A NOT-SO-CHEEZY RESTAURANT

A few weeks ago Hubby told me that he'd made reservations for Mother's Day brunch at a cheezy restaurant, but he wouldn't say where. I figured he was taking me to some new dive he had discovered. I was wrong. Later, instead of saying cheezy, he accidentally said something that sounded more like Chez-zy, and I started thinking hoity-toity French restaurant. Wrong again. Son Austin called from Houston while we were on our way there. When I told him about some of Hubby's hints, he said "Ooh! Ooh! I know exactly where he's taking you. It's my new favorite brunch spot!" After he described a certain specialty of the house that we just had to try, I said "Sounds like I'm going to need to work in more than just 10,000 steps today." "Yeah, you are!"

Welcome to Chez Zee!

Located on Balcones, in N. Austin, it's little bit French, a little bit cheezy, a little bit color-mad, and a whole lotta fun!

Have I ever mentioned how much I love twinkle lights? Also, check out that fish credenza against the wall, just to the right of the two waiters -- only one of at least a half dozen MacKenzie-Childs pieces that I saw scattered about the two main dining rooms, and which I assumed were the inspiration for this Candy Shop color scheme. Though it is sort of a French bakery-style restaurant, it is anything but uptight. In fact, I can't think of a more family-friendly place to spend Mother's Day.

Out on the patio they had clowns to paint faces and make balloon animals, while you wait for a table. Plus, there were plates of tiny muffins and beverages! Once inside, there was a traveling magician going from table to table, and a gentleman playing a baby grand piano -- only he played much better songs than those organists at the cafeteria used to play, when I was a kid!

So, the specialty of the house, which our son had referred to, is a Creme Brulee French Toast. (Groan!) When the waitress noticed that we were struggling to make up our minds, she asked if it was our first time at Chez Zee. When we said yes, she asked if she could bring us each a sample of the famous french toast, which might aid in our decision making. John opted to try his with the special rum sauce, but I went for maple syrup.

As you can see here, Hubby liked it so much, he went on to order the French Toast platter for his meal which, thankfully, included eggs to balance all that sweetness. Not me. Oh, don't get me wrong. I didn't just like it. I loved it! But those free samples they brought us? They weren't just the single bite we were expecting. We each got an entire one of those wedge-shaped layers you see above. By the time I finished that, not only was I slipping into a diabetic coma, I wasn't even hungry anymore! And then they brought us these.

A basketful of fresh, warm, flaky croissants. Really good croissants. With strawberry butter!

For my main course I went with the Surf & Turf, just one of at least a half dozen Eggs Benedict varieties they offer.

The one on the left was served over a bit of beef tenderloin and creamed spinach, while the one on the right sat atop a melt-in-your-mouth crab cake. And those cottage fries? Ooh-la-la! They had just the merest hint of rosemary, which is a very French thing to do.

You'll be happy to know that, once we finished this repast, we went straight to the mall and walked for almost two hours (walked, not shopped), and neither one of us ended up wanting any dinner!

That boy. Can he plan an adventure, or what?