Cafe Rabelais !!

Cafe Rabelais in the Rice Village is one of my favorite restaurants in Houston. In fact, it's probably one of my top five in this city filled with good restaurants. The atmosphere reminds me of France. The food is a slight American take on French food (mango in a salad?).

This time, I had the duck breast with hazelnut sauce. The duck was prepared rare and th hazelnut sauce matched perfectly with the earthy flavor of the duck. The potato gratin lended some starch and as always, the vegetables were grilled so that they were cooked, but still crisp. Rekha had the so-so mushroom soup and the very tasty quiche.

The proprietor is French. The menu is on the chalkboard on the wall. The wine-list is fantastic. They even have half bottles for lightweights like me and Rekha. We've had the Pape reds (stunning) and the slightly tart pouilly fuisse. This is the type of place you take your date for romance. It's never failed our happy family.