Creative, forward thinking dining at Feast

For my recent trip to Houston there were just a few things I wanted to do, get some Tex-Mex and indulge in some real Texas BBQ. Never would I have expected that one of my more memorable meals to date would be in Houston, let alone "Rustic European Fare." Feast is a restaurant like no other in Houston, and for that matter I highly doubt there is a restaurant like it in all of Texas. The cuisine is simple, rustic and devoid of frills, highlighting the ingredients on the plate and nothing else. However, that ingredient may very well be veal heart, or beef tongue, but also braised lamb shank or crispy pork belly. Feast has a wide range, from the mostly social acceptable dish to the somewhat fear inducing and that is just one of the reasons this is a special place.

After asking around and reading review by the Robb Walsh of the Houston Press and Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle I was completely sold. (More recently, Frank Bruni of the NYTimes stopped in and gave it a glowing review, hopefully boosting business, but likely making reservations harded to come by.) My friend and I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before 7pm on Sunday for our reservation, the restaurant was mostly empty, a sad sight of course, so we had our choice of seats. We could have sat down anywhere, as the environment is quite comfortable, in an old wooden house type of way. Having already made up our mind to go with the tasting menu ($49!) we selected a glass of white and a bottle of red to share. The tasting menu is made up of 9 courses, an absolute steal for anyone, and coming from NY quite the bargain.

The courses started with delicious housemade bread and a warm Beet and Cumin Soup. The soup was topped with a dollop of yogurt and was a nice beginning to our meal, albeit tame. Following the soup was a course a bit more interesting, Stuffed Pigskin. Most people I've dined with over the years would scoff at this dish, it's a hard dish to get used to since it is served cold, but once you can get by the textural differences it is very tasty. The skin is about a quarter inch thick or less and is soft, not crispy, filled with sausage and herbs and complemented by an orange and radish salad, a very unique dish all around.

To this point our service had been wonderful, food delicious and the overall experience memorable, but the heart of the meal, in my opinion, was where the restaurant really shines. A dish of Black Pudding topped with a fried egg was comforting and a hefty serving of English peas and mint kept the richness in check. The Veal Heart, sliced into 4-5 pieces, is served with a refreshing and crisp carrot and coriander salad. The heart itself resembles a minute steak almost, but with much more interesting flavor, it was one of my friends favorite dishes, something remarkable seeing as how he has never ventured into offal or "lesser-known cuts" before.

Moving along to the heftier courses we were served Beef Tongue with bacon, spinach and lentils. I've had tongue before, but this was a new way for me to try it, almost delicate in its preparation, it was delicious and paired with addictive lentils. We both thoroughly enjoyed this dish and had to slow ourselves down realizing four courses still remained. For our sixth course we took a little departure from meat and offal with a Whole Roasted Rosebud, a small fish similar to Red Snapper. The fish had the head and tail on and was roasted to a wonderful golden brown on the outside, remaining tender and moist on the inside. It was a little challenging to get all the meat out of it, but well worth it, and was served with kale and mashed potatoes. I could have done without the mashed potatoes, and the kale was extremely salty, but the fish was a much needed "light" course.

Rounding out the savory courses was the Crispy Pork Belly atop a potato cake with red cabbage and apples. This was my favorite savory course of the day, and perhaps the best pork belly I have ever indulged in. A massive portion for a tasting menu, the pork belly appeared fried since it was so crispy, but in fact it was roasted, skin side down to achieve a bubbly, crispy texture. With a great meat to fat ratio it was easy enough to cut and chew, but had all the richness you would want in pork belly. The potato cake was a nice touch, although it was a little overcooked, and the cabbage and apples brought rounded the dish out, with a bit of acid helping to cut through the fat a little bit.

A small bowl of Lemon Sorbet served as our eighth course was a nice palate cleanser, and prepped us for the rich Sticky Toffee Pudding served last. The pudding was amazing, served warm, it roughly fell apart with barely any effort and after plenty of fatty, salty bites throughout the nearly 3 hour meal, it was a nice way to end everything. Through it all we drank a nice bottle of red (the name escapes me), chosen from the restaurant's well-rounded wine list. The food at Feast is definitely forward thinking, but not in the molecular way, but more aimed at educating diners on all the delicious animal parts which we as a culture generally shy away from. There are dishes fit for the less adventurous diner, like lamb shank, fish pie and variations on duck as well, making it easy to find something for every palate. The English background is clear in the cooking as well as several Eastern European influences, and to me this is certainly the type of restaurant that every major city should have and embrace. Being able to dine in a no frills atmosphere, with such a high standard of creative, thought provoking food is a joy and I will never forget it. Thank you Megan, James and Richard for my feast.
219 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas, 713-529-7788, Reservations - Recommended, Price - Moderate (40-100/person depending on tasting menu)