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
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
Showing posts with label Houston. Show all posts
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.
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