Lori Ann and I had our first “date night” since our son was born this last Saturday night. I arranged a special meal at theRainbow Lodge with their new chef, Randy Rucker. It was an eight-course “degustation” food and wine pairing.
And it was amazing.
I will post pictures of each dish soon, but until then, here are my comments on Randy’s blog posting:
I don’t know how Randy could have enjoyed it more than we did. This was our first experience with Randy, after reading so much about his artistry on various foodie blogs.
We were blown away. The food was absolutely amazing. Absolutely genius combinations of various flavors, textures, smells… truly a feast for all of the senses. My personal favorite was the crudo of tilefish-even though it would be gauche to compare it to sushi, the only way to describe it is to say “this is what sushi is trying to be”. The sweetness of the blood orange marinade, the spiciness of the Thai chili, the texture of the fish… just wonderful.
And, we marveled at how in isolation, some of the flavors were odd, but when the entire dish was taken as a whole, the true beauty blossomed. For example, the strawberries in the dessert course were macerated in lime juice, and couldn’t really be eaten alone. But, when eaten with a bite of the bittersweet chocolate, well, it was a transcendent experience.
Our thanks to Randy and the Rainbow Lodge for making our special occasion truly one of the best meals of our lives. We look forward to experiencing more of Randy’s food, because we need to encourage and support this kind of dining experience here in Houston.
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