Solid upscale New American fare at Masraff's in Houston

Masraff's1025 S. Post Oak Ln.Houston, TX 77056713-355-1975
4/5 melt-in-your-mouth chocolate fondants

We happened on this place by accident, meaning it was a last-minute decision to go. But lucky for us, it turned out to be the best HRW dinner we'd had so far. Things seem to be on the up and up. Here are the courses we tried:

First course:

• Wild mushroom ravioli in a truffle sage broth
• Garlic seared calamari in a soy reduction with oyster mushroom, shaved onion, and cilantro

Second course:

• Pan seared New Zealand sea bass cooked in miso butter with leek couscous, oyster mushroom, and corn compote
• Pan seared New York strip in red wine reduction with potato lyoannaise and pommes frites

Third course:

• Warm double chocolate fondant with vanilla bean ice cream and and creme anglais
• Butter roasted pear creme brulee and whole berry sauce

All of the dishes were excruciatingly delicious. The calamari was dressed in chunks of garlic and cilantro, the sea bass's corn and couscous sides were flavorful, the creme brulee came in an actual cute pear bbowl, and the chocolate fondant was fudgy rich. Two questions for Masraff's though:

1. Why did the steak come with two sides of potatoes? This seemed a bit too starchy.
2. What do all of those fancy words mean in your menu?

I can't answer the first question, but I'll attempt to answer the second. A compote is a traditionally a dessert of stewed or baked fruit. I assume the chef prepared the corn either in liquid or in the oven for a long period of time for it to be called a compote. The potatoes lyonnaise simply means potatoes cooked with onions. Pommes frites are a fancy way of saying French fries--and Masraff's happens to serve them like shoestrings. And creme anglais is French for "English cream," a light, pouring custard used as a dessert cream or sauce. Now there you have it: all these fancy culinary French-inspired terms to throw around in your kitchen next time you want to show off to your dinner party guests.

The self-proclaimed chef stopped by our table to ask how the food was, and I appreciate it when the busy man of the hour takes the time to visit with the guests. All in all, we thoroughly enjoyed our Masraff's experience. Next time, we'll have to spend some time at the live piano bar and try the real menu.