OUR REVIEW OF BISTRO MODERNE

Ecclesiastes, the Greek word meant to capture the Hebrew Koheleth, was and is mad about the seasons. No, not mad as in angry, and certainly not mad as in nuts. Mad as in passionately embracing. If you don’t know that book of the Bible, then you surely know the folk rendition by Pete Seeger or the rock variation by The Byrds - Turn, Turn, Turn. Still, Ecclesiastes and Koheleth combined have nothing on Chef Philippe Schmidt of Bistro Moderne.

With the same passionate embrace, and the same sense of poetry that helped Hemingway find his title “The Sun Also Rises” among its verses, Schmidt wraps his arms around each change of season. Spring means new and different ingredients, especially if you keep your eyes open for weird, wonderful stuff the way he does. And spring means a change in our eating patterns, with the slow (and for us, reluctant) letting go of stews and braised meats that nourished us through the winter. It isn’t like we suddenly want nothing but salad – least of all in any restaurant that uses the word “bistro” in its name. But we do want things a little fresher and lighter, not to mention brighter than the browns that tend to dominate the best winter plates. The fact that Schmidt can twist and turn with the seasons as freely as he does is, perhaps, where the Moderne in the name matters most.

Many Houston diners already have sampled Bistro Moderne, a place that opened in the Hotel Derek a few years back and managed to stick where eatery after eatery had failed. Credit for a restaurant’s success must always be spread around, but surely the lion’s share must go to Schmidt, who parlayed his good looks and charm with the city’s elite to a position where they trust him to cook what he sees fit. In general, and in keeping with the chic Derek setting, Schmidt has hit many home runs rethinking the mom-and-pop cuisine that’s the true essence of bistro. Best of all, he has done so without ever forgetting what the word means – a danger in a dining scene ever-ready to accept China Bistro, Tex-Mex Bistro and other nonsense like that. Schmidt’s cooking is French in the finest sense of the word, born of fresh ingredients and slow-mastered technique, though drawing also on the German heritage of his name to make foods even richer and heartier when it suits him.

A recent tasting of Bistro Moderne’s menu for spring turned up many items in all categories we hope to enjoy again and again. Some were among the 8-10 items Schmidt added for the warmer weather, while others were classics so popular he dares not take them off. That is part of the price a chef pays for success, having to be ready to serve the most popular dishes rain, sleet or snow. Or spring and summer. A deft hand clearly guides preparation of new and old in the glassed-in kitchen that visitors ogle as though the cooks were lions at the zoo.

If you’re serious about eating lighter for spring, check out the new salad Schmidt has crafted around simple arugula, studding it with twirls of paper-thin fennel and a fresh selection of Iranian figs filled with goat cheese. The whole things gets a drizzle of sweet-tart balsamic reduction and a sprinkling of delicate matchsticks of toasted bread. If you’re a tad less serious about spring, then you really need to get one of the finest foie gras appetizers anywhere: a trio of foie gras terrine with lush late-harvest Muscat de Beaume de Venise, sautéed foie gras in a sauce that combines balsamic vinegar with chocolate made in Schmidt’s hometown of St. Etienne, and foie gras ravioli beneath a saffron foam. The caramelized onion with cassis provides the perfect kick for a decadent way to start (or heck, finish) any meal. Perhaps the menu’s must-have appetizer is still the so-called crab bomb, constructed like the chocolate dessert of that name but building the form with avocado and stuffing that with crabmeat beneath a lime and cilantro vinaigrette.

We think the most exciting spring entrée showcases escolar, the fish from Ecuador. While considered oily (its name was changed from “oilfish” when it hit the American market), escolar is mild-tasting and delightfully flaky. The fish is grilled and set atop zucchini puree, playing the role of mashed potatoes this evening, and itself topped with zucchini tempura. The sauce is envisioned around a cranberry-like fruit from Iran called the barberie, which brings a perfect balance of sweetness and acidity. Other great rejiggered-for-spring entrees include the lemon sole in a soft blanket of Gruyere and capers, sided with shiitake and snap beans, and the incredible hanger steak. This comes with mashed potatoes where the mashed potatoes should be, plus an intense red wine sauce inspired by Bordeaux. The steak comes with the marrow bone, for those who learned to use that little spoon eating osso bucco.

In France, a lot of diners would eat a meal like this and opt for a fresh pear. In Houston, we say “Not so fast.” Knowing this great truth about us, Schmidt and his pastry chef have concocted several complex and even over-the-top desserts to end the evening right. Our two favorites are the vanilla fondant, a mysterious but incredible sauce that flows out of light pastry when we attack it like those molten chocolate cakes used to do – a snow white version of a dark pleasure indeed! – and the mandatory chocolate fantasy, crafted as a “tart.” Don’t think “fruit tart” here: it’s more like a tart shell overflowing with the best dark chocolate pudding anybody’s Mom ever dreamed of making. It’s got hazelnuts in the chocolate for crunch, plus some hazelnut ice cream on the side. If you ever thought Nutella in a jar was terrific (and it is!), you probably won’t think that after this full-bore dessert at Bistro Moderne.