When we arrived, we were too tired to start hunting around for a restaurant, so we opted for the Brasserie, as it also afforded us quite a bit of room for a working session/dinner.

This restaurant serves breakfast, lunch and dinner, and in my estimation, don't just show up if you want to order a meal to take out, as in lunch. Call ahead (thirty minutes, at least) and place your order, otherwise, you may become apoplectic, as I almost did waiting for a cheese sandwich.

I spotted she crab soup on the menu, and that brought back memories of Charleston! As in most Houston restaurants, there are plenty of fresh fish dishes to satisfy the non-steak hunter; I couldn't resist the salmon, and it was cooked to perfection. For steak lover, the famous Angus beef is served here. For grazers, there will be at least four salad dishes to satisfy your cravings. And because we are in Houston, there will be some tex-mex; one entry in particular caught my fancy, and that was the swordfish quesadillas . I love quesadillas, but didn't want to have anyone messing with the cheese.

The food is served promptly by very courteous staff. By the way, the water here is not very good at all, despite the masking with the limes and lemons. Stick to bottled water, as we all did.

The people at the bar, which is part of the atrium, are terrific. I had a chance to have tea there a couple of times, and a soda on the run. My server had witnessed my tortured experience the day I had waited for my lunch, and decided to give me a free coke. Apparently, this is also the meeting place for the after 5pm crowd, and since this was a weekend show, I escaped that adventure.

When you see the pictures of the seating area, you will understand why I found it so calming and restorative. You could actually almost curl up with your favorite reading material on one of the couches and enjoy some Earl Grey, completely undisturbed. They accept all credit cards, and for room service, your taxes and gratuities are included in your bill.