Cap*Rock Winery wines.

Why not make a long weekend out of this event? Take off from work a little early on Thursday, get settled in one of the vacation cabins on our Texas guest ranch, and then head out to Carols Cat Spring Restaurant to enjoy fine food and wine. Relax at the ranch during the next several days; long hikes or horseback rides will work off the meal, and shady porches are perfect places to enjoy a glass of wine, a good book, and good company. You’ll return to work Monday refreshed and relaxed.

Look forward to a delicious four-course meal paired with four different Cap*Rock wines – followed by the perfect summer dessert. Read on for the menu:

Pheasant Soup: Roasted pheasant in Champagne consomme, served atop a “bottom of bowl” English pea risotto. Paired with Cap*Rock Palo Dura Canyon White

Orange Roughy: Pan seared orange roughy filets glazed with a tamari orange suace and served over Napa vegetable medley. Paired with Cap*Rock Chardonnay

Spiced Duck Daimonte: Lightly spiced fire seared duck filets served over pearberry dressing and topped with a warm apple compote. Paired with Cap*Rock Merlot

Bison Roulade: Thinly sliced filet of buffalo wrapped around warm spinach and brie stuffing, served atop butter herb squid ink fettuccine drizzled with cabernet buerre rouge. Paired with Cap*Rock Reserve Cabernet Sauvignon

Strawberries Romanoff: Ripe strawberries marinated in Curacao, served with Russian cream over French vanilla pastry and dark chocolate drizzle

For reservations, please call 979.865.1100

Carol, Paul and Merrill at the May Vintner's Dinner.

Paul and Merrill planted their first grapes in 1977. During the past 30 + years they have worked hard to refine and develop their wine; today Messina Hof wine regularly wins awards for excellence in national and international competitions.

The next Vintner’s Dinner will be on July 15, 2010 at 7pm. We’ll feature Cap Rock Winery from Lubbock, Texas. Don’t miss this fantastic opportunity to explore Texas wines and meet Texas winemakers.

Destination Dining food writer John Mariani (who has written for Esquire) described our Central Texas restaurant as “beautifully situated in the middle of nowhere, where relaxing is what you do between courses…” The restaurant is rich with Texas country appointments in cedar, cowhide, lace curtains and Pulitzer Prize winner Skeeter Hagler’s autographed photos about Texas Cowboys. Food specialties range from Black and Bleu Filet Mignon to Mango Margarita Shrimp, all accompanied by an extensive and contemporary wine list.

BlissWood Texas Guest Ranch and Carol’s Restaurant are located 60 minutes west of Houston, 90 minutes from Austin, and two hours from San Antonio. Once you get here, it seems like a you’re a million miles from the rest of the world.

Bliss awaits you at BlissWood Bed & Breakfast. To learn more about BlissWood B&B, BlissWood’s Oasis, the ranch and Carol’s Restaurant, or to make reservations, visit www.blisswood.net or call 713-301-3235.

Our Houston area restaurant is preparing a feast that will satisfy everyone in the family, from grandparents to grandchildren. Sink those teeth into succulent prime rib and savor Texas caviar pasta. Mmmm. Feed him the foods he dreams about.

Our FATHER’S DAY BUFFET takes place on Sunday, June 20, 2010, from 10:30 a.m. – 2:30 p.m. We are located close enough to Houston to make this a convenient gathering place for everyone. At the same time, our beautiful rural setting in Cat Spring will make this Father’s Day feel special.

If you really want to treat your dad to something wonderful this year, give him a getaway at our Houston area guest ranch. Let him stretch his legs on our 650-acres. He can go horseback riding. He can fish. He can even ride in a hot air balloon if he likes. Or he can just relax on the porch of his Texas vacation rental.

Bring the whole family or plan something special for just dad. This year, give Dad a Father’s Day he’ll always remember.

Does Dad like to horseback ride? Let him explore our 650-acre Texas guest ranch.

Read on for the menu of our FATHER’S DAY BUFFET:

Warm artichoke and oyster soup.

Carol’s special prime rib roast dry aged and delicately seasoned, served at our carving station with honey dijon cream au jus.

Seared red snapper with Creole seafood sauce, served with shitake mushroom and wild rice pilaf.

Bacon wrapped pork tenderloin smoked over pecan and hickory, served over sweet potato souffle with nutty apricot glaze.

Coq a vin, served with herb roasted new potatoes.

Colossal honey ginger glazed carrots.

Sauteed Asian vegetable medley.

Texas caviar pasta.

Tropical Summer Salad.

Summer fresh fruits and veggies served over fresh mesculun greens accented by a mango ginger vinaigrette or your choice of dressing.

Fresh yeast rolls.

Mini dessert bar.

The buffet is $26.99 for adults and $12.99 for children under 10 (exclusive of tax and gratuity).

The meal is prix fixe; select one mouth watering choice listed for each course:

Appetizers:
*Baba Ghanoush with garlic and olive oil croutons
*Spicy Scallops on Jalapeno Grits with fire roasted red pepper cream
*Seafood stuffed mushrooms on garlic beurre blanc

Soup or Salad:
*Italian Wedding Soup
*Fresh Spring Greens with candied pecans, pear julienne, shaved pecorino romano and house balsamic vinaigrette
*Spinach and Romaine with feta crumbles, candied nuts, dried berries, mandarin oranges and poppy seed dressing

Entrees:
Bacon Wrapped Filet Mignon with Merlot Demi Glace
Live Maine Lobster with Scampi Butter
Pistachio Crusted Lamb Chops with Mint Jelly

All entrees are served with pumpkin and wild mushroom risotto and herb roasted root vegetables.

Deserts:
Bananas Foster
White Chocolate Bread Pudding
Chocolate Mousse

Reservations are required. Please call 979-865-1100. The New Year’s Eve prix fixe dinner costs $79 per person, and includes a glass of champagne.

Instead of having everyone to your house and spending the day furiously cooking and cleaning, let us do the work for you. Then sit back and enjoy yourselves.

Our Christmas Eve Buffet will be open from 4:30 to 8:30pm. Please read on for the menu:

Soup
Butternut Squash Bisque

Salads
Ambrosia
Holiday Mixed Greens

Entrees
Carved Beef Tenderloin with Au Jus and Horseradish Cream
Mango Rum Glazed Ham
Grilled chicken with Lemon Caper Buerre Blanc

Vegetables
Potatoes Au Gratin
Wild Rice Pilaf
Texas Vegetable Medley Roasted Brussel Sprouts with roasted garlic and lemon

Rolls

Assorted Desserts

Reservations are Required. Please call 979-865-1100. Prices for the Christmas Buffet are as follows: Adults $28. Children (under 10) $12. Prices do not include tax and gratuity.

Stay at the ranch and enjoy a fall sunrise after the vinter's dinner.

Fall is simply the best time of year to celebrate wine with special events like a Vintner’s Dinner. Grapes are harvested, the smell of the crush fills the air, and wineries open their doors with special wine tasting events. In the spirit of all this fun, we have decided to host a Vintner’s Dinner at our Houston area guest ranch restaurant on November 10, 2009, at 7:00pm.

Truchard Winery is a small, family-owned winery in the the Carneros region of Napa Valley. Proprietors Tony and Jo Ann Truchard have worked hard for the past thirty years to successfully grow grapes, and we are all rewarded with wines of exceptional quality. Indeed, the Truchards helped pioneer grape growing in the Carneros region of California.

In 1989, the Truchards started producing wine made uniquely from grapes grown on their land. Even today, this practice is far too rare. The Truchards know about grapes, and make sure each grape that becomes an ingredient in their wine meets their high-quality standards.

Celebrate Truchard Winery with Tony and Jo Ann at the restaurant adjacent to our Texas guest ranch. Plan to stay the night in one of the many guest houses on the ranch, so you need not limit the amount of wine you taste. We will provide a six-course dinner specifically planned to highlight the Truchard wines we will be celebrating.

Fall Creek Vineyards was established in 1975 by Texas businessman/rancher, Ed Auler and his wife, Susan. The vineyards are located eighty miles northwest of Austin in the Texas Hill Country where the sandy loam soil, warm days and cool breezes off Lake Buchanan provide an excellent microclimate for growing premium wine grapes.

The inspiration for the winery came in 1973 when the Aulers, on a trip to France, noted remarkable similarities in the soil, terrain and microclimate of parts of the French wine country and their own ranch. “I became convinced that certain parts of the Texas Hill Country would be ideally suited to grape growing,” says Ed.

He was right. Anyone who enjoys wine wouldn’t think of visiting parts of Texas without stopping by at least one winery, and there are many “wine trails” that will lead happy tasters to one winery after another.

At the end of September, spend a night or two at our Central Texas lodging and join us for our celebration of Texas wineries in general, and Fall Creek Vineyards in particular. For $79 per person you will enjoy six courses superbly paired with Fall Creek wines. Plan to stay the night at our guest ranch near Houston, so that you can sit back and allow yourself to relax and enjoy each sip. Then stroll back to your private cottage under the huge Texas sky. This could just be the makings of an ideal romantic getaway.

September 30 @ 7:00 p.m.                                                                                                  Carol’s at Cat Spring Restaurant                                                                                         Price per person $79                                                                                                               6 Course dinner paired with excellent Fall Creek wines

Reservations Recommended.

Stop in for an excellent meal

It takes less than an hour to drive here from Houston, and boy, is it worth it. Once here, you will find yourself in another world – peaceful and restorative. Yet you don’t need to suffer the fate of some travelers to remote parts of this great land. Here, at our Central Texas bed and breakfast, you will find top-notch accommodations and fine dining.

John Mariani, writing for Esquire, visited our Houston area guest ranch and was delighted by what he found here. To quote him, “if you want a true Last Picture Show sense of a Texas where you can have eggs and bacon in a gazebo as the mist rises off the lake,” you’ll find it here. While you enjoy a romantic getaway in your own cabin, you may stroll down the road to our comfortable restaurant.

Wine lovers should not miss the upcoming special Wine Dinner, on September 30, 2009, at 7 pm. We’ll be celebrating the Texas Department of Agriculture Restaurant Roundup, showcasing the wines of Fall Creek Vineyards. Susan and Ed Auler, who own Fall Creek Vineyards, will be the guests of honor, and the meal will be designed to highlight their wines. Come just for the meal if you live in the area, or make a holiday of it and stay for a night or two in one of our romantic cabins. Reservations recommended.

In C&I’s 40 Finds for ’04 edition, Writer Dana Joseph visited our establishment and dubbed it “a cowboy hunter haven of a restaurant,” which sounds like a good thing to us. The author highlighted our bison and armadillo egg dishes – staples in Texas ranch country. Visitors from out-of-state should not pass up the opportunity to taste these foods that can be hard to find elsewhere.

If you are on the road to or from Houston, we hope you will stop by Carol’s and dig into some of our delicious, hearty food. If you are in search of a brief holiday near Houston, seek no further; our Texas guest ranch is perfect for romantic Texas getaways. It will afford you many opportunities to indulge in our famous Chicken Fried Steak or Cat Spring Catfish. If you are here on a Sunday, be sure to stop by for our Sunday Prime Rib Brunch Buffet. You will most certainly want to book a room at our nearby Houston guest ranch while you relax and digest this meal!