Event: Preview of Bone Daddy's House of Smoke--Willowbrook

June 23, 2014, 8:02 am

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Houston is a great BBQ City as well as a great Food City.  The BBQ you can get here ranges from the everyday to the sublime, the blue collar to the gourmet, the chain to the local and everywhere in between.  There's no doubt we're blessed with great BBQ Folks ranging from Levi Goode off of Kirby Drive and all over Town, Ray Busch at Ray's Real Pit BBQ on OST to Ronnie Killen in Pearland, The Brooks Family in Cypress and J. C. Reid writing about all of them and more.  We've got the chains like Pappa's (nee Luther's), Rudy's and Spring Creek.  And we've got tailgaters galore at every sporting event and BBQ competition and festival you can think of.  Is there room for another BBQ place in the Houston area?  Well since Bone Daddy's House of Smoke already has a location in Webster that is going great guns, I'd say yes, provided the food is really good.  And I found Bone Daddy's to be just that,  despite the fact that they came out of Dallas (COUGH!!! SPIT!!!) They're described as a Funky BBQ Place filled with smokin' hot women (aka Daddy's Girls) serving killer food, ice cold beer and lots of fun!  But first a little background:

Mike Leatherwood's tiny chain of restaraunts can be summed up in three keywords: barbecue, beer and beauties. The latter are called "Daddy's Girls," and serve the former two items while clad in tight-fitting clothes. Surprise, surprise: The main clientele are men sucking down cold ones and hickory-smoked 'cue, like the three-meat house platter with two sides. Bear in mind that some meats, like the bone-in half chicken, are only available on a platter. Baby-back ribs, sandwiches (pulled pork is popular), burgers and chicken-fried steak also make appearances on the menu. (source: The Dallas Observer.) [Hank's additional commmentary:  during this event I saw many women as well as men, and much of the clientele was focused on the delicious food]

Bone Daddy's is the brainchild of CEO Mike Leatherwood, who's been working in the restaurant business since age 14. In January of 2000, Leatherwood opened up the first Bone Daddy's House of Smoke in Richardson (a northern suburb of DFW, SPIT!!!). The concept is based on a Southern Man named Bone Daddy whose family owned a salvage yard who grew up with a taste for BBQ and Blues as he was working his first jobs. When his parents passed on, he inherited the salvage yard. However, since Bone Daddy didn't care for the salvage business, he gradually turned the salvage yard and storefront into a BBQ and Blues Joint. This theme is visible throughout the restaurant with the bare I-beams, rough reclaimed lumber and use of all kinds of recycled kitschy items to give the place a rough hewn feel. Think Sanford and Son meets a Texas BBQ Place, Merges and serves up a straight yet choice filled menu.  Most of the recipes with a few exceptions are Leatherwood's parents'. (paraphrased and edited/amended from an article from June 2014 issue of Avid Golfer)  

Modern Beer Keg System that belies the salvage yard kitsch of Bone Daddy's

On this particular afternoon, I had a chance to look around the joint, and take in what I saw as well as hear their story, straight from the proverbial horse's mouth.  There were plenty of Daddy's Girls on hand as they prepared to host a huge soft opening dinner event, but I managed to snag a preview of several of their wares, which was a great privilege to experience.  Suffice it to say, I was reasonably impressed with the careful thought and attention to detail they've put into the environment, the menu, the tap list (2/3 of it are Texas based craft and mass produced beers, the rest are "imports" meaning from outside of Texas!), the liquor (they stock several great Texas spirit brands like Yellow Rose and Deep Eddy, which are the basis of their cocktails), and the the thorough way their meats are prepared (rubbed, mopped and slow pit smoked over genuine cured hickory wood in a high end smoker as well as a HUGE portable for overflow purposes and special events).  Briskets are done for 12 hours, ribs and chickens for at least 4 hours.  They even do an in-house beer-can chicken that is moist, juicy and well seasoned.  And their Choice Sides are no last minute add-ins--there's a thorough design to the seasonings on the Fries, the potato salad recipe and the gooey, creamy Mac and Cheese that actually strings from the paper boat when you eat it, as well as their roadhouse spuds (a great potato casserole!!!).

I'll tap these!!!

First I was given the Nickel Tour by Mike Muller (Chief Operating Officer) who came down from Dallas for the event.  Mike is a youngish man who clearly enjoys working for this company and is proud of the way they do business.  He was really proud of his choices of Texas Craft Beers on Draught which included a couple of taps I've not yet seen at my usual watering hole such as Maverick Lager by Guns & Oil (who have the COOLEST Tap Handle I've seen based on an Oil Derrick), and First Stand by Texian Brewing (which was a nice Saison/Farm House Ale).  I'm sure those brands will be making the rounds at other Houston Craft Beer Bars soon, if they've not done so already and I missed them.  No worries, all good here!  Another spot that Mike was proud of was a multipurpose private dining area that converted in to a private patio thanks to a pair of Garage style roll up doors.  Such flexibility will work well if we end up with an odd cool evening in the summer or a pleasant evening during the more temperate months of November and April, or any other odd month where the weather is not too hot nor too cold.  Again, here you see a blue collar look with a white collar or tattooed way of thinking.  Besides the great taps, they have a huge selection of canned beers that include Lone Star and other ABinBev stuff on the lower end and Karbach on the higher end, so there's literally a beer for every taste profile available.  For Craft afficianados like myself, it's nice to have something other than Shiner Bock as your last go to before you just choose Iced Tea.

I got to see the kitchen and the prep line, with plenty of pans of Mac & Cheese freshly prepared and waiting to hit the oven.  Mike stressed to me that nothing sits around, fresh product is rotated in on a proper schedule based on traffic flow.  The stuff that's supposed to take long (smoked products like brisket) are always fresh--overnight smoking for next day's lunch, late morning smoking for that night's dinner), and the only things that are in their freezer:  ice, tubs of ice cream for certain desserts and French Fries.  Everything else is either in the cooler, cooking or being served.  That's a hard act to follow for many restaurants to say the least.  However, this growth process for Bone Daddy's has been on a Brisket smoking pace:  the first location opened up over 14 years ago.  This location is their eighth location, 2nd location in the Houston area.  Clearly Mike Leatherwood and Company are being very deliberate about how they develop their locations and are paying strong attention to quality control.  For those who normally eschew chains, this should get your attention.

One of the things I found especially amusing was the prep setup of the Beer Can Chicken.  I've got a few friends who do a mean beer can chicken--when it's done right it's tender, juicy, smokey and moist.  As good if not better than rotisserie chicken.  One of the kitchen managers, she made a quip that "Every day a whole chicken coop full of hens is violated by a can of Miller, Bud or some other kind of beer" for the sake of their clients.  This made me decide it was one of the meats I had to try at this preview, and though I had to wait for it, it was certainly worth the wait!!!

Emma serves up a Juicy Lucy Cocktail

We went back to the bar and I had a chance to sample a couple of their signature cocktails while waiting for a couple of items they wanted me to be sure to taste.  The two very interesting house cocktails that catch your eye are the Blow Torch (a layered drink featuring Dark Rum,  Light Rum, Blue Curacao, 151 Rum, Pineapple Juice, Sweet &  Sour, Splash of Sprite, garnished with a citrus wedge and set on fire)  and the juicy Lucy (not the cheese stuffed burger, but rather a drink of Melon, Banana, Cocunut Rum, OJ and Pineapple Juice, garnished with a marschino cherry).  Unfortunately, I had a camera fail on the Blowtorch--I'll be coming back for a meal soon and will get video to supplement this with later.  But I assure you though it was fruity, it packed a punch and makes you want to quote Marsellus Wallace from Pulp Fiction after a couple of sips!  The Juicy Lucy was also fruity and refreshing, but again the sweet front note belies a potent potable that you need to drink slowly.  And they also had a Patron Margarita that I did not try this time, but as a fan of Patron Tequila, I know this one will be outstanding!  Grades: A+ and A respectively.  

Finally time for some solid food and the first item I was served up was a delicious chopped brisket BBQ beef sandwich with their house fries and potato salad on the side, along with some fresh, crunchy dill pickles.  This beef was tender, smokey and juicy.  The fries had a seasoning that was a little sweet and spicy.  The sauce is served on the side warm in a beer bottle and is sweet yet spicy and tangy.  The potato salad had onions, red peppers, mustard, mayo and a few other odds and ends in it, but it was tasty and edible!  This would be a nice quick lunch for those just putting their foot in the door.  All good, no complaints.  Grade: A


The next item I had was suggested to me by one of the Daddy's Girls:  A sandwich called the Steak and Bacon.  As the name implies, you have slices of slow smoked ribeye steak, thick smoked peppered bacon, BBQ sauce and melted provolone.  The former is served on French Bread with lettuce, red onion and tomato with dill pickle chips on the side.  It was served with their Killer Mac N Chesse--look at that photo how stringy the cheese is!  WHOAH!!!  This is one AWESOME sandwich in my opinion!  The steak is juicy and smokey.  The bacon crisp and sweet, yet peppery.  The melted cheese and sauce go great with the meats and the baguette ties it all together with the veggies like The Dude's Rug tied the apartment together in The Big Lebowski!  Forget a Philly Cheesesteak--this is MY KIND OF STEAK SANDWICH!!!  Grade: A+


Next up, I asked Emma and Kyrie (the two Daddy's girls who were taking care of me) what they would order if they came in for a snack and they both resoundingly recommended the Messy Wings.  These are full 3-segment, 2-joint wings that are rubbed and slow smoked, then grilled and sauced at the end.  You can see the flipping grill marks on them, for Pete's sake.  The wings are served by the pound with a Paprika-dusted cup of jalapeño ranch dressing.  You're also typically given a couple of hot towels to help clean your hands when you eat the wings or their ribs for that matter--talk about full service!!!  These wings were smokey, spicy, a little salty, sweet and just plain good.  The jalapeño ranch reminds me a little bit of the kind they serve at Chuy's--creamy yet spicy and so dang good!  Grade: A

Daddy's Girl serving up Pulled Pork Sammies!!!

 I took a breather as the big crowd for the soft opening event--several organizations in the Willowbrook Area were invited to come on over for the preview, nice touch, Bone Daddy's.  Several of the Daddy's Girls circulated with small samples of different items such as their grilled, sauced chicken served up in a sandwich called The Bird and of course their smokin' Pulled Pork & Slaw sliders.  These sliders were smokin' sweet loaded with pulled pork and sweet mayonnaise slaw.  Very juicy, saucy, creamy and the slaw added a nice crunch to it.  Brilliant!!! Grade: A  

Beer Can Violated Chicken!!!

Finally my special request, the Beer Can Chicken came out, still violated by the Miller High Life Can.  SMH.  This dry rubbed chicken had a bright pink smoke ring and was totally juicy!  It was served with their Skillet Head Beans (slow cooked with shreds of brisked and spicy sausage in them) and their Road House Cheese Spuds Potato Casserole.  I tore off a drumstick and got a nice mouth full of wonderful spices, juicy, smokey meat and found the meat to be nearly fall off the bone tender.  So very good, reminds me of high-end rotisserie chicken with a spicy kick and a hint of a lager beer essence in there as well.  Definitely worth the wait and totally good!  Grade: A+++

Kyrie also made sure to grab me samples of two of their desserts:  Bread Pudding with cinnamon sugar, and Banana pudding.  The bread pudding had a cinnamon whiskey sauce, was soft, had nice cinnamon essence and was really great.  Grade: A  The banana pudding looked like a scoop of ice cream, it was so thick.  It wasn't frozen or cold like ice cream, just cool, sweet and full of banana bits and served with vanilla wafer bits.  This kind of banana pudding reminds me of the kind my Great Aunts back in Mississippi would make--not the store-bought brand to be sure!   Grade: A+  

Grand Opening Crew of Daddy's Girls

After taking a little time to take some notes and chat with the staff, I observed the folks coming in and though some of the male customers and a few of the women seemed... distracted by the Daddy's Girls, the vast majority were digging into their BBQ and looking quite happy.  I know that so-called [Censored due to Trademark owned by another Chain]-aurants tend to get some flack--i.e. they're distracting the diner with pretty women so they don't notice the food is marginal, they exploit women, etc.  I would respectfully disagree with this based on a couple of things:  The food is quite good and the folks who prepare it are very deliberate about doing BBQ correctly.  Also, several of the staff indicated that the job is a good one, that many employees have been able to buy into shares of ownership, that they earn great tips and have good benefits.  The Kitchen Manager herself is a former "Daddy's Girl" who worked her way into management, and if you look at the company's location page, 25% of the GM's (Coaches as they're called ) are Women--specifically Alicia Lutz in Austin and Denine Ferraro in Plano.  At the same time, I know that some women and men may not feel comfortable being served by young women in Daisy Dukes and midriff baring shirts.  It's your choice, you don't have to go there, but if you're one of those persons, I'd suggest getting an order to go and at least trying the BBQ.  It's quite good, I promise you.

I want to thank Mike Mueller, Kevin Karrp, the Daddy's Girls on the opening team (especially Emma and Kyrie) and the rest of the Bone Daddy's Willowbrook crew for the comprehensive tour and the tastes of their various kinds of BBQ.  While the atmosphere may not appeal to everybody, most of us of Southern Extraction will get the references and enjoy it to the fullest.  The Food, Beer and Cocktails are excellent and speak for themselves.  I highly recommend that you either come on down or get some to go and give this place a try.  

Bone Daddy's House of Smoke-Willowbrook
is located off of Gessner & 249 at:
17381 N Gessner Dr
Houston, TX 77064

Currently they're doing dinner service
5 PM to 11 PM
As of June 30th their full hours are:
Sun-Thu 11 AM to 11 PM
Fri-Sat 11 AM to Midnight 

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

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Hank on Food on the Road: Buccee's and In-N-Out Burger in Texas

June 26, 2014, 7:54 am

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ROAD TRIP!!!  Nothing stirs a mixture of excitement of possibilities as that phrase exclaimed by friends.  The family has already done a few of these, and indeed there will be a few more in Summer of 2014.  This past weekend, my son Jason and I hit the road for Austin to visit one of their In-N-Out Burger locations, as well as grab a beer at their Flying Saucer location (me, not Jason--he just had a lemonade) and stop at interesting spots along the way.  As you can see in our picture here, we are huge Buc-ee's Geeks, and we stopped at one of the HUGE Buc-ee's outside of Waller off of US 290 (40900 U.S. 290 Frontage Road Waller, TX 77484) en route to Austin (incidentally, we saw a total of 4 Buc-ee's on the way out and back!  Buc-ee's is getting HUGE!!!  Talk about your busy beaver...)  If you've just moved to Texas or are one of the few Texans that has not stopped at a Buc-ee's, you really are missing out.  Yes, it's a tourist trap.  Yet, it has really clean restrooms--and is much safer than a rest area, they sell all kinds of great Texas kitsch and even more, they have AWESOME FOOD!

Yummy Jerky!

One of the great things about Buc-ee's besides their House Brand Creamy Root Beer and Cherry Lime Soda, is their Genuine Texas Jerky that comes in a plethora of different flavours.  On our stop outside of Waller we picked up some Peppered Turkey as well Ranch Hand Cherry Maple, Hot & Spicy, and Garlic Peppered Beef Jerky.  The Turkey Jerky is thicker, more meaty and tender.  The Beef Jerky tends to be a bit tougher, but the chewiness of Beef Jerky, the act of tearing it with your fingers and teeth are part of the appeal.  Jason like the Cherry Maple and the Turkey Jerky, but had an aversion to the Hot & Spicy and the Garlic.  Me, I enjoyed them all. We both got big cups of their creamy root beer (and topped them off a few times while we shopped as well!!!) Grade:  Straight A's across the board!!!  (FYI, we also bought a couple of T-shirts, a coffee mug, some sweet, crunchy Beaver Nuggets and some Dried Veggie Chips!).  

Nothing like that Big Texas Sky...

With that mandatory Texas stop out of the way, we headed up 290 towards Austin.  This particular route holds memories for me driving from Baton Rouge to Austin back in my University days--my first long solo road trip at 19 was up 290 to Austin.  This was before State Highway 71 was multi-lane divided all the way to Austin, and faster by about 25 minutes than 290 today.  Still this gave Jason and I a chance to do some Father-Son bonding.  We sang along with Far East Movement, Maroon 5 and Marianas Trench as they cycled through on my iPod. I told him some somewhat sanitized stories about trips down to San Marcos, South Padre and Corpus Christi during my college days.  He asked questions about Grandpa Lewis, which I answered as fairly and honestly as a could--one thing Jason and I have in common is that we never got to know our paternal grandfathers directly because both of them died when we were babies.  Jason observed how big the sky seems once you get past Highway 6 and how fluffy the clouds looked.  He also talked about things he was wanting to do with his summer besides completing the books for his school summer reading and enjoying Day Camp at the Quillian Center.  His main goals were to build a few more Minecraft worlds with his buddies from School on his online Minecraft server, put together a couple of funny videos with the Bad Piggie Plushies on YouTube and take a trip with me to visit his Uncle Charles in Davenport, Iowa.  Sounded good to me.

After making our way through Giddings and Elgin, just as we got to Manor (a suburb East of Austin) I had a bit of a shock in seeing that about 5 miles of US 290 had been widened, but the limited access segment had been converted into a TOLL ROAD!  I know that the State Legislature is building tollways like crazy because they refuse to use the gasoline tax for it's intended purpose--maintain and widen roadways--but building a tollway on what had once been taxpayer maintained highway is just wrong.  Yes I have an EZ tag and it would have worked on it.  Yes, there are feeder roads with a slower speed limit and stoplights, which we took because traffic was light and I didn't feel like paying $5.00 to drive a few miles through Manor.  I also made the decision to take 71 to I-10 back to Houston when the time came to go home.

When we finally arrived in Austin, we were hungry for lunch and we found out that In-N-Out Burger had opened some locations in the Austin area.  While I prefer Whataburger by far and I'm still a bit miffed that they opened up in Dallas (COUGH!!! SPIT!!!) when they first came to Texas rather than Houston.  Still, it's been a couple of years since I've had an In-N-Out Burger, and my son said his memory of our San Francisco Trip was stale, we decided to stop at the location off of I-35 Southbound and E 46th Street (4508 I-35 North, Austin, TX 78751).  Jason had also insisted on bringing Mr. Moustache's Uncle Texas and The Fat Pig (aka El Porkador).  These locations in Austin don't serve breakfast and yet are open 8 AM to 1 AM most days of the week.  The Drive through was backed up and it was 2 PM.  There was a line up and a full dining room, despite being off-peak lunch rush hour.  Again, Whataburger is better but that doesn't mean In-N-Out doesn't also make a very good fast food burger!  So, after taking some time to find a parking space (I packed my patience), we mosied on in with burgers and fries on the brain.

My usual In-N-Out order is a 4 by 4 Animal Style (4 patties, 4 slices of cheese,with hand-leafed lettuce, tomato, a mustard cooked beef patty; add pickle, extra spread with grilled onions).  Though I don't always get the Animal style fries (I do mine well done, add cheese, spread, grilled onions and pickles right on top. ).  This time I did both, with a Big Ol' Fat Pig sized Dr. Pepper alongside it.  Jason went with his cheeseburger with ketchup only, plain fries and a chocolate shake.  As you can see, the quality and consistency of In-N-Out is wonderful.  If you like thin patty burgers, they are quite good.  The Animal style burger does have extra flavour and while it's not as great as a Whataburger Monterrey Melt, it's still a very good Fast Food Burger!  Fries are always good, but topped with cheese and other things, they can be fantastic.  The spread, grilled onions, cheese and pickles give it a savoury, sweet and sour taste, and while not the same as Poutine, is still pretty good.  Despite how busy the place was, Jason was happy, and I'd presume so were the Fat Pig and Uncle Tex.  Jason also wanted me to say that In-N-Out makes a great chocolate shake. Grades: A's across the board

Once we were done, I double checked and realized that The Flying Saucer Austin (815 W 47th St, Austin, TX 78751) was over on the triangle, not too far away from the In-N-Out.  So far I've only been to Sugar Land and Downtown Houston locations, so I figured it would be good to get a beer from this location as well.  This location feels a little smaller than the Sugar Land location, but it has more rows on their ring of honor and just like Sugar Land and Downtown, they're putting plates on the ceiling since the ring is out of space.  They're just a stone's throw from Snap Kitchen's main Austin unit in a mixed usage (residential and commercial) property that's close to the local hospitals, the bus lines, the bike lanes and the University of Texas.  These kinds of properties have been gradually springing up around Houston, but are much more popular in higher density cities like Vancouver and Portland.  And folks, thanks to all the migration from California to Texas, Austin has become a high density city.  I lived here for 3 years in my university days between 1986 and 1989.  I was always visiting Austin during my grad school at Baylor between 1989 and 1991.  The city has expanded by leaps and bounds in size.  The core has gotten really densely populated and the roads are still narrow, which can make for crazy traffic on the week days.  I relaxed with a Time Traveler Shandy while Jason enjoyed a lemonade and I listened to him talk about things he was building in his various Minecraft Worlds.  This is a nice shandy, yeasty, lemony and refreshing on a hot day.  Grade: B+

Reminders of the 2011 Bastrop Forest Fire

After having a nice chillaxing time, we got ourselves back in the Element and made our way down I-35 to State Highway 71 and headed on back to Houston (cue the Dean Martin Song!!!) through Bastrop.   It had been a couple of years since I'd headed out that way, and as we drove back, we were reminded of the severe drought and the  huge forest fire that hit the area in 2011.  Several areas that had been thick pine forests years ago when I rode in the MS150 were still singed and very barren.  The recent rain we've had in Texas has clearly improved things, but those burned trunks are a reminder of how quickly and crazily life can change.  That's why such trips like this one I took with my son are so important.  At 9½ he still looks up to me and wants to go do things with me, and I want to accommodate him as much as is reasonable.  Hopefully in a couple of years he'll look back on these things and remember what a good time it was.  These things are wonderful moments and memories of life that I do cherish as I get older, and I'm grateful for them.

Enjoy your Summer, Y'all!!!

Hank 

Event & Food Review: Vertskebap Donner Kebap Grand Opening on Yale St.

April 21, 2014, 11:12 am

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Kebab or Kebap is a Mediterranean style of seasoned cooked meat that can be served all kinds of ways.  Dönner Kebap (sometimes called DONAIR Kebab in Halifax  Nova Scotia) is a special kind of Kebab that isn't served in a wrap, it's served on a roll that resembles a Mexican Torta sandwich or a Pannini   The Berlin version is based on foods brought into Germany by Turkish Immigrants.  The sauce could be like Tzatziki sauce, or more of a dill or even a slightly sweet sauce.  The sandwich can be loaded with veggies or just meat and sauce.  If you said "Gehen wir essen Dönner" in Berlin or "Wanna Donair, eh?" in Halifax, no further words are needed.  However in Houston, we have a new Dönner Kebap place near the Heights that has come to us from Austin called Vertskebap and is based on the Berlin variety of Dönner Kebap.  They recently had their grand opening and gave away a ton of free Dönner Kebap for a ton of hungry Houstonians.  I've had the Donair variety in Halifax and had not had it in years, until I ran into the folks from Vertskebap at the Houston Press Menu of Menus.  Most folks who tried it that day were very happy with it.   I brought the family out to try it that day and we were no exception!

But first a bit of background from their website:

VERTS is a fast casual dining concept built around Döner Kebap, Germany’s favorite street food. VERTS is one of the first to bring authentic Döner Kebap to the United States. Based in Austin Texas, VERTS focuses on delivering a quality dining experience that leaves you filling good and feeling great.  

While studying at the University of Texas at Austin, VERTS founders Michael and Dominik craved their favorite street food from their German home. The Kebap unfortunately could not be found in the US. While working towards an MBA at UT, their cravings turned into a business idea – VERTS. The idea was simple: bring the Berlin-inspired Döner Kebap to America.

Michael and Dominik make sure that every ingredient was authentic and fresh. Everything, from the freshly baked bread, the tender beef, lamb and chicken, all handmade in Texas, to the traditional Turkish seasoning and homemade sauces, is prepared to meet the highest taste standards.

As a fan of the Haligonian variety of Donair, this made me so happy to hear and our experience was wonderful, after we got through the long line.  It was well worth the wait, though!  We got some with beef, some with chicken.  The adults loaded up with veggies and sauce (mine was the spicy sauce) while the kids went with the regular sauce (which was a little sweet and a little garlicky).  Jason opted for no veggies (GRRR!!!) while the rest of us had lettuce, tomatoes, mixed greens and cucumber slices.  I was amazed at how fresh and crispy the veggies were--and the fact that they're locally sourced is a good thing as well.  The sandwich is big, a little messy (keep it in the folded paper to hold it all together), but is full of different seasonings, full of flavour, and is a little juicy.  Overall a real winner, in my opinion 

Cuvee in a St. Arnold cup

The Layout is a bit like FreeB!rds--you do down the line, chose your ingredients and come out at the other end with the product, watching it as it's assembled and prepared fresh for you.  The menu is straightforward and includes wrap and bowl versions, as well as vegetarian versions.  And they have a snack size for folks with smaller appetites as well.  They also have a VERY INTERESTING product besides the usual assortment of sodas, teas, and beer:  Cuvee Black and Blue Variable Temperature coffee that's been nitrogenated and is served cold, on tap like beer.  I've never had coffee served on tap like beer before, and this was something quite special.  Heck, this alone would make it worth the trip for the experience, but the Donair... excuse me Dönner Kebap was the star of the show.  And they're opening a River Oaks location at 1572 W. Gray St this Saturday, April 26 at 11 AM--and they'll be giving away one free entree per customer that day as well!!!  There's also plans to open one in Vintage Market near Lone Star College University Park!  Now if only they'll open a location in Westchase, near Westheimer and Beltway 8... THAT would be EXCELLENT!!!


Report Card for Vertskebap Washington Heights:
Food & Beverage:
     Beef/Lamb Kebap sandwich: A+ 
     Chicken Garlic Kebap sandwich: A
     Cuvee Black & Blue Coffee: A+
Service:
     Friendliness: A
     Speed:  Incomplete, special event
Cleanliness:
     Dining Area: A (given crowd especially)
     Food Prep Line: A
     Men's Room: A
Atmosphere-Halifax Donair Place meets FreeB!rds: A-

Overall Grade: A

Vertskebap Washington Heights is located at:
107 Yale Street
Across the parking lot from Wal-mart
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 714-8101

Open 7 Days a Week
11:00 am - 10:00 pm

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Preview of Liberty Kitchen Oysterette Happy Hour Appetizers & Wine Pairings

June 29, 2014, 8:15 am

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Happy Hour... That weeknight event at a nice club, bar or restaurant with drink specials and appetizers.  A nice occasional perk for a hard day at work completed on a week night or a social time on Thursday evening with coworkers to enjoy a cocktail, a charger of wine or a pint of craft beer.  Also evokes memories of old songs by the Housemartins and Barenaked Ladies and Crush Bar and Club Blue Planet in Houston in the 1990s.   Nowadays, you have many more choices than Budweiser, Zima with a Lime, Old Grandad and Coke, or Gallo, along with reheated pizzas and frozen buffalo wings hastily warmed up in a bar's toaster oven.  No, nowadays in Houston you can choose from any number of fresh, house-prepared gourmet appetizers and a nice selection of Wine, Craft Beers and Cocktails made from Craft Brand Spirits.  And Liberty Kitchen Oysterette has well priced, well crafted appetizers that are properly paired with good wines for the Summer, running now through the end of August.  A few of us food writing types (Felice Sloan of Urban Swank, Katherine Whaley of KHOU-11 and one of Katherine's Friends) were invited to a Happy Hour to preview these pairings!

Clockwise from top left: Grilled Oysters, Grilled Shrimp, Rib-eye Negima, Smoked Salmon at Liberty Kitchen Oysterette

First up we were presented with a nicely plated Smoked salmon served over cucumber "noodles" with a dill vinaigrette and lemon creme fraiche.  This was a very artistic plating I'll say--and I like the way many restaurants are using specialized kitchen tools to make faux pasta out of veggies like cucumbers.  Heck, you can even buy a gadget so you can do that yourself at home!  The salmon was fresh, cool, a little smokey, the sauce a little sour and savoury, the cucumber just plain cool and fresh.  It was paired with Vera Vinho Verde.  Katherine Whaley indicated that she'd become quite fond of Vinho Verdes recently, and this one reminded me a bit of a Granny Smith Apple!  A little sour, yet refreshing and paired well with the salmon & cucumber.  Grade: A+

We next enjoyed some Rib-eye Negima in a soy balsamic reduction with ponzu slaw.  This was tender sliced ribeye rolled to resemble sushi with a nice mix of ponzu slaw within as well as garnished.  The taste was a bit like beef braised in soy with various herbs and onions.  The pairing was with Tilia Merlot, which had a bit of a fatty,  oily essence, reminded me of mushrooms with a hint of plums.  While some folks (thanks to Paul Giamatti in Sideways) look down their noses at Merlot, there are some good Merlots out there and this was a nice one that complemented the rib-eye quite well.  Grade: A

Fabulous Wine Pairings for Liberty Kitchen Oysterette's Summer Happy Hour--served in 3oz and 6 oz pours

That was followed with some Blackened Tuna Wakame salad (not pictured) with sweet soy and wasabi.  This tuna was a little peppery--grilled outside, tender inside, sliced a little thin and had the nice brewed soy and kick from the wasabi.  It was paired with a Chateu Famaey Rose.  Again, some folks don't care for Rose as much as pure red or white, and there are issues with light breaking it down.  This Rose was a nice contrast to the tuna--rather light, a little floral and refreshing.  Grade: A

Next up were Grilled Oysters with smoked salt, pepper, cucumber mignonette and a little trout roe.  These oysters were meaty, had a nice smoked flavour and crunch from the salt.  The roe was fresh and salty and the cucumber added cooling.  These oysters were just plain outstanding--I wanted to have a large plate of them in fact!  They were paired with Domaine Saint Vincent Brut, a nice sparkling white wine whose taste had hints of cucumber and chardonnay with a little filtered vodka.  The bubbles were small, tickled the palate, not like soda pop or beer.  Grade: A+

Clockwise  from Top left: Fried oyster Deviled Eggs, Seafood Queso, Grilled Scallops & Grilled Shrimp

Next on the agenda were grilled shrimp served in a spicy ginger maple glaze and micro shiso.  I like spice, I like maple, mix the sweet and the heat and it can be quite delicious when used in a seafood dish.  These jumbo shrimp (no oxymoron here) were meaty and substantial, and the sauce was great for them, indeed.  Just like the oysters, I could have eaten a much larger plate of them if I weren't tasting other items.  The wine pairing was Cono Sur Sauvignon Blanc.  This is a hearty white wine, one you'd expect to be served with fine seafood--very clean on the palate, a nice essence of slightly sour white grapes.  Very quaffable!  Grade: A

The last of the Happy Hour Pairings we tried were grilled scallops served with pineapple carpaccio and  honey mango salsa.  The pineapple was grilled and there was a nice herb garnish on the top.  This was a nice refreshing, tropical seafood treat, almost like a dessert.  It was paired with Man Vintners Chardonnay.  Chardonnays are either love or hate for me, no in-between.  Some of them are bone dry and pucker my mouth worse than a persimmon.  Others are clean like triple distilled vodka with essence of the wooden vats they were aged in.  This one leaned towards the latter, but had a slight sweetness in the undertones that reminded me of muscadines.  I usually don't detect any sweetness in a Chardonnay, but then again, the Chardonnay could have been accentuating the sweetness of the pineapple and mango.  Either way, it was a good dish and a good pairing.  Grade: A

I'd be remiss if I did not also mention that we did enjoy some Liberty/BRC Standards--their deviled eggs topped with their famous fried oysters and chips and queso with shrimp & crabmeat.  These are snacks you can't go wrong with at Liberty or BRC, and are served year round.  The only thing missing was an Ice Cold Pint of Karbach Hoppadillo or Saint Arnold's Elissa!  Grades: A & A

If you've not yet been to Liberty Kitchen Oysterette, I should also mention the experience--it's got a bit of a tile, formica, My Blue Heaven style to it with the theme built around Houston.  Different booths have photos and kitsch that reflect different parts of town, as well as different periods in Houston History.  Parts of the ceiling are made of recycled yardsticks from construction, and just like their other restaurants, a good deal of reclaimed material is used in the build out, the decor and the construction.  Gotta love that, right?

These Happy Hour Pairings range in price from $4.00 to $8.00 for small servings, with the wine pairings ranging from $3.00 to $3.00 for half glass and $5.00 to $9.00 for a full glass.  They're also only for the summer so come on down to the Liberty Kitchen Oysterette for Happy Hour (4 PM to 6 PM Weekdays) prior to the end of August and enjoy them!!!

Liberty Kitchen Oysterette is located at:

Felice Sloan, Katherine Whaley & Her friend Liz enjoy Happy Hour at Liberty Kitchen Oysterette!

4224 San Felipe St
Houston, Texas 77027
713-622-1010

Hours
Monday - Wednesday: 11 a.m. – 10 p.m.
Thursday: 11 a.m. – 11 p.m.
Friday: 11 a.m. – 12 midnight
Saturday: 8 a.m. – 12 midnight Sunday: 8 a.m. – 10 p.m.

Monday thru Sunday - Afternoon Menu: 2:30 p.m. - 5 p.m.
Saturday and Sunday - Breakfast Menu: 8 a.m. - 2:30 p.m.
And their Patio is Pet Friendly!

Eat Happy (Hour), Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

July 2014 Odds and Ends

July 1, 2014, 7:51 pm

≫ Next: Review: Coppa Osteria in Rice Village

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Whew!  2014 is half over already?!?!  Where in the HECK did the time go?  It's been a busy year for sure between career, family and lots of great food to write about.  I've got several reviews in the pipeline that will be coming your way over the next few weeks, as well as a few projects that I'll tease about.  And of course, plenty of great Food Events from Canada and US Independence Day through the Dog Days of Summer.  So LET'S HIT IT!!!

Saint Arnold Beer for Backpacks on Wednesday, July 2nd
The Annual Beer for Backpacks at the Saint Arnold Brewery will be on Wednesday, July 2 - 5:30 - 8:00 PM.  Join us at the brewery with State Representative Jessica Farrar as we collect backpacks and other school supplies for children who otherwise would not have these supplies. We will pay you for your generosity in beer. Bring the materials listed below and in return you will be able to enjoy all of the beers we regularly have available on our tours. Per usual, we will also have limited release beers available for purchase.

Admission: Bring one new or gently used children's backpack and at least two of the following items (you're of course welcome to bring even more!):

-- 1 subject wide-ruled notebook
-- 4 pocket folders with brads/assorted colors
-- 1 packet of loose leaf wide-ruled paper
-- 1 box of 24-ct crayons
-- 2 glue sticks

This is a good deal and it REALLY HELPS OUT a number of Houston area students for whom school supplies are a high expense.  Help out some kids and help yourself to some quality craft beer.  What's not to like?!?!

Patriotic Treats at 3 Brothers Bakery

Three Brothers Bakery has all of the festive treats you need for an All-American 4th of July celebration. With the selection at Three Brothers Bakery, you can skip the stress of the grocery store and stop by one of the three area locations for your 4th of July spread, complete with hand-made buns and breads, an all-American apple, cherry or chocolate pecan pie, decorated white chocolate dipped gingerbread cookies, festive cupcakes, patriotic cake parfaits and even a custom American flag cake.  I swung by their Memorial City location today and enjoyed a patriotic parfait made with white cake, red velvet cake and blueberry/white vanilla icing.  It was a sweet treat that went well with a nice cup of coffee!  So swing by any of the 3 locations of 3 Brothers and enjoy these wonderful treats or bring them to your Backyard BBQ or gathering on the 4th!  Tell them Hank on Food sent you by!

Buffalo Bayou Brewing, BRC Gastropub & The Wave Team Up for July 4th!!!
Buffalo Bayou Brewery & BRC Gastropub have partnered up with Houston’s only jitney, The Houston Wave, to bus Houstonians for a day of Burgers Brew and Buses fun and a night of Houston’s very own Freedom Over Texas on Friday, July 4, 2014. The Wave will depart the Silver Street Studios parking lot between 5-5:15 p.m. and will then head to BRC Gastropub on Shepherd for an amazing burger & beer pairing created just for this special night. Then around 6:45-7 p.m. we will head to Buffalo Bayou Brewery for a tour & private tasting. Lastly, The Wave will head back to the parking lot of Silver Street Studios for an amazing viewing of the fireworks and more fun. The collaboration of these three Houston based businesses is to help Houstonians enjoy our freedom, have a drink and enjoy the festivities, but not have to worry about driving, finding parking, tickets or DWI’s. Let’s celebrate independence from our cars. We have set up two ticket options on the event site, one is the entire package for $60 and the other is for the fireworks viewing party only for $10. We will have chairs and tables set up for this event, but many people bring their own chairs as well. To view all the details for this amazing events schedule and purchase their tickets to Burgers Brew Bus go to http://BurgersBrewBus.eventbrite.com or contact the Houston Wave 713-863-9283.   I've had those burger and beer pairings (IMPERIAL Pints no less) at BRC and you DO NOT want to miss this!  Plus, leave the burger grilling to the experts at BRC and give your grill (and the Houston Fire Dept.) a rest!!!

Dunkin Donuts Conroe Grand Opening Tuesday July 8th

Dunkin’ Donuts continues to expand its Houston area presence, today announcing its next Grand Opening will be in Conroe, Texas. They had their soft opening this past Sunday--I dropped by with my Mom, my older sister and kids and we enjoyed Iced Coffee and Doughnuts!  Conroe and northwest Houston area coffee lovers are invited to the July 8th Grand Opening of the new Dunkin’ Donuts restaurant located at 800 N. Loop 336 W, Conroe, TX 77301, beginning at 9:00 am. In celebration of the Grand Opening, selected local schools and area non-profits will have the chance to compete in a “Dunkin’ Cups for Charity” cup stacking competition at 9:30 am. Participating organizations include the Conroe Chamber of Commerce, Montgomery County Emergency Assistance and the Montgomery County Food Bank. The new restaurant will be open from 5:00 am – 11:00 pm, 7 days a week and will employ approximately 30 crew members, serving up Dunkin’ Donuts internationally recognized coffee, lattes, donuts and bakery goods. All members of the community are welcome to attend the Grand Opening on July 8 and enjoy free medium coffees, other beverage samples, contest, VIP ribbon-cutting, prize giveaways, and the newest Dunkin' Donutsmenu offerings. Come by and meet mascot “Cuppy” and sample some DDelicious flavors!  I was a judge at the West Oaks Grand Opening a few months back and these events are FUN!  So if you're in the Woodlands/Conroe, and have a Hankering for a Boston Kreme or a Jamoca Almond Fudge Iced Coffee, head on over there next Tuesday!!!

Feast of Saint Arnold at the Brewery of that name July 20th

On Sunday, July 20, Texas' oldest craft brewery will be hosting the Feast of Saint Arnold--an annual fundraiser for Texas Children's Hospital's Inflammatory Bowel Disease Center. IBD includes Crohn's Disease and ulcerative colitis, which together affect 1.4 million people in this country alone. The TCH IBD Center is a leading institution in the treatment and research of these diseases in the juvenile population.

The Feast of Saint Arnold is a beer dinner unlike any other event. It features four courses: beef, pork, fish and fowl. All are served simultaneously and family-style (or as you would expect medieval knights to be served). The food is the result of a collaboration between Saint Arnold Executive Chef Ryan Savoie and Landry's Concept Executive Chef Scott Castell. Reviews from previous years have been enthusiastic, to say the least.

Passed Hors d'Oeuvres Yorkshire Pudding Cheese Puffs Almond Stuffed Dates wrapped with Speck with Pink Peppercorn Gastric

Pork CourseWeedwacker cured Porchetta with Prosecco poached Figs and Pears over Cornmeal Griddle Cakes

Poultry Course "Buffalo-Style" Beer brined Duck Wings in Brown Ale Beer Mustard Sauce over Pickled Radish and Chicory Salad

Meat CourseSlow Roasted Leg of Lamb with Harissa, Orzo, Red Pepper, Cashew and Raisins

Seafood Course Whole Roasted Gulf Shrimp with Summer Squash and Saffron Rice

Dessert Winter Stout Pecan Tassies Cherry and Pistachio Baklava with Mint and Pomegranate Syrup

You'll get to pair the dishes with any of their regular beers, and Saint Arnold will also have DR13 aged in bourbon barrels, Weizenbock aged in Old New Orleans rum barrels and cask conditioned 20th Anniversary Ale. You'll arrive at 5:00 PM, enjoy some hors d'oeuvres and your aperitif beers. At 5:45 prompt, the Feast will commence. Utensils optional. Attire is brewery formal, which only precludes flip-flops. 

Reservations are $100 each and include all of your food and beer. This is a popular event and will sell out. MAKE YOUR RESERVATIONS NOW!!!

It's always a good time at Saint Arnold's and their food is AWESOME!  So help out the TXCH IBD Center and come on out!!!

Boxing Stuff Up To Go
Well folks, it's another busy month, with lots of great stuff to do and places to go eat!  Happy Canada Day!  Happy US Independence Day!  And above all else:

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Review: Coppa Osteria in Rice Village

July 3, 2014, 2:25 am

≫ Next: Event: HankOnFood's 2nd Plate Party at The Flying Saucer Sugar Land

≪ Previous: July 2014 Odds and Ends

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When dining in Italy, there is a distinct difference between a ristorante, a trattoria and an osteria. A ristorante should be a full-fledged, full-service restaurant. In Italy, the term came into use after the Risorgimento to describe elegant and sophisticated dining establishments. These are the kind of places that usually have a lot of forks or stars after their names in the travel guides. A trattoria is less formal than a ristorante. Here you'll find medium-priced fare and casual service. In fact, if you were in Italy and wanted to find an inexpensive restaurant, you might ask, "Può consigliare una trattoria?" There probably won't be a host or hostess; just pick a table and sit down. Maybe there's a printed menu; maybe not. An osteria is the least formal among the formal classifications of restaurant. Originally an osteria was a small in or motel that provided lodging and served simple food and wine. Today's osteria is more of a gathering place that serves wine and some basic foods, much like an American pub.  While it's often said that the use of any such labels in the United States is just a form of pretentious behavior, when you compare Coppa Ristorante on Washington Avenue to Coppa Osteria in the Rice Village, these categories are more accurate than pretentious.

Their Lunch Menu consists of a good mix of small plates (aka Dim Sum, Tapas, insert your own favourite descriptor there), Soups, Salads, Sandwiches, Pasta, Pizza and Calazones. The blurb on their website says "Featuring a menu of Piatto Del Giorno, artisanal Salumi and Formaggio boards, hand made pastas, pizza and sandwiches."and indeed, that menu is as stated.  But then again, Clark Cooper Concepts tells it like it is with all of their restaurants, and their team which includes Executive Chef Brandi Key (also with Punk's just next door) and lead Chef Jamie Salazar bring a plethora of experience to the table in what some of us in Houston are starting to call "The Industry." (No, not Entertainment or Oil--THE FOOD SERVICE INDUSTRY!!!) 

The "Honour Bar" at Coppa Osteria #WINK

When you come into Coppa Osteria, you're taken in by the wide open spaces--high ceilings, large windows, plenty of space and a couple of wine displays that look like giant library shelves full of different wine bottles.  The host was an amusing young man in glasses and a fedora (I have to give full props for rocking the Fedora!) who, upon spotting my Buc-ee's shirt, talked about how after he moved here from LA, he ended up on a road trip to Dallas (COUGH! SPIT!) with friends, and stopped at their Flagship north of Huntsville, and went NUTS buying Kitsch!  He also called the tall shelves of wine their "Honour Bar" with a huge wink. Nice job making a connection to your customer and providing an entertaining story!  

Antipasti Plate at Coppa Osteria

We studied the lunch menu and started off with an Antipasti Plate (soppressata, aged cheese, roasted peppers, hummus, eggplant caponata, marinated olives, ciabatta bread). We opted to have a little more cheese and no hummus this time.  I like hummus, but recently had eaten A LOT and just wanted a break from it is all.  This colourful plate made a nice picture and there was plenty of natural light from the huge windows to get a good shot!  Looked a bit like a type of still life picture you'd take of something way better than a bowl of wax fruit.  The olives were a mixture of sweet and sour, not your typical olives to be sure.  The aged cheese was slightly moist, had some bite to it--little bitter, little umami, and the soppressata was wonderful cured Salami, nice, meaty and peppery.  Had it been a little later in the day, this would have all gone well with a nice bottle of vino!

I had pizza on the brain and since my main job usually enables me to enjoy a leisurely late Friday lunch, I wasn't going to be denied.  They have several great pies including traditional Margherita, and special pies like the Coppa Ham & Eggs (spicy air-dried pork shoulder, quail eggs, tomato, parmesan) and the Carnissima (A carnivore's delight--italian sausage, pepperoni, salumi toscano, coppa, prosciutto, smoked mozzarella, panna).  I was really wanting the Carnissima at first, but instead opted for the Bianca (a white pizza, mozzarella, fontina, parmesan, scamorza and ricotta cheeses, castelventrano olive, oregano).  I opted to add some prosciutto to the pie for $5.00 extra.  When that pie came to the table it was just beautiful.  You had a nice brown crust with a few odd char marks here and there on the edge and the bottom, fully melted cheeses, fresh oregano leaves scattered around nice tears of prosciutto.  It seemed almost a shame to eat it, but we were famished and dug in.

The cheeses were contrasting and complex in flavour.  You had smooth, stringy mozzarella, pungent curds of ricotta, dry & slightly bitter parmesan, and olive-like oily scarmoza in the mix.  No sauce needed here with this cheese blend!  The Oregano was fresh, aromatic and herbal.  The prosciutto was thinly shredded, sweet, slightly smoky and almost melted in your mouth.  The contents of this pie were firmly held on a nice crust that was crunchy on the outside, a little chewy on the inside and had a nice fractally charred crust on the bottom.  A great representation of the Neapolitan style of pizza, with great ingredients and prepared fresh.  Excellent job, Coppa Osteria!

Making Pizza Dough at Coppa Osteria

Report Card for Coppa Osteria:
Food & Beverage:
     Fresh Lemonade: A+
     Antipasti Plate: A
     Bianca Pizza w/Prosciutto: A+
Service:
     Speed: A
     Friendliness: A+
Cleanliness:
     Dining Area: A
     Kitchen (nothing hidden here): A+
     Men's Room: A
Atmosphere (Industrial Reclaimed Modern Gourmet): A

Overall Grade: Solid A


Coppa Osteria is located in Rice Village at:
5210 Morningside Dr.
Houston, TX 77005
713-522-3535

HOURS
Mon-Thu: 11 AM-10 PM
Fri-Sat: 11 AM-11 PM
Sun: 11 AM-9 PM

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
Mangiare felicemente tutti voi!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Event: HankOnFood's 2nd Plate Party at The Flying Saucer Sugar Land

July 8, 2014, 6:01 pm

≫ Next: HankOnFood on the Road: TX Burger in Madisonville

≪ Previous: Review: Coppa Osteria in Rice Village

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This time, it took 15 months rather than 9, and that was just fine with me.  I managed to try another 200 distinct craft beers, some different from the original list, others repeats due to just plain loving those brands and styles and wanting to enjoy them again on this round.  On a recent Friday afternoon, a group of coworkers and friends got together and enjoyed the fruits of this easy labor (and a bunch of tabs ran at The Flying Saucer Sugar Land) with a couple of craft beers, some appetizers and the unveiling of my 2nd Plate!  We took the time to select some newer appetizers that I can share in this posting with y'all, my dear readers.  Nobody participated in the Contest for one more seat at the table, but that's ok.  There's always the 3rd plate, whenever that comes up!

For the full list, you can access this Google Spreadsheet  which includes style, brand and date.  Most of the styles I consumed over 15 months were Stouts (Imperial and otherwise), IPAs (Imperial and otherwise) and a whole bunch of Belgians.  This plate went a little slower than the first one--I wasn't in as much of a hurry for one thing, and for another Quality > Quantity for this craft beer Lover.  When it came to brands, Saint Arnold was 21 of the 200 consumed, followed by Karbach (14) and 512 (12).  There's a clear bias towards Texas based craft beer brands, and there's absolutely nothing wrong with that!!!

This time around, my party was made up of coworkers--my colleagues from Lone Star College-University Park.  Allen Margoitta (Biology Professor, Science Dept. Chair and frequent companion on these food adventures), Abe Haje (Math Professor and Soccer Lover), Alan Gandy (Computer Science Professor) and wife.  The five of us hung out, snacked on appetizers, like their spicy Korean Meatballs pictured on the left, Hummus and Pita, and their Queso Fondue (with Ham, pretzel bites, celery and bratwurst bites to dip in the Queso).

I also took the time to recommend different beers for my colleagues based on their tastes.  Allen is a Dark Beer Lover and he enjoyed a Prairie Russian Imperial Stout.  Abe likes Shiner Bock, so I had him get a Real Ale Blakkr Black IPA.  Alan is more of a Sierra Nevada Pale Ale guy, so I had him try an Oasis Slow RIde Pale Ale.  They were all happy with my recommendations--Allen ended up getting a 512 Pecan Porter, which he's had before but is quite fond of.  I had an Oasis Slow Ride Pale Ale, an Oasis Texas Luchesa Lager and a Full Sail Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout. In these hot Houston Summer Months, I really find Belgian Beers, Pale Ales, Wheat Beers, Witbiers and the lighter beers more refreshing.  However, you just can't beat a Bourbon Barrel Aged Imperial Stout ANY time of the year!   We took time to talk food, beer and shop, as well as socialize.  We all agreed that these moments to do this are important, and we're all happy that we have good collegial relationships at LSC-UP.  I've been in some dysfunctional offices, and I tell you what, I'm grateful to be able to break bread with these colleagues and hoist a few pints.  Us college professors NEED this sort of thing after grading papers!  ;-)

This was also my 46th Birthday and it was a great time to eat pizza, watch world cup and have a few brews.  When the time came to unveil the plate, we had a full bar with plenty of cheering.  The new plate occupies the same spot (#201, visible on the top row as you walk in the front door).  2nd Plate always has a yellow background, which is cool.  Instead of the Texans motif, I went with one of my favourite Bad Piggies, Mr. Moustache.  I got an image of him with his tongue hanging out and a bunch of empty beer mugs next to him.  It still has my name and HankOnFood.com and #BEEEERRRRR on it, but now has "Squared" because it is the 2nd plate after all.  This one will get more than a few laughs over the next several months until the next plate.  Truth to tell, with the clowning around Jason and I do with the Bad Piggies, Uncle Tex is the one with the beer focus and he may show up on a later plate!

Overall this was a great plate party, I had a great time and was glad my coworkers (who had to drive a ways from NW Houston to Sugar Land) made the drive out and were able to share this moment with me.  Yes, it's not the same as winning a teaching award or an athletic award--and it's much easier to just sit and drink a few different craft beers each week until you hit 200 as opposed to completing a marathon, but it was still fun and like any great food and beverage, it's ALWAYS better when shared with family, friends, colleagues and loved ones!  I also want to thank the management and staff at The Flying Saucer Sugar Land for humouring a group of rowdy college professors and craft beer lovers, and for their UFO Club providing some beers, appetizers and a good ol' time!  My old plate is hanging on my wall in my office at LSC-UP as a reminder of my first trip around the circle of honour.  I figure there will be a few more before my time here is done, eh?

Drink Craft Beer, Y'all!!!
和得开心皮就!!!
Hank

HankOnFood on the Road: TX Burger in Madisonville

July 9, 2014, 4:00 am

≫ Next: Reigns Food Truck and My Food Park HTX on Highway 6 S

≪ Previous: Event: HankOnFood's 2nd Plate Party at The Flying Saucer Sugar Land

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Well folks, it seems we've just passed Independence Day, Summer is nearly halfway over in terms of the start of school in the Fall and so once again I thought it was time for a bit of a road trip.  Inspired by The Texas Bucket List hosted by Shane McAuliffe and shown in Houston on KPRC-Local 2 on Sunday Mornings at 5:30 AM, I was inspired to pack the kids up and go check out a local/regional burger joint that had a well-known seasonal burger up in Madisonville, Texas.  And yes, there was a Buc-ee's Stop as well.

Madionville, Texas is roughly 1/3 of the way between Houston and Dallas.  It's a couple of stops off of I-45, 35 minutes away from Bryan/College Station by US Highway 190, and within 3 hours or less of Houston, Austin, Dallas, Fort Worth and San Antonio.  It's a small town--just under 5,000 by the 2010 Census, but it's proximity to larger cities is used as a selling point.  They're also the home of the Oak Ridge Country Club (for you golfers out there), Lake Madison (for boaters and waterskiers), and they host the Madison County Fair, the Madisonville Sidewalk Cattleman's Association Events (including a Steak Dinner) and the Texas Mushroom Festival for us food lovers.  They also are home to a flagship location of Buc-ee's and the original TX Burger (not to be confused with Burger Tex or Texas Burger)

Per their website:

In 1973, James Carter opened up a hamburger restaurant that would make his mother proud. James' mother was an incredible cook and he knew if he duplicated the taste of his mother's hamburgers in his restaurant, then he would be successful. He was right indeed! Soon, the Texas Burger was born in Madisonville, Texas. James Carters' goal was to serve a fresh, never frozen hamburger with extraordinary customer service. Very quickly, this small town became a popular stopping point for travelers and locals alike to enjoy a great meal. Since 1973, Texas Burger has expanded throughout East Texas. Texas Burgers' hamburgers are made using Nolan Ryan's all natural beef. This hormone-free patty lives up to the quality and taste that would surely make Mama Carter smile. Texas Burger also proudly serves Blue Bell ice cream, with your choice of a hand dipped cone or a hand spun malt or shake. If you find yourself near a Texas Burger, come on in and  taste a hamburger that is 'just like Mama used to make'.

Well if that's not true Texas Spirit, I don't know what is! And they serve Nolan Ryan All-Natural Texas Beef for all their burgers on their menu!  Ryan played for the Astros, the Rangers and operated the Round Rock Express.  He's as Texas as it comes.  Yee-haw!!!

My kiddos went with standard cheeseburgers--Helena with light mayo, lettuce and tomato; Jason with ketchup and cheese only.  They had nicely sized kid burgers with their in house seasoned fries.  I went with their seasonal burger called the Firecracker Burger.  This has a 1/4 lb patty, BBQ, sauce, grilled onions, grilled jalapeños, lettuce, tomato and a chipotle sauce.  No cheese--I didn't think to order it.  However, what I received was nicely spicy and full of flavour, cheese wasn't really necessary this time around.  Served on a yeasty, locally baked bun, you saw a nicely proportioned beef patty, loaded with grilled onions and jalapeños, and oozing with BBQ and Chipotle sauce.  The tomatoes and lettuce were freshly sliced and shredded and it was a beauty of a burger sitting in the basket with those seasoned fries.  I took a good bite and got a bit of cream and sweetness, followed by a nice spicy kick and a little pungency from the grilled onions.  The whole thing worked together quite nicely--sweet, heat, beefy, saucy goodness.  It required more than a couple of napkins given how juicy it was, and it was completely satisfying to this hungry dad who'd been on the road for a couple of hours!

While big franchises offer comfort and familiarity to the road-weary traveler, I always encourage you, my dear readers, to chase down local or regional restaurants like TX Burger--the kind you don't have at home.  You can discover unique surprises like this Firecracker burger that will give you something to talk, or blog about as the case may be!  And as their motto says:  ALL BEEF, NO BULL.  This place definitely has the goods and they deliver it right to your table.  I'll also add that the place was running a good clip of businesses, mostly locals and some travelers who knew of their burgers.  Add three more to the latter, y'all.

Buc-ee's other side of I-45 from Texas Burger

Report Card for TX Burger-Madisonville:
Food:
     Kids Cheeseburgers: A
     Firecracker Burger: A+
     Seasoned Fries: A
Service:
     Friendliness: A+
     Speed: A- (was a little slow, food was fresh, hot)
Cleanliness:
     Dining Area: A
     Kitchen: A
     Restrooms: A-
Atmosphere (Small town, stainless steel, Burger joint): A

Overall Grade: Solid A  

Texas Burger has 11 locations, primarily in Central Texas.
We went to the original location at:

2902 East Main
(off of I-45 Southbound and US 190)
Madisonville, Texas 77864

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

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Reigns Food Truck and My Food Park HTX on Highway 6 S

July 13, 2014, 9:11 am

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Houston has several food parks that accommodate the growing food truck industry. Most people seem to think that food truck parks are only located inside the 610 loop.  However there's a notable one on Highway 6 just south of I-10 called my Houston food Park. I've actually been meaning to get out there for a while, but schedules being what they are it's not always easy to do things without an appointment. Fortunately on a recent weekend, I had an appointment to go visit Reigns food truck  is a Cajun/Tex-Mex food fusion truck that also includes a dash of Asian spice. They were serving up at My Food Park HTX on Highway 6 (owned/operated by Vivian and Alec Hale, owners of Zeapod Cakery and Sno Cone City Food Trucks), so it all kind of came together.

Per their website;

Reigns Food Truck was the vision, inspiration and determination of three family members.  Through years of experience in corporate America, Krystal brings knowledge of sales and marketing.  Along with his love of food,  Artemio provided the financial structure that was needed to bring his inspiration to life.  LaVar provides more than 20-years of culinary expertise through his career as a Chef at various hotels and restaurants throughout the country.

Sounds like most Food Trucks I know:  a business created by family & friends.  Most of my life has been in Southern Louisiana & Texas with friends & family of Asian ancestry, so their menu intrigued me significantly. The menu has a mixture of chef treats includes different types of wings, various tacos includes an Asian fusion tacos, and some burgers both traditional and waited all over the top. They also can add a little heat or A LOT of heat, so any palate can be pleased by the menu on this truck.

Helena enjoys a Lemon-Lime Avalanche Sno-Ball

My daughter Helena & I came by on a nice Saturday afternoon.  Thankfully Sno Cone City had set up shop there too so she was able to get a nice, cool, sweet treat in the form of soft New Orleans style shaved ice SnoBalls!!!  After talking with Krystal & LaVar, I chose their Ahi Tuna Taco (Ahi tuna sesame toasted rare, on a bed of quinoa, wasabi aioli & citrus Ponzu) & an over the top burger called The Swamp Thing (Alligator blended  with wild boar to form a mouth watering experience with a burger and crawfish etouffee to finish off the true Louisiana taste at it's finest)!  This menu is something you would find in a high-end sports bar, a nice fast casual restaurant or even in a Cajun restaurant down by the fishing pier. Say what you will, but the chef driven food trucks are not so-called "Roach Coaches", not by a long shot!

Ahi Tuna Taco

I had the Ahi tuna taco first. This was a beautiful taco--2 red corn tortillas with delicious pan seared Ahi tuna,  beautiful seasoning on top of quinoa & greens with citrus Ponzu sauce. This is a VERY COLOURFUL taco.  It's not some ordinary yellow and brown smudge junk you can get at a fast food joint.  No way that's the case!  The seasoning was kind of like black peppercorn, though I thought I detected a hint of Wasabi. The tuna was tender, delicate but full of flavor.  There were crunchy strands of what I think was tempura batter too!  The mixture of flavors and textures  was a wonderful medley for your palate.   And the red corn tortillas offered a slightly salty wrap for the entire dish. I tried one bite with my hands but saw that this would be a bad idea if I wanted to keep my shirt clean, so I ate the rest of it with a fork.  GRADE: A

RUN FOR YOUR LIVES!  IT'S THE SWAMP THING!!!

And now for a monster of  a burger, named after the Legendary Hero of the Green Space and Plants in the DC Universe, THE SWAMP THING!!!  However, this Swamp Thing was loaded with meat that you would be able to hunt and fish in the Atchafalaya Swamp:  Alligator, Wild Boar, Shrimp and Crawfish.  The Alligator and wild boar are the content of the patty.  The shrimp and crawfish are made Etouffee style (a nice, thick, spicy stew found in both Cajun and Creole cuisine usually with seafood, spices, some veggies like okra in a blonde or brown roux/gravy) on top of the patty.  It's served open fave on a thick, fluffy bun.  This  monster of a burger SHOULD NOT BE EATEN WITH YOUR HANDS.  It's such a monster, it would probably bite off your hands!  (Just kidding, Y'all!!!)  Just take a look at that burger--it's stacked up a little bit like a Campechana Seafood appetizer I had at Mr. Peeples not too long ago.  You have a nice, chargrilled boar/gator patty, a layer of Seafood Etouffee  (plenty of crawfish tails and shrimp in there) and that spicy sauce/roux all over creation with some greens on the side for good measure.  First bite I got a spicy, char-grilled sensation.  The patty wasn't too mushy, wasn't too chewy--a nice mouth sensation and plenty of heat, but I still could get a sense of the meat flavour--reminded me a bit of Bratwurst in texture, but with Cajun spice.  Not gamey at all!  The seafood was nicely prepared--I was almost expecting a layer of white steamed rice between it and the meat, but that is what the bun was for, to soak up the sauce.  About the only thing that could make this feel more like Louisiana would be a big ol Hurricane loaded with booze on the side!  A Total Winner and a reminder to me to bring back the Top Burger list, because The Swamp Thing would be on it in a good spot!  Grade: A+++

While I enjoyed the taco and the Swamp Thing, I was able to catch up with Viv and meet her husband while sitting under a patio umbrella and enjoying some live folk music from Mitch Marcoulier and his brother from out of Austin.  We talked about the food park and the rotation of Trucks--on this particular day Flip-n-Patties, Copper Chefs and Taco Nuts were among the trucks serving.  If I'd had more room in my belly, I'd have tried some of their stuff too.  But there's always next time and all kinds of places to catch these folks.  This food park is relatively new, but it's in a great location in the energy corridor.  There are flags and signs out there that mark it on Southbound Hwy 6, but since the road is curving left there just south of Memorial Drive, you might almost drive past it.  Of course the City of Houston sign permits and costs are a little high for this new food park (maybe a Kickstarter is in order), but give it some time.

Mitch Marcoulier & his brother!

Just so you know, the Hale family maintains the park (reminds me of an old drive in theater) and they do show movies some evenings, as well as have market nights for local crafts folks to sell their wares.  They don't charge an access fee to anyone either.  I'm always hearing my friends in the burbs gripe "I would love to try some of our Chef-Driven Gourmet Food Trucks, but I don't work downtown, I hate driving into downtown and there's no place to park.  That my friends is NOT a problem with My Food Park HTX--it's 3 acres, with plenty of parking, and the Food Trucks Rotate!  Zeapod and Sno Cone City are owned by the Hale Family and always have a presence there, but the other trucks are coming out so that folks in Westchase, Katy and Sugar Land can come try their wares.  Y'all just need to get out to 800 Highway 6 South and see who's out, as well as follow them on Twitter!  The park is family and dog friendly as well, just please clean up after your pets and your kids is all they ask!  I'll also add, the atmosphere reminds me a bit of an impromptu festival of sorts, but in a smaller, more intimate space.  I've been to more than a few of these kinds of things growing up in Baton Rouge and going to college in Austin.  It's a rustic yet fun time to spend your lunch our or a few hours on a weekend afternoon.

Reigns Food Truck is all over Houston on different days and times.  That link is for their Twitter Account so you can find where they are on any given day!

My Food Park HTX is located at 800 Highway 6 Southbound, just South of Memorial Drive, Houston TX  77079.  That link is for their Twitter Account, and the Hales Tweet who's there at what times throughout each business day.

Eat Happy, Y'all and KEEP ON FOOD TRUCKIN'!!!
Hank 

PumPecApple Pie Cake from 3 Brothers Bakery

July 19, 2014, 3:15 pm

≫ Next: Review: Valley Ranch Grill & BBQ off of 249 & Spring Cypress

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3 Brothers Bakery is one of my trusted restaurants which I can recommend without any hesitation whatsoever.  Recently my old high school classmate Rachel Dingle (nee Halphen) was in Houston going to a BBQ that some of her relatives was hosting and was supposed to bring a dessert.  I recommended the Washington Avenue location of 3 Brothers and she brought a chocolate cake that was THE HIT of the BBQ (her words not mine.)  So let's just say if Janice or Bobby Jucker, proprietors and daughter-in-law & son of one of the ORIGINAL 3 Brothers calls me, I'm there unless there's a major obstacle (i.e. I can't step away from work without being fired, my kid's sick, I'm in the hospital) preventing me from getting there.

Photo Courtesy of 3 Brothers Bakery

Janice got in touch with me because she was celebrating 3 Brothers Bakery Washington Avenue's 3 Month Anniversary with a special preparation of one of their most well known, over the top, outrageously wonderful desserts (Pardon me, Jack Tyler for the superlatives!) called the PumPecApple Pie Cake.  No you didn't read that wrong.  Imagine the following great pies prepared by 3 Brothers:  Apple Pie, Pumpkin Pie and Pecan Pie (Per Janice Jucker: the latter is so well known, they've been shipped all over during the Holidays, as far as Iraq and Afghanistan and they make it there intact!).  Now imagine those three pies baked into 3 layers for a cake (apple and pumpkin pies within spice cake layers, pecan within one of their awesome chocolate cake layers) and frosted with fondant and butter cream, garnished with caramel, chocolate and nuts.  It looks like 25 lbs of dessert madness.  One look will send a diabetic into insulin shock and revive a hypoglycemic person!!! On this rainy Tuesday Summer afternoon, I chatted with Janice and a couple of other folks, enjoyed a slice of this legendary dessert and heart the story of its origin.  Janice Jucker isn't just an entrepreneur and a baker's wife, she spins a good yarn too!

Basically it went back to a number of years ago when Country Living Magazine was doing a contest surrounding their pies.  Janice was contacted by an intern that had looked up 3 brothers and they quickly threw together some pies, found out how to ship them to New York City so they'd get there as intact as possible and do well.  Their Pecan pie was the first one that arrived and they won Country Living's Best Pecan Pie award based on that.  Gotta love interns--they can get your foot in the door in all kinds of places or can mess things up for you royally if they're not careful!  Later on, a Houston Chronicle reporter wanted to visit the bakery and look at one of their most over the top desserts they had created.  This led to the inception of the PumPecApple Pie Cake.

Janice, Bobby and their staff tried to figure out exactly how to bake a pie and then put it inside a cake.  It took some trial and error but they figured out how long to bake the pies by themselves, remove them from the tins and put them in the layer cake banks and bake the cake layers so they were fully cooked yet contained the pie within them.  Once these logistics were worked out, it was a matter of getting the right frosting and other accoutrements to hold the whole thing together.  When they presented it to the Chronicle, the reporter was impressed and asked them what the price was.  Off the top of her head after a little mental algebra, Janice said $269.00, but on sale right now for $175.00.  The day the article aired they had more than 10 ordered and it's something that gets ordered as a Groom's cake at weddings at times, but mostly as a special dessert to serve during the October through January holidays that span religious and secular observances.  And this 3 month anniversary was as good as any.

The Minds behind 3 Brothers Bakery: Janice & Bobby Jucker

While some folks might be skeptical of such a tower of dessert power, I'm personally impressed.  It has everything in there in the old food pyramid except vegetables.  I would humbly suggest with the apple pie using a carrot cake with raisins instead of a spice cake to get them in there.  However, the Juckers are the bakers, not me and they can do whatever the heck the want.  This is a delicious, unique dessert.  No confusion here at all.  Moist spice cake complementing cinnamon apples in that pie was very tasty.  Rich, moist chocolate cake with crunchy, salty pecan pie with a praline touch; dang good!  More spice cake with creamy pumpkin pie: magnificent!  While this sasquatch of a cake may have rare sightings, if you REALLY want to make a splash of style and decadence in a dessert you bring to an event, bring one of these, and they won't stop talking about it for a looooooooong time!

3 Brothers Bakery has 3 locations around  Houston: 4036 S. Braeswood Blvd. Houston, TX 77025--Phone: 713.666.2253; 12393 Kingsride Ln Houston, TX 7702--Phone: 713.464.2253; and 4606 Washington Ave Houston, TX 77007--Phone: 713.522.2253 (last 4 digits on all spell CAKE);  They also do more traditional cakes and pies as well if you don't want to make that big a splash.

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Review: Valley Ranch Grill & BBQ off of 249 & Spring Cypress

July 20, 2014, 9:00 am

≫ Next: Great Picks for Mother's Day in the Houston Area

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Houston has no shortage of fair, good and great BBQ.  I make no secret that my favourite BBQ joint in the Houston area is Killen's.  I'm in the process of compiling a number of Top Lists by category to roll out later this year and they're #1, with no close contender to them.  However, numbers 2 through 9 are a much tougher call.  Not to mention you have all these subcategories--large vs. limited chain, local with a few spots versus local only, style such as Texas (Brisket, Ribs and Sausage) vs. Carolina (Pulled Pork) and other (KC sweet, Memphis Dry, etc.)  I know JC Reid is probably tired of my using his "embarrassment of riches" tagline, but hey, if it's not broke, don' fix it!

While I live in Westchase, I work off of 249 & Louetta.  I've been able to use this as a means to explore restaurants outside of my usual stomping grounds of West Houston, Inside the Loop and Sugar Land.  Many of my coworkers and students live out between that way and Tomball/The Woodlands/Huntsville, and my policy is always "If you know a good local place you love, share it.  If I've not tried them, I'll give them a shot.  If they're good to great, they'll be blogworthy." Thanks to this I've tried places like Peli Peli, Mario's Taco & Burger House and Anothai.  My good friend and colleague Allen Margoitta recently mentioned that he was very fond of Valley Ranch Grill & BBQ off of 249 and Spring Cypress.  They'd undergone a remodeling recently and four of us guys decided to pre-party for the 4th by getting some Texas Smoked meats.  This turned out to be quite a treat!

As you can see, like other BBQ places, they work the cheesy, Texas, country themed kitsch for all it's worth.  Boots, special washing sink, electric train circulating the restaurant on a shelf along the upper walls, big tub full of ice and beer.  Yep, this is some true Texas kitsch, all right!  My coworker, Allen Margoitta, is very fond of them.  He'd mentioned their recent remodeling and how it was in his regular rotation, so I was willing to give them a shot.  Their menu features the usual suspects for Texas:  pork and beef ribs, brisket and sausage link, as well as the more general items too (ham, turkey, chopped BBQ beef) and some Tex-Mex (Beef, Chicken or Shrimp fajitas).    For me, the Texas Trinity of brisket, ribs and sausage links tells the tale on whether or not the BBQ is worth eating.  So I went with a two meat plate of pork sausage links and ribs, with their smashed potatoes and green beans, and for good measure, their banana cream be, in order to see what they were all about.

The ordering process reminds me of many BBQ joints where you order and pay up front, then you're seated and enjoy your meal along with fixings off of a bar.  I'm not expecting a fancy steakhouse in a BBQ joint, but I'm hoping for tender, smoked meat, that's moist and satisfying.  If the meat is properly prepared (rubbed, seasoned, smoked) it'll be totally delicious without any sauce, though I always like a sauce that's sweet and spicy.  As you can see from the picture on the right, the ribs have a nice pink smoke ring in the outer layers, the sausage has a nice shine to it and is pink with smoke.  The rib meat was fall off the bone tender, as it should have been.  The sausage was juicy, had nice red pepper and other seasoning, and both had that semi-sweet pork essence you expect from such BBQ.  My compatriots were enjoying some of the same, some of the other meat selection.  One of them let me have a sample of his moist brisket--it was as advertised, very tender, very juicy, and had a nice smoke ring.  I'm also happy to report there were no incidents involving acid reflux from liquid smoke here--it was the real deal.

I found the sides were at the proper temperature--the green beans had some snap and tenderness to them, were bright green and not soft or falling apart.  The smashed potatoes had some skins and potato chunks in them, and were nice and hot.  I'm not a fan of cream gravy, but it was a nice, black-peppery cream gravy and that was ok.  In retrospect I should have ordered the BBQ baked beans or the potato salad instead as I'm more of a brown gravy than a cream gravy person.  That's on me, not on Valley Ranch however.  I very much enjoyed the Banana Pudding.  It was creamy, had slices of fresh banana, was topped with whipped cream and Vanilla Wafers and was a nice, hearty, satisfying, rich pudding.

Report Card for Valley Ranch Grill & BBQ:
Food:
     Pork Ribs: A- 
     Pork Sausage: A-
     Green Beans: A
     Smashed Potatoes: B+
     Banana Pudding: A
Service: 
     Friendliness: A
     Speed: A-
Cleanliness:
     Dining Area: A
     Kitchen: A-
     Men's Room: Incomplete
Atmosphere (Kitschy TX BBQ): A

Overall Grade: A- 

BBQ Professors!

Valley Ranch BBQ is located at:
22548 State Highway 249 Northbound
(at Spring Cypress)
Houston, TX  77070
281-376-1588
Hours:
Mon - Sun: 11 AM - 9 PM

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Great Picks for Mother's Day in the Houston Area

May 10, 2014, 10:48 am

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Well folks, tomorrow is Mother's Day and if you've not planned for some nice meal for your Mom, I've compiled a list of several Houston area restaurants with special meals for Mom and the whole family with a variety of cuisines!  And without further ado....


Cafe Adobe's Special Mother's Day Dishes
All three Houston area Cafe Adobes have put together some special dishes just for this red letter day, over this whole weekend from Friday May 9 through Sunday May 11.  These include Steak and Cilantra Empanadas, Grilled Chicken, Cream Cheese and Toast Almond Enchiladas, Spinach Salad with smokey bacon Vinaigrette dressing, Jalapeño Fried Shrimp, Alambres de Adobe (a delicious grilled mix of meats and veggies) and of course their Pecan Ball dessert.  Out of all of these awesome sounding dishes, the Jalapeño Fried Shrimp and the Alambres de Adobe are the most fascinating to me.  And don't forget to get Mom one of the Margaritas voted best in Houston by YOU--she probably needs it after raising you of course!!! ;-)  Be sure to check this great menu out while it's available!

Kiran's Indian Cusine

Kiran's will have a 4 course Mother's Day brunch as well from 10:30 AM to 1:30 PM. They'll be serving Artisanal Teas, Poached Peach Bellinis & Mimosas for $6 each. Course choices will include such things as Soft Scrambled Eggs from Seebu's Farm on a Whole Grain Muffin with Vindaloo Sauce -or- Waffles with Pure Maple Syrup & Banana with Nutella & Hazelnut Compote -or- Daikon Paratha with Mango Pickle & Dahi. Main Course chocies will include Green Egg-grilled Texas Red Fish -or- Tandoori Cornish Hen with Mango Chutney -or- Besan Kadi with Pakodi All served with Saffron Rice Pulao, Aloo Gobi Mattar & Kalonji Naan. Dessert Course choices will include Saffron Panna Cotta with an Almond Macaroon & Chocolate Twirl. Cost is $55 per adult, $25 per children 5 to 12, complementary for children under 5 years of age.

Omni Galleria Mother's Day Brunch.
Seating times at the Omni's Noe Grill are 10:00 am until 2:30 pm Menu: Featured items will include a kid
sbuffet, a Gourmet Omelet Station, Crepe & Waffle Station, Multiple Carving Stations featuring Rack of Lamb, Prime Rib, Salmon en croute, Cornish Hen and Quail, Caviar & Champagne Station, Sushi & Seafood Station and Traditional Spanish Valencia style paella and will also be introducing a Texas BBQ station Texas Quail. They'll also have yellow roses for all moms. Cost: Adults – $70.95 + tax and gratuity Children – 6-12 years – $32.00 + tax and gratuity Children – 5 and under – Complimentary. For more information and reservations about the Omni Houston Hotel, please call (713) 871-8181 or visit omnihotels.com.

Coppa Osteria Mother's Day

Coppa Osteria in Rice Village is still taking reservations for Mother's Day! how Mom how much you care and let them treat her to a dining experience she won't forget. Featuring a menu of Piatto Del Giorno, artisanal Salumi and Formaggio boards, hand made pastas, pizza and sandwiches, Coppa has just the Italian style comfort food to feed your cravings! They're open for both Lunch and Dinner on Sunday, so make your reservation for an intimate dinner for two or a feast for the whole family. Just FYI:  it's recommended that large parties call for an available time at 712-522-3535.  Coppa Osteria is located at 5250 Morningside.

The Union Kitchen Mother's Day Menu

The Union Kitchen's 3 locations have prepared some special dishes exclusively for Mother's Day.  These include:  One Hot mess--Buttermilk biscuits topped with sausage patties, Country Gravy, Eggs cooked how you want, Bacon, Ham, Hash Browns, Cheddar Cheese, Scallions & Diced Tomatoes;  Blackened Redfish Benedict--Blackened Redfish on Jalapeño Cheddar Corn Cakes with Poached Eggs topped with Crawfish Hollandaise sauce and Pototoes Obrien; or Blacked Redfish topped with Crawfish Etoufee, served with Parmesan Risotto and Grilled Asparagus.  Make your reservations for between 3 and 5 PM on Sunday May 11th at any of the the 3 locations.  And if you tell the server "TUK loves Mom", your mom will get dessert for free!

Boxing it up To Go
Well that was a MOTHER LODE of Mother's Day brunches/lunches if I do say so myself!  I want to wish my loving Mom, Marie H. Lewis of Conroe, Texas a most Happy Mother's Day and assure y'all, dear readers, all the Mom's in my family will be eating Happily Tomorrow!  To all of my Dear Readers who are Moms, I hope your kids treat you to a great meal and I want you to know that Moms (and Dads who have to cover both roles due to an absent mom) do some of the most important work in the world and we're grateful for all you do!

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Preview: New Frozen Custard Waffle Cone Sundaes from Petite Sweets!

July 22, 2014, 2:05 pm

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In previous blog posts, I've already enumerated the reasons why I love frozen custard and prefer it over ice cream at times.  And as we are finally feeling the REAL HOUSTON SUMMER HEAT, Frozen Custard would hit the spot right now as far as helping one feel cooler.  Very recently the folks over at Petite Sweets got in touch with me and let me know that they have now created several special waffle Cone Sundaes which include such flavours as lemon ice box, chocolate covered pretzel, The Turtle, Makers Chocolate Covered Cherries and Balsamic Strawberry.  Yes, I know that last one might make someone screech "SAY WHAAAAAAT?!?!?" but truly, if you've enjoyed the treats from Petite Sweets, and many of y'all have, you know it's going to be absolutely delicious!

My Favourites

These four that were my faves really hit the spot with me.  These included (clockwise from upper left) Strawberry Balsamic, Chocolate Pretzel, Lemon Ice Box and Makers Chocolate Cherry.  The flavour profiles were wonderful, they hit the proverbial spots on my palate that made me happy and had great visual appeal.  The Strawberry Balsamic featured chocolate or vanilla custard (I chose chocolate) with Strawberry Balsamic Sauce and whipped cream in an in-house made Belgian style chocolate dipped waffle cone.  Everything is made in house--sauce, whipped cream, custard, chocolate and cone.  And the quality shows.  Somehow the vinegary strawberry balsamic sauce is offset by the cocoa and sweetness SO VERY WELL.  Unique, delicious, decadent.  Grade A+.    The Chocolate Pretzel has crushed pretzel, chocolate fudge and whipped cream topping on your choice of custard in a chocolate dipped cone.  This one is a chocolate, salty, crunchy sweet delight.  I very much enjoyed this one, and really like the Belgian style chocolate the cone is dipped in.  Smooth, not too sweet.  Grade: A++  My Great Aunt Willie made some of the best lemon ice box pie.  This vanilla custard with slightly sour lemon curd, crushed graham cracker and whipped cream gave my taste buds a flashback to one of those pies and for some reason sour lemon pie or lemonade on a hot day seems more refreshing.  Grade: A++  The Makers Chocolate Covered Cherry has dark cherries in a cherry Bourbon sauce in a chocolate dipped cone.  Nothing like Bourbon and cherries to really make you get a sweet and whiskey buzz going and this works so well with the chocolate too.  Grade: A+

The Pretty Goods

These included (left to right in the photo) the Funfetti, the Turtle and the Big Island.  All of these were pretty good and on any given day, I'd be happy with them too.  They just might not be my first choice off the list.  If these flavour profiles hit your taste buds right, you will love them!  The Funfetti has your choice of frozen custard topped with a crushed iced sugar cookie, funfetti sprinkles (aka Jimmies) and whipped cream.  This one is like a Confetti Cupcake or birthday cake cone.  Sweet, colourful, fun for the kiddos especially.  Grade: A  The Turtle had your choice of custard topped with chopped pecans, caramel, hot fudge and whipped cream.  This one was like eating a sweet, chocolate turtle candy, with crunch.  I liked it but wasn't in the mood for pecans on this day.  It was still quite good.  Grade: A  The Big Island has vanilla custard topped with pineapple puree, whipped cream, crushed graham cracker and toasted coconut.  It definitely hit the tropical profile and was refreshing.  If you like tropical cocktails and ice cream, this one is for you.  Grade: A 

I was hanging out with Dominique McGee while trying these sundaes and we joked about how this was a great step up from the usual ice cream parlour most folks would hit.  It was also nice to have the choice of other treats like Macarons of so many flavours as well handy, as well as coffee to offset the sweetness of the treats.  As we caught up on other things, folks were coming in and out buying up Macarons and Frozen custard like it was going to be gone tomorrow.  If you've not yet been to Petite Sweets, these Frozen Custard Waffle Cone Sundaes are just one more reason on top of so many others you need to pay them a visit!  I want to thank the folks there for having me and Dom over on this particular afternoon to preview these wonderful sundaes!

Petite Sweets is located at:
2700 W. Alabama,
Houston, TX 77098

Phone: 713-520-7007

Open 7 Days A Week:
Sunday 11am-7pm
Monday-Thursday 10am-10pm
Friday-Saturday 10am-11pm

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Burger Friday: Beer Market Co. in Montrose

July 25, 2014, 2:46 am

≫ Next: Solaro Urban Winery on TC Jester

≪ Previous: Preview: New Frozen Custard Waffle Cone Sundaes from Petite Sweets!

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A few months back I'd heard it mentioned somewhere that a new craft beer bar had opened in Montrose in the spot that used to be held by a Texadelphia.  After checking around and reading a few good comments about Beer Market Co. over on Montrose, I was motivated to make my way inside the loop to give them a try.  I'd heard they had  pretty good burgers, which peaked my interest.  Furthermore, their list of bottled beer was outstanding, and though their tap list was shorter than I'd like, there were some brands I've yet to try in 2 plates at the Flying Saucer, more than enough motivation for this craft beer drinker.

From their website:

Beer Market Company is the newest neighborhood spot for the Studemont & Memorial area. We’re a relaxed, “come as you are” kind of place. After work…or after your jog at Buffalo Bayou Park – either way, you will feel as if you were in your own living room. But better, because of the beer. Over 365 different kinds actually, that we rotate on a regular basis so you won’t get bored. Did you know there are over 80 different beer styles around the world? You should probably come and try them all. We won’t judge. And if you get hungry, we have an extensive and delicious menu to complement all your beer choices. I you want to catch the game, we have 30 flat screen TVs. So come grab a bite and a drink, kick back and watch the game with your friends.

512 White IPA

Ok, y'all had me at Craft Beer.  On a Friday afternoon I headed there for a late lunch and took a good look at them.  The interior was a mix of Industrial and Reclaimed Wood mixed with a Sports Bar and a touch of NOLA meets Vegas.  The Staff uniforms were a mix of Sports Bar (ladies wearing high tech weave golf shirts and Khaki shorts with a short apron) and Craft Beer Bar (Guys wearing faux Gas Station/Mechanic shirts and long dark cargo shorts with multi-tools hanging off a belt loop similar to Craft Beer Bar Backs).  I started with a 512 White IPA and asked the young woman who greeted me what menu items were good. She suggested a sampler of their 3 tacos (Gulden Drak Chicken, Short Rib meat and Chicken Street Tacos) or their Mac N Cheese burger.  I went with the latter, but will likely be back for that taco sampler soon.  The server suggested I get it with grilled red onions, and I agreed, ordering the patty cooked medium.    FYI:  the 512 White IPA is like a Belgian Witbier mated with Saint Arnold's Elissa IPA.  It has the yeasty, citrus notes of Belgian Witbier, a nice cloudy golden pallor, but finishes with the slightly sour bitter hoppiness of an IPA, smoothed out by the yeast.  I've stated before IPAs aren't my favourite style of beer, but have grown to appreciate them over the past few years.  I've also found that Belgian style beers are very refreshing in the Houston heat, as are IPAs.  And this one works well with my palate.

Mac N Cheese Burger with Grilled Red Onion

I studied their beer list and meditated on recent life events while I waited for my food.  One of the male servers came by, asked how I liked the beer and shared my thoughts.  "You know your beer, dude!" I mentioned my two plates at Flying Saucer Sugar Land, prompting a fist bump from him.  Can't fault a server trying to connect with a customer, eh?  When the burger finally arrived, it was a beauty. It's 1/2 lb. certified angus beef patty topped with a mac ‘n cheese "patty" plus 2 strips of bacon on a brioche bun, topped with a dill pickle spear skewered into the bun. Their burgers are served with your choice of: shoestring fries, sweet potato fries or a side salad.  I went with the shoestring fries.  The patty was cooked to a proper medium with a hot, slightly pink center and was juicy.  It was nicely seasoned and grilled, no blandness, no dryness, just a good patty.  The chewy macaroni and cheese plus the sweet, crispy smoky bacon and the sweet and sour grilled red onions made for a nice mix of flavours and textures.  The brioche bun was a little heavier than many I've had, but it kept the burger together (kind of annoying when the bun fragments and a burger gets messy 2/3 the way through).  The shoestring fries were fine and crispy, though I prefer a thicker, natural cut fry.  The burger and fries were served with a special sauce on the side which was like a mix of In-N-Out's special sauce and Freddy's Frozen Custard's zesty dipping sauce.  I dipped the burger and fries in it and it put some zing into the palate.  Good burger, very satisfying.

About midway through the burger, I ordered a second beer:  Indian Wells's Lobotomy Bock.  This California based brewing company brews a number of brain-injury themed beers apparently, though this one is brewed according to the German beer purity law aka Reinheitsgebot.  This beer pours dark, has a coffee malt nose, a smooth front note transitioning into a malty, wood-barrel middle and a slightly hoppy finish.  A VERY SMOOTH DRINKING Bock beer, and a little potent too.  Summer is not considered a good time for drinking dark beer, yet I love a good Stout, Porter or Bock anytime of the year.  It's also nice to find yet another good place to eat that has a good selection of beers from all over, yet also stocks the larger brands if you're hanging with friends who prefer the mass-produced beers.

Report Card for Beer Market Co.:
Food & Beverage:
     512 White IPA: A-
     Indian Wells Lobotomy Bock: A++
     Mac n Cheese Burger: A
Service:
     Friendliness: A
     Speed: B (kitchen was slow, not servers)
Cleanliness: 
     Dining area: A
     Bar area: A
     Men's Room: Incomplete
Atmosphere (Sports meets Craft Beer Bar): A-

Overall Grade: A-


Beer Market Co. is located at:
920 Studemont St #900
Houston, TX 77007
713) 426-9035

Hours:
Sun-Thu: 11 AM til 12 Midnight
Fri-Sat: 11 AM til 2 AM

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Solaro Urban Winery on TC Jester

July 26, 2014, 4:22 pm

≫ Next: August 2014 Odds and Ends

≪ Previous: Burger Friday: Beer Market Co. in Montrose

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About a decade or so ago, if you said the words Texas Wines, it would usually make an Oenophile or Sommelier laugh or roll their eyes or maybe a bit of both.    You'd not think of wine grapes growing in Texas.  Or perhaps you'd think of some place that would "import" their grapes from California, press and age the wine in Texas and call it "Texas Wine." However, places in the High Plains Country near Lubbock, El Paso, Brenham, Fredericksburg and Austin near Lake Travis have quietly been growing grapes from Southern Europe which work better with our Texas climate, especially Italian grapes and are slowly releasing some interesting vintages that turn out to be very complex, flavourful yet young wines.  One of these is Solaro, based out of Austin, who also has an Urban Winery off of TC Jester and I-10 near Buffalo Bayou Brewing. They have a tasting room, along with an aging room with stainless steel vats and wooden barrels, and a good selection of their 2011, 2012 and 2013 vintages available to sample and buy in their tasting room. This modern steel and glass building with a modern art rendition of a corkscrew and cork beckoned us on a Saturday afternoon to sample their wares and enjoy some vino and conversation.  But first some background.

Per their Website:

Solaro Urban Winery Houston sets the trend by bringing Estate Vineyard operations to wine production in an urban domain. The sparkling new Urban Winery offers two main Tasting Rooms, granite service bars and private bar seating under 24 feet of brilliant vaulted ceiling with views into the glass enclosed wine cellar and production areas featuring custom stainless tankage and racked barrel storage. The wine-dedicated facility also encompasses winery offices, a private conference room, temperature controlled case storage, catering kitchen and audio-visual capability for wine related classes and seminars. We only produce wine from those grapes which can be grown in Texas as well or better than anywhere in the world.

Brittnee Gradney, Mia's Niece and Wine expert

Though some parts of the facility are being finished, the Tasting Room was open and apparently some of their grapes were reaching the proper sugar level at their vineyards around to be watched for harvesting, which had the staff in a nice mood.  We found a few other groups of wine lovers sampling and talking wine and food in the facility on this sunny, hot Houston afternoon.  As as the wine poured, we noshed on some cheese, charcouterie and bread.  A very nice time indeed.  Our guide for this tasting was the lovely Brittnee Gradney, who also happens to be the niece of KHOU-11's AM Anchor Mia Gradney.  This intelligent young woman, who graduated from the Hilton School of Hospitality at University of Houston, guided us on our tasting tour of Solaro's Texas wines with aplomb and copious knowledge of wine.  Clearly she was on the Chancellor's List at the Hilton school, as she was simply running over with knowledge on grapes, wine and Solaro's philosophy.  Ms. Gradney also very much represents what I love to write about:  great food and beverage, great folks, in the Houston area and beyond.  She's an Alief ISD grad too, just FYI--the part of town where my family lives.  Nothing like pride-by-association, eh?

The tasting room and wine space is modern, industrial, feels like a mix of a modern bar, art museum and small business seminar space all rolled into one.  Their product is visibly on display in the racks (Stephanie Black, another associate, informed us there will be more of these to come soon), along with the vats and barrels.  Many tables were set up in an overflow area outside the main tasting room, and there's even a patio which could be used for a small to medium size event.  Very nice digs, truly.  Ms. Gradney took us through the wines, from lightest to boldest as we enjoyed a leisurely afternoon.

The Wines 
Ms. Gradney started us off with a Chenin Blanc.  This chilled White wine was very crisp, and had notes of green apples in it much like a Vino Verde.  Very refreshing for this time of year.  Grade A   

Next we had a Miscela Bianco RSV.  This is made from grapes grown in the High Plains (Lubbock area) and was fruitier, less dry than the Chenin Blanc.  It was very refreshing had had essences of peaches and irises in it.  We liked it so much, we bought a bottle of it for later.  Grade: A+

After these fabulous whites, we transitioned to the reds.  We started with a Sangiovese RSV--the first wine grapes Solaro ever grew, brought in especially from Italy to grow in the Central Texas climate.  This wine was earthy, had essences of raspberries and black currents, simply marvelous.  Grade: A

Next up the scale was a Barberra Barrel RSV.  This one was bold, had elements of Roses, Rose Hips and Lingonberries in it's palate.  One for us carnivores to enjoy with seared pork tenderloin.  Grade: A

Next we sampled a Cabernet Sauvignon Reserve from their Cellar Collection.  This one was the fullest flavoured of the reds, having elements of beefsteak tomato, venison and portobello mushrooms in how it hit my palate.  This is one to have with that properly dry aged ribeye steak, Oscar style.  Grade: A+

We ended off with their Port, a bold dessert wine that had been fortified with XO brandy--the good stuff, not the cheap stuff.  This was a bit more on the Tawny side of the Port Spectrum, not as sweet as the Australians tend to be yet sweeter than other ports.  This wine was not Chaptalized though, just the natural sugars brought out in the process by the brandy.  I longed for a slice of blueberry cheesecake with lemon curd to offset it, but for those who love a good port, this one works.  Grade: A-

Can't get more Wine without a Corkscrew, TEXAS SIZED!!!

And just FYI:  Solaro offers memberships.  For the fee you get special access to some of their reserve wines and special bottles.  Click the link for details.  I want to thank the staff at Solaro for the great introduction to these award-winning Texas wines and for a nice afternoon.

Solaro is located at:
330 T.C. Jester Blvd.
Houston, TX 77007
832-486-7112

Hours
Wednesday, Thursday - 1pm - 9pm
Friday, Saturday - 11am - 6pm
All other times by appointment.

Drink Wine Happily!!!
喝得开心酒 !!!
Hank 

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August 2014 Odds and Ends

August 1, 2014, 4:11 am

≫ Next: Burger Saturday: The Regular at Revelry On Richmond with Saint Arnold's Bishop's Barrel 7

≪ Previous: Solaro Urban Winery on TC Jester

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Well folks the dog days of summer are officially here as August has hit us like a freight train!  I've been working my keister off teaching an overload of summer classes, doing stuff with the kids, and even a bit of moving!  Of course since it is now August, the main food news is that HOUSTON RESTAURANT WEEKS IS BACK!!!  This is the time of the year that many of our great local places (and a few larger chains that operate within the Houston area) offer special menu items, each of which leads to a donation to the Houston Food Bank.  The number of HRW restaurants is growing this year, and organizer, fellow food lover and food media maven extraordinaire, Cleverley Stone, couldn't be more happy about it!  In fact, she'll be hosting a kick off this evening at Del Frisco's in the Galleria area, and I have made plans to attend.  HRW does so much good to help those in need via the Houston Food Bank--a charity that strikes a chord in this food writer's heart.  Many folks in Houston have to choose between buying food and paying for the roof over their head at least part of the year.  Some of these are folks who are "too well-off" for public assistance and the Houston Food Bank often helps fill in a gap where there's more month than paycheck.

Per HRW's Website:

The very Clever Food Media Maven Cleverley Stone

[Houston Restaurant Weeks] includes Harris, Galveston and Montgomery County restaurants. One hundred percent of the donations raised from restaurants in these counties will go directly to their local area food banks. The Galveston County Food Bank and Montgomery County Food Bank are part of the Houston Food Bank's Partner Distribution Organizations (PDOs). The Houston Food Bank provides food to these smaller food banks, which in turn distribute the food to hunger relief charities in a portion of HFB's service area. The Houston Food Bank certifies that their PDOs meet Feeding America standards.

So click the link for HRW and make your choices to try some new places or visit a few old favourites, and help Take a Bite Out of Hunger in Houston!

Radio Daze with Cleverley Stone
Speaking of Ms. Stone, I had a chance to recently work with Cleverley as a guest on her radio show along with Eric Sandler of Houston Culturemap and John Karas of Houston Foodie Friends.  It was a lot of fun to say the least.  Cleverley works in a stream of consciousness style where we were having a conversation about different food topics and a bit of fun too (chair-dancing anyone?)  A bit of a Morning Food Media Zoo WITHOUT THE CRUDENESS!  As you can see from the picture, she had the Three Foodges on with her!  Only kidding!  I have a great deal of respect for Eric's writing and professionalism, and it was a pleasure to meet John Karas--if you check the links bar on the right hand side, you can read about John's Trip to Italy where he had an all-day cooking lesson with Mama Agata, a well-known Italian chef with a wonderful personal style.  John learned such secrets as using Japanese eggplant instead of the traditional eggplant when making Eggplant Parmesan.  As someone who's had both types, I can see how the texture and size would add some OOMPH to the recipe!  Cleverley kept the three of us in line as we talked doughnuts, bacon, restaurant real estate, ceviche and so on.  I had a lot of fun and Cleverley said I was welcome back.  I really appreciated this opportunity to stir the pot a bit too!

Mr. Peeples Joins Houston Restaurant Weeks This Year
Mr. Peeples is one of my favourite Downtown restaurants.  Not only have they recently added a great lunch service (which I will be writing about later this week), but this year they have joined the Houston Restaurant Weeks Family.  Their HRW menu includes a 3 course lunch for $20.00, a 3 course brunch for $25.00  and a 4 course Dinner for $45.00.  These include some of the great creations of executive Chef Pedro Silva (great guy, reminds me of a Robert Rodriguez movie badass with a heart of gold), Sous Chef Angel Rios (a cool cat who loves great food and takes care of his customers very well) and Pastry Chef Johnny "Sweetcakes" Wesley (a big barrel of a man with a creative mad genius that makes him the Walter White of Desserts). FYI:  Chef Johnny Wesley’s dessert, ‘Smoked Black Forrest” won the coveted “Just Desserts” Award at the Wine Rendezvous Grand Tasting &Chef Showcase presented by Capital One Bank. And he will travel to Atlanta to compete in the national Dessert Cup Competition at Pastry Live in Atlanta this August.  If you've not had Mr. Peeples yet, you need to make a reservation with them to try one of their menus, and tell them Hank on Food recommended them!

Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Joins Houston Restaurant Weeks This Year

Yes, that's right!  The First Dinner and a Movie with dinner served while you watch the movie theatre is joining HRW! Chef Gordon Basset of Alamo Drafthouse Cinema - Houston created a special three-course menu that includes delicious scratch-made items like a goat cheese & roasted red pepper dip, a spicy blue cheeseburger served with Frank’s Red Hot and dessert selections such as adult milkshakes like the Southern Star Buried Hatchet Stout shake. Five dollars from every $35 dinner menu sold, which also includes two movie tickets, will be donated to the Houston Food Bank.

“We are honored to have our Houston area Alamo Drafthouse Cinemas selected as the first movie theater to participate in Houston Restaurant Weeks,” said Neil Billingsley-Michaelsen, CEO of Triple Tap Ventures LLC. “This is a win-win-win for Alamo Drafthouse Cinema Houston; we are able to showcase our award-winning menu items and offer first run and classic movies to Houstonians, while giving them the unique Alamo experience, and most importantly, support to the Houston Food Bank, an extremely worthy local organization.”

This dinner and a movie setup is a REALLY GOOD DEAL, and I'm probably going to be taking my son to see Guardians of the Galaxy there while I enjoy their dinner menu.  No Adult Milkshake for Jason though... ;-)

I'm Emceeing the Grand Opening of Dunkin Donuts on Louetta & Cutten TODAY!!!
Many of y'all know that Dunkin’ Donuts, America’s all-day, everyday stop for coffee and baked goods, is a place I'm very fond of.  And they recently opened a location near where I work:  Lone Star College-Univeristy Park Campus, off of Louetta and Cutten Roads.  The Grand Opening celebration of this location (10220 Louetta Road, Houston, Texas 77070 near Vintage Park) is TODAY, Friday, August 1, at 9:00 a.m. The new restaurant soft opened in July and is open from 5:00 am – 11:00 pm, 7 days a week and employs approximately 30 crew members, serving up Dunkin’ Donuts internationally recognized coffee, lattes, donuts and bakery goods. Vintage Park/northwest Houston area non-profit organizations including Cypress Creek YMCA; The Junior League of North Harris/South Montgomery County, Inc.; Klein Volunteer Fire Department; Lone Star College – University Park; and Houston Northwest Chamber of Commerce will square off in the “Dunkin’ Cups for Charity” cup stacking competition for a $1,000 cash prize for their non-profit organization at 9:30 a.m. The public is welcome to enjoy the VIP ribbon-cutting, prize giveaways, and the newest Dunkin' Donuts menu offerings beginning at 9:00 am on Friday, August 1.  Please come out, try some free samples of coffee and baked goods, and support Northwest Houston Non-Profits by cheering on the cup stacking participants!  And say Hey to me as well, while you are at it!  (And yes, Cuppie should be there too!)

7 Posts in 7 Days
This summer, I've been doing so much work and have had so many different great food events and experiences, there's been a bit of a backlog that I am going to correct by doing a push for this first week of August.  I'm going for 7 new posts in 7 Days, to get back on track and to help support the Houston Food Bank.  If you're reading this and you want to help them out, please post legitimate comments on each of my posts, and if you or someone you know has been helped by the Houston Food Bank, share the story.  I'll do a run-down of the best comment posts regarding this.  I'm also going to make a $50.00 donation to the Houston Food Bank outside of Houston Restaurant Weeks because the work they do is so important.  And if you want to cheer me on with this, Tweet me using the hashtag #HOF7in7 and I'd appreciate it!

Boxing it up To Go
Whew!  So much goings on in the Food Frenzy that is Houston, Texas!  And so much more goings on as well!  Until next time, may all your meals be good ones, may your mind, soul and body be nourished by great food, and may your heart never be hungry.

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!! 
Hank

Burger Saturday: The Regular at Revelry On Richmond with Saint Arnold's Bishop's Barrel 7

August 2, 2014, 4:00 am

≫ Next: Event: Chicken Food Truck Throwdown at Midtown Food Park

≪ Previous: August 2014 Odds and Ends

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Well folks this is #2 of the #HOF7in7 to start the Dog Days of Summer!  And how great that it's another great Houston based burger, from a very interesting new Pub and Restaurant by the name of Revelry On Richmond.  Revelry occupies a spot that like many places in Houston, is a place that holds some food and beverage memories from over the past 23 years.  For one, the old Lucky Burgers building is still there on the property (Moment of Silence, head down) where I enjoyed their great Mushroom Burger and in-house made Root Beer in year's past.  There was also a pub there that featured live Music back in the 1990s called Munchie's.  (2nd Moment of Silence, head down).  Now instead we have a very nice, higher end Pub, Flat screen TV's everywhere and a substantial craft beer list for your imbibing pleasure.  Since this place was hosting a launch party for Saint Arnold's Bishop's Barrel 7, I figured now was as good a time as any to check them out and share the 411 on the dealio about them.

First of all, there's not a lot of parking there and they have secured a Valet Service.  For those of y'all who don't like to valet, there is side street parking, but be careful--there are no parking signs on several of the adjacent streets for portions of the block, but not the entire block, and it's not cool to block a fire hydrant or anyone's driveway.  If you don't want to be towed, check this carefully.  Now, some info from their website:

Explore the craft beer scene in Houston one pint at a time at Revelry On Richmond, Houston's stylish upscale sports and craft beer bar nestled in the heart of Houston's Museum District. Its casual environment and neighborhood feel makes it the go to destination to grab a drink, watch your favorite sports team, and enjoy one of their sweet outdoor patios. Probably known best for their forty rotating local and select craft brews on tap.   Revelry On Richmond also showcases a full cocktail and wine menu perfect for anyone to refuel and watch the game. Live music, everything sports, a crazy-good menu and a killer happy hour are all the reasons why you'll be coming back for more.

Saint Arnold Bishop's Barel 7 Served in a Barrel Glass!  AWESOME!!!

Sounds like a winner to me.  I came in  to find a huge bar right in the middle, with booths and tables, both bar height and regular, scattered throughout the establishment, along with nice open spaces.  They also have patios, but given the humidity, I wanted to hang out inside.  The sound system was playing a bunch of techno-pop from various decades, a little loud, but fun music and it didn't imped anyone's conversation. The look was a mixture of modern, spartan and reclaimed industrial.  The crowd was a mixture of Millenials, Gen-Xers and Baby Boomers, and there were A LOT of BB7 Bottles/glasses to be seen.  Not too shabby!
Of course I ordered a Bishop's Barrel 7!  It was being served in a special glass that you got too keep--Yay St. Arnold's!!!   But also was torn between trying their Imperial Stout infused gravy Poutine (#EH!  #YEEEAAAHHH!!!) and trying a burger.  It was dinnertime and the burger won out.  I also happened to find out that they had a Thursday $12 one pint draft and Burger Special that featured their main burger known as The Regular.  Basically this meant that my second beer was going to be discounted and served with a burger.  BONUS!!!  They have other burgers too--I was tempted to order the Houston Sunrise, but figured the Regular would have more mass appeal.

The Regular Burger has shredded lettuce, home made pickles, pickled red onions, sliced tomato and American cheese, with Sriracha Mayo, all served on a Pretzel Bun, and of course with a 7 oz Angus Beef Patty.  You could go for a Chicken Breast, Ground Turkey or a Black Bean Patty, but I prefer Genuine Beef!!!  It's served with their house cut fries on the side.  When that burger comes out, it is downright beautiful!  The pickled onions and home-made pickles combined with the spicy Sriracha mayo and what seemed to be Romaine lettuce (all very fresh) gave the burger a quality that reminded me of a Vietnamese sandwich or Banh mi.  In fact, the burger tasted like any good burger I could think of had a baby with a Banh Mi because of the pickled onions and cucumber flavour of those fresh house made pickles.  The beef was good and juicy, nicely prepared at medium well, and the cheese was properly melted.  Very enjoyable burger all the way and the fries, though smaller gauge than I prefer, were crunchy and only slightly salty.  I wound up dipping them in a side of the Sriracha mayo and enjoyed the heck out of this.  Plus the sweet and sourness of the pickled veggies, the melted cheese and the sweet, peppery beef patty worked together very well with the flavour profile of the Bishop's Barrel 7.

Speaking of which, here are the specs and my tasting notes on Saint Arnold's Bishop's Barrel 7:
Style: Bourbon Barrel Imperial Stout
Date Brewed: May 23, 2013
Date Racked: June 21, 2013
Date Bottled: July 21, 2014
Beer style in bbl: Russian Imperial Stout
Type of Barrel: Woodford Reserve Bourbon Barrels
Original Gravity: 1.084
Final Gravity: 1.021
Alcohol: 8.5% ABV prior to barreling
11.3% ABV after barreling
Bitterness: 49 IBU

This beer has a malty, slightly burnt bourbon nose.  Front notes are that of dark chocolate/cacao and black Sumatra Coffee.  Bourbon and warmth hits the palate in the middle, with some noticeable carbonation--more than BB1 or BB3 to compare.  The aftertaste is also a little more bitter than BB1, but still this is a very quaffable beer. As the beer warms, it's flavour becomes a little sweeter, more complex and there's less of a bitter aftertaste.  I also thought I caught a hint of coconut in the aftertaste after it warmed.  Another great beer in the Bishop's Barrel Series from Saint Arnold!!!

My second beer was a Japanese take on a Belgian Witbier called Hitachino Nest White Ale from the Kiuchi Brewery.  This beer had many yeasty citrus notes in its flavour profile, but I also detected floral notes, a hint of herbs and even an element of Miso somewhere in there.  This was a very complex, unusual specimen that was both familiar and exotic at the same time.  Overall I found it as refreshing as most Belgian Witbiers and German Heffeweizens which this beer seems to emulate, but again, nicely complex and different from the pack as well.  I've not seen this brand before in Houston, but I'm glad that Revelry had some beers that I haven't tried yet.  Though it's not my main stomping grounds, Revelry is a nice place to add to my Pub Crawling tendencies!


Report Card for Revelry on Richmond:
Food & Beverage:  
     Saint Arnold's BB7:  A++++++
     Hitachino Nest White Ale: A+
     The Regular Burger: A+
     Fries:  A-
Service:
     Friendliness: A (very nice staff overall)
     Speed: B (bar was very full, staff acknowledged it)
Cleanliness:
    Dining Area: A
    Bar:  A
    Men's Room: Incomplete
Atmosphere (Modern Pub, Spartan/Reclaimed Industrial): A-

Overall Grade:  Solid A

Revelry on Richmond is located at:
1613 Richmond Avenue (at Mandell)
Houston, TX  77006
832-538-0724
Hours:
7 Days a Week
3 PM to 2 AM

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!! 
Hank

Event: Chicken Food Truck Throwdown at Midtown Food Park

August 3, 2014, 4:16 am

≫ Next: Event: Duelo de Ceviches--Latin Bites Cafe vs. Cuchara

≪ Previous: Burger Saturday: The Regular at Revelry On Richmond with Saint Arnold's Bishop's Barrel 7

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Mid July, Midtown Food Park, Bringing the HEAT

On a hot summer night, in Midtown Houston, there was a gathering of food lovers and food trucks alike.  The purpose:  determine which of a group of our local chef-driven food trucks makes the best chicken dishes.  The Contenders:  Pocket to Me, St. John's Fire, Caribbean Blend and Soul Cat Cuisine.  All heavyweights when it comes to food trucks and good food.  The location:  Midtown Food Park!  The competition was judged by local Food writers like Paul Galvani--author of Houston's Top 100 Food Trucks, my favourite pair of Sassy Lifestyle and Food Bloggers--Shanna Jones and Felice Sloan of Urban Swank, Lamont Wait aka Boogie of Boogie's Chicago Style BBQ and yours truly.  In the word's of the famous boxing tagline:  LET'S GET READY TO RRRRRRUUUUUMMMMBBBBBLLLLLLLEEEEE!!!

Robert Stokes of Soul Cat Cuisine

Robert Stokes, a big barrel of a man who owns and operates Soul Cat Cuisine (aka The Mother Ship) got in touch with me on a recent Friday afternoon, indicating he needed another judge for a Chicken Throw-Down several food trucks were having and to give some attention to the Mid-Town Food Park.  Soul Cat cooks up some good ol' Southern chicken, including gizzards (not everybody likes them, but for many folks, it's Southern Comfort Food), and Robert also indicated that St. John's Fire (a great Cajun Food Truck) was in, along with Pocket To Me (a Pita Pocket Truck),and  Caribbean Blend--think Jerk Chicken and other Island Specialties.  With a line up like this, the judges' duties would be tough, yet delicious.

Each truck put forth some exemplars (St. John's Fire did two, though we judged only one of them).  We had a Jerk Chicken with Veggies and Rice, we had a chicken sandwich, we had a Chicken Veggie Pita, we had a fried chicken with fries and sauteed seasoned spinach and a tender/gizzard combo.  This was done blind in the sense that we weren't told up front who had made which dish, though with a little thought it wasn't hard to figure it out.  The judges used a Likert-style scale, rating 1-5 with the highest total determining the winner.  Besides the judges', visitors got samples of each and dropped tickets in a bucket for each truck to vote for a People's Champion.  Personally, I found all of these to be very good representations.  The Chicken Pita was fresh, herbal, had nice, sweet cherry tomatoes and sauce.  The Jerk Chicken was sweet, spicy, juicy, and had a nice broth with herbs and veggies.  The Fried Chicken sandwich was crunchy and a litle spicy.  The Fried Chicken with sauteed spinach had really good flavour--was very juicy, spicy with warm heat and set very well.  And the Tender/Gizzard combo was a nice snacking kind of Southern Chicken.

Joel St. John and Robert Stokes, Chicken Champs

After the judges tallied their votes and the tickets were counted, the winners were declared!  St. John's Fire produced the fried chicken and sauteed spinach that really hit our taste buds the best.  And the people's champ was Soul Cat Cuisine.  The locals really liked the crunchy chicken gizzards and chicken tenders (and so did I!!!).  Overall despite the heat, this event was a lot of fun and was a friendly throw down.  Not everyone knows about the Midtown Mobile Cuisine, aka Midtown Food Park off of Alameda near the 59 Elevated.  It's a good location near the downtown core but is easily accessible off of the Downtown Via Louisiana Street Spur and doesn't require the diner to drive into the downtown core.  This was a fun event and it was nice of Robert Stokes to have called on me to be a substitute judge when one of the originals couldn't make it. And I got to know a couple of new Food Trucks I had not tried before (specifically Pocket To Me and Caribbean Blend), and a there were some non-contest participants (Angie's Cakery and Sweet Ride) were hanging out as well.  And for those of you keeping count of #HOF7in7, this is #3!

Midtown Food Truck Park is located at:
Midtown Mobile Cuisine
4002 Almeda Rd.
Houston, TX 77004

CONTACT:
ph: 281- 896-8425
alt: 281-850-3014
ren@midtownmobilecuisine.com

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
and KEEP ON FOOD TRUCKIN'!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank

Event: Duelo de Ceviches--Latin Bites Cafe vs. Cuchara

August 4, 2014, 4:17 pm

≫ Next: HRW Kickoff Dinner at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse with Cleverley Stone

≪ Previous: Event: Chicken Food Truck Throwdown at Midtown Food Park

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Latin Bites is one of those trusted restaurants where I've never had a bad experience and the food is always well done.  GM and owner Rita Castre contacted me recently about an event they and Ana Beaven of Cuchara were running.  They were having a friendly contest as a means to educate Houstonians about the many modalities of the Latin American Dish known as Ceviche or Cebiche depending upon which country it's from.  I am very fond of Latin Bites's Ceviche con Macho, and have always enjoyed Peruvian and Panamanian Cebiche/Ceviche.  However, I've not had much experience with Mexican style Ceviche and this would give me an opportunity to learn more about this wonderful genre of seafood dishes.  This event was running on July 22nd, hosted at Latin Bites, July 23 hosted at Cuchara and culminated in a judged event at Camarata at Paulie's.  For $20.00, diners could try a flight of 4 cebiches/ceviches, and for $40.00, a flight of 8 cebiches/ceviches plus a cocktail made from either Pisco or Tequila, depending on your tastes leading Peruvian or Mexican.  Each restaurant created 4 ceviches, some which were experimental, that were representative of each nation's style of cebiche.  I had the good fortune to come on Tuesday evening and got to speak with Beaven and Castre, as well as have Chef Carlos Ramos present Latin Bites cebiches for me.

Note to Nitpickers:  Ceviche is how it's spelled in Mexico, Cebiche is how it's spelled in Peru.  I am alternating spellings and applying it based upon the cuisine of each restaurant.  

Cuchara's Mexican Ceviche offerings were more simple in ingredients, yet more complicated in their naming.  The Peruvian Cebiches from Latin Bites had simpler names, yet were more complex in their construction.  Both were very beautifully presented in a "flight" style where  you had a small sampling of each of them in small containers.  The crew at both places were sharing a kitchen and they graciously used different styles of glasses so the diner would not mix the two up.  Latin Bites used mini Martini glasses while Cuchara used small bell shaped wine glasses.  And each flight was paired with a cocktail--a Mexican Margarita with plenty of Tequila for Cuchara and a Pisco Cocktail loaded with Rosemary, Radishes, and Cucumbers from Latin Bites.  $20 for any 4 or $40 for all 8 was a HECK of a deal and I considered myself fortunate to have been able to make this event!  So now for the Ceviche vs. Cebiche Round up!!!

Cuchara's Mexican Ceviches
Ana Beaven was a great guest and was very good with the folks at Latin Bites.  She came over and gave me some great descriptions of all the Mexican Ceviches and was a real class act all the way around.  She reminded me that I need to pay Cuchara a visit, and I agree with her 100%.

Ceviche Tradicional
Simplest yet most celebrated in Mexico.  Tilaplia, Tomato, onion, cilantro, serrano pepper, lime and tequila.  This is fresh, simple, very tender fishy ceviche with a hint of heat.  Excellent stuff!
Grade: A-

Vuelve a la Vida
Back to life, concoction of oysters, crabmeat, shrimp, and octopus in a traditional, Acapulco tomato-clam sauce.  Like a Campechana bloody Mary, sans vodka.  Maybe they could add that.. Grade: A+

Ceviche Verde
Cactus, hominy, purple Oaxacan corn and crunchy green beans with Tilapia marinated in basil sauce with avocado.  This is one REALLY GREEN Ceviche, that is herbal, rich and satisfying.  Ana Beaven indicated this one was experimental.  I liked it so much, I said it needed to be on the menu!  Grade: A++

Cevice de Camaron con habanero y piña
Shirmp with pickled habanero and fresh pineapple.  Sweet with heat, yet spicy and with very meaty, succulent shrimp.  A nice refreshing taste of ceviche, garnished with a pineapple leaf.  Grade: A

Latin Bites' Peruvian Cebiche

Chef Castre of Latin Bites Peruvian Cuisine

Chef Castre came out and presented these Cebiches to me himself.  Total class act and a great guy.  He knows Belen of Sweets By Belen and we had a nice chat about her great ice pops before we got down to the nitty gritty.

 Cebiche de Langosta
Poached Lobster, guanabana leche de tigre, fresh mango, mint, aji amarillo, green plantain chips, dehydrated peruvian corn and sweet potato puree.  This cebiche reminded me a bit of their Cebiche con Macho, but sweeter, and more complex.  The lobster was juicy and the guanabana gave it a sweet, creamy texture.  Grade: A

Cebiche De Tuna
Fresh tuna, smoked jicama, avocado, fresh basil, masago, chorizo oil, creamy leche de tigre, rocoto pepper, taro chips, purple sweet potato puree, peruvian corn and fried calamari.  This one was like a de-and re-constructed paella thanks to the chorizo oil, had very good tuna meat, a nice smokey quality within it, some crunch from the calamari and the taro root chips, and a little odd sweetness from the purple sweet potato.  Again, a real winner!  Grade: A++


Cebiche de Pulpo
The most adventurous of the bunch--poached octopus, red onions, tomatoes, green onions, squid ink leche de tigre, sweet potato, cancha powder, aji amarillo foam (think sushi reduction), micro cilantro and yucca chips.  I'd never thought I'd enjoy something with squid ink in it, but this dish proved me wrong many times over.  This one was smoother, less complex than the first two and pungent yet sweet.  Grade: A

Nikkei Cebiche
Many Peruvians have some Japanese ancestry (one Castre's assistants is Peruvian of Japanese ancestry) and he is the mind behind this cebiche.  Fresh white fish, Asian style leche de tigre, aji limo pepper, pineapples, daikon, cucumber, snowpeas, mint, Peruvian corn, sesame seeds and dehydrated seaweed.  This was like Sushi or Sashimi mated with a Cebiche and made a unique dish that was accessible to the average sushi lover that hadn't had Cebiche before.  Grade: A+

The Verdict
There was no way I could easily choose one restaurant over the other.  Their chefs put together some great Cebiches/Ceviches and these flights were the perfect way to enjoy a significant taste of all of them.  My Fedora's off to the chefs at both places.  My Favourites were:  The Ceviche Verde from Cuchara and the Cebiche de Tuna from Latin Bites.  Though to be quite frank, any of them from either place would be enjoyable to any lover of this wonderful seafood dish.  Both restaurants need to seriously consider adding some of these experimental dishes to their seasonal menus for the masses to enjoy.  I know I did!

I want to thank Ana Beaven and Rita Castre for getting in touch with me about this event and for being such great hosts!  I also want to thank Chef Ramos and Ana Beaven for taking time to describe the dishes and the philosophies of Mexican Ceviche and Peruvian Cebiche.  Clearly Houston is a great city to have such cuisine available to us and both Cuchara and Latin Bites are great restaurants to contribute such offerings!

FYI:  this is number 4 of #HOF7in7 for August 2014!!!

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
¡¡¡Comer felizmente!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank 

HRW Kickoff Dinner at Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse with Cleverley Stone

August 6, 2014, 2:54 am

≫ Next: Review: Mr. Peeples Lunch Offerings

≪ Previous: Event: Duelo de Ceviches--Latin Bites Cafe vs. Cuchara

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I am frequently amazed at how certain Houston Spaces get converted to different uses over time.  For example, how the huge, palatial Galleria area Lord and Taylor clothing store which once gave a number of other high end retailers a run for their money, was converted into a restaurant like Del Frisco's Double Eagle Steakhouse.  But hey, I don't think the build in would be that difficult for some great contractors and, as their motto says, Be BOLD!  And indeed, Del Frisco's is one of the boldest places I've had the pleasure of dining within in recent memory.  And it is with this that Houston Restaurant Weeks has been kicked off.  Cleverley Stone, local food media maven, has a tradition of kicking off HRW at the previous year's top donator, which has been Del Frisco's for the past few years.  A couple of weeks ago, I had the pleasure of being one of a panel of local food media on her Saturday AM Radio Show.  I had the chance to meet and hear executive Chef Steve Haug talk about the menus at Del Frisco's Group, including the Double-Eagle, the Grille and Sullivan's, for HRW, as well as find out we are both huge fans of Canadian Band RUSH.  Ms. Stone invited me to come if I could make it and things just kind of fell into place.

Del Frisco's HRW Dinner Menu ($45.00/person with $7.00 per meal donated to the Houston Food Bank) is a three course delight with a plethora of choices.  The first course has a choice of a Del Frisco's Dinner
Salad, a Classic Caesar Salad (anchovies available on request) or Chef Haug's Roasted Poblano Bisque with fresh Pico de Gallo. I chose the Poblano Bisque because hey, the Chef's handiwork has to be awesome! Main course includes a choice of an 8 oz Filet Mignon with chateau potatoes, a USDA Prime NY Strip (12 oz) with chateau potatoes, Roasted chicken breast with grilled shrimp over lemon-basil rice with chipotle-lime butter, Tempura fried lobster tail with asian slaw, pan-seared Atlantic Salmon with sautéed bok choy and shiitake mushrooms and ginger soy glaze. Any of the above could be served with toppings for an additional fee: oscar style $10, shrimp with chipotle bourbon glaze $10, alaskan king crab-black truffle butter $10, mushroom demi glaze $6. I chose the pan-seared Atlantic Salmon as Chef had REALLY SOLD IT Well on Cleverley's show. The dessert course included the choice of a Lemon Doberge Cake with raspberry sauce, Banana Bread Pudding, Chocolate Mousse or a bowl of seasonal fresh berries.  Again, hearing the chef describe these on the radio led me to choose the Lemon Doberge Cake--sounded too good to pass up!

VIP Pineapple Infused Martini

The crew at this dinner included Syd Kearney from the Houston Chronicle, John Karas of Houston Foodie Friends whom I met on the panel while on Ms. Stone's Radio Show and a host of other food lovers and writers whom Cleverley extended the invite.  I conversed with John's sister about different local eateries--found we had a few that we both enjoyed, recommended her a couple that she hadn't tried and vice versa.  While that went on, I enjoyed a signature cocktail Del Frisco's had made just for HRW:  The VIP Martini. Normally I go for a Dirty Vodka Martini with plenty of olives, but this fruit infused one was well sold by Chef Haug on the show. This libation was Svedka Clementine vodka infused with fresh hawaiian pineapple for over 2 weeks--and at $12 a pop, it was quite a beverage, with a nice curly Q of clementine zest for a garnish.  The Vodka was so infused with the pineapple you couldn't hardly detect any burn.  Several of the diners sipped their a little too fast as a result and had some hot flashes.  I enjoyed it quite well, but was driving so I stuck to just one!  Very refreshing!  Grade: A

The Poblano Pepper Bisque with fresh pico de gallo and some tortilla strips was a lovely pale green soup that was served nicely warm.  It had a strong herbal component with a small about of spice heat, as I'd expect from poblano peppers.  It was smooth, thick and a very hearty Bisque.  I enjoyed it quite well and if it weren't for the wonderful main dishes coming out, I'd have been tempted to ask for seconds!  Nice job Chef Haug!  Grade: A+

The Pan-Seared Atlantic Salmon came out a nice orange cream pink, served with nicely sautéed bok choy and shitake mushrooms with a creamy ginger soy glaze.  Looking at the arrangement, the only rainbow color missing was the blue end of the spectrum, eh?  This delish fish was served nicely hot and had a very delicate, flakey, nearly melt in your mouth texture.  Hints of ginger and a nice sea salty sensation hit the palate as I ate it.  The bok choy was a little crisp, having that nice herbal celery essence good bok choy seems to possess and the shitake mushrooms were meaty, juicy, and a good complement to the fish.  Grade: A

Growing up in Louisiana, I've always heard Doberge pronounced Dough-bahsh.  No matter how you say it, when you get that moist style cake with that thick, semi-fudgey icing on it, it's just a slice of heaven, whatever kind of cake it is.  Some restaurant that's long since fallen into the history of Houston past used to serve a wonderful raspberry Doberge cake and I wondered how this Lemon Doberge would fare.  As you can see from this picture, the cake is simply beautiful and the patterning of the raspberry sauce and the raspberry garnish, with those bright colours would make many of us just smile wide.  The icing was thick, fudge-like, had a lemonade type essence to it.  The cake evoked a sense of lemon curd and the raspberry's tartness added a nice contrast the the citrus tartness of the lemon, evoking a sense of a fresh raspberry lemonade contained within a moist, well weighted cake with indulgent icing and fresh fruits as well.  Marvelous job, Chef Haug!  Grade: A+

Of course, there are plenty of other menu items to try at Del Frisco's, any time of the year, not just during HRW!  I will say that I'm glad to hear how HRW has changed the calendar for Houston's eateries.  August used to be the slowest month of the year for restaurants.  Now it is one of the busiest, and the Houston Food Bank benefits as well.  What's not to like?!?!

Lovely Tempura Battered Lobster at Del Frisco's Double Eagle

Del Frisco's Double Eagle is located in the Galleria
near McCue and Westheimer,
in the old Lord and Taylor spot.

5061 Westheimer Rd, Suite 8060
Houston, TX 77056
(713) 568-9188

HOURS:
Lunch
Monday - Friday: 11:00 am - 5:00 pm
Dinner
Monday - Saturday: 5:00 pm - 11:00 pm
Sunday: 5:00 pm - 10:00 pm

This is #4 for the #HOF7in7.

Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
吃得开心!!!
Hank