The past two weeks have been Houston Restaurant Week and Jessica and I have gone out with friends to a couple of different places. Last night was the most interesting of all, we visited Feast, a nose-to-tail restaurant done in a classic European style. For those uninitiated in the nose-to-tail movement, it is a practice of using as much of the animal as possible for dishes, rather than using the most desirable cuts and throwing the rest out.

We were uninitiated last night but went in with an open mind and a hungry stomach. We were not disappointed.

My first course was black pudding, also known as blood pudding, with a fried egg, peas, and mint. The texture I was expecting was pudding like, but instead I was met with very tender meat. Mixed with the peas and fried egg, the flavors definitely jumped up a notch. Jessica had a chickpea and feta soup, which had somewhat of a funny flavor and was a little heavy on the tongue. It was not bad, just something that we were unaccustomed to eating.

For the main course I ordered the crispy braised pork belly while Jess had the fish and scallop pie with brussels sprouts. I have ventured into the world of pork belly before and had an expectation of an all around tender meat, but I should have paid more attention to the “crispy” in the name. The fatty part of the belly had been fried to a crisp while the interior of the meat was tender, juicy, and downright delicious. The sides were mashed potatoes and cabbage and both were the perfect compliment to the pork. The potatoes had been topped with a crispy potato cake reminiscent in flavor of tater tots. Jessica really enjoyed her pie and loved the brussels sprouts, a food she has never really tried until now.

Finally came dessert, with Jessica ordering spotted dick, a type of pudding and custard and me having the sticky toffee pudding. Jessica’s dish was amazing, the texture was light and airy and the custard gave it just enough sweetness. My sticky toffee pudding was very heavy but delicious.

For our first time trying nose-to-tail it was not a bad experience. I am still a little leery of some of the dishes but I’m sure with time I will give in and try them. If you have a chance to try Feast, be sure and give it a shot. Even if it is not your favorite place, it’s a different take on food.