Where: Beaucoup Bar & Grill, 3102 Old Spanish Trail, Houston, TX 77054
When: February 24, 2013

This was a highly anticipated brunch date. I had been introduced to Beaucoup at the 2012 Houston Rodeo’s Best Bites, where they won. My coworker also mentioned liking to brunch here, so I could not wait to surprise Brenden with this date. We actually drove past it twice – it’s really hard to find! It shares a small parking lot with a meat market. Have no idea how people park when it’s busy.

We arrived on a warm Sunday morning to their restaurant, which was extremely dark and dank. This was definitely more bar than restaurant. There was a large, rather loud table seated inside already and jazz music was playing. The hostess asked if we’d like inside or outside seating and we opted for outside considering the weather. That might’ve been a mistake. It looked like the patio hadn’t been cleaned from the night before. The stale stench of beer and liquor and who knows what else lingered in the air. 104.1 KRBE was cranked up and we sat alone outside, in very unpleasant conditions. We weren’t completely alone though, a fluffy kitty sat in a chair next to us. The server apologized for the cat’s presence, saying that it was Wangs, the bar cat, which they took care of at Beaucoup. We are fond of cats and we assured the server we didn’t mind Wangs joining us for brunch at all. He looked like Brenden’s cat Wendy.

We ordered coffee. The menu called said it was French Press but it tasted burnt. Brenden opted for the wangs and waffles and I had The Big Easy sandwich. I also ordered a waffle. We suffered through KRBE commercials and watched someone wash down the tables from the night before. Everything seemed so… hungover.

When our food arrived, Brenden asked for some butter and syrup for his waffles. The server brought back a to-go container of syrup and some single servings of Country Crock, which upon opening were congealed, as they had been previously melted. We then asked if they had any real butter for their waffles – the server replied they did not. We were completely perplexed. “No butter… not even in the kitchen? What do you cook with?” The server responded that they did cook with butter but it was only melted. Which made zero sense. We left it alone.

Our meal was so disappointing. My sandwich was sloppy, the crushed croissant didn’t hold it together and it had a piece of processed American cheese on it. The waffles were even worse, soft and soggy and made out of a cinnamon batter. I think I only had a few bites before I gave up on it. Brenden said his wings were only ok, but also did not like his waffle.

I think Beaucoup does their non-breakfast food well. Everyone seems to rage about their crawfish bread. And they can obviously throw a party. Brunch, however, is not their forte.