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    First Taste

    Finally, a casual French restaurant worth going to in Houston: Checking out aHeights wonder

    Sarah Rufca
    Sep 16, 2012 | 7:04 am
    • The best table in the house.
      Sale Sucre/Facebook
    • Camembert and toasted baguette slices: What else do you want in life?
      Photo by Sarah Rufca
    • The Crepe Forestiere and fries
      Photo by Sarah Rufca
    • A sweet crepe with apple, caramel and almonds
      Photo by Sarah Rufca

    It's been about 10 years since Le Fooding changed the way the French think about food — well, as much as anyone or anything could really change the way French people think about food.

    (Isn't that the great thing about the French? You could literally go over there and invent cold fusion and they'll tell you they prefer to get their energy from the windmills in Montmartre or something. I'm pretty sure that's what the movie The Saint was about.)

    Le Fooding emphasizes inventive technique and excellent under-the-radar bistros over the ornate temples of food that tend to rack up Michelin stars. It's a casual take on great food that seems so naturally French, but that hasn't always translated to French restaurants in Houston.

    Purple is to brunettes what pink is to blondes, except purple is way better because it still feels fancy.

    Instead we have the shabby-chic grace of Chez Nous, Artisans' lovely neo-brasserie and the modern flair of Philippe and L'Olivier, each with their own semi-precious price tags. But for French-inspired fare that doesn't just lend itself to special occasions, there's been lunch at Cafe Rabelais, crepes from Melange Creperie and not much else (forgive me as I studiously ignore the fact that La Madeleine exists).

    That's the niche that Salé Sucre fits so nicely into. It doesn't have the thrown-together aura of Cafe Brussels, which opened at about the same time, but it does juxtapose some fancy fixtures with a certain nonchalant vibe that feels quintessentially Heights.

    The space inside a revamped strip center is nicer than the nondescript whit brick exterior gives any indication that it might be. With low lights, flowers on the tables and white tablecloths, the circular chandelier thingies (technical term) and plush purple banquettes would feel quite upscale, but combined with the work of various local artists on the wall and eye-catchingly colorful tables the vibe is pulled back towards coffeeshop territory.

    Don't take this to mean that I am anything less than obsessed with the purple banquettes. Purple is to brunettes what pink is to blondes, except purple is way better because it still feels fancy and/or royal and because it hasn't yet been hijacked by every computer company and breast cancer charity that wants to proclaim how girly it is.

    Surprises

    The only thing better than the banquette/pretty table combo, from a seating point of view, is Salé Sucre's round corner table tucked at the edge of the windows and flanked by two comfortable looking high-back chairs. I say "comfortable looking" because they were occupied by some ladies who were just lunching the fuck out of it, eating every bite slower and laughing longer and lingering more deliberately, which is exactly the right thing to do when you find yourself possessing that kind of coveted restaurant real estate.

    I attempted to start with the escargot, but the server informed me that the owner can only get them special ordered from France at certain times that did not include the week of my visit. This was perhaps a gift, as he led me instead to the camembert plate.

    I didn't know at the time that the owners were descended from the creator of the famous French cheese, but it makes perfect sense considering that no other restaurant in town gives camembert such attention — either solo or among other cheeses.

    It's worth it: At Salé Sucré the round of cheese is pan-fried, infused with sweetness from a light touch of honey and sprinkled with herbs de Provence. On top of toasted slices of baguette, it displayed that perfect balance of salty and sweet that the restaurant is named after, at once creamy, slightly rich, mild in flavor and touched with a hint of herbal freshness. Though I'd originally sworn to merely sample and move on, it quickly became impossible to resist

    With that polished off, we moved on to our savory crepes. I ordered a French classic, the Forestiere with ham, mushrooms, cheese and an egg on top, while my friend chose smoked salmon, which I considered to be significantly riskier. We also subbed the limp side salad (which came with the camembert) for tiny baskets of fries, which turned out to be crisp, golden tubes of salty fry perfection.

    Inside my beautifully thin pancake that was every-so-slightly crispy around the edges, however, the results never seemed to quite work. The ham felt heavy and not particularly flavorful, and the mushrooms had a slightly bitter tone that didn't quite fit with the rest of the ingredients. The egg was a bit overcooked for my taste as well, though I will admit that I prefer that to trying to keep a runny yolk off my clothes on the Boulevard Saint-Michel while it drips for-fucking-ever out of the crepe envelope.

    It's a casual take on great food that seems so naturally French but that hasn't always translated to French restaurants in Houston.

    Not that that has ever happened to me. Point being, this crepe was not bad by any stretch, just a little off.

    The salmon crepe, on the other hand, was wonderful. A creamy dill sauce blanketed the fish, perfectly enmeshing the bright salmon flavor with the subtly sweet crepe. I got a couple quick bites before it was (justifiably) inhaled by my friend. I'll admit it: I was out-Whataburgered.

    The dessert crepe menu is smaller and less creative than that at Sweet Paris, but it includes the simple classics — brown sugar, nutella, even a crepe suzette. We picked the poached apple with almonds, topped with ribbons of caramel and a dusting of powdered sugar.

    It was sweet but not too sweet, warm and densely gooey — a couple bites equaled a satisfying end to that which I thought I would never find in Houston: A casual French meal.

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    he finished the job

    Houston chef Tristen Epps dishes on his Top Chef victory — and what's next

    Eric Sandler
    Jun 13, 2025 | 9:05 am
    Top Chef Tristen Epps
    Photo by David Moir/Bravo
    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

    Houston has played a leading role in America’s culinary scene, but the city has never been home to a Top Chef winner — until last night. In the final episode of season 22, chef Tristen Epps earned the title and a $250,000 cash prize.

    Epps secured his victory by remaining true to the Afro-Caribbean cuisine that helped him secured an impressive four Elimination Challenge wins and $35,000 in additional prize money from two Quickfire wins and as a member of the team that won the show’s signature Restaurant Wars challenge. His four-course menu took a panel of celebrity judges on a journey that also referenced the finale location of Milan, Italy.

    In particular, Epps wowed the panel with his second course — Chicken “Durango” with injera shrimp toast and shellfish jus — that referenced both the Ethiopian chicken stew doro wat and the Italian dish pollo durango, a sly nod to the history of imperialism between the two countries. He finished his savory offerings with Oxtail Milanese Crepinette with Carolina Gold rice grits, curry butter, and bone marrow gremolata, which earned praised from the panel.

    “Historically, we’ve been underserved oxtail,” Top Chef alum and James Beard Award winner Gregory Gourdet said during the episode. “Tristen took the time to pull it, create that beautiful, huge, maybe too big, portion of oxtail. And cover it with that gremolata. He did not forget the bone marrow. That’s very, very smart.”

    Throughout Top Chef’s run, Epps has been holding a series of pop-ups devoted to everything from hot dogs to steakhouses. Now, he can turn his attention to Buboy, a tasting menu concept that will celebrate the Afro-Caribbean cuisine he championed throughout his time on the show.

    CultureMap caught up with Epps on Friday morning for a brief chat about his victory and what’s next.

    CultureMap: What do you remember from the day you cooked that final dinner?
    Tristen Epps: It was an extreme amount of focus. A lot of writing in my notebook. I didn’t want to laugh. I didn’t want to cry or do anything except finish the job, regardless of whatever the outcome would have been. I remember wanting to call my mom. I really wanted to talk things out so I could calm myself down and stay within my focus. Once I got into cooking, I felt so much at ease. It’s my happy place. It’s my serenity.

    CM: How did you feel when you saw Gregory Gourdet on the panel? Did you feel like you had an advocate in the room?
    TE: I’ve cooked with gregory before, a long time ago. It was really fun. I loved what he was doing.

    I felt like I had kind of an advocate. I was worried my food wold be too spicy or too overpowering [for the European chefs]. Seeing Gregory was really good, especially with what I was doing.

    CM: Other chefs, including Gregory Gourdet and Houston chef Dawn Burrell, have done well on the show with Afro-Caribbean cuisine but they didn’t win. How important was it to you to finish the job and use those flavors to win the title?
    TE: To me that was super important. There’s adventurous people who make phenomenal food. They’ll go once because it’s interesting, bu they’re usually skeptical. When you don’t nail it, they say, that’s why I go to the regular places that are familiar.

    Finishing the job was really important to me. People have come up short on this. I wanted to get this right for everyone who’s made that step forward and created the ladder.

    CM: What have your last 12 hours been like since the episode aired? Have any celebrities reached out to you?
    TE: A lot of calls, a lot of good luck. A lot of everything. It’s been amazing.

    A lot of past Top Chef winners reached out to me, giving me a lot of support and telling me what they did after they won.

    [ESPN football commentator] Mina Kimes did, which was really cool.

    CM: What are your plans for the prize money?
    TE: It’s going to go to Buboy. Now that the cat’s out of the bag, it can go a little faster.

    CM: You’ve been holding a series of pop-ups that range from tasting menus to hot dogs? What’s next?
    TE: Part of getting the restaurant open has been introducing myself to all of Houston. These pop-ups represent my interests and my fun. They’re the things that Buboy is going to represent. It can be fun, it can be a conversation, it can be educational, it can push the limits of cuisines we know. It’s an expression of culture in whatever way I see fit that day.

    The hot dog concept will probably be a separate venture, but who’s to say there’s not a hot dog at the end of that meal?

    Top Chef Tristen Epps
      

    Photo by David Moir/Bravo

    Kristen Kish, Tristen Epps, Gail Simmons, and Tom Colicchio.

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