Jenni's Noodles

I'm just on a curry kick here... We went to Jenni's Noodle for the Inferno Curry.  Now, don't lt the name deter you, I'm a total whim when it comes to spicy stuff, and it's not so bad.  As a matter of fact it's very tasty and coconutty.

My only complain is that there isn't enough rice to go with the soup... I needed more rice to soak up the curry and eat it with the chicken and potato.

Jenni's Noodles House

3111 S. Shepherd at Alabama

Houston, TX

713-Noodles 

call for pick ups!

http://www.noodlesrule.com/

Maggiano's

My friend and I decided that it's long over due for a meet up and we both were craving pasta, so to Maggiano's we go!

I always liked the decor in the place, make you feel like you're in a steak house but casual and good food.

We started with Fried Mozzarella, it's huge not as I had in mind, I was thinking mozzarella stick but the marinara sauce is addictive.

I ordered the Lobster pasta, as you can see the portion is huge, I ended up taking most of that home.

A note about their gluten free offering.  I mentioned to the server that I'm interested in having gluten free dishes, he immediately go to the back and get the chef to come an speak with me.  Basically, he asked me what I had in mind for selection and let me know if it can be done or not.  That was a nice touch.

Their pasta is with corn pasta, so that's why it's gluten free.  While it's hot, I cannot tell the difference and the sauce is superb.  They also have a $12.95 pasta menu.  You pick one while you're eating there, and another one to take home.  And aside from Lasagna that they cannot make gluten free, all the other pasta does have a GF version.  I will say that the take home pasta, you can definitely tell it's very corn-y.  But like I said, eat them hot!

Maggiano's

2019 Post Oak Blvd

Houston , TX 77056-4401

713-961-2700

they do curb side take out

http://www.maggianos.com/

India's Restaurant

It's been a while since we had India's food, so delicious...

Of course, I really go there for their papadum, so good.  Better than any taco shell you've ever tasted.

Our usual dishes: Keema Curry with lamb... goes great with rice.

Saag Paneer: spinach with cubed cheese, the cheese was a bit over empowering a bit.

Cauliflower and potato marsala.

I always love to go there because the service is always top notch.  I love the hot towel, the drinks poured as soon as you sit down.  Food is always fast and good.  Don't be discouraged by the parking, there's more in the back of the building.

India's 

5704 Richmond Ave  

Houston, TX 77057
(713) 266-0131

http://www.indiasrestauranthouston.com/

BRC

For a good, quick lunch, BRC always delivers!

On weekends and on a beautiful day, you can almost guarantee that the patio is full, go early to grab a seat!  There's parking on the side of the building and they have an agreement with the building next door to park there on weekends, so no need to drive around.

I got their cheeseburger sliders, do ask what the sliders of the day is because that changes regularly.  They are sandwiched in their delicious buttermilk biscuits, and the meat patty is juicy and flavorful.  They also have awesome mustard, I don't usually say that about condiments, but this was really good. 

The fries are like crack to me, they must've fried it twice, because they are nice and crispy.  Now it might be too oily to some, but it's delicious for sure.  Come in and grab a pint and grab some sliders.

BRC Gastropub

519 Shepherd Dr.

Houston, TX 77007

713-861-2233

http://www.brcgastropub.com/index.php

Corner Table

I had read about Corner Table from Eater-Houston.  By Bruce Molzan, formerly Ruggles famed chef.

The space is kinda unique, they took over the Brownstone space near West Ave.  And their schtick is that they do are for the Paleo eaters in the area... so we thought we'd give it a try.

The space is definitely hip and upscale.  But from talking to the GM, they do plan on having a more casual lunch.  Brownstone was a huge space, so it may be a little dis-oriented trying to find the front door.

We got the Spaghetti Squash with Turkey Bolognese.  This is a Paleo dish, but funny thing was that they gave us 3 slices of normal bread... hmm... don't think that's kosher for Paleo eaters... 

The funny thing was that the front of the house all understood that, but the kitchen was not paying attention.  It's like they are not paying attention how paleo doesn't do bread.  They were carrying out the dish as is.  But like I said, front of the house from GM to the server, all are educated about paleo style of eating, which I can appreciate that.

We also ordered a Potato Pizza, and obviously they have gluten free dough.  Arugalah on top of the pizza, but it has mozzarella and bacon.  It's taste very smokey, you can tell this flat bread was in a stone oven of some sort.

To top of the night, we shared a creme brulee.  Which is totally kosher... it has a nice crack on top, and the creme part is very vanilla tasty!

Every one was very friendly, and educated enough about the paleo eating lifestyles.  The menu portion is not as big as we had hoped, but I can appreciate them making an effort.  Since alot more restaurants are doing gluten free dishes, going that extra step to make it paleo is refreshing.

The space is shi-shi, and for dinner you do feel like it's more of an upscale experience.  But if they lunch is more casual, I'm more incline to bring friends to go try it together.

Corner Table

2736 Virginia Street

Houston, TX 77098

713-568-9196

http://www.facebook.com/thecornertable/info

Kubo's Cafe

For a cold day, I went to another Japanese comfort food.  This time, I went to Kubo's Cafe, which is significantly different than Kubo's in the Village.  

This is definitely more Cafe Express style, you walk up, order, grab a seat and pick up your food type place.  They do have sushi like the original location does.  But this location has more hot dishes and definitely comfort Japanese food.

 So, I got the beef curry rice.  I love Japanese curry as opposed to Thai Curry or Indian Curry.  There's a hint of sweetness to it, that the other curry doesn't have.  What I do miss, however, is that usually Japanese curry has potato in the stew.  I love the potato because they've been cooked for so long and soaked up all the curry that it's tasty in the first bite.  Where are my potatoes?

Like I said, they serve alot of sushi dishes, but they also focus more on hot dishes.  They have ramen (the real ones), curry, udons, fried stuff and bento boxes.  You know what they say, if the Japanese goes there, you know it's good.  When I sat down for lunch, there are alot of Japanese that work near at the Energy Corridor stopped in for lunch, that's definitely a validation.

Kubo's Cafe

9889 Bellaire Blvd
Suite 234
Houston,TX 77036
713.995.4200 

http://www.kubos-sushi.com/kubos_cafe/index.html

Beck's Prime

For a quick bite, I always forget to go to Beck's Prime.

This is a Beckitas, which you normally get it with tortilla flour, but it was too much food as is, so I settled for fries instead.  And honestly, to eat it like this is almost like a salad, they give you enough lettuce and tomato and it's so much meat that you can easily eat that for a meal.  Gosh, that's alot of food....  Good thing I didn't dare to get a milkshake.  Haha.

Beck's Prime
2902 Kirby Dr.
Houston, TX
713-524-7085
http://becksprime.com/

Mamak

I've been meaning to try Mamak for a while, it's like Banana Leaf across the parking lot, you get a line trying to get in.

I was thrilled to have another Malaysian place to go to, Banana Leaf was so popular that I get discouraged with the long wait.  You really have to catch a non-peak time to go there.

When I saw Chendol on the menu, I was jumping for joy.  Except, it was premature.  Instead of the drink we all know and love, they did it Taiwanese style into a shaved iced dessert.  The green jelly and red beans are in there, deep in the middle... You can still taste the coconut, but it's no drink.  :(

We needed some green, so we got some Chinese Broccoli with Oyster Sauce

Though this is not exactly a Malay thing, we got the salty fish and diced chicken fried rice.

I would say, when you come here, bring patience and don't come when you're starved, the service is slow, the wait is long.  trying to get your server's attention is like trying to play Frogger, you have to dodge people and wave the right time so they'd see you.  I'm not exactly impressed, but it is another option to BL.

Mamak

9889 Bellaire Blvd
Ste D238 (faces inside of the shopping center)
Houston, TX 77036

(713) 776-2388

Pei Wei

So, yesterday we showed you what we ate at P.F.Chang's, and today, we're showing you the sister restaurant, Pei Wei.

The good thing is that since PF Chang offers Gluten Free menu, so does Pei Wei, and they allow more customization a little more than PF.

Since it's been cold, it's nice to get some hot tea.  They don't have the green or the jasmine tea, but they have Revolution tea box to select different flavors.

Sweet and Sour Chicken (gluten free), we asked them to do less rice and added more veggie, so here's what we have.  Lots more veggie, like I said, they allow more customization than PF.  So cool!

You can order by phone or online, and online allow some customization, so if you want more, you may want to call it in yourself.

Pei Wei

5110 Buffalo Speedway

Ste 100

Houston, TX 77005

713-661-0900

PF Chang's Lunch

It's no surprised that we go to P.F. Chang's alot.

As you remember that they use different plates to distinguish which dish is gluten free and which is not.  So if you go, make sure they give you the plates with the logo, and not the plain ones.  

This time we went during lunch and their lunch portion comes with a salad and of course the portion is smaller than dinner size.  I ordered the beef and broccoli and it comes with rice.  The sauce is not like the heavy soy sauce that I'm used to seeing in other Chinese restaurants.  The sauce is lighter and less heavy.  I just love sauce, simply that it goes with the rice so nicely, some days I don't even need the main entree... haha.  Just kidding.

Lunch portion is served Monday thru Saturday thru 4pm daily.  After that is Happy Hour and then it's dinner portion that kicks in.

P.F. Chang's

Highland Village Center
4094 Westheimer Rd.
Houston, TX 77027
(713) 627-7220

http://www.pfchangs.com/

Soma

A few days back, one of my foodie friends on FB posted a picture of a bowl of ramen, and I've been dreaming about it since.  I don't drive down to the Heights as often as I like anymore, but after that picture, I have to go back to Soma for it.  

When I go there, I'd like to sit at the sushi bar.  First of all, if you don't have company, sitting at the bar is a less awkward way to eat alone.  The other is that you get to interact w/ the sushi chefs.  You can the front row seats to see their handy work, which is kinda like a dinner and a show together.  The other good thing is that you never know who's going to sit next to you.  For me, that day, came a mother/daughter team that has never had much exposure to Japanese food before, and they were eyeing my food, and we had a good conversation about what is what, such as sashimi vs. nigiri, and what's ramen at Soma vs. ramen at the grocery store.

I started out with gyoza, which was pan fried and has pork and veggie inside.  The skin was nice and thin, and the sauce just match everything just fine.

Then I had the pork belly ramen.  Now, seriously, this is totally nothing like the $1 ramen noodles packs you get at the grocery store.  This is high quality egg noodles with miso soup.  It has slow cooked pork belly little veggie, shiitake mushroom and an egg.  To my surprise, the noodle was super flavorful, but the pork must've been cooked separately because there's hardly any taste that matches the noodle and the soup.  

I always had good experienced at Soma, the service was good and lunch was good.  So no complaint here.  The only thing was the pork...

Soma Sushi

4820 Washington Ave

Houston, TX 77007

713-826-2726

http://www.somasushi.com/

Liberty Kitchen

For a friend's birthday and also a visit, we all went to Liberty Kitchen for brunch.

I ordered the frites and their version of Tart Lemonade.  It was raw sugar, lemonade, and mint.  For some reason, mine tasted a bit fermented... but there's no alcohol in it, even for brunch.

I got the Brisket and Potato Hash.  The brisket tasted good, the hash can use more salt.  As you can see, between, the salad, eggs, brisket, and potato: the entire plate is way too much food for brunch.  I ended up taking about half of it home.  

We had a really great server for brunch and they're more than happy to go the extra mile to get you stuff, taste test something or ask the chef question on your behalf.  That I really appreciated.  They don't take reservations, so you need to be there early.  On weekends, they serve breakfast till 2:30p but they also start serving the lunch menu at 11am.  So we had waited till the lunch menu is served, and our server was very nice about it.

Liberty Kitchen

1050 Studewood

Houston, TX 77008

http://libertykitchenoysterbar.com/index.php

HK Cafe

Since Hong Kong was in such heavy influence from the Brits, one thing they for sure picked up is Afternoon tea.  Truly it's really a break with food than a full sit down high tea service.  We went to Hong Kong Cafe in Chinatown and did a HK style tea.

This is 'French Toast', a true HK style French Toast, they have peanut butter in the middle of the sandwich, and battered like you see here, and fried.  You get butter on top to melt it, and drizzle syrup all over for best taste.  I've seen people do condensed milk to achieve the same sweetness.  I'm thinking that might be a bit thick and rich.

Here, at Hong Kong Cafe, they give you a drink, which I got a iced lemon tea.  Very different than iced tea with slices of lemon.  They have syrup in the drink already to make it sweetened.  They also give you a fried chicken wing along with it.  By the time I finished the French Toast I couldn't eat more, but for less than $7 you get all that, it's a great deal!

Hong Kong Cafe

9108 Bellaire Boulevard  

Houston, TX 77479
(713) 772-9633

Sweet Paris

Well, for breakfast, we went for Sweet Paris.  They promote that they have gluten free batter, so we gave that a try.

I had the Nutella, Strawberries, and banana.  It was nice and thick on the batter, as a matter of fact, it's super thick to cut thru.

Yes the filling is full, but because the batter is thicker, it doesn't have the true crepe feel.  But that's a better than nothing for those who are gluten sensitive.  The batter is not any smoother, and get toasted quite easily = dry.  

I have friends who hired them for a catering job, and they charge a decent price and people enjoyed it.  Don't know if that includes the gluten free batter or if that cost extra.  But if you're hosting a party, that might be the trick.

Now, I've said it many of times, I'm bias towards Melange.  I know it is like comparing apples and oranges, sit down place vs. food kiosk.  But the food does speak for themselves.  That aside, I do have my bone to pick with Sweet Paris, the utensils were not clean, I had to pick thru the entire bin of knives and forks in order to pick a couple that are not stained or not have food stuck on it.  They also have these weird signs on seating.  At first, you're asked to not sit down until you place your order.  That I can understand.  Now, they are asking you to only have 3 or more to sit on a 4-top table.  When we walked in, there was a big party sitting in the booths, which were designated for the 2 or less party, but if they also block out the 4-tops, where on earth are you asking people to go?  I think it's kinda annoying that they are being so restrictive about that.  And they are not kidding.  I saw 2 ladies waiting for their friends and one of the workers immediately walk up to them just to make sure they saw the sign.  That's just not friendly business practice.  

Personally, if it's not because they are the only game in town that does gluten free batter for crepe (aside from my own home), I would rather go somewhere else.  Crepe is more accessible in town now than say a few years ago.  Alas, I go with David who is sensitive, and choices are severely limited... won't someone else do a gluten free batter please?

Sweet Paris

2420 Rice Blvd.

Houston, TX 77005

713-360-6266

http://www.sweetparis.com/  

Phamily Bites

If you ever if a hankering for food truck gourmet, one way to catch them is to go to Rice University...

Yes, I said Rice University.  They have a mobile food dining option added to the campus.  Now, it's not exactly easy to find, but follow the map on the Rice's website, it'll get you there.  They have different food truck every night, and it's between 5:30p thru 8p.  Perfect for picking up your dinner on your way home.

Tonight, I went for Phamily Bites.  I just love their logo... so clever, and yes I'm a nerd.

I MUST have their RoyBeezee, which is their spam and egg masubi.  Had I found out about the 2 Hawaiian places in town before they closed, I wouldn't have to jones for a masubi and track down the food truck on twitter like crazy.

I got the pho tai - beef round with vermicelli to go.  The soup is pretty awesome.  The guys took really good care of me, since I had it togo, they gave me the noodles and soup separated so they won't be sloushing around in my car.  Still tastes good.

Rice Mobile Dining Options 

to see food truck schedule:

5:30pm - 8pm

outside of Mudd Building by entrance #21 on Sunset Blvd.

http://dining.rice.edu/mobiledining.aspx

Phamily Bites

http://www.phamilybites.com/

follow them on Facebook & Twitter to track their schedule

Saltgrass Steak House

For a friend's birthday, he chose to go to Salt Grass Steak House, and I haven't been there forever.

Sorry the photo is side ways, but you get it....

I fondly remembered their baked potato soup was yummy... it's not that it's bad, just tasted different.  It's not as thick as I remembered it, and there's not as many bacon bites as I remember too... Hmm...

I got the top sirloin with fried onions... the sirloin was good, but the onion rings were cold.  I was looking forward to it too.

One thing to remember about going to Saltgrass is that they participate in Landry's Signature Club.  If you're a member, and for $25 you can be, you can take advantage of being a member.  They give you points for every dollar you spend at one of their chains, and you get priority seating (and better tables too), if it's your birthday they give you extra points.  If you have sufficient points, you can apply to your meal, which I've done free meals there before.  So, definitely make the $25 back in no time.

Saltgrass Steak House

520 Meyerland Plaza

Houston, TX 77096

713-665-2226

http://www.saltgrass.com/location-map.asp?loc=SGMP

Laduree

Friend of mine was kind enough to remember me while she was in NY.

She stopped in Laduree of course, to pick up some macarons!!!  Squee!

She got me a designer box, so very chic!

It had 6, I can't wait and ate one... That was the chocolate one.

Also in the box: Apple, Salted Caramel (super yummy), Coconut, Vanilla, Lime.  What's so impressive is that after a week, it is still fresh.  The shell didn't break and it's nice and chewy.  That's just goes to proof that there are great deal of skills in making these delicate little gems.  Applause goes to the crew.  Now, just if they would have lasted longer before I devour all of them in one sitting....

Laduree

864 Madison Ave

between 70th & 71st

New York, NY 10021

646-558-3157

http://www.laduree.fr/

Jenni's Noodles

 I'm on a hot noodle soup kick, so Jenni's Noodle has to be a must!  They very much has all the Vietnamese style noodles, but they have egg noodles and ramen noodles too.  I ordered normal pho, but asked for beef cooked on the grill instead of normal.  Normally, they have the soup hot enough to cook the raw beef, but you can request them to grill it first.  Keep in mind, they're not supposed to be marinated, so it's just really cooked with no special taste.

Jenni's Noodles also have a gluten free and a vegan menu too, so when you walk in, ask to see those menues, they're by the register.  Their dessert is ok, would save the calories for elsewhere.  But they have Vietnamese style coffee, and they give you a big generous cup of it.  So, definitely worth the price!

Jenni's Noodles

3111 Shepherd @ W.Alabama

Houston, TX 77098

713-523-7600

http://www.noodlesrule.com/index.php

Sushi Wabi

I love going to Sushi Wabi, it got a neighborhood joint kinda feel.  Too bad that the strip center has limited parking... otherwise, I'd go more often.

Remember, kids, if you go there, and leave you car there to go to the movies or go somewhere else with your friends, they do tow, and they're serious about that.

For starter, I got the Agadashi Tofu - really fried tofu in ponzu sauce with bonito flakes.  It freaks my friend out because it looks live and moving... I always laugh about that.

It was a cold night, so I got the Unaju box.  As you can see, a nice bed of rice, topped with 3 kinds of ginger, and unagi all over.  Honestly, I eat mostly for the eel sauce, which is sweet-ish.  Totally goes well with my rice...

For a cold night, they also have noodles either in Udon (noodle soup) or fried noodles.  So, stop in early and grab a dish!

Sushi Wabi

3953 Richmond Ave

Houston, TX 77027

713-623-8818

http://www.sushiwabihouston.com/

Happy New Year!!!!

May 2013 brings you more yumminess in life and for your tummy!

Happy New Year!