Juls is, from what I understand, a rebirth and reconfiguration of the old Julian's over in Times Square. The place is located off of 155 past Grande, pretty close to Fresh. It is very impressive from the outside and has two sections, one side is "Juls cafe" and one is apparently just "Juls"? Apparently Juls has an Asian themed menu and Juls cafe is concentrating on healthy food, but it is still a little unclear to me. Althought, I am not sure of the intent of the business owners, the buildings structure and the business undertaking are impressive. The building is very modern and has interesting nooks and crannies that make the dining experience unique.
The spread: My wife and I ventured to Juls. They have an extensive drink menu with some very unique draft selections - a couple of which I have never seen on draft (Delerium Tremens). The food menu is a somewhat pan-asian themed with a variety of appetizers (edamame, pot stickers, lettuce wraps, wings, guacamole, etc), sushi/sashimi, salads, "woks" - really just stir fry, Pho (vietnamese noodle soup), fried rice, new american (ranging from shrimp and grits to korean fried chicken legs) and a variety of burgers/sandwiches (to include Banh mi - vietnamese sandwiches).
The verdict: The menu seemed a little unfocused to me and that it was designed to try to make everyone happy, but the food I tried was very good. We started with some pot stickers, followed by some sort of spicy tuna/crab roll, beef Pho, grilled pork Banh mi, and the Mongolian stir fry. The steamed pot stickers were excellent, the filling just had this background herb that was just making beautiful music on my taste buds. My only criticism is that I would have like some sort of dipping sauce to help with the initial blandness of the dumpling dough. The spicy tuna/crab roll was excellent, it had a great sushi flavor with a very well balanced sauce and heat level. The beef Pho was pretty good, my problem is that I have been in some of the best Pho places in Chinatown in Houston and this Pho wasn't as good, but it is still worth a try. The broth is solid, but I would have liked to have seen more traditional offerings (tendon, meatball, etc). The Banh mi was also good, but not great. The bread to meat ratio was a little skewed on the side of the bread and the heat level was nearly unbearable (perhaps this was my error) - again I have had some of the best Banh mi in Houston and my standards are very high, their Banh me is good, it just isn't great. The Mongolian stir fry was also very good, great balanced flavor that my wife really enjoyed. The service was also excellent, very attentive and quite helpful in navigating the ambitious menu. I very much enjoyed the eclectic draft beer selection and will be back to try more of their beers. The noise level was a little high, but that was because there was some sort of group Christmas party happening nearby. I think Juls would be a great special occasion place for a date night.
Edible Tyler Roses: 4 out of 5. Ambitious menu, great service, good to very good food.
No comments:
Post a Comment