Houston Restaurant Weeks - Haven, A Seasonal Kitchen

Since brunch is my favorite, I had to try someplace for brunch for Houston Restaurant Weeks. Haven, A Seasonal Kitchen is a very unique restaurant in that many of the ingredients used in the dishes are grown on the property or sourced from local places in the Lone Star State. They have a large patio that is covered with plants and a bubbling waterfall. The interior is modern, bright and simple. When you walk in there is just a wave of serenity that comes over you. I started with a nice refreshing rum punch "brunchtail" (yes, this is my special name for a brunch cocktail) of rum, apricot liqueur, pineapple juice and lemon. It almost tasted like a lemonade so it was a perfect summer beverage for a broiling hot summer's day. It was a little sweeter than some drinks I have had in the recent past, but it was exactly what I wanted for this catch up session.

One of the things that I had heard about multiple times about were the shrimp corn dogs. This childhood treat is a giant shrimp on a stick coated and fried in a traditional corn dog batter. It was served with a tabasco mash remoulade and a baby glass of lemonade. The sauce had a bit of a kick to it and the lemonade was very sweet to balance the flavors. The corn dog batter was very traditional in that it was a bit sweet and the shrimp were tender. The remoulade was well composed and balanced out the sweeter batter and the lemonade. This dish was super playful and really unique. I can honestly say I have never had a shrimp corn dog before, but it was very delicious.

For my second course, I chose a whole roasted tomato with ratatouille, quinoa, purple hull pea hummus, olive oil and balsamic. I have never had ratatouille before but it was fairly delicious. Though I am not a huge fan of eggplant, but the taste wasn't super obvious and the dish was very comforting. I love quinoa as is is very filling and you can do a ton with it! The purple pea hummus was the perfect consistency and tasted exactly like hummus. I will have to start experimenting at home to make different hummuses. I had a lovely and relaxing meal at Haven and will need to go back to try their regular menu as well as their raw bar, The Cove.