Opened in the River Oaks area back in 1983 by owner Tracy Vaught, Backstreet Café started out as your average lunch burger bar.
Over the years Vaught, with help from Chef Hugo Ortega, has transformed this once “wall flower” of an eatery into one of Houston’s most popular spots.
First things first, when asked where would you like to sit, always ask to sit outside if the weather permits; the courtyard is the best of the four seating areas day or night.
If you are ordering appetizers, bear in mind that most could be split among three people.
If you are a big mussel fan, you can never go wrong with their steamed mussels.
As soon as you take your first bite you will instantly start to appreciate the locally grown ingredients.
The organic tomatoes and homemade chorizo sausage come together at the bottom of the bowl with the mussel juice that begs to be scooped up with the fresh grilled bread; to eat it any other way would be doing disservice to yourself.
In all honesty, you could go and make a meal of just the appetizers, and you would not be disappointed.
For the main course, I highly recommend the crispy pan seared duck breast. It is a bit expensive, but once you have had it, you will see it was money well spent.
The duck skin is nice and crispy like bacon, and the meat cuts like chicken but has a rich flavor of beef. To steal a line from Parks and Recreation, “It’s my first favorite food wrapped around my second favorite food.”
The figs that accompany are roasted to fork-tender perfection and give a really nice, sweet contrast to the savory duck breast.
Finally, we come to the dessert. One of my favorite things is when a restaurant has seasonal menu items — for the winter, they have a pumpkin cheesecake.
The dessert is perfect for anyone who’s a fan of pumpkin pie; the bit of the cinnamon-spiced pumpkin with the buttery, creamy texture was an excellent finale to a great meal.
The main reason why I suggest this place is the fact that you can see the detail, love and passion put into each dish.
There are no cop-out dishes here. Everything on each plate was put there for a reason, and this thought process is what makes a menu great and what gives the diner the most out of the experience.
Its definitely in my top 10 favorite restaurants in Houston. The décor, ambiance and fine cuisine makes Backstreet a perfect place for anyone celebrating an anniversary, first date or even proposing.
