food

Spring Over So Soon? Not at Le Jardinier, Where Seasonal Produce Is Still the Star Ingredient

Spring Over So Soon? Not at Le Jardinier, Where Seasonal Produce Is Still the Star Ingredient

Spring Expression

WHILE SPRING CAN seem fleeting in Houston, chef de cuisine Felipe Botero at Le Jardinier inside the MFAH is making the most of the season’s freshest ingredients. French for “the gardener,” Le Jardinier is helping to extend Springtime sensations, even if it’s just through the extra-fresh ingredients Botero has used to craft the seasonal menu.

Living up to its name, the spring menu is heavy on produce, highlighting radishes, peas, alliums, fava beans and artichokes. Light and refreshing, the French white asparagus is beautifully plated and served with puff rice for a crunch.

Veggies also star in the scallop crudo, which is served with radishes and beets — oh, and a heaping pile of royal kaluga caviar! The slices of the tea-spiced duck breasts are paired with equally hearty servings of turnips. Don’t miss the pandan cotta for dessert; it’s flavored like carrot cake and served with pecan ice cream, and a little slice of fresh carrot for good measure.

For the sake enthusiasts, Richard Geoffroy, the former winemaker for Dom Pérignon, has started his own sake brand, IWA Sake. Geoffroy hosts two dinners at Le Jardinier this weekend. He’s calling it the “wine-lovers” sake, and is partnering with chef Botero for a five-course dinner that promises chilled lobster and blue crab risotto. Tickets are available via Resy.

Chef de cuisine Felipe Botero

Spring lunch

events

This Weekend: Children Museum's Freedom Fest Showcases Books, Art and More

Photo courtesy Children's Museum Houston

ON SUNDAY, JUNE 16, the Children’s Museum Houston celebrates Juneteenth with a special Juneteenth Freedom Fest, an afternoon of art, poetry, literature, and music where children (and grown-ups!) can learn more about this important holiday, the oldest national commemoration of the ending of slavery. It also celebrates the vast contributions of African Americans to the social, political and cultural life of the United States.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment
art

Summer's Clever Pop-Up Art Shows Include This Weekend's 'Interwoven'

Courtesy of Sol Diaz-Peña

SUMMER’S HERE, AND the pop-up art exhibits have begun. Maybe it’s a response to the relentless heat and unpredictably weird weather, but during June through August, the city’s more forward-thinking (and often relatively young) art mavens embrace an approach to curation and presentation that is both cost-conscious and community-centric.

Keep Reading Show less
Art + Entertainment