The Capital Grille- Houston Restaurant Week

Just the other night, I took my family to The Capital Grille for dinner.  It was Houston Restaurant Week (HRW) and I was thrilled to see The Capital Grille on the list again!  Here, I had absolutely the BEST SERVICE EVER!  We came over here for two reasons (1) daddy's birthday and (2) HRW, but really it was daddy's birthday so that's why I made reservations here (he never heard of The Capital Grille, so why not?!).

Anyway, what's awesome... because they knew it was a birthday celebration, the table was decorated with confetti (ribbons and ballon confetti - pretty awesome!!).  Once we sat down, the server, Susan, wished my dad happy birthday!!! (Okay, fine... I did say "celebrating dad's birthday" on the reservation, but still... it was really nice!  

So some of us ordered off the HRW menu and others ordered off the regular menu.  Regardless, the food was amazing!  My mom tried their filet mignon- she states "this is the best grilled filet mignon I'd ever had in my life!" (and she's had plenty too).  She even started cutting her steak up for everyone to try.  

My brother ordered their Ahi Sear Tuna... umm... YES SIR, I'D LIKE ANOTHER ORDER!  The tuna steak was plump, juicy, and seared perfectly!  It was even sprinkled with sesame seeds.  The tuna came with ginger rice (yumm) and three dipping sauces.  Honestly, you don't really need the dipping sauce, but! the honey-ginger one is fabulous!  The other two were wasabi (which was very light) and soy sauce.  I didn't hear her tell my brother the green one was wasabi, so I had fun when I dipped it in and took a bite =/ 

Our table also ordered their Carpaccio- very, very good!  The carpaccio was sliced perfectly and seasoned well.  The arugula salad served on top was paired perfectly with the carpaccio.  It's a must try!  

I tried their 14 oz bone-in kona sirloin... it was not as good as the filet, but it was still yummy.  The Sam's mashed potato was also a delight.  The creamed spinach was definitely creamy!  The only thing I wasn't to thrilled of was their french green beans.  We weren't sure if there would be enough food, so that's why we ordered another side dish.  

Now dessert... yumm... I tried their home-made ice cream, which was vanilla mint... my three-scopes were gone before someone could tell me to breathe.  My dad had their espresso cake, which paired well with my ice cream (I know... it's his birthday and I stole a few bites!).  What was absolutely amazing for anyone to order is their cheesecake!  The cheesecake here has a caramelized top (yes, creme burlee style).  It was light and delish!  Honestly, I'm not a big cheesecake fan, but I will go back and order that!  

So... after my adventures of trying out a few HRWs, I'd have to say this was the best of out of 4 places I tried.  It's also a place I'd drag my boyfriend to for a romantic dinner (yup... you've read it correctly mister!).  Sorry! I didn't take any pictures :(  by the time I remembered to... it was too late and my plate wasn't very presentable, but I will next time!

Quattro at the Four Seasons Hotel

Another Restaurant Week restaurant I tried this year was Quattro at the Four Seasons Hotel. Here, I tried out their lunch menu since my girlfriends and I wanted to go somewhere "new." The Quattro posted an impressive menu on the Restaurant Week website, but I only liked the Eggplant appetizer.

The Eggplant appetizer had a thin slice of eggplant on the bottom, topped with a layer of burrata cheese, roasted red bell pepper, and paper-thin sliced eggplant. It was also drizzled in puree black olive sauce. The cheese was creamy, soft, and has a light nutty flavor. The burrata cheese was what really made this dish! I suggest trying this dish if its on their regular menu, but know that the eggplant is lost in this dish (even though eggplant does not have a lot of flavor).

For my entree, I had the Risotto with Porcini Mushrooms. This dish was served with 3 slices of glazed duck. I was actually disappointed with this dish because the risotto was undercooked. If the risotto was cooked correctly, then this dish would be fabulous. The mushroom was tasty and cooked well, but there were about 5 pieces of mushroom. As you can tell from the photo, the entree was super small.

I would not recommend coming here. The service was okay. We had mimosas here, but for the price we paid, they used VERY cheap champagne because we all had a headache afterwards.

In addition, one of my girlfriends had the Seared Red Mullet (which is a type of fish) and it was TERRIBLE! It was super fishy and not appetizing at all.

Another dish that one of my girlfriends tried was the Steamed Wild Sea Bass Escalope. Again, terrible! Not only was it fishy, but it tasted "dirty." Something that I would not want another person to know what that taste like!

So if you do head over to Quattro, do not order any seafood! They just don't know how to prepare it!

Gigi's Asian Bistro & Dumpling Bar

I've walked passed Gigi's many times while shopping at the Galleria. Since I've only seen the "bar" side of the restaurant, I always thought it was a narrow place for one to get a quick bite of dumplings. However, this place is deceiving! It only looks small, but it actually have a nice size dining area and two bar areas.

Even so, I was wary of going into this place because its inside the Galleria and I figured it'll be expensive and pretentious. Now, I will pay for good food, but I have a problem when it comes to expensive Chinese food! One can get super good Chinese food for a good deal- trust me! However, since it was Restaurant Week (where there's a set menu and part of the proceeds goes to charity), I decided to venture in and see if I'd recommend this place.

The decor is super pretty! In the dining area, there are cherry blossoms hanging from the ceiling. The place has a chic-lounge like feel to it. It's a nice place to take someone on a first date since it does give you the sense of privacy in the dining area. However, the service was okay. My server wasn't that great. For the prices on the menu, you'd expect fabulous service, but he was not attentive and rarely paid attention to my table.

From the Restaurant Week menu, I tried the Hot Tuna Sashimi with Citrus Soy and Sizzling Oil, which was basically seared tuna. The seared tuna tasted just like anywhere other sushi restaurant. I was not impressed with it. I also tried the Tapioca-Wrapped Crawfish Dumplings, which resembles the "shrimp dumplings" one orders during dimsum. The crawfish dumpling were not good! It had a "fishy" taste to it and I could barely finish the bite I took. Again, not impressed with their appetizers.

Luckily, the entrees were better. I had the Pan Seared Filet Mignon, which I thought was a whole piece of filet, but the beef was actually diced. This plate resembled the Vietnamese "diced beef" or "bo luc lac". The filet was tender and juicy, but the pieces were too chunky. You still need a steak knife to be able to enjoy it. However, the filet was delicious. It had a tangy and sweet taste to it and it was a bit spicy. The filet was also served with diced sweet potato and watercress. Since the watercress was not cooked, I didn't try it (its usually bitter when its not cooked), but the diced sweet potato was yummy! I think I enjoyed the sweet potato more than the filet itself.

Another entree I tried was their Thai-Style Crispy Duck Fajita. This was honestly the best thing there that evening. It was very flavorful and colorful. It looks just like a fajita plate but with sliced duck. It's almost a cross between Peking Duck and Duck Fajitas. The bread that comes with this plate is not tortillas or the bread that normally comes with Peking Duck, but its the Chinese/Taiwanese crispy bread (I am sorry if its confusing, but I don't know how else to describe it!). The duck was sliced, crispy and tasty (with the skin still attached to it). The menu claims there's pineapple in the entree and there was none. However,they did bring sliced avocado on the side and it did make the fajitas even more delicious with it! This dish also comes with three different sauces, but since it was basically Peking Duck in a different "form," I mainly used the oyster sauce. If you do go to Gigi's, this is definitely something you should try.

For dessert, I tried the Chocolate Molten Cake and the Strawberry Cream Cake. The strawberry cake was not that great. It was more cake than cream, but the cake was fluffy. You couldn't really taste the strawberries and it was served with chocolate ice cream - not the best combination. The Chocolate Molten Cake was much better than the strawberry cake. It was yummy and was paired with vanilla ice cream; however, the molten cake looked like dung (seriously) and it kinda took away its appeal at first.

Now, I did compare the regular menu to the Restaurant Week ("RW") one and Gigi's menu does not have any of the RW entrees. But, if the RW's entrees were just decent, I doubt their regular menu is amazing or fabulous. Again, the regular menu is pricy- somewhat comparable to P.F. Chang's, and I'd rather eat at P.F. Chang's than at Gigi's.