Grand Lux Cafe

Grand Lux Cafe advertises having "something for everyone." It's true. We have been there three or four times; the first meal I ate in Houston was at Grand Lux. The size and scope of the menu is easily matched by the size of the space. Grand Lux is huge, glitzy, bordering-on-chintzy, fun and impressive. It can also be a little bit loud and a little bit crowded, especially on a weekend night. Weekday evenings are better -- with less people in the dining room, you can better enjoy the ambiance and the usually fabulous service.

One of the best things about Grand Lux is that whatever you're craving, you can probably get it. The night we went, I was thinking Asian, which can be a challenge if you're not eating at an Asian restaurant. We started with the Duck Pot Stickers.



These were actually really good. The outside of the potstickers were crispy, and not nearly as greasy as they photographed -- it was the perfect amount of greasiness. The filling was a savory, satisfying mixture of duck and mushrooms, which paired well with the warm hoisin sauce they were served with. Very nom.

I ordered the Crispy Caramel Chicken. The menu said the dish was Thai inspired. I don't pretend to be an expert on Thai food, but I've never seen anything like this at a Thai restaurant:



That said, it was really pretty good. The chicken was not nearly as sweet as I feared; it was reminiscent of General Tao's. A really good General Tao's. Would I order it again? Probably not, but that's not because it wasn't tasty. It's just with a menu so big, I imagine there's probably something better I could try.

I wasn't feeling particularly well that night (no worries--just tired, nothing to do with the food), so we skipped dessert. In the past we've tried the Molten Chocolate Cake, and it was AMAZING. You have to order it 20 minutes in advance because they make it fresh, and you can taste that. Definitely worth the extra time.