With great anticipation, I scheduled a valentine dinner at the celebrated Chez Roux restaurant. We had previously dined there and were pleased with our meal which achieved the class of the gourmet eating establishments in New Orleans, New York, and even Paris. We were seated promptly as the half-occupied tables allowed efficiency. The feast began with an appetizer consisting of two baby oysters that could easily have sit in a tablespoon with room to spare, a tittle of caviar, two strands of cucumber spaghetti, and a calamari the size of a small house spider. The sauce was excellent. They must be getting our appetite primed for the feast to come, I thought. The next course was two three inch pieces of asparagus that looked lonely but dabbed with béarnaise sauce tasted great. Our wine medley was similarly downsized to two sips a glass but the pairing was excellent. We began to believe that we were characters in a Monty Python skit and increased our enjoyment by bursting into laughter when each new course was served and with the pouring of each fourth of a glass of wine. As the second glass was poured, I remarked that I need not be concerned about driving home which brought a scowl from our waiter. The remainder of the evening, he slighted me even more as compared to my wife’s portions. The entrée (French usage) was a lone scallop from which I extracted more savors by cutting it into six pieces and chewing glacially. The main course was a medallion of veal several times the scallop but unfortunately one third was gristle. Our waiter scowled again, sans comment, when my wife complained. Desert was the best course, a large tasty soufflé which we scoffed down because we were hungry. In addition, to be fair, we did get one piece of bread at the beginning of the meal. Also, our water glasses were kept to the brim. Since my wife was an apprentice chef in New Orleans and we traveled extensively, I realize that the more exclusive restraints serve smaller portions. However, our meal was analogous to the childhood story “The king’s new clothes”; nothing was what was mostly served. And, for this area and even south of Lake Conroe the price was astronomical, in a recession. I looked up the price of the wines served in the pairing on the internet assured that they must have been exceptionally expensive. The ranged from $24 to $12. It was tasty but the least value ever. I did not waste the nothing we were served; although, it was bland. Cheers \r
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Pros: Well prepared
Cons: minuscule
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