VOICE AT THE HOTEL ICON, A MUST-TRY!!!

To paraphrase one of my girlfriends, I "accidentally" took the summer off from blogging. I apologize. Things got a little crazy for me -- between searching for, finding, and closing on a house and several fun trips, the summer got away from me. But now that Fall is here, I'm back. I struggled with a topic to catch your attention, so I just decided to write about a new restaurant that I am really excited about -- Voice, at the Hotel Icon.

With Voice, Hotel Icon has finally given Houstonians a reason to come back. Since Rande Gerber's Whiskey Bar stopped being the "it" place for twenty something hook ups, Hotel Icon has been off of everyone's minds. Voice changed all of that. I've been there several times in the past few months, and each time was fantastic -- seriously. But the most notable occasion was when I went to a winemaker's dinner there with my girlfriends and our absolute, all-time favorite winemaker, Julie Johnson of Tres Sabores (http://tressabores.com/). Julie came in town to promote her wines, which are absolutely fabulous by the way, and we took the opportunity to visit with her at Voice. Voice set up a five-course tasting menu and paired Julie's wines with each course.

To start, we had the Mushroom Soup "Cappuccino," which I'd had before and loved. It didn't disappoint the second time around. The unique combination of mushrooms with truffle foam and porcini powder, make this soup divine. When I first tried it, I was concerned that it would have an overwhelming coffee taste, which doesn't appeal to me in food (I think coffee should be coffee -- not ice cream or soup), but it gets its name from the foam and powder, not the coffee. It was paired with a rose sparkling wine from Napa Valley (the only wine we tasted that was not from Julie's winery because she doesn't make a sparkling wine).

Our second course was Sashmi of Yellowfin Tuna, and it was absolutely terrific. It paired wonderfully with Julie's 2007 Tres Sabores Sauvignon Blanc. While my heart belongs to red wine, I enjoy a good white wine occasionally (especially with a multi-course tasting!). And the Tres Sabores Sauvignon Blanc is in a league of its own -- in fact, it singlehandedly turned one of my best friends who once deplored white wine into a white wine drinker. It has all the markings of a sauvignon blanc (great citrus aroma and taste) and pairs well with just about any salad, seafood, or chicken dish.

Our third course was the Slow Roasted Duck, which was superb. I'm not one to get excited about turnips, but even the turnips on this dish were great, probably anything would be great with the tasty caraway sauce that accompanied the duck. The dish was paired with Julie's 2006 Por Que No?, an unconventional blend of zinfandel, syrah, and cab, which Julie markets as "the best of the rest." She takes what's left after making her Estate cellar wines and creates this blend. It is absolutely fantastic and pairs wonderfully with almost any food -- and certainly the duck at Voice! For only $25.00 per bottle, it is a steal and a must try! ($25.00 may seem steep to some of you, but trust me, it is rare to find a wine that inexpensive from a premiere boutique winery as renowned as Tres Sabores).

For our fourth course, we had Kurobuta Pork, which melted in my mouth and was definitely my favorite dish of the night. Instead of detracting from the pork's taste, the maple-mustard sauce accentuated it. There wasn't a morsel left on anyone's plate after this course. The pork was perfectly paired with the Tres Sabores 2006 Rutherford Zinfandel, my personal favorite of Julie's collection. Zinfandel is my favorite wine as it is, and Juile makes one of the best. With its fruit-forward aromas (think blackberry and black cherry) and spicy, black pepper taste, it is exactly what I look for in a Zin. After quickly downing the Zinfandel supply, Julie opened her 2005 Rutherford Perspective Cabernet Sauvignon, which is an outstanding classic cab, with a rich, complex taste. I didn't have much of my pork left by the time I was served the cab, but the few bites I saved paired well. The cab is also great to drink on its own.

Finally, our dessert course was what Voice calls "A Study in Chocolate," which was simply a few random chocolate things. I'm sure the chef would have a fancy way of explaining each one, but I like to talk dessert in normal terms. First, we had a chocolate brownie with a delicious chocolate sauce sprinkled on top. Second, a scoop of ice cream with a sort of nut crust surrounding it, which was covered in a layer of chocolate. And the best was the chocolate milkshake concoction for adults only because it came with a liqueur. The trio was very yummy and also went well with Julie's cab. All in all, Chef Michael Kramer put together a terrific meal. The portions were a perfect size -- we left the restaurant full and satisfied without being in a food coma.

I am also very excited to report that Voice is offering 15% off in the month of October for anyone residing in the 77019 and 77007 zip codes! Additionally, between October 12-16, Voice is offering a 3-course menu for $40 to benefit its charity, Recipe for Success. And if it's anything like Voice's 3-course Restaurant Week menu, it is definitely a big bang for your buck. So check out Voice, and let me know what you think!