Locally inspired:
Reef
Underbelly
Revival market
Haven
Down House
Roost
Paulies
Relish
Local Foods
Benjys
Sparrow
Eatsie boys cafe
Indian:
Udipi
Sri balaji bhavan
Indika
Pondicheri
Kirans
Himalaya
London sizzler
Bombay sweets
Raja Sweets
Seafood:
Tampico
Reef
Goode Co Seafood
Haven raw bar
Mexican:
Tila's
La Guadalupana (bfast)
El Gallo de Jalisco (bfast)
Villa Arcos (bfast tacos)
Hugo's (brunch)
El Gran Malo
El Real
Canino (taqueria tacambaro)
Teotihuacan
Gerardo's drive in grocery
Tony's Mexican
La Victoria Bakery
Taco Palenque
Chapultepec lupita
Picos
Ninfas
Torchy's tacos
Cuchara
BBQ:
Beavers
Gatlins
Blakes
Hickory hollow (live music)
Bobbies que
Virgies
Pierson & co
Guys meat market
Demeris
Southern comfort/soul food:
Lucille's
Zelko bistro
Mamas oven
This is it
Esther's cajun cafe
Frenchys Fried chicken
Japanese:
Uchi
Kata robata
Katsuya
Sushi toro
Oishi
Matsu
Sushi miyagi
Chinese:
Mala Sichuan
Peking cuisine
East wall (Peking duck)
Jin Bo
HK dimsum
Fungs kitchen
Burgers:
Lankford grocery
Roznovskys
Hubcap grill
Bernie's burger bus
Burger guys
Stanton's supermarket
Little bitty burger barn
Pub food and good drinks:
Moontower Inn (game meat sausages)
Petrol Station
BRC
Hay Merchant
Witchcraft
Cottonwood
Shepard Park
Crisp
Queen Vic
Rudyards
Mucky Duck
Plonk
Phoenicia market bar
Pizza:
Pizzaro
Piola
Dolce Vita
Luigis
poscol
Vallone
Bombay pizza
Coppa
Pi pizza truck
Vietnamese:
Kim Tai
Pho Saigon
Saigon pagolac
Crawfish & noodles (mixed Asian)
Thai:
Asia Market
Vieng Thai
Thai Lana
Kanomowan
Les givrals
High end cuisine:
Oxheart
Pass & Provision
Triniti
Coffeeshops:
Catalina
Boomtown
Blacksmith
Southside
Inversion
Black Hole
Antidote
Revival Market
Eatsie Boys cafe
Classic Houston restaurants:
Backstreet cafe
Rainbow lodge
Steaks:
Killens
Vick & Anthony
Papas brothers
Craft beer:
Petrol station
Moontower inn
Hay merchant
Down House
Flying Saucer
Liberty Station
Cottonwood
Shepard Park
Witchcraft
Mongoose vs cobra
Gingerman
Cocktails:
Anvil
Pass & provisions
Down House
Mongoose vs cobra
Cottonwood
Grand Prize
Eighteenth Street
OKRA charity bar
Double trouble
Beavers
Wine Bar:
13 Celsius
Crisp
Maxs wine dive
Boheme
Icecream:
Fat Cats
Eatsie Boys
Hanks
Paciugo
Amy's
Wednesday, January 23, 2013
Sunday, December 18, 2011
Money Cat Brunch
11 December 2011
Money Cat Brunch
It was a fortunate that I hung out with Peter that week, or I would have missed out a change to eat at the Money Cat brunch. Peter had been working the last few weekends in a row there, helping out his friend, Justin Yu. Justin's dad own's a Japanese restaurant, Umai, out in Bellaire. The restaurant was temporarily closed so Justin was taking advantage of that sabbatical to do a pop-up brunch series.
The brunch would serve as a delicious reward after working a 24-hour shift on labor & delivery for all of Saturday. It was hard to drag myself out of bed from a glorious post-call nap, but the prospects of hot brunch called to me. Plus, Arin, Robert and Luke were on their way to get me, so there was no staying in bed.
The four of us got the only empty table in the small restaurant when we arrived. I proceeded to immediately order a latte which was made with Greenway Coffee. We perused through our Money Cat coloring book which was ripe with dark humor.
Having eaten congee many times in both China and the US, where my dad makes his own version, I had to try Money Cat's version. The rice porridge soup was served steaming in a large bowl. This congee was made with kobocha squash, fried soy, tapioca, shallot, brown butter and a hard-boiled egg. The squash made the congee slightly sweet; the egg was moist and flavorful.
The hake fillet was fried from head to tail and served with a sauce containing cumin, palm sugar and tamarind. It was sitting on top of cilantro seasoned rice with pan-fried long beans. There was a small side of pickled sweet chilis that were a delicious addition to the dish. I picked all the good meat out of the head and chewed on the crispy tail.
We had a short intermission with the scallion biscuits with honey-sriracha glaze and honey-sriracha butter. Butter and Sriracha are two of the best condiments, why not put them together?! It was amazing!
The pork soup was probably my favorite dish of the morning. The chili broth was rich and creamy, served with braised pork and slices of pig ear, topped with bean sprouts and cilantro. The egg noodles inside were chewy and al dente. This is the kind of soup I want to eat when its cold out. If this place were a permanent establishment, I would be making weekly visits for that soup. It was fun attempting to share it amongst the four of us without making a huge mess.
We were all sufficiently stuffed after all of that food. I was sad that this would be my one and only chance to eat at Money Cat because there were still so many other items I'd love to try including their specialty cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. Oh well, some things are too good to last....
Money Cat Brunch
It was a fortunate that I hung out with Peter that week, or I would have missed out a change to eat at the Money Cat brunch. Peter had been working the last few weekends in a row there, helping out his friend, Justin Yu. Justin's dad own's a Japanese restaurant, Umai, out in Bellaire. The restaurant was temporarily closed so Justin was taking advantage of that sabbatical to do a pop-up brunch series.
The four of us got the only empty table in the small restaurant when we arrived. I proceeded to immediately order a latte which was made with Greenway Coffee. We perused through our Money Cat coloring book which was ripe with dark humor.
The four of us like to eat "family style" when we go out for food so we ordered a bunch of different items off the menu and waited for the goods to arrive. Peter sent out the frog with green curry and shrimp balls. The curry was not rich & heavy the way some curries can be. The sauce was light and the frog leg was large. I would have liked it better if it were spicy though.
Next we got the crispy potatoes with pepper sauce, fried garlic, kewpie mayo and fried egg on top. It was tangy and satisfying and for many of us, one of our favorite dishes. Good solid "comfort food."
Having eaten congee many times in both China and the US, where my dad makes his own version, I had to try Money Cat's version. The rice porridge soup was served steaming in a large bowl. This congee was made with kobocha squash, fried soy, tapioca, shallot, brown butter and a hard-boiled egg. The squash made the congee slightly sweet; the egg was moist and flavorful.
The hake fillet was fried from head to tail and served with a sauce containing cumin, palm sugar and tamarind. It was sitting on top of cilantro seasoned rice with pan-fried long beans. There was a small side of pickled sweet chilis that were a delicious addition to the dish. I picked all the good meat out of the head and chewed on the crispy tail.
The pork soup was probably my favorite dish of the morning. The chili broth was rich and creamy, served with braised pork and slices of pig ear, topped with bean sprouts and cilantro. The egg noodles inside were chewy and al dente. This is the kind of soup I want to eat when its cold out. If this place were a permanent establishment, I would be making weekly visits for that soup. It was fun attempting to share it amongst the four of us without making a huge mess.
We were all sufficiently stuffed after all of that food. I was sad that this would be my one and only chance to eat at Money Cat because there were still so many other items I'd love to try including their specialty cocktails and non-alcoholic drinks. Oh well, some things are too good to last....
Thursday, September 22, 2011
Post-Call Breakfast at Pondicheri
18 September 2011
Post-Call Breakfast at Pondicheri
Saturday had been one of the busiest 24 hours shifts I had worked in a long time. It was full of preterm babies, ICU admissions, and vaginal deliveries galore. After I groggily emerged from a four hour post-call nap, I called Jason to see if he wanted to go out for brunch. It is a rare occasion that I am unable to make a decision, but that afternoon I was still a bit too sleepy to make up my mind on where we should eat. We finally narrowed it down to The Down House (which is supposed to have a delicious brunch) and Pondicheri which has Indian breakfast food, a novel concept to me. Jason usually defers to me for the decision making and with my brain out of commission, we decided to flip a coin. Pondicheri it was!
Pondicheri is located in a newly constructed apartment and shopping complex in Rivers Oaks/Upper Kirby called West Ave. The ground level of the complex has clothing shops and restaurants and everything above is luxury apartments. Pondicheri is located off of the busy Kirby intersection and inside of the complex. It is the second restaurant in Houston by Anita Jaisinghani whose first restaurant, Indika, is well respected in town. The concept of Pondicheri is supposed to be Indian street food made from local ingredients. Having never been to India, I wasn't really sure what that meant, but I was certainly interested in knowing more. Some of the best meals I have had overseas have been purchased for the equivalent of a few dollars off the street.
Pondicheri offers counter service at breakfast and lunch and table service for dinner. There was a line about 6 people deep when we arrived. This gave me some time to contemplate the interesting menu, espresso bar, and baked items. Some kind of caffeinated beverage was definitely in order considering the sleep deprivation. I went for a latte and also got a chili chocolate oatmeal cookie to get the ball rolling. My breakfast was called Morning Thali which contained beef keema, steel cut oats, potato curry, house made saffron yogurt, fruit, paratha & fried egg. Jason got the Masala Egg plate which was three eggs scrambled with roasted corn, red bell pepper, spinach & spices with paratha & potato curry.
The interior of the restaurant is very industrial but cheerful. But we took our number and grabbed the last table outside. Sitting in the middle of the West Ave complex you almost feel like you are inside a little downtown, except it is just a little to clean and perfect. I sipped my latte, which slowly revived me, as I snacked on the oatmeal cookie. The chili was subtle enough and made the cookie interesting. The cookie was moist and soft.
Breakfast took about fifteen minutes to come out. The Morning Thali was pretty much a taster of most of the different options on the breakfast menu. Each was served in a little metal bowl. The yogurt was delicious and flavored with saffron and local raw honey. The steel cut oats were chewy and unique with flavors of jaggery, cinnamon, and cardamom. The potato curry wasn't too strongly flavored with curry and didn't sit heavily in my stomach as most potato dishes do. Beef keema was essentially a ground beef flavored with lots of different spices. Paratha is like a thin pan-fried potato bread with Indian spices. Mine was covered with a fried egg; the yolk was perfectly runny.
Jason enjoyed his meal. The scrambled eggs were full of spices and flavors. They were not dry as scrambled eggs tend to be.
I have nothing negative to say about my Pondicheri experience on Sunday. I am looking forward to going back and trying lunch or dinner sometime soon.
Post-Call Breakfast at Pondicheri
Saturday had been one of the busiest 24 hours shifts I had worked in a long time. It was full of preterm babies, ICU admissions, and vaginal deliveries galore. After I groggily emerged from a four hour post-call nap, I called Jason to see if he wanted to go out for brunch. It is a rare occasion that I am unable to make a decision, but that afternoon I was still a bit too sleepy to make up my mind on where we should eat. We finally narrowed it down to The Down House (which is supposed to have a delicious brunch) and Pondicheri which has Indian breakfast food, a novel concept to me. Jason usually defers to me for the decision making and with my brain out of commission, we decided to flip a coin. Pondicheri it was!
Pondicheri is located in a newly constructed apartment and shopping complex in Rivers Oaks/Upper Kirby called West Ave. The ground level of the complex has clothing shops and restaurants and everything above is luxury apartments. Pondicheri is located off of the busy Kirby intersection and inside of the complex. It is the second restaurant in Houston by Anita Jaisinghani whose first restaurant, Indika, is well respected in town. The concept of Pondicheri is supposed to be Indian street food made from local ingredients. Having never been to India, I wasn't really sure what that meant, but I was certainly interested in knowing more. Some of the best meals I have had overseas have been purchased for the equivalent of a few dollars off the street.
Pondicheri offers counter service at breakfast and lunch and table service for dinner. There was a line about 6 people deep when we arrived. This gave me some time to contemplate the interesting menu, espresso bar, and baked items. Some kind of caffeinated beverage was definitely in order considering the sleep deprivation. I went for a latte and also got a chili chocolate oatmeal cookie to get the ball rolling. My breakfast was called Morning Thali which contained beef keema, steel cut oats, potato curry, house made saffron yogurt, fruit, paratha & fried egg. Jason got the Masala Egg plate which was three eggs scrambled with roasted corn, red bell pepper, spinach & spices with paratha & potato curry.
Breakfast took about fifteen minutes to come out. The Morning Thali was pretty much a taster of most of the different options on the breakfast menu. Each was served in a little metal bowl. The yogurt was delicious and flavored with saffron and local raw honey. The steel cut oats were chewy and unique with flavors of jaggery, cinnamon, and cardamom. The potato curry wasn't too strongly flavored with curry and didn't sit heavily in my stomach as most potato dishes do. Beef keema was essentially a ground beef flavored with lots of different spices. Paratha is like a thin pan-fried potato bread with Indian spices. Mine was covered with a fried egg; the yolk was perfectly runny.
Jason enjoyed his meal. The scrambled eggs were full of spices and flavors. They were not dry as scrambled eggs tend to be.
I have nothing negative to say about my Pondicheri experience on Sunday. I am looking forward to going back and trying lunch or dinner sometime soon.
Friday, September 16, 2011
Little Bit of Europe at the Broken Spoke
9 September 2011
Little Bit of Europe at the Broken Spoke
"Can we eat at a real restaurant tonight, not a food truck?" Jason asked as we discussed where we'd dine last Friday night. I somewhat reluctantly agreed, even though there were half a dozen food trucks scattered around Houston that night that I wanted to try.
I had noticed The Broken Spoke Cafe almost a year ago when I first started exploring Houston. It was located at the eastern end of Washington Avenue in a some what deserted neighborhood of Sixth Ward close to downtown. It caught my eye because it has the same moniker as a bar in Austin, a famous honky tonky hang out where I have danced the two-step on numerous occasions. When I researched the place online, I learned that it was not a country music venue, but a Belgian restaurant. I put it on my list of places to try.
Somehow it took a better part of the year to get to the Broken Spoke but we decided that Friday would be the night. I called the restaurant while I waited for Jason to come pick me up just to make sure it wasn't too crowded. "Bonsoir," a man said in a thick French accent. He informed me that currently there was no wait for two people but that it would surely fill up soon.
When we finally arrived, we found the restaurant busy but happily there was no obvious plethora of people waiting for a table. The interior was bright in colorful with murals painted in the walls and ceilings and Belgian flags hung. It was loud and bustling; it immediately reminded me of a European cafe. We approached the bar and I told the man with the French accent that we were waiting for a table for two. A yuppie couple sitting at the bar next to us quickly snapped that they too were waiting for a table for two. "Don't worry, I am not trying to steal your table!" I responded. These two clearly needed to order themselves another round of beer and chillax.
Jason and I finally decided that since we were both starving, we'd just eat at the bar. It took us a little while to get the attention of the bartender. I asked him what beers they had on tap tonight and he simply pointed to the chalkboard behind me. Clearly I was not at Petrol Station where the bartenders will happily engage in a long conversation about beer. Finally we both ordered some Framboise Lambic. The Broken Spoke has an excellent selection of Belgian beers in bottles on on draught. There must have been at least 15 different taps everything from the "mundane" Stella Artois and Hoegaarden to Lambic, Delirium Tremens and many that I had never heard of. I was on a sour beer kick so Lambic was my choice.
As we sipped our fruity beer, we looked at the menu. As one would expect, they had a large selection of moules (mussels) prepared in about a dozen different ways. The menu was otherwise actually quite extensive with steaks, salmon dishes, a burger, a croque monsieur. Jason decided to get the special of the night, a $22 prix fixe meal that came with a pureed carrot soup, a chicken breast dish with a mushroom cream sauce, and mousse au chocolat for dessert. I got a pan-fried almond troute. We shared moules mariniere for an appetizer. It took some proactiveness to get our dinner order in. There were literally two people running the whole place: there was a Belgian guy behind the bar and a Belgian woman working the tables. Besides that, there were just a few Latin bus buys. The two Belgians shouted things at each other in French across the restaurant as they busily hustled people and food.
Jason and I were glad that we arrived when we did because about 20 minutes after we ordered, the restaurant was full with people waiting for tables. Many of the patrons spoke to the bartender in French when they approached the bar. I probably should have used this opportunity to practice my French too, but alas with low blood sugar, I really didn't feel like making the effort. It was pretty cool to realize that there actually were quite a few French speakers and ex-pats in Houston. This city continues to amaze me on a daily basis.
Our food came out surprisingly fast. Jason's carrot soup was clearly fresh and made in house and reminded me of The mussels were not the freshest I have ever had, but it was overall a good appetizer. I was still spooning the broth into my mouth when the main course came. The portion sizes were enormous. Jason's chicken breast was juicy. My trout was a bit on the greasy side but it was a huge fillet. The side salad had the typical French dijon dressing. The fries were great, especially when dipped in the remaining moules broth. Houston Press voted the Broken Spoke for best french fries in Houston. If anyone knows how to do french fries, it should be the Belgian.
Mousse au chocolat for dessert was light but delicious and even though we were stuffed, we polished it off. There were some fine pieces of good chocolate peppered throughout the mousse. It made me think back to my junior high French class days. I decided to make a mousse au chocolat for one of the French fetes. After explicitly following the directions, my attempts resulted in a dessert that looked more like chocolate pudding than mousse. I remember my mom confidently said she'd re-make it. Her version wasn't much better. It gave me respect for the mousse. Getting the right consistency is not easy.
I was happy to finally try the Broken Spoke Cafe and will definitely be returning with friends and visitors. Next time I might have to come on my bike because they offer a 15% discount to anyone who cycles in. It really is a little haven of Europe in Texas, even down to the surly "French" waitstaff.
Little Bit of Europe at the Broken Spoke
"Can we eat at a real restaurant tonight, not a food truck?" Jason asked as we discussed where we'd dine last Friday night. I somewhat reluctantly agreed, even though there were half a dozen food trucks scattered around Houston that night that I wanted to try.
I had noticed The Broken Spoke Cafe almost a year ago when I first started exploring Houston. It was located at the eastern end of Washington Avenue in a some what deserted neighborhood of Sixth Ward close to downtown. It caught my eye because it has the same moniker as a bar in Austin, a famous honky tonky hang out where I have danced the two-step on numerous occasions. When I researched the place online, I learned that it was not a country music venue, but a Belgian restaurant. I put it on my list of places to try.
Somehow it took a better part of the year to get to the Broken Spoke but we decided that Friday would be the night. I called the restaurant while I waited for Jason to come pick me up just to make sure it wasn't too crowded. "Bonsoir," a man said in a thick French accent. He informed me that currently there was no wait for two people but that it would surely fill up soon.
When we finally arrived, we found the restaurant busy but happily there was no obvious plethora of people waiting for a table. The interior was bright in colorful with murals painted in the walls and ceilings and Belgian flags hung. It was loud and bustling; it immediately reminded me of a European cafe. We approached the bar and I told the man with the French accent that we were waiting for a table for two. A yuppie couple sitting at the bar next to us quickly snapped that they too were waiting for a table for two. "Don't worry, I am not trying to steal your table!" I responded. These two clearly needed to order themselves another round of beer and chillax.
Jason and I finally decided that since we were both starving, we'd just eat at the bar. It took us a little while to get the attention of the bartender. I asked him what beers they had on tap tonight and he simply pointed to the chalkboard behind me. Clearly I was not at Petrol Station where the bartenders will happily engage in a long conversation about beer. Finally we both ordered some Framboise Lambic. The Broken Spoke has an excellent selection of Belgian beers in bottles on on draught. There must have been at least 15 different taps everything from the "mundane" Stella Artois and Hoegaarden to Lambic, Delirium Tremens and many that I had never heard of. I was on a sour beer kick so Lambic was my choice.
As we sipped our fruity beer, we looked at the menu. As one would expect, they had a large selection of moules (mussels) prepared in about a dozen different ways. The menu was otherwise actually quite extensive with steaks, salmon dishes, a burger, a croque monsieur. Jason decided to get the special of the night, a $22 prix fixe meal that came with a pureed carrot soup, a chicken breast dish with a mushroom cream sauce, and mousse au chocolat for dessert. I got a pan-fried almond troute. We shared moules mariniere for an appetizer. It took some proactiveness to get our dinner order in. There were literally two people running the whole place: there was a Belgian guy behind the bar and a Belgian woman working the tables. Besides that, there were just a few Latin bus buys. The two Belgians shouted things at each other in French across the restaurant as they busily hustled people and food.
Jason and I were glad that we arrived when we did because about 20 minutes after we ordered, the restaurant was full with people waiting for tables. Many of the patrons spoke to the bartender in French when they approached the bar. I probably should have used this opportunity to practice my French too, but alas with low blood sugar, I really didn't feel like making the effort. It was pretty cool to realize that there actually were quite a few French speakers and ex-pats in Houston. This city continues to amaze me on a daily basis.
Our food came out surprisingly fast. Jason's carrot soup was clearly fresh and made in house and reminded me of The mussels were not the freshest I have ever had, but it was overall a good appetizer. I was still spooning the broth into my mouth when the main course came. The portion sizes were enormous. Jason's chicken breast was juicy. My trout was a bit on the greasy side but it was a huge fillet. The side salad had the typical French dijon dressing. The fries were great, especially when dipped in the remaining moules broth. Houston Press voted the Broken Spoke for best french fries in Houston. If anyone knows how to do french fries, it should be the Belgian.
Mousse au chocolat for dessert was light but delicious and even though we were stuffed, we polished it off. There were some fine pieces of good chocolate peppered throughout the mousse. It made me think back to my junior high French class days. I decided to make a mousse au chocolat for one of the French fetes. After explicitly following the directions, my attempts resulted in a dessert that looked more like chocolate pudding than mousse. I remember my mom confidently said she'd re-make it. Her version wasn't much better. It gave me respect for the mousse. Getting the right consistency is not easy.
I was happy to finally try the Broken Spoke Cafe and will definitely be returning with friends and visitors. Next time I might have to come on my bike because they offer a 15% discount to anyone who cycles in. It really is a little haven of Europe in Texas, even down to the surly "French" waitstaff.
Saturday, September 3, 2011
Sunday, Food Day
3 September 2011
Sunday, Food Day
Last Sunday may be nearly a week in the past, but it was a
noteworthy day for food and deserves mentioning. Sunday morning I woke up early to into the hospital for
early morning rounds. I had to
settle for a bland latte at Starbucks out of desperation since I’d only gotten
about 5 hours of sleep the night before.
Frankly, I would have preferred a McCafe latte which is cheaper and
better than Starbucks’ version, but unfortunately the McDonalds in St Lukes
hospital was shut down from a grease fire.
By the time I had finished working and biked back and forth
from the medical center, I was ready for a second breakfast. I had read about Villa Arcos taqueria a
while ago when I was searching for the best breakfast tacos in Houston. Located out in Second Ward, it isn’t
particularly convenient to get to so months had gone and I still had yet to try
it. On that balmy 110F morning, I
decided it was finally time to make the pilgrammage out to eat the “best
breakfast tacos in Houston.”
I have become somewhat familiar with Second Ward from many
visits out to Moontower for beer and dogs. Villa Arcos is just down the street from Moontower, located
in a non-descript some what abandoned looking neighborhood. There are a few other Mexican
restaurants in the immediate area, including the original Ninfas. I found a shaded parking spot right
outside the front door of the cinderblock building with bars over the windows.
It is a small taqueria with about a half dozen tables inside
and a small window where one places one’s order. The menu is listed on a board and is mainly tacos with a few
burritos, enchiladas and platters thrown in for completeness. Some specialties, like chicharron (pork
rind) were only offered on weekends.
The place was dirt cheap, at roughly two dollars and change for a
taco. Coffee cost 75 cents; I
honestly didn’t know anything was sold in this era for under a dollar.
I waited in a short line, got to the window, placed my order
with the friendly senora, reached into my purse to grab my wallet, and realized
that I had left it at home! This
was the second time I had done this in one weekend. I had used my backpack when I biked to work that morning,
and had forgotten to take the wallet out of their when I switched to using my
purse. Damn it! Those tacos looked good.
I left, stomach rumbling, debating as I drove back towards
home if I should actually come back to Villa Arcos or just go somewhere close
to home. It didn’t take me long to
decide that I wanted one of those damn tacos! This was my day, all to myself, so why not!?
It was probably thirty minutes before I actually made it
back there. I told the senora that
I had brought money this time and I replaced my order. I got a chicarron and bean taco and a
taco called Super Bacon. How could
I resist a name like that? My
total was five dollars and change. I read the Houston Press while I waited less
than 10 minutes for my tacos to come out.
It may have been 110F outside, but that didn’t stop me from
sitting on the street side patio to eat my tacos in the “fresh air.” I guess they call the taco Super Bacon
because it is jam packed with thick pieces of crunchy bacon as well as refried
beans and eggs (I opted out of the potatoes). The chicharron was fried so crispy that every piece
literally just exploded with porky goodness in my mouth. I caught up with a co-worker and her
husband who also happened to be there that morning.
The next stop on my food-fest Sunday was Heights AshburyCafé, another place I’d been meaning to try for ages. It is a colorfully painted little hippie hangout in the
great Houston Heights neighborhood.
I love this little art-deco styled main street with it’s funky shops and
eateries.
The inside of Heights Ashbury café is covered with local
artist’s work. On most weekend
mornings and afternoons, there is some kind of live music. I was sad that I had missed the French
gypsy band that had played throughout the earlier part of the summer. Today there were two young guys and
their acoustic guitars. This café
just oozed calm vibes.
I chatted with the staff at the counter and debated on
whether I should try some of their locally roasted coffee, or a beverage from
the juice bar. A woman named
Deborah Morris basically uses Heights Asbury to sell her freshly juiced drinks;
she calls her company Juicy in the Sky with Vitamins.
Deborah was there that morning and I discussed which kind of
juice I should try. There were
some unique options, some sweet containing just fruits, some vegetable only,
other mixes. There were
ingredients like tumeric on the list.
I was intrigued. I chose a
concoction that contained apples, beets, carrots, lemon juice, spinach, parsely
and garlic. It was called the
Crudbuster and she assured me that it was delicious. She also promised that it would help to detoxify my body and
to rebuild cellular damage. It
sure couldn’t hurt, right?
Deborah, a thin, silver haired, tie-dying wearing woman
sprying hopped around behind the counter, washing and chopping up all the fresh
produce before she threw them in the juicer. She served it to me in a compostable cup; I think I like
this place! I got a punch card
from the cashier. All I had to do
was buy 10 more juice drinks and I’d get the next one free. Deborah and I spoke a little more about
her business. She said she really
saw a need for more health food options in Houston and so she started Juicy in
the Sky. She said business had
been good and she was happy to see that people were paying more attention to
what they ate these days. “If you
are what you eat, wouldn’t you rather be a vegetable than a piece of bacon?”
she rhetorically asked me. I
replied, “Well, I do love a good piece of bacon...”
I sipped my juice while listening to the soothing sounds of
acoustic guitar. I could
practically feel my cells vibrating around happily while they detoxied and
rebuilt themselves. But in all
honesty, I did feel a sense of relaxation throughout my body as I sat
there. It probably had more to do
with the calming reverberations of the acoustic guitars, or maybe it was the
post-chicharron bliss setting in, in any case, I felt good!
For the last few weeks I had been stalking down the EatsieBoy’s new ice cream truck. It
seemed like every time I tried to find them, there was some sort of obstacle
that prevented it from happening.
I had been hearing a lot of good buzz about their inventive ice creams
and sorbets. The culinary
mastermind behind the Eatsie Boys, besides being a chef, also worked in the
research and development side of the food industry, creating the little bits like
cookie or brownie pieces that are inside of ice creams. The food I’d had from the other Eatsie
Boy’s truck had never disappointed, so I was sure the desserts would be great
too.
The Eatsie Boys were hanging out at Buchanan’s Native Plants
nursery with the Good Dog truck that afternoon. I read over the list of ice cream and sorbet options before
I made my choice. I went for the
Sweet Corn Shazaam and the Brass Monkey Carmelized Banana flavors. Two big scoops in a cup cost me just
$4. The sweet corn ice cream was
subtle but delicious, with little pieces of corn inside. The carmelized banana was full of
flavor, and not some artificial banana flavor, but a really nice natural ripe
banana taste.
I took a brief intermission from eating by doing a one hour
yoga class. Hopefully I further
repaired some cells and flushed out some of the beer toxins from the
weekend. I was home from the day’s
outings just long enough to shower and change before Eric and Angira and their
9 month old baby, Ryan, came to pick me up.
Eric loves food as much as I do and had been telling me
about this authentic little Thai place in the Heights that I would love. That Friday at Moontower, high on the
hot dogs, we made plans to go out for Thai food on Sunday night.
Asia Market is a small strip of a building that one would
easily pass by without noticing.
Most of the place is literally an Asian (but Thai dominated) market,
selling all kinds of interesting things from cuttlefish to aloe drinks and even
insects at times. One little
portion of the market is a restaurant.
I let Eric do most of the ordering since he’d been there many times in
the past. While we waited for our
food, Eric and I perused through the aisles. He got some toasted coconut juice for him and Angira to drink. I chose a chrysanthemum tea for
myself. We snacked on shrimp chips
and I grabbed some sticky coconut rice for dessert.
The food came out quickly and there was more than we really
needed. First came a rice dish
with strong flavors of kefir lime, cilantro, and peanuts. Besides the amazing flavor, I also
loved the chunks of crispy rice that were found throughout the dish. Next was a noodle dish made with the wide
rice noodles as well as a mix of seafood and other flavors I can’t even
identify. It had that awesome
smoky wok flavor that I haven’t often been lucky enough to taste outside of
Asia. Next was a green papaya
salad, that was a bit on the bland side.
Eric said it was usually better.
It was still a nice contrast to the strongly flavored spicy dishes we
had. Last but not least was the
green curry with chicken and Thai eggplants. I ate to the point of near sickness but still vowed to the
woman at the counter that I would be back soon with friends.
I wanted to slip into food coma after the massive about of
Thai food, but Jason was on his way to pick me up to go for a beer at CedarCreek bar in the Heights. We were
supposed to be meeting up with a group of people who were celebrating a
birthday. By the time we trekked
up there, we found out that the party had already ended. Guess it wasn’t much of a party
considering it was only about 7pm.
Jason was hungry so we stayed for him to eat and me to drink. I tried a Moose Drool beer. It was a brown ale made my a brewery in
Montana called Big Sky Brewing Company and it quickly became one of my favorite
beers. It very much reminded me of
the nutty caramel flavor of Buried Hatchet Stout. By the time I finished that, I was truly ready to fall
asleep and so I did just that, feeling very fulfilled about my food-filled
Sunday.
Friday, September 2, 2011
Down with the Down House
1 September 2011
This week I made not one buy two trips to The Down House on Yale Street in the Houston Heights. This restaurant came onto my radar because via the local food scene in Houston. This restaurant makes a point to serve locally produced foods as much as possible including Buddy's free range chicken, Slow Dough breads, Pola Cheese, and Cuvee Coffee, just to name a few.
A group of about seven of us made a field trip up to the Down House last Saturday night. We found it less crowded than I would have expected for prime time Saturday. The building used to be a bank and is an open space inside. There are lots of comfortable, homey looking couches and booths as well as round tables and bar stools. It has a relaxed atmosphere and a mix of clientele from cool hipsters to families with kids.
After being seated, the waiter came over and asked us all of we planned to drink alcohol. Of course we said yes, and so he said then we would need to join the "club." The neighborhood in the Heights where Down House is located is considered a dry neighborhood. There is some kind of loophole though that if one has a member's club, one can still serve booze. Joining the club was as simple as handing over our licenses to be scanned. The waiter did inform me that this would have to be done every time we came to the bar. I still have my New Jersey license, so as an "out-of-stater," I had to actually fill out a little form with my contact information. The waiter reminded me that I could also choose to obey federal laws and change my license to Texas since I did live here...eh, laws are meant to be broken, right?
Now that we were cleared for boozing, we took a look at the menu. The Down House has an interesting list of cocktails made with fresh ingredients. It was reminiscent of Anvil's drink options, another bar with the "prohibition era" style cocktails, but a but more interesting still. They also have a bunch of good American craft beers and some import beers on tap. Anand got himself a Belgian beer that was dark and smooth. I got an Old Rasputin (Imperial Russion Stout by North Coast Brewing Company). After polishing those off, we also tried some cocktails. I was interested in one that contained IPA on the long list of ingredients. It is not every day that you get a cocktail with beer involved. It was called the India Express and contained Brandy, IPA, St Elizabeth's Allspice, fresh squeeze grapefruit, Peychauds, and honey. The drink was refreshing, citrus-y, and spicey. Someone else tried La Flama: Siembra Azul Blanco tequila, Grand Marnier, cucumber, fresh lime, house curry bitters, demerara. I made a note that next time I would try the Kaldi Cocktail with scotch, Kirsch, espresso, real maple syrup, cream, chocolate bitters.
The menu at Down House changes daily depending on what kind of local products they can get their hands on. I ordered a spicy chicken breast meal that came with a Napa cabbage slaw and a seriously hot habanero yogurt sauce. A few of the others got fried Grouper sliders with carmelized onions on Slow Dough mini buns. We tried a fruit salad with balsamic vinegar. The Redneck cheeseburger was well cooked and juicy. The fries were crispy. The flat bread pizza was also great. The dough was thin but still chewy and they used some awesome goat cheese on top. We were all quite satisfied with our experience there. Anand got a cappuccino for dessert that he said was pretty bad-ass. We decided that next time, we'd have to try their brunch.
Instead of brunch though, I returned again to Down House last night for more dinner and drinks. Nancy and I found the place pretty crowded at 8pm on a Thursday. We chose one of the high top marble tables near the bar and were greeted by a friendly waitress with some interesting arm tattoos. I have to say that I love how all of the staff at Down House are very hipster trendy looking. Admittedly, hipster-watching is one of my favorite past times.
After handing off our licenses again, we got our drinks. Nancy went for the India Express and I tried the St. Bernardus Abt 12 Quadrupel Belgian beer with ABV of 10%. It is a delicious beer, that goes down dangerously easily given it's high alcohol content. The menu this time was, of course, a bit different from last week's offerings but it seems like there are also some regular players. I got the pulled pork quesadillas with napa slaw and Nancy got the Ratatouille with goat cheese. I was thankful when the food finally came because I could already feel that beer going to my head. The quesadilla was great and I liked the spicy dipping sauce as well as the refried black bean spread.
We got to meet one of the owners, Forrest, that night. He is a friendly, spunky guy with a cool mohawk. He literally presents every drink to the table and he does it with excitement. It feels like Christmas morning; it's fantastic! He was very attentive, wanting to know if we were having a good experience. I got to hear a little more about the Down House which I discovered had only been open for about ninety days. Forrest co-owned it with two other guys, who he pointed out to us behind the bar. They each had their niche. Forrest did cocktails, another guy did food, and the third handled the coffee program. From what I read, the coffee guy actually owns a really popular coffee joint in Austin too. Forrest told us that Down House is most popular during brunch. He told is that if we want to come back for brunch, we'd better come early or on a week day unless we wanted to wait a long time for a table. He gave us his card in case we needed anything.
Before we asked for the check, I noticed that they had a beer called Hopadillo, which I had just read about. This is a beer out of Houston's newest microbrewery, Karbach. I don't even think the brewery has officially opened yet, but it was good to see their beers making it out to the bars. We finally asked for the check. When the Down House brings out the bill, they stick the receipt into an old book. Both times we came, our check was brought to us in a book about or by Darwin. Upon further inspection, one will notice that there are Darwin inspired pictures on the wall. I read online that The Down House is named after Darwin's country home, so it all made sense. I am more than happy to support an evolution-loving establishment, especially in state of Texas.
This week I made not one buy two trips to The Down House on Yale Street in the Houston Heights. This restaurant came onto my radar because via the local food scene in Houston. This restaurant makes a point to serve locally produced foods as much as possible including Buddy's free range chicken, Slow Dough breads, Pola Cheese, and Cuvee Coffee, just to name a few.
A group of about seven of us made a field trip up to the Down House last Saturday night. We found it less crowded than I would have expected for prime time Saturday. The building used to be a bank and is an open space inside. There are lots of comfortable, homey looking couches and booths as well as round tables and bar stools. It has a relaxed atmosphere and a mix of clientele from cool hipsters to families with kids.
After being seated, the waiter came over and asked us all of we planned to drink alcohol. Of course we said yes, and so he said then we would need to join the "club." The neighborhood in the Heights where Down House is located is considered a dry neighborhood. There is some kind of loophole though that if one has a member's club, one can still serve booze. Joining the club was as simple as handing over our licenses to be scanned. The waiter did inform me that this would have to be done every time we came to the bar. I still have my New Jersey license, so as an "out-of-stater," I had to actually fill out a little form with my contact information. The waiter reminded me that I could also choose to obey federal laws and change my license to Texas since I did live here...eh, laws are meant to be broken, right?
Now that we were cleared for boozing, we took a look at the menu. The Down House has an interesting list of cocktails made with fresh ingredients. It was reminiscent of Anvil's drink options, another bar with the "prohibition era" style cocktails, but a but more interesting still. They also have a bunch of good American craft beers and some import beers on tap. Anand got himself a Belgian beer that was dark and smooth. I got an Old Rasputin (Imperial Russion Stout by North Coast Brewing Company). After polishing those off, we also tried some cocktails. I was interested in one that contained IPA on the long list of ingredients. It is not every day that you get a cocktail with beer involved. It was called the India Express and contained Brandy, IPA, St Elizabeth's Allspice, fresh squeeze grapefruit, Peychauds, and honey. The drink was refreshing, citrus-y, and spicey. Someone else tried La Flama: Siembra Azul Blanco tequila, Grand Marnier, cucumber, fresh lime, house curry bitters, demerara. I made a note that next time I would try the Kaldi Cocktail with scotch, Kirsch, espresso, real maple syrup, cream, chocolate bitters.
The menu at Down House changes daily depending on what kind of local products they can get their hands on. I ordered a spicy chicken breast meal that came with a Napa cabbage slaw and a seriously hot habanero yogurt sauce. A few of the others got fried Grouper sliders with carmelized onions on Slow Dough mini buns. We tried a fruit salad with balsamic vinegar. The Redneck cheeseburger was well cooked and juicy. The fries were crispy. The flat bread pizza was also great. The dough was thin but still chewy and they used some awesome goat cheese on top. We were all quite satisfied with our experience there. Anand got a cappuccino for dessert that he said was pretty bad-ass. We decided that next time, we'd have to try their brunch.
Instead of brunch though, I returned again to Down House last night for more dinner and drinks. Nancy and I found the place pretty crowded at 8pm on a Thursday. We chose one of the high top marble tables near the bar and were greeted by a friendly waitress with some interesting arm tattoos. I have to say that I love how all of the staff at Down House are very hipster trendy looking. Admittedly, hipster-watching is one of my favorite past times.
After handing off our licenses again, we got our drinks. Nancy went for the India Express and I tried the St. Bernardus Abt 12 Quadrupel Belgian beer with ABV of 10%. It is a delicious beer, that goes down dangerously easily given it's high alcohol content. The menu this time was, of course, a bit different from last week's offerings but it seems like there are also some regular players. I got the pulled pork quesadillas with napa slaw and Nancy got the Ratatouille with goat cheese. I was thankful when the food finally came because I could already feel that beer going to my head. The quesadilla was great and I liked the spicy dipping sauce as well as the refried black bean spread.
We got to meet one of the owners, Forrest, that night. He is a friendly, spunky guy with a cool mohawk. He literally presents every drink to the table and he does it with excitement. It feels like Christmas morning; it's fantastic! He was very attentive, wanting to know if we were having a good experience. I got to hear a little more about the Down House which I discovered had only been open for about ninety days. Forrest co-owned it with two other guys, who he pointed out to us behind the bar. They each had their niche. Forrest did cocktails, another guy did food, and the third handled the coffee program. From what I read, the coffee guy actually owns a really popular coffee joint in Austin too. Forrest told us that Down House is most popular during brunch. He told is that if we want to come back for brunch, we'd better come early or on a week day unless we wanted to wait a long time for a table. He gave us his card in case we needed anything.
Before we asked for the check, I noticed that they had a beer called Hopadillo, which I had just read about. This is a beer out of Houston's newest microbrewery, Karbach. I don't even think the brewery has officially opened yet, but it was good to see their beers making it out to the bars. We finally asked for the check. When the Down House brings out the bill, they stick the receipt into an old book. Both times we came, our check was brought to us in a book about or by Darwin. Upon further inspection, one will notice that there are Darwin inspired pictures on the wall. I read online that The Down House is named after Darwin's country home, so it all made sense. I am more than happy to support an evolution-loving establishment, especially in state of Texas.
Sunday, August 28, 2011
Les Sauvages dinner
24 August 2004
I had been looking forward to the Les Sauvages dinner for awhile. I probably never even would have heard about this summer dinner series, let alone know they even exist, if I didn't happen to be friends with one of the chefs, Peter. I met Peter when he was a bartender at Anvil, but he recently stopped working at both Anvil and Revival Market for a much needed change of pace. He, and other chef friend, Justin (who most recently was a chef at Stella Sola) decided to take a little hiatus from the conventional restaurant scene to do a summer dinner series, or "pop-up dinners" as some call them.
Although Justin and Peter are talented chefs themselves, they decided that each dinner would showcase a different chef from Houston and even from neighboring cities like New Orleans or Austin. Every dinner proved to be innovative with a different influence from the visiting chef. The dinners were taking place in the Hofheinz House, an old mansion in Montrose that is used for catered events. The first few Les Sauvages dinners sold out right away, so by the time that I rallied up a few people who were willing to spend $80 on dinner, we couldn't get tickets until the August 24th dinner. Romy, Anand, and I anxiously awaited the big day.
The August 24th dinner featured chef Michael Kramer who recently opened a new place in Rice Village called Felix 55. Romy had recently been there and said she had some of the best scallops of her life. Michael, Justin and Peter had all worked together at the Voice restaurant and would reunite again for another great meal.
Romy and I got a little lost finding the Hofheinz House which is tucked into the corner of Montrose near Midtown and the Southwest freeway. When we walked into the pretty old house, we found Anand already hanging out at a large round table with some other people. One of the great things about this dinner series was having the opportunity to meet other people who were also as excited about food as we were.
We had a fun group sitting with us. Francesco was a waiter at Brasserie 19. Luke was about to open a pastry shop with his aunt. There was Arin and Robert, a nice engineer couple in their 30s. There was also a middle-aged couple with a love of wine and cooking. Everyone was armed with various bottles of wine to enjoy with dinner.
Before dinner started, we were offered a complimentary cocktail made by one of the Anvil bartenders. It was Campari, vermouth and bitters and was meant to stimulate the palate for the meal to come.
First was the amuse bouche which was a frothy mixture of some kind of cheese, sea salt and plums. It was a very interesting mix of sweet and savory.
The following is a list of what came next. Each dish was brought out with an explanation from one of the chefs as well:
-Summer Tomato garden: tomato granite, mozzarella, corn. There were three different tomatoes prepared a different way, one fresh, one smoked and one pickled. I am not even a tomato person and I enjoyed these. The mozzarella was made that morning. For those that don't know granite, it is like flavored ice.
-Fennel Tortellini with charred octopus, peppers, lemon. Also fresh and flavorful, just wished there was more.
-Grano Arso Cavatelli with eggplant, tomato, romesco
-Gulf grouper with cannellini bean stew, salumi brodo, garden pesto. We got a good piece of this fresh local fish and it was highlighted with the bright pesto
-Roast pork loin wrapped in bacon with polenta cooked in whey, chanterelles, sofrito. This was one of my favorites of the night. You simply can not go wrong when you wrap anything in bacon, let alone another piece of pork! Pork squared....genius!
Finally came dessert which was Chocolate budino with sea salt, espresso and olive oil. I love the salted chocolate so this dessert was a hit with me. It didn't hurt that by now I was sufficiently drunk both on wine and dessert wines that the table ended up sharing the entire night. We even got a to-go box that was supposed to be dessert, except I ate it immediately. It was some kind of berry crumble made by Jody Cakes. The portions were pretty small during dinner and now that I had the drunk-munchies to boot, I just couldn't resist eating it. It was pretty delicious too.
The dinner was not only delicious but a lot of fun! I enjoyed meeting some new "foodie" types and it is always fun to see a friend at work doing something they love. So I say well done to Peter, Justin, and guest chef, Michael Cramer. If I were a little richer, I would come back again every week!!
I had been looking forward to the Les Sauvages dinner for awhile. I probably never even would have heard about this summer dinner series, let alone know they even exist, if I didn't happen to be friends with one of the chefs, Peter. I met Peter when he was a bartender at Anvil, but he recently stopped working at both Anvil and Revival Market for a much needed change of pace. He, and other chef friend, Justin (who most recently was a chef at Stella Sola) decided to take a little hiatus from the conventional restaurant scene to do a summer dinner series, or "pop-up dinners" as some call them.
Although Justin and Peter are talented chefs themselves, they decided that each dinner would showcase a different chef from Houston and even from neighboring cities like New Orleans or Austin. Every dinner proved to be innovative with a different influence from the visiting chef. The dinners were taking place in the Hofheinz House, an old mansion in Montrose that is used for catered events. The first few Les Sauvages dinners sold out right away, so by the time that I rallied up a few people who were willing to spend $80 on dinner, we couldn't get tickets until the August 24th dinner. Romy, Anand, and I anxiously awaited the big day.
The August 24th dinner featured chef Michael Kramer who recently opened a new place in Rice Village called Felix 55. Romy had recently been there and said she had some of the best scallops of her life. Michael, Justin and Peter had all worked together at the Voice restaurant and would reunite again for another great meal.
Romy and I got a little lost finding the Hofheinz House which is tucked into the corner of Montrose near Midtown and the Southwest freeway. When we walked into the pretty old house, we found Anand already hanging out at a large round table with some other people. One of the great things about this dinner series was having the opportunity to meet other people who were also as excited about food as we were.
We had a fun group sitting with us. Francesco was a waiter at Brasserie 19. Luke was about to open a pastry shop with his aunt. There was Arin and Robert, a nice engineer couple in their 30s. There was also a middle-aged couple with a love of wine and cooking. Everyone was armed with various bottles of wine to enjoy with dinner.
Before dinner started, we were offered a complimentary cocktail made by one of the Anvil bartenders. It was Campari, vermouth and bitters and was meant to stimulate the palate for the meal to come.
First was the amuse bouche which was a frothy mixture of some kind of cheese, sea salt and plums. It was a very interesting mix of sweet and savory.
The following is a list of what came next. Each dish was brought out with an explanation from one of the chefs as well:
-Summer Tomato garden: tomato granite, mozzarella, corn. There were three different tomatoes prepared a different way, one fresh, one smoked and one pickled. I am not even a tomato person and I enjoyed these. The mozzarella was made that morning. For those that don't know granite, it is like flavored ice.
-Grano Arso Cavatelli with eggplant, tomato, romesco
-Gulf grouper with cannellini bean stew, salumi brodo, garden pesto. We got a good piece of this fresh local fish and it was highlighted with the bright pesto
-Roast pork loin wrapped in bacon with polenta cooked in whey, chanterelles, sofrito. This was one of my favorites of the night. You simply can not go wrong when you wrap anything in bacon, let alone another piece of pork! Pork squared....genius!
The dinner was not only delicious but a lot of fun! I enjoyed meeting some new "foodie" types and it is always fun to see a friend at work doing something they love. So I say well done to Peter, Justin, and guest chef, Michael Cramer. If I were a little richer, I would come back again every week!!
Subscribe to:
Posts (Atom)