2024 Houston: A Michelin-Star Dining Experience at Musaafer
One of the things I really enjoy doing when I travel is trying new restaurants. I love experiencing different kinds of food, particularly when there is something unique about the restaurant or the dining experience. In December 2024, while attending a conference in Houston, I had an opportunity to do something I had never done before: eat at a Michelin-starred restaurant!
I was staying at a hotel near the convention center and went out for my morning walk when I discovered a restaurant called Musaafer. It was located in the shopping center that the hotel and convention center are attached to, and I noticed that it had received a Michelin star that year. I had never eaten at a Michelin-starred restaurant before, so I decided this was an opportunity I couldn’t pass up.
I made a reservation for their tasting menu, and what followed was an incredible two-hour dining experience featuring 13 courses. Every dish was beautifully presented, and the waitstaff shared a little story about each course as it was served. I was impressed by everything, from the food and presentation to the service and atmosphere.
Of course, this was not an inexpensive experience. My final bill was $239.83, and that was just for me! I certainly wouldn’t spend that much on a meal regularly, but as a special experience, I thought it was worth it. And despite the relatively small portions in each course, I was definitely full by the time I finished!
Designing a Spread Around the Restaurant
For this double-page scrapbook spread, I wanted to capture more than just the food. The restaurant itself was beautifully designed, and I wanted the pages to reflect some of that atmosphere. I selected background paper that reminded me of the wallpaper in the restaurant’s entrance. The patterns and textures were an important part of the restaurant’s design, so I thought they would make a good starting point for the scrapbook. I also chose coordinating cardstock that complemented the colors in the photographs and other materials I had saved.
One of the papers I used has a fabric-like texture. I really like the appearance of this material, although it can be a little challenging to work with because the edges can begin to fray if you cut or handle it too much. I had to be especially careful while assembling the page.
The Restaurant and Its Atmosphere
One side of the spread focuses on the restaurant itself. I included several photographs of the interior, although some are a little dark because the restaurant had fairly subdued lighting. That is part of the challenge of photographing a fine-dining experience. The lighting may be wonderful for creating an atmosphere, but it isn’t always ideal for scrapbook photographs!
One photograph shows a statue of an Indian laborer displayed inside the restaurant. Another shows the main dining room, including the table where I was seated and the view I had while enjoying my meal. I also included a photograph of the entrance, which featured an interesting arrangement of photographs, clocks, and lamps hanging upside down. I thought that was a particularly creative design element.
One of my favorite photographs, however, was taken before I even went into the restaurant. While walking through the shopping center, I noticed the restaurant and took a photograph of its exterior. The picture includes a reflection of me in the glass, wearing a T-shirt and winter coat. I thought it was rather funny that here I was discovering this elegant Michelin-starred restaurant while dressed for a casual morning walk! I decided to incorporate that photograph into the layout as part of the overall design.
Rather than leaving spaces between all the photographs, I arranged several of them together to create a more continuous visual presentation. I then placed the restaurant’s business card in the middle of the page.
I always enjoy incorporating business cards and other memorabilia into my scrapbooks because they provide a direct connection to the places I have visited.
Thirteen Courses and a Special Scrapbooking Find
The other side of the spread is devoted to the tasting menu and the food. I photographed each of the 13 courses as they were served, and I wanted to find a way to include all those photographs without overwhelming the page. Fortunately, I discovered something in my aunt’s scrapbooking collection that turned out to be perfect for this project.
It was an older scrapbook accessory, probably dating back to around 1990, that allows you to display multiple photographs in a layered, interactive format. It had become a little warped over the years, but I thought it would still work for what I wanted to accomplish.
I arranged the photographs of all 13 courses in the same order they appeared on the tasting menu. This allows someone looking through the scrapbook to flip through the photographs and see each dish individually. Rather than placing this accessory inside the page protector, I attached it to the outside so that the photographs can actually be viewed and enjoyed.
Because the accessory has some weight to it, I positioned it slightly below the center of the page. My hope is that this will help prevent it from pulling too much on the plastic page protector over time. If you are interested in seeing how this works watch the video below and you can see all 13 courses!
A Little Scrapbooking Disaster
Of course, not everything went according to plan with this spread.
I had saved the printed tasting menu from the restaurant because I wanted to include it in my scrapbook. I had also saved a shopping bag and was experimenting with cutting it apart to see whether I could incorporate some of its design into the layout.
Unfortunately, I forgot that I had placed the menu inside the bag.
You can probably guess what happened next.
I cut right through the bag and the menu!
I was pretty upset when I realized what I had done, especially since the menu was such an important part of remembering the experience. Fortunately, I was able to piece it back together using archival tape. If you look closely you can still see the cut lines, but at least the menu is preserved.
Sometimes scrapbooking involves figuring out how to work around our mistakes, and this was definitely one of those occasions. The repaired menu may not be perfect, but it is still part of the experience, and I am glad I was able to save it.
Interestingly, I ended up deciding not to use the shopping bag in the layout anyway!
Saving a Few Extra Memories
In addition to the menu and photographs, I saved a copy of my receipt. I don’t necessarily need to display it prominently on the scrapbook page, but I thought it would be interesting to preserve a reminder of just how much this meal cost. So that receipt is slipped behind the spread in the scrapbook album.
I also had another memorable experience at the restaurant later that evening. I went back to purchase a hat for my son, thinking he would appreciate a souvenir from the restaurant. When I arrived, I discovered that CBS News was filming there. That was a fun surprise and another little detail I wanted to remember. For this spread, I decided to keep a couple of these additional photographs tucked inside the page protector, behind the visible layout. They won’t be part of the main design, but they will still be preserved with the album.
This is something I occasionally do when I have extra photographs or memorabilia that I want to save but don’t necessarily need to display.
Categories: 2024, Restaurants
