Without either one of us knowing, Lars made a "date night" reservation for the two of us last Saturday 11/12 and I made a reservation for us for this Friday 11/18. His reservation was for an old school, Italian favorite in Houston, Da Marco's. Lars knows I love great Italian places. My reservation is for Roka Akor which is a Japanese Steak House, something Lars certainly loves!!
Here's to love relationships and the balance of being kind to ourselves while also being thoughtful of those we love. (Of course, in this case, it's a WIN-WIN all the way around I realize.... bad example, Sue!). Point is, we thought of one another first. :).
Join us on our two date nights.....
First up:
Da Marco's
1520 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX - (713) 807-8857
Lars is such a good sport when it comes to selfies. This ain't our best, but sometimes those are the most fun! All dressed up - Da Marco, to go!
A delightful menu & old school ambiance'.
However (comma!!) 'old school Italian' to me means walking in and smelling red sauce first! Well, guess what? It's truffle season so the scent of truffle assaulted my nose from entering. I'm not a fan - it's a chemical disconnect like how some are, sadly, with cilantro. Except, truffles are wayyyyy pricier. So, good thing I don't like them.
I was so crazy about this! I do not believe I have ever seen it before. After settling in, they bring the "Specials" board for us to look over before we have any questions. I really appreciated the very slow pacing here at Da Marco's. We felt so relaxed. Not rushed whatsoever. We had already looked through the menu and the decision was hard enough. Once they brought this board over, I was like, Oh Geez! I thought for sure Lars was going to order the lamb that was on the menu, but when I saw the 'duck ravioli', I kind of knew he would order that! And he did. We also tried the top one which was the Jamon Iberica - cured leg of pork - continue scrolling for photo.
Here is the Jamon Iberica. We both thought it was beautifully presented! Clean, delectable! Lars and I always order oysters, but we should've known better to try something more "Italian." The oysters were AMAZING!!! However, we missed the mignonette we prefer with oysters. Da Marco added a touch of tomato in their mignonette - nope.
Ya know how if something is on the menu, you are almost always going to order it? I am that way with pappardelle! Trouble is, Da Marco had both a raviolo on the menu and pappardelle. I should have gone with the raviolo. This was a beautiful dish, don't get me wrong. However, I am not as big on the deep, rich flavor of stew. This was made with wild boar. It was incredible, really. I just prefer lighter sauces. Also, a teeny amount for $28. The pasta was beautifully made!
Lars ordered the duck ravioli. I am not a fan of uniform looking ravioli. I like em' more rustic. This portion cracks me up because it's like an amuse bouche!!! for Lars! Lol!! I tasted one bite and it was very nice.
We were still hungry. LOL! Neither of us were in the mood for sweet, so we ordered the cheese course with a nice sauterne! They were all delicious!! And the bread was too!
Houston is a culinary mecca!! Lars and I do not often revisit a restaurant unless we realllllly love it!! I would definitely like to revisit Da Marco. It was delicious and I really want to try some other options like their raviolo! Unfortunately, though, I would say 3 out of 5 kisses because after nearly $400 with tip I was still kind of hungry. That is an oxymoron to eating Italian if ya ask me.
Date Number 2:
Roka Akor
2929 Weslayan St,
Houston, TX 77027
Whenever we go to a Japanese restaurant, we order the 'omakase.' (Chef's Offering's) That way we each get to experience different dishes from the Chef. It is pricey!!! Whew!! We will not be going to any restaurants for a while after this one! Yowza. It was a beautiful evening with absolutely delicious food and impeccable service!
"Start your engines!!!" We began with an old fashioned and a smoky mezcal. Delish!!!
Oh gosh, buckle up because this omakase was pretty spectacular!! First up was so refreshing! Lars and I both loved this starter of oysters and tuna!
The starter's companion was this tuna tartare. Lars enjoyed this, however, I was not as keen on its oily, fishy-ness.
So we were done with the cocktails and began our sake journey!! Mmmmm!! I love sake!! Lars prefers a really cloudy one so we started with that (in the carafe pictured). These are lobster potstickers and unctuous pork belly! Soooo good!!!! The carrots are unattractive, I know, but they were delicious, pickled carrots to break from the fatty meat.
Another palate cleansing course of sushi!! The back row was scallop and I could have had several more!! The front was mackerel. Delicious!
Then!!!!! came the next sushi course!! My eyes popped out of my head! It was as absolutely scrumptious as it looks!! Salmon, tuna, yellow tail oh my!!
Ay, yi, yi!!! You guys!! I am aware of my blessings! I am, I am! Supple lobster and a very unique presentation of serving corn on the cob. A "finger-licking good" course!!! Wow!! #grateful
I mean! Wagyu is special! Then they serve it with a touch of hickory smoke. It was seasoned super simply and you could not eat this without closing your eyes! It just happens. Hits your tongue and boom - eyes close in ecstasy!
So if I had to offer a little criticism it would be that you may not want to bring rice and brussel sprouts to the party AFTER the lobster and wagyu. It would be like Carrot Top closing for Eddie Murphy! NOPE!!! I had a few nibbles on this course and it was all lovely, however, I was savoring the memory of the two courses prior. (Benito flakes on the brussels for a fish note and the appeal to the eye because they crackle and move when they hit the warm brussel sprouts).
I mean, I gotta say, this is the VERY FIRST time I ever had this delicious of a dessert course in a Japanese restaurant. For me, I am not typically a fan of Japanese desserts. So, they served non traditional desserts. And a lot of them!!!! Cheesecake, sorbet, hazlenut cake and molten cake! I loved them all! But at this point, we were two cocktails, two carafe's of sake, and one bottle of pinot noir in so I was enjoying them kind of slowly..... Too slowly because it seemed I blinked, and Lars had eaten the whole plate. Lol.
Roka Akor was a wonderful evening! I would give it 5 kisses out of 5 because it was a show stopper and I loved our server, Jorge! It is super expensive, but we loved everything. This is a once in a blue moon place to go for omakase. Like a really special date. However, ordering off of the menu and not drinking alcohol would cut back on the cost tremendously.
Lars is an incredibly thoughtful consumer & is quite frugal in most aspects of life. When it comes to food and travel, he has such a passion for both. Like me, he is charged by whole ingredients, culturally diverse cuisine, techniques, flavors, creations. When we do dine out, we love trying diners, drive ins, dives, bbq, food trucks, and fine dining. Because he has such a love affair with wine, I think fine dining is certainly his favorite kind of restaurant. I am the very blessed girl who gets to support his passion for wine and fine dining! I love, love, love that Lars and I share this deep appreciation for food and cooking and am so grateful to enjoy all of the restaurant ventures together.
At the end of the day, the "Tale of Two Date Nights" were kind of fancy shmancy, but they are really special to me and Lars because it is our chance to unplug, relax, visit, laugh, and eat. Isn't that what it's all about? I am just so very thankful for my blessings. I pray for focus and guidance to find my next path to giving back.
The next day, I was in the mood for a good old fashioned tuna salad! Peasant food done right! Good home cooking is always going to be my first favorite! If you ever come to "The Table", you can be sure this will be on the menu. oxoxo
The next day Lars came home with iberica he found at Costco!!!
Cheers!! ❤️ 🥂
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