BRC: Comfort Food with Old friends

30 July 2011

BRC: Comfort Food with Old friends

I debated the night before on where to take my out-of-town visitors for Saturday morning brunch. Houston has so many delicious restaurants to choose from that it is often hard to make a decision. Ideas included Shade, Hugos, Zelko Bistro, and one of the many taquerias. There was a gluten-allergy in our group, so I figured that hole-in-the-wall taqueria was probably less ideal.

We finally decided on BRC (aka. Big Red Cock...). I have eaten at the BRC on multiple occasions for dinner but never tried their brunch. BRC calls themselves a gastropub. They have a kick-ass selection of American/Southern Comfort foods. Their burgers and sandwiches are great and include options like grilled cheese, burgers, sliders, brisket sandwich, and fried catfish sandwich. They also have some delicious salads, the ones I've tried were the Leghorn (pulled chicken), BBQ salmon cobb salad, and a burger salad. They have a mac 'n cheese of the day, options in the past have included hot sauce & blue cheese, fried chicken, spicy andouille sausage.

BRC also has a large and every changing seasonal selection of beers with a great representation of craft beers. I can never resist the Left Hand Milk Stout when I visit BRC. It is rich, creamy, smooth and a little sweet. I'd be happy just to visit BRC for the beer alone. On Monday night they have a $7 burger and fries special that goes quite well with the beer. For those that aren't beer lovers, they do make their own punches & sangrias.

We stopped off for a coffee at Catalina on the way over, I needed some caffeination after working overnight at the hospital. Allison, Justin, Chris and I made it there alive despite my wreckless sleep-deprived driving while holding a latte in one hand. I was surprised that there was no wait to be seated for brunch as I have found the place quite crowded on any given night for dinner.

We got a seat in one of the large circular leather booths. We were all starving by the time we got the menus, so hungry that we had trouble deciding what to order. Justin settled on the brisket breakfast enchiladas. Chris got the short rib hash. Allison got the coop style burger which is a cut up cheese burger with eggs, queso, jalapenos and onions. I got the pulled baby back ribs, eggs and biscuits. It came with hot sauce and a bacon relish which was sweet and fantastic to go along with the biscuits and ribs. It was a hearty breakfast that I could barely finish. I was regretting the post-call egg McMuffin I had eaten at 6am. Brunch was great, but it was a bit coma-inducing, even the double-latte from Catalina was not enough to keep me awake any longer. I'll be back again soon for the stout...

Uchi: Fancy Sushi in Austin

23 July 2011

Uchi: Fancy Sushi in Austin

Most of my visits to Austin have consisted of casually dining out of food trucks in parking lots rather than fine dining so I figured it was time for a change. Nancy, Linh and I headed over to Uchi to meet our other friends for dinner. Knowing the place doesn't take reservations and fills up fast, we tried to show up on the early side. When our the rest of the group found out that it was going to be a two and a half hour wait to be seated, they graciously offered to give Linh, Nancy and me the reservation. The wait time for three people was just 45 minutes. We'd see the others for drinks later on.

Nancy spoke to the hostess, confirming that we were in fact the new and improved Raj party. She suggested we take a seat and have a drink while we waited. We found an empty table in the outdoor area. It was still a sweltering hot Texas day, but I have pretty much gotten used to sweating all of the time (in fact I even enjoy it.)

I was actually surprised that there were no cocktails on the drink menu, instead there were beers, wines and sakes. We each ordered a Japanese beer while we waited to be seated. A waitress came out and passed out some seasoned cucumber slices to all of us waiting for our tables outside. After about thirty minutes, Nancy suggested we cool off inside.

We found an open seat on the narrow leather bench near the bar. We grabbed a menu and scoped it out while we waited. There were dozens of options for hot, cold, sushi, sashimi and more. We weren't sure we'd even know where to begin when it came time to order! I looked at many of the accolades that hung on the wall, "Best Chef in the Southwest..." I read an article about the chef/owner of Uchi. He had apparently worked us way up through a high-end Japanese restaurant. Starting in the kitchen and eventually learning the art. He traveled to Japan to perfect his skills and then opened Uchi. While we continued the wait for our table, another waitress came around and served a small appetizer to all of us waiting. This time it was tempura onion rings. I appreciated the concept of feeding the patrons some free snacks while they complete the marathon wait for their table.

Finally the called out for "Raj" and we went to our table. We got a nice booth in the middle of the room. The waiter came along and explained the menu to us. He said that most of the plates were small and the idea was to share everything with the table in a "tapas" style where we could order in waves. We ordered a bottle of sake while we contemplated the menu. I don't think any of us regret the items we finally chose, here are a few of the favorites:

Pitchfork Roll with japanese steak, crispy leeks. Never would have thought about beef in a sushi roll but this was incredible:

Foie Gras "sushi" This may have been my favorite item we tried. Nancy was a bit skeptical when Linh and I suggested ordering it. "Foie Gras" she said, "Isn't that when they force feed a baby goose?" "Yes," I said, "And it is amazing...just don't think about it!" Can't say Nancy was a fan, it was too greasy for her palate, but the upside of her rejection of this delicacy was that Linh and I got to eat her portion!

Mussels with peaches, green tomatoes and more:

Pork Belly with radish...also amazing...anything with pork involved makes my stomach happy:

Uchiviche...their version of ceviche with salmon and yellowtail. Subtle on the citrus:

Another amazing yellowtail roll:

Spider roll. This was good but can't say it was that much more fantastic than other good soft-shelled crab rolls I've had else where:

Dessert was peanut butter semifriddo with apple miso sorbet and some kind of dried apple garnish. It was an amazing combination of flavors and Nancy, a peanut butter lover, was quite smitten with it:

We took guesses on how expensive the bill would be before it came. It was actually a bit better than I had prepared myself for, ended up being about $75 per person. Will I dine here again? Maybe if I win the lottery, then yes....otherwise would reserve it for a super special occasion with a small group of open-minded eaters. I will be tempted to check out the Houston version that is coming soon. All in all, we agreed that we were impressed with the meal, even Linh who has dined at places even fancier like French Laundry in Napa. I did feel like I might need to hit up a food truck to fully satiate my appetite afterwards though...kimchee fries, anyone?

Moontower Inn: Hipster Hot Dogs

4 July 2011


I can’t think of anything more “All-American” than a hot dog (except for maybe a hamburger) so on this glorious Independence Day of 2011, I dedicate the blog to the best “hot dog” in Houston. I put hot dog in quotes because I never really feel right referring to Moontower’s food as hot dogs. When one normally thinks of hot dogs, one imagines some massively processed and chemically enhanced food that probably consists more of tendons, eyeballs and organs than real meat. What Moontower makes is more like a gourmet sausage.

The menu of dogs differ each day but options include elk, rabbit, venison, lamb, duck, pheasant, pork and buffalo. They’ve come up with clever names for their dogs like the Tatonka, Velvet Elkis, Piggie Smalls, Uncle Scrooge, Ghetto Bird and Tali-lamb. The dogs come on a delicious pretzel bun. Honestly, I am not sure why all of the bread we eat isn’t pretzel bread because it is so damn good. There are a long list of toppings and sauces including sambal mayo, house-made relish, cilantro, jalapeno, cheese and various mustards. One can either choose their own or go with the chef’s suggestion which has never steered me wrong before. I haven’t yet tried all of their dogs but what I have had so far has all been excellent with Elk and Buffalo being my favorites.

Moontower also has a great menu of hot sandwiches. The first time I went there, my friend, Jason, got the Morning Wood sandwich which had eggs, cheese and applewood bacon and was decadent and delicious. I just can’t bring myself to stray from the dogs to order a sandwich even though they all sound good!

The other draw to Moontower is the ever-changing but delicious beer selection. After all, their motto is: Damn Good Food, Cold Ass Beer. The first time I visited Moontower I had the coffee porter. When my friend, Nancy, took a sip of my beer she said, “Wow! That is beautiful, I need one of those!” That beer has since led me on a quest to find a coffee porter to rival it and sadly I must report that I have invested much time, money and liver damage without finding anything to come close.

When I have taken friends to try Moontower, ubiquitously they all ask on the drive over, “Where the hell are you taking me?” Moontower is definitely not located in the best neighborhood. It is tucked away in Second Ward, hidden amongst empty overgrown lots, warehouses, and barbed wire. Second Ward was a historically Mexican American neighborhood established around World War II. There is definitely a gentrification going on with modern condos shooting up all over, but there are still a lot of homeless folks wandering the streets and the place has a deserted feeling. I feel like Moontower would fit in best in the Heights, however something about its off the beaten path location makes it that much more special, like a hidden gem. It also allows them to have a big piece of land that they’d never be able to get their hands on in the heights. Food and beer is served out of a small building that is not much more than a shack and the rest of the place is outdoors. There are some covered seats adjacent to the bar and then a bunch of picnic tables in the “backyard.” Dogs are welcome. There is a ping pong table and stakes to play horseshoes. Biking is encouraged with hooks to hang ‘em up in the ceiling of the covered seat section. Tuesday is movie night where they project an interesting mix of movies onto a large screen in the backyard, most recently it was Zombie Night.

Never been disappointed with the food at Moontower even if at times I may have waited close to an hour for it. They claimed some kind of grill malfunction at that time but I am not altogether sure that the boys in the kitchen were not on their pot-smoking break. Its all good, totally part of the atmosphere. I guess my only other complaint is that it isn’t just a bit closer to where I live and easier to get to, somehow I always get lost on the way back home.

Moontower’s Facebook page is the best place to go for more info.  They update it regularly with humorous posts and information about upcoming events. Houston Press gave out Web Awards recently and Moontower was voted Best Use of Facebook by a Restaurant.

Moontower is worth the journey to Second Ward for excellent cheap food & beer, chill hangout spot, and great hipster watching.