Paleo Houston Restaurant Review at Corner Table and 10 Things You Didn't Know About Me

Last weekend I had the honor and pleasure of having lunch with two very cool people who are rocking this paleo world. One was the young, yet wise beyond his years, Josh Weissman, of the paleo blog, Slimpalate.com. I've mentioned him before when we met at PaleoFX in March. I was going to be in Houston for the weekend, so I asked Josh to meet me for lunch at my new favorite restaurant, The Corner Table.  The other paleo superstar was Chef Bruce.

Corner Table is the restaurant that is doing paleo right. Chef Bruce Molzon put his heart and soul into creating a gourmet paleo menu that satisfies any diner (so very Three Diets, One Dinner). His paleo recipes are flexible, like mine, and appeal to all.  When it opened, all my friends and family called to tell me that they ate a "paleo" meal and it was one of the best meals they've ever had. I couldn't wait to try it. It is THE place to eat paleo in Houston. Check out their full menu here: http://cornertablehouston.com/the-menu/

Here is a breakdown of what we ate:
We started with two paleo pizzas: Almond and coconut flour crust with toppings including pork belly, lamb, mushrooms, chicken sausage, kalamata olives, roasted tomatoes, arugula, pickled red onion and goat cheese. I LOVED them.

 My husband ordered the famous almond fried chicken. I barely got a shot of this before he destroyed it. My son's paleo chicken tenders didn't stand a chance. They were gone before I could say "boo." I love how much veg Chef Bruce serves with these meals. The leftovers were diced into the worlds best veggie frittata when we returned to Austin. Yes, I travel with leftovers.

 Josh ordered the Zatar chicken. Zatar, he explained, is an herb related to thyme, but it is hard to come by. Of course, Corner Table has fresh Zatar. Oh, and Josh didn't let me have a bite. Next time I'm just going to steal one from his plate.

So these are cedar smoked scallops. Immediately after cooking, they are closed into this cigar box, which infuses the little nuggets with a tabacco flavor. You've never tried anything like this. The flavor profile and texture are just epic: salty, sweet, tobaccoey, smokey, rich, buttery and so melty.  

And then there was dessert. Chef Bruce brought us out 4 decadent paleo treats that turned me beastly. One after another, he brought out these outrageous grain-free desserts with no refined sugar. Josh and Donnie's favorite is in the far distance, a chocolate-avocado mousse with whipped cream. Second to last was an almond flour lemon pound cake that was bursting with zest. That was my mom's favorite.  The apple cake was my husband's favorite. And mine, of course, was the cheesecake. Didn't you know I LOVE cheesecake? Apparently, this recipe belongs to Bill and Haley Staley of Primalpalate.com (they also wrote Make It Paleo and Gather). The cheesecake recipe is right here: http://www.primalpalate.com/recipe/lemon-cheesecake/. 

Paleo Apple Cake

The Lemon Cheesecake. Oh my. 

During our meal, Josh was telling me about his one of his latest blog posts entitled "10 Things You Don't Know About Me." I thought it was a terrific idea, so I'm stealing it. I think every blogger should do this! Sorry Josh. So here ya go:

Ten Things You Didn't Know About Three Diets, One Dinner

My mom and me!

1. I hate Bacon. Before you unsubscribe from my blog and curse my name, let me explain. I love pork. I love pork belly, especially as prepared in Beyond Bacon by Stacy Toth and Matt McCarry, The Paleo Parents (Smoked). I love pork cracklins (chicharrones), pulled pork, pork chops, pork tenderloin and bacon fat. But not bacon. I don't know why.

2. I am an expert baker. I make cakes, bread and pastries like a pro. It relaxes me. I don't like paleo baking as much because I don't like the textures and behavior of the ingredients. It's an art. I don't eat what I bake.

3. I went to school for art at New York University. I never wanted to be a teacher, but I love making the world beautiful. My creative outlet these days is obviously with food. I still love going to art galleries and making things. Also, I've been a banker, a wine salesman and now I work in politics.

4. My favorite thing to do ever is to grocery store hop on the weekends. Costco, Central Market, Whole Foods, the Farmer's Market and Trader Joe's. Can anyone say samples?? Oh and I hate clothes shopping.

5. I'm the Social Chair of the Austin Food Blogger Alliance. I plan the monthly happy hour and all our social events, gathering our 160+ food blogging members from all over the city. We write a really cool city guide every year, host blogger education events, philanthropic events and have tons of fun as a group. Oh and we wrote a cookbook.

6. My favorite food is barbeque. And if you ask me what my favorite kind is, it would be like asking if I like my husband or son better. Don't ask. I love brisket, sausage, pork ribs, beef ribs, pulled pork, smoked chicken, turkey--- all of it. My favorite BBQ in Austin? La Barbecue. Ask me again after this year's Texas Monthly BBQ festival. 

7.  My favorite day of the year is Halloween. Any excuse to dress up, I'll take it. Also, we throw a killer Murder Mystery Dinner in October. I was the killer twice in a row -- its hard being the killer and the hostess.

8. I hate being wet. Or cold. I love it when the weather is over 100º. Hello, that's why I am in Austin.

9. I'm addicted to the food network. If I could have lunch with any celebrity, it would be Guy Fieri. I don't know why. He just seems so nice.

10. I'm a Gold Award Girl Scout.

Happy Friday everyone! And if you are in Houston, do yourself a favor and eat at Corner Table this weekend.