To try and decide each week where and what to eat around the basin can be a challenge — there are so many amazing choices. In this feature we’ll dive into dishes that will surely satisfy those hunger pangs and leave you wondering where to go next.

If you could describe the perfect bite, what would it be? Great texture? Great flavor? Cooked to perfection? Probably all three and then some, right? Well, with this week’s dish, you get it all.

Toulouse (named after a street in New Orleans), opened in South Lake Tahoe in late April and carries cuisine offerings that seem to blend New Orleans and California fresh like they’ve been doing it since they were able to pull the hand break on those awesome ’80’s big wheels. This appetizer offering is a perfect example.

Starting from the bottom up, the brioche is lightly toasted to give you all the pillow-y offerings of fresh bread without the actual crust, but a nice crust from the toasting. A horseradish cream sauce is lightly spread across the brioche and eagerly waits for its steak pairing like it was swiping left for the best prime rib look alike.

The steak comes in the form of a pan seared, blackened New York strip loin. Not only is it cooked to a gorgeous medium rare (any more and we can’t be friends), but also the exterior crust it gets from the blackening seasoning is like flavor nirvana. Caramelized onions, chives and micro greens round out the rest of the components.

When you get them all together, you’ll want to guard the plate like a secret service agent – these seriously lasted like two minutes at our table. The steak is juicy and tender, the caramelized onions add sweet and smoky layers, and the horseradish gives a tangy and creamy balance to the other ingredients.

Each order comes with a serving of Cajun fries, which are crispy and delicious, but all eyes are on the steak bites. That’s probably good if it’s you and the family. Tell the kids they get the fries. Save the real prize for you and your significant other. You’ll thank me later. I take payments in blackened steak bites.

Toulouse restaurant is located at 901 Park Ave. in South Lake Tahoe. For menu and more information visit them online at Toulouse.wtf or by phone at 530-600-0060.