hosting a “Pondicherry” Pop Up Dinner on Thursday, January 7 from 7 to 9 p.m. The six-course tasting with drink and wine pairings will explore the coastal flavors of the “French Riviera of the East” through dishes such as oysters & choux and black pepper curry prawn. Register online (limited seating is available).
On Friday, January 8 from 5:30 to 7 p.m., enjoy a Pinot Noir Tasting at Pappas Bros. Steakhouse Galleria, 5839 Westheimer. Guests will journey through great Pinot Noirs of the United States and France, from the golden slope of the Côte d’Or to the hills and valleys of California and Oregon. For $90 per person, discover why so many wine drinkers, collectors and sommeliers consider this grape to be the finest wine grape on the planet.
Young gun chef Jonny Rhodes (who has worked the kitchens at Oxheart, Caracol and NYC’s Gramercy Taverns, to name a few) has returned to Houston to bring the city something new. On Saturday, January 9, the next dinner in the chef’s Jensen Chronicle Pop Up Series will be held at Rachel’s Cafe, 421 San Jacinto. The five-course feast features dishes such as smoked candied yam and chicken sausage with caramalized yogurt, roasted carrots, and sweet potato textures; duck breast roasted in winter woods, garbanzo bean salad with duck fat aioli, with a golden currant, carrot, and turmeric purée; and golden milk ice cream, mint powder, caraway granita, and broken spiced waffle cone. Cost is $76.95 per person, with a wine pairing to be provided for the first course and optional wine pairings for courses two and four at a separate cost.
On Monday, January 11 from 6 to 9 p.m., the 2016 Houston Truffle Chef Charity Challenge will be held at The Astorian, 2500 Summer. An all-star lineup of Houston chefs, from places including BCN Taste + Traditions, Kata Robata and Sparrow Bar + Cookshop, will be making use of fresh black truffles imported directly from Spain to compete for the best truffle-inspired dish in town. Guests will enjoy each of the culinary creations alongside wine tastings. General admission tickets are priced at $150 and VIP tickets are $250. All proceeds from the event will go directly to the Les Dames d’Escoffier Scholarship Program.
Treat yourself to a Cognac Dinner at Étoile Cuisine et Bar, 1101-11 Uptown Park, on Tuesday, January 12 at 7:30 p.m. Start with a cocktail reception before enjoying four Cognac-paired courses, including pheasant consommé with celery root “ravioli” and foie gras; and pork prime rib with apple lasagna. After-dinner cordials finish the meal off alongside a decadent black chocolate mousse “bombe.”
This article appears in Dec 31, 2015 – Jan 6, 2016.
