Friday, March 29, 2024

Spicing things up

Posted

Since her childhood in a small town in France, Megan Potts dreamed of owning her own restaurant.

She imagined the expressions of delight on patrons’ faces as she served up delicious dishes that looked like works of art. She joked that her dad, a former French line cook, would be her maitre d’.

Dreams do sometimes come true, even if the road to achieving them takes detour along the way.

Last Friday, four days before her 37th birthday, Potts opened Restaurant Anise, a cozy, fine dining establishment located at 605 Calinco Dr.

On Saturday, David Babineau donned starched jeans and ostrich skin boots and served as his daughter’s maitre d’.

Potts’ husband Steve helped work the tables and her twin sister Sarah assisted in the kitchen.

“First night was great – friendly staff, laid-back atmosphere and delicious food!” one fan posted on Restaurant Anise’s Facebook page.

Another posted: “Thank you Megan for a truly fine dining experience last night. Can’t wait for our next time.”

Potts said that opening weekend went “really well” and that “word seems to be spreading quickly” about her her new business.

She feels that her restaurant is primed for success because people are tired of being “locked up” due to the pandemic and Restaurant Anise is a unique dining experience.

Every table is served with chips that are a type of flatbread. The chips are served with whipped goat cheese and Aleppo honey, which has a “sweet smokiness,” Potts said.

Menus will change monthly depending on seasonal availability, but choices include bison, ocean trout with corn-filled tortellini, quail, cold soups, salads, and desserts such as Chocolate Chile Pot de Creme with Cinnamon Sugar Churros and Frozen Strawberry Meringue with Vanilla Wafer Crumble and Fresh Berries.

Since some people don’t care for desserts that are super sweet, Potts is offering a third, more savory dessert option: a meat and cheese plate. It contains prosciutto (an Italian, dry-cured ham), almond brittle, Port Salut and Humboldt Fog cheese, brandied apricots and cornichons, which are French pickles.

Potts said that she is meeting next week with a local farmer from whom she intends to buy fresh produce regularly. She said that her September menu will depend on what the farmer will have available, but she is anticipates serving up melon gazpacho.

“Cold soups are amazing, and I think not enough people feature them,” Potts said.

A LOVE OF COOKING

Potts and her sister were born in Richmond, Virginia. Their mom is Donna Hartley.

“My sister and I are southern belles,” she said.

Her mother’s job with Dannon Yogurt eventually took them to Verriere-le-buisson, a suburb of Paris.

During their years there, Potts attended French public school and enjoyed walking to “the butcher and the baker and the cheese monger, because that was the way of life.”

When she was 10 the family moved to Barcelona, Spain, then back to the states when she was 12.

Potts met her husband Steve at the University of Texas at Arlington. She majored in microbiology, and he became an expert scuba diver.

Potts worked in the field of microbiology for a while but never truly felt a passion for it. After a while, she decided to attend culinary school.

Steve, meanwhile, traded scuba diving for the wine industry.

It was the perfect pairing for making a go of it in the restaurant business.

The couple moved to Cresson in early 2017. They have “a little slice of Heaven” on two acres and a little angel in the form of daughter Reagan, who is six-and-a-half months.

Potts’ dad lives nearby, and Sarah is staying with him for a bit before heading to nursing school.

Although her mom and dad are no longer together, Potts learned from them both.

“When I was a kid, I wanted to grow up and be a chef just like my dad,” she said. “He was actually a line cook, but I called him a chef.”

She added, “He taught me a lot of the savory stuff growing up, but (my mom) was the sweet end of things. She’s an excellent baker.”

Potts said that she was raised to view dinnertime as “sacred.” That’s the culture in France, she said.

“When it came to dinnertime, everybody sat down and had a civil conversation,” she stated.

Potts intends to carry that through to her staff, which she will expand once the pandemic has run its course. Last weekend, the crew sat down for a meal together before opening the restaurant’s doors to the public.

Potts said that Steve is handling the operations side of the business and she is the chef. Potts has hired a student from Granbury High School’s culinary program, and hopes to continue providing paid mentorships to those students.

“She’s got a great attitude,” she said of the teen. “She wants to learn.”

PLAN YOUR VISIT

Restaurant Anise will be open Thursday-Saturday from 5-10 p.m. The seating capacity is 41, but with COVID-19 the capacity is temporarily at about 16 – or 20 if there is a large party.

Potts recommends making a reservation.

Reservations can be made by calling 682-205-3376 or by emailing reservations@restaurantanise.com.

The restaurant is awaiting its license from the Texas Alcoholic Beverage Commission (TABC), but patrons are welcome to bring their own wine.

Potts said that menu items are priced “at a moderate price point. If you went up to Fort Worth and you got this it would be priced at least 25% higher.”