NYE 2021

Dear Friends,

We’ve been flying rather deliberately under the radar over here with regard to our annual New Year’s Eve prix fixe dinner service as we’ve tried to get a sense of how the current round of pandemic madness might play out and worked to position Texas French Bread as a good steward of our shared space and community. After careful consideration, we’ve decided to move forward on NYE. We’ll exercise a bit more caution than we normally might, but I would advocate that getting together with our community might be more important than ever right now.

The joy that I’ve experienced in the restaurant over the years has always been in the loosening of personal boundaries that can descend on the room at certain magical moments. We’ve been fortunate to have so many of these evenings at TFB - nights when the room fills up unexpectedly with tables full of with friends who may have known each other since childhood, and suddenly folks are roaming table to table, voices rising, talking close, sharing wine - you know - the kinds of things you should probably try to avoid during a global pandemic. And I’ll be the first to admit, it is difficult to lean into this idea when our very ability to gather in close physical proximity is under threat.

But I think there is still enormous value in togetherness and shared community. So I wanted to lay out what we’re doing to keep everyone safe and invite those of you who are comfortable doing so to join us tomorrow evening as we raise a glass to the new year and our hopes that things will get a little easier as we proceed.

In that spirit, I want to note that our staff is healthy and masked. We’ve been remarkably fortunate to have so few of our folks get sick this year and I believe this speaks to the emphasis we have placed on following strict health protocols and running the tightest and safest workplace possible.

We’re also super fortunate this year with regard to the weather. It’s been unseasonably warm this winter - temperatures this Friday evening are expected to be in the mid 70s. This means we will have all of our dining room windows thrown open wide. And when you combine this with the industrial strength ventilation pulling air in through the room and out over the ovens in the kitchen, your dining experience will be practically “al fresco”.

This year’s menu offers a number of bistro favorites and comfort foods - moules frites and traditional cassoulet with duck from Sebastian, the Frenchman (Countryside Farms).

So I certainly hope to see you this weekend. We’ll be open on New Year's Day from 9am - 3pm with a special for brunch - black eyed peas & greens with cornbread.

Happy New Year!

bon appetit,
murph