Creativity in Restaurants

Considering Restaurant Meals in the US and France

Carolyn and I traveled to Houston last week for our annual pilgrimage to renew our visas. Our formula for these trips always involves an overnight stay at a hotel near the visa processing service and (to sweeten the pot) we always book a dinner out with our friends Janet and Terry.

On this most recent trip Janet made a reservation at Jūn; the restaurant has won many awards and is described in reviews as one of the most exciting new restaurants in Houston. The menu at Jūn is a mash-up of Southeast Asian and American flavors heavily influenced by the diversity and culture of Houston.

The list of awards at Jūn

Our meal at Jūn was outstanding! As has become common in the US, the menu is designed around shared, small plates. We ordered cocktails as soon as we sat down, Carolyn and I ordered the house old-fashioned (our cocktail of choice). Jūn’s old-fashioned is made with a blended Japanese whisky and manages to be familiar and comforting with a subtle twist to the flavor, no doubt due to the Japanese whisky. Janet ordered a cocktail called the pink lady which lists beet as an ingredient, it might be the most beautiful cocktail I’ve ever seen (I ordered one as my second drink—fabulous!).

I was wearing white pants so this beet-based drink made me nervous.

When it was time to order food we took the waiter’s advice on the number of plates we should order. We enjoyed the charred cabbage, carrots, green curry, pork shoulder, fried chicken, and the sea salt and vinegar potatoes, as well as a decadent dessert that we (fortunately) split. I’m quite sure this list is incomplete. I loved this meal - all hits, no duds. That said, the restaurant suffered from the problem that bedevils every new American restaurant I can think of: it was too loud, straining conversation.

There was a surprising moment early in the dinner when, after we had devoured the green curry dish, Janet commented that she wanted a piece of bread to mop up the delectable sauce that was left in the serving dish. I asked the waiter if we could get some bread (in France it would have been on the table already) and he replied that they didn’t have bread. What the what!? I have been back from France for two weeks and have enough residual Gallic culture in me to be stunned by the idea of a bread-less restaurant. This was a choice, not an oversight—they weren’t OUT of bread, they just didn’t OFFER bread. We’ll definitely go back to this restaurant and we’ll definitely remember that it’s B-Y-O-Bread.

Fried Chicken at Jūn, a must-have dish.

After we said goodnight to our friends and returned to our hotel, Carolyn and I started talking about the differences between France and the US when it comes to restaurants and creativity. We both agreed that in France we would probably never get anything like the meal we had just enjoyed at Jūn. We dine out frequently in Montpellier and we don’t hesitate to try new places. We’ve had the pleasure of dining at several Michelin-recognized restaurants (either Michelin Star or Bib Gourmand) in Montpellier including Ébullition, Le Bistro Urbain, Le Artichaut, Le Restaurant Leclere, La Réserve Rimbaud, and Pastis Restaurant.

As one would expect, the food and presentation have been stellar at all of these places, however (in our admittedly limited experience) French restaurants approach creativity in food and dining differently than American restaurants. In the US, creativity in restaurants is often focused on novelty: new ingredients, new preparations, or mash-ups of cultures and flavors. This is perfectly illustrated by a restaurant here in Austin called Kemuri Tatsu-ya (Michelin Bib Gourmand 2024), which mixes Japanese Izakaya (pub food) and Texas smokehouse flavors. What the heck does that mean, you ask? It means Octopus Frito Pie, Brisket Ramen, and Guaca-poke (guacamole with wasabi and raw tuna)—it’s all fantastic and good fun.

Intriguing decor at Kemuri Tatsu-ya in Austin, TX

In France—or at least in Montpellier— the creativity is focused around the dining experience, excellent preparation, and creative presentation. The restaurants are quieter and smaller, and there is often information about the artist who made the plates or service pieces. The ingredients are more traditional but often have a novel twist or surprising element to the presentation.

The incredible lattice work at Ébullition.

For instance the lattice pieces that sometimes adorn the plates at Ébullition or the egg custard with fish roe that’s served on a straw bed and inside the broken egg shell. Also, we weren’t sure we have ever encountered a sharing menu in Montpellier, except maybe at a tapas restaurant. Consider a few of the menu offerings at Ébullition:

• Cuttlefish as creamy tagliatelle with warm aïoli, sweet onion, turnip and chives

• Mediterranean Sea Bass slowly cooked in butter, herb-seasoned pork belly, wilted spinach, fried polenta and smoked tarama sauce

• Lemon & Milk, Lemon as crémeux, gel and confit, yogurt as a mousse and as an ice cream, kefir sauce

Another gorgeous presentation at Ébullition, notice the delicate ceramic vessel.

I want to be clear—we absolutely love Restaurant Ébullition. The owners are delightful, the food is out of this world, and the presentation is more refined than Jūn or Kemuri Tatsu-ya, and I’d say the dining experience is more considered and comfortable than at their American equivalents. That said, there’s definitely a traditional bent to the experience and we find this to be characteristic (generally) of the restaurants in Montpellier, compared to similar level restaurants in the US.

I’m no wine expert, but I’m going to go out on a limb and say that the wine pairings in France assume a more sophisticated palette than the American restaurants; French restaurants aren’t afraid to serve you a challenging glass of wine.

This is a small sample and I have certainly not explored France broadly enough to say whether these observations hold up across the country. I’d be curious to hear from our readers. What form does culinary creativity and excellence take in your experience? How do you compare the chef prepared food (flavors, presentation, dining experience) in France to where you come from?

à la prochaine,

Roberto & Carolyn