Once a year, I drive around town looking for a newspaper to buy. In the age of digital subscriptions and Twitter which keeps me up to date on news, I have no need for a paper newspaper. However, once a year the Houston Chronicle comes out with its top 100 restaurant list curated by our award-winning restaurant critic Alison Cook. This past Thursday, Houston's biggest foodie day of the year finally arrived, and I bought a copy of the Houston Chronicle which includes a super cool book detailing Alison Cook's Top 100 Restaurants of the year!
Last year was the first year I had really discovered this list, so it was my goal to have tried at least 50 of the restaurants on the list. I just barely made it, having crossed off my 50th restaurant Rainbow Lodge the previous Friday (delicious bar food by the way!). Now I have a somewhat new list for the year! I say somewhat, because there are only 17 new restaurants on this year's list, the remaining 83 having been on the list last year. However, these 83 were certainly shuffled around! Take for instance Common Bond (best chocolate croissants in town!) dropping from number 4 to number 68! In fact, only a few of the top 10 restaurants from last year made the top 10 this year.
One huge change was the Pass & Provisions being categorized as one restaurant rather than two, and taking the top spot away from Oxheart! To tell you the truth, I have never been to Oxheart, a tiny restaurant with a pricey tasting menu focusing on vegetables. Nor have I ever been to the Pass, another restaurant with an expensive tasting menu. However, now that Provisions is included with the Pass, I had the chance to try Houston's number one restaurant without breaking the bank!
The very day the top 100 list came out, I looked at OpenTable and discovered plenty of reservations available for dinner at Provisions! I snatched one up, and Adam and I were on our way to trying Houston's number one restaurant! I know this post really has nothing to do with travel, but trying new restaurants can be an adventure in itself, even when sticking to American food!
Adam and I love trying different dishes and sharing, so Provisions menu made it easy for us to mix and match different dishes. We decided to order an item each from the Vegetables, Pasta, Fish, and Dessert categories. Next time we have vowed to try a pizza, but we certainly enjoyed the dishes we tried!
First up came our "vegetable" order of burrata cheese with heirloom tomatoes and grilled garlic foccacia bread. Oh my gosh. This was likely my favorite dish of the night! I was in food euphoria scooping up some of the super creamy burrata (a creamier version of fresh mozzarella) and the perfectly ripe in-season tomatoes with the foccacia bread. To be honest, tomatoes have always just been there for me; certainly nothing special. However, this year I discovered the excellence of heirloom tomatoes, served perfectly ripe while in season in the summer. These certainly fit the bill, and along with the delicious cheese and bread made an excellent appetizer. I highly suggest making your way to Provisions ASAP to catch this dish before heirloom tomatoes go out of season!
Next came our entrees of fried chicken tortelloni (yes, fried chicken!) and a lobster roll. The chefs of the Pass & Provisions are known for trying different combinations of food, and this combination definitely hit the spot for us! The tortelloni was delicious, especially paired with the greens and savory parmesan broth. Once the tortelloni and greens were gone, I used my spoon to scoop up the broth like a soup, it was that good!
As for the lobster roll, it was pretty good. However, having just had the best lobster roll ever in Boston, we were not super impressed. No picture for this one, because we love food so much that we sometimes start eating before remembering to snap a photo!
Lastly came the dessert: a Belgian waffle with smoked maple ice-cream and banana caramel. This was a perfect ending to our meal. So delicious! The banana caramel was reminiscent of bananas foster and went very well with the fluffy waffle. I don't know that I'd call their "Belgian" waffle a Liege- style waffle like the type I've actually eaten in Europe, but it was very tasty nonetheless. And the Jean Lafitte cocktail I enjoyed with it is one of the best restaurant cocktails I've ever had!
I would definitely recommend that any of you adventurous eaters out there go and try Provisions, or even the Pass if you want to get fancy! Definitely check out Alison Cook's top 100 restaurant list, and see if you agree with her ratings. As for me, I thought Provisions was delicious and really unique, but I still think Alison Cook's number 8 Coltivare is my number 1 in town!
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