(Photo Courtesy of Vicheka Im)
Happy Thursday! We had the pleasure of enjoying lunch at Rise earlier this week.For those who don’t know, Rise originally started in Dallas! Hedda Gioia Dowd, the creative founder behind these soufflé restaurants grew up with her French mother and grandmother making souffles for decades. Her mother is French and her father is Italian-American and there are both influences in her food offerings. Because of his awesome background, which included being born in Lyon, France, the food capital of that country, the first person she contacted for Rise 1 was Cherif Brahmi.
As for the the restaurant and aesthetics itself, all the soufflés are made in converted bakers oven, which goes from chef to oven to table in under 20 minutes. Tables and Bars are made by an artist named Frank, pottery are made at Homestead Heritage in Waco, and the intricate front door is 200 years old from a temple in India.
Talk about attention to details!
With an open kitchen concept, school desk tables, and an antique bottle drying chandelier, the restaurant has so much charm!
(Pictured above: Barbara Bush’s table when she dines here. Yes, that is her signature!)
From the moment you sit down to the moment we left, it was such an enjoyable experience. Interior-wise, if Anthropologie had to open up a soufflé cafe, this would be it! The attention to detail and decor throughout the restaurant makes it quite a treat for the eyes!
Right as we sat down, they had place “cards” in the form of scrabble tiles and a fresh batch of warm bread and butter placed in the middle of the table.
Soon after, the cheese cart comes rolling by and our server patiently explains and go through each cheese..what makes it unique..and its origin.
Four types of cheese and a plate of bread later, we start on the rest of the appetizers. Although quite skeptic about the marshmallow soup (made with carrots and tomato, topped with goat cheese marshmallows), after one spoonful, the rest was history! It was delicious! I’m not even a huge fan of goat cheese, but this was extremely light and subtle.
The House Salad was an unexpected surprise as well, the sliced pears and the pecan dressing added extra depths of flavor .
Next, we move on to the entrees: southern chicken and crawfish soufflé. Rich in flavor, but light and fluffy in texture, one can get use to that! Also, as an added bonus to these delicacies….check out the calories, nothing over 500 and dessert souffles from 100-120 calories…the best few calories you’ll ever taste!
(Pictured above: Savory on the left and Sweet Soufflé on the right)
Lastly, we move on to dessert. We opt for the fruitier options: Strawberry and Apricot Soufflé. Both mainly consists of egg whites and fruit puree, results in a surprisingly “low” caloric desserts (under 120 calories – drizzled sauce not included)