Burger Chan

Went to Burger Chan for Breakfast.

I know, that surprised you.  Yes, they do serve breakfast from 9a - 11a.

I was the first person there and I bet most people take the breakfast to go, but I opted to have a sit-down.

I opted for Build My Own Platter.  It has a side of protein (spam), fried eggs, and a side of tots.  And got an iced coffee, which is from Greenway Coffee.

If you want a nice filling breakfast, come give that a shot.  The whole meal was $14 +tax.  Definitely fulfilling.

Burger Chan

5353 W. Alabama

Houston, TX 77056

832-408-0860

https://burgerchanhtx.com/

 

Underground Creamery

Have you tried Underground Creamery yet?

If you haven't it's either because you don't know they exist (which HELLO! if you're a Houstonian - where have you been?).  Or it's because you never got lucky enough to get a pint.

I however, was lucky enough to get a pint.  Which is like a miracle of miracle.  Tell you more about that later.

Every drop they do, they have a mystery flavor.  It truly depends on what type of person you are.  Some people HAS to know what they're getting, and some are happy to take that leap of faith.  Or, unless you're me, who had tried various strategies and still couldn't get it, and decided to chance whichever one and dumb luck into it. 

All the hint we got for the mystery ice cream was Vanilla based, but it has caramel and caramel chunks and Biscoff bits layered like a parfait.  It was so damn good.  No wonder people pay $14 for a pint.  

So, here's the deal: Underground Creamery is a very very small shop.  Every week, they do a drop.  So far from what I can tell, it has about 700-ish pints between 3 flavors.  2 are announced and sometimes there's a 3rd announced flavor or its mystery.  Best thing to do is to subscribe to them via HotPlate.  It will send you a notification that they're about to drop about 3 mins ahead of time.  Personally, I had better luck on my laptop than my phone.  But basically stay close and click when the count down clock ticks off.  I will tell you that, there has been cases where 700-ish pints and he has over 1200 people logged on fighting to get 1.  There are many times, I keep loosing out for one reason or another.  So patience for this game is key.  So if you're distracted, don't do it that day.

Another way you can chance getting a pint is to keep a close eye on their IG on Monday night because if there are un-picked up pints, you can chance getting them Tuesday morning.  They do limit as to how many you can buy, which I believe is 4 pints per person; but to be honest, I doubt there will be that many left.  To me, that's super crazy because in order to get a pint, you do pay for it upfront as a pre-order, and you select when you want to pick-up (and they offer 3 different times).  They also send multiple texts to remind you for pickup and that if you don't, you forfeit.  Those crazy people.

Before he went to HotPlate system, you had to solve a riddle to know when the drop is.  We all know where it was going to be for pickup, but the date and time was thru the answer of the riddle.  And I'm too dumb to solve them, so never got it.   This way, I'm still dumb but leveled the playing field.  That said, if you are not as lucky and get one, you can still enjoy their collabs with various restaurants around town.  For example, they often appear on Neo's menu.

Underground Creamery

https://www.undergroundcreamery.com/
 

401 Table & Tap

Came to 401 with a group of friends, and kids.

Honestly, this is truly one of the few places that has decent food and a space for kids.

But let's talk app - we started out with the Hummus Trio - it has Green Goddess, Tuscan style, and Jalapeño hummus.  Of course, I'm going to tell you that Green Goddess is bar none better than the others.  That's just my fav of all time. 

The other app we got was the cast iron spinach artichoke dip.  I can literally just eat the whole thing by myself and make it my dinner.  Maybe I'll do that next time and not share.  The side they gave us Pico & Tzatziki sauce, neither which I touched, cause why would I need them?  The dip is plenty good by itself. 

Entree I went simple: Got the Creamy Spinach and Portobello Mushroom Pasta.  It does come with sausage despite the name sound very vegetarian.  Of course, if you are or prefer the dish to be vegetarian, let your server know.  Of course, my only complain is, they can always add more parmesan.  But it is good for what they gave me.

Our party was huge and half of which are kids.  Some enjoyed the Club No Major tremendously.  If you don't know what that is, it is: 1, a take of Club No Minor - which is one of the more popular Rodeo tents during the cook off.  As it serve alcohol, so Club No Minor makes sense, they don't want kids in there more for safety and what not.  2, Club No Major is a kids room for quick description sake.  But the long form is: they have constant movie playing, 3 iPad stations for games, board games, picture books... but the best part: they have a staff in there to make sure the kids aren't hurt or fight.  Now peeling them away once the food arrives is a whole different story, but it is a great feature so that the grownups can have some adult conversation over dinner without needed to find a babysitter for that quick hour.  

My notes about this visit is this: it's great to have a place like this.  As you would expect, a big group they automatically added tip.  Some food rolled out slower than others, but it was a good time nonetheless.  What I disliked was that they placed 2 tables right at the entrance of Club No Major.  While I do understand a restaurant wants to maximize space for profit.  It is doing the diners dis-service by placing them at a very high traffic area.  Think about it, it is worse than sitting by the bathrooms because kids inevitably would go in and out multiple times, so do parents as they try to retrieve their children.  Not to mention the unhappiness the kids might experience when they didn't want to go back to the table because they're having so much fun.  So, that would be my one complaint.  

Otherwise, plenty of parking.  For big groups like ours, we called ahead and reserved, but otherwise, walking up is not a problem.  Good dinner joint for folks that enjoy various dishes.

401 Table & Tap

6700 Ferris 

Ste 150

Bellaire Tx, 77401

https://the401bellaire.com/

Postino - Uptown

Work has been so busy that a Happy Hour is a happy scene.

We decided to hop over to Postino. 

Cute decor in the former wine bars

I got the Prickly Pear Lemonade, which is pretty refreshing in this heat.  Not to mention, it's not too zingy or sweet for a lemonade, I'm down with that.

My friend recommended the Crispy Cauliflower - which has raisin, caper, and romesco sauce.  To call it crispy would be a little stretch.  I like how it's cooked but I truly was expecting it to be fried - therefore crispy.  But it's' ok, it tasted good.

We got a charcuterie board - the Chef's Board.  It comes with prosciutto, chorizo, salami, whipped feta cheese, hummus, artichoke, pita, toast, pepper, olive, almond and of course cheese. 

For a talking and noshing kinda night, this worked out perfectly, not too full, but have enough protein to last a good long while.  The service was great until the night crowd started to flowing in, and around that time, we just wanted to wrap up and head out anyhow.   Not a bad spot to hang out, I would go early and get a seat inside in this temperature, and grab some yummy food.

Postino 

Uptown

1151 Uptown Park Blvd

Ste 12

Houston, TX 77056

713-956-7929

https://www.postinowinecafe.com/menu/texas/

 

Lick - Houston

With temperature around 100 daily, having a new ice cream joint is a welcome sight.

Lick came from Austin 

Known for unique flavors and source from all around Texas, and support all local growers and vendors.

I picked the Honeyed Peaches with Rosemary.

Made with Hill Country Peaches, Good Flow Honey, and rosemary grown in their garden.  I really liked it.  The honey at first was a bit sweet, but as you get to 2nd lick (pun intended), it enhances the freshness of the peaches.  The rosemary you can tell there's a hint in taste because it mixed well but not over empowering the peach.  I think for summer, that's perfect for what it's needed. 

The space is new and small.  There's a couple of tables and some high chair counter seats and a bench outside.  Needless to say, in this temperature we stayed inside.  I do wonder how the 2 next door neighbors feel about the busy hub bub from this new ice cream place, which is definitely needed in this heat.

Lick Honest Ice Cream

3821 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77025

346-867-6146

https://www.ilikelick.com/

 

Bluestone Lane

After the Germany concept, this is an Australian Concept.

Went to the one in Rice Village, but they have 3 locations in Houston.

If you want to just grab a coffee and not sit down, there is a counter that you can just walk up and order whatever.  But I decided to have breakfast, which is a full-service place.

Here's my artsy shot of my breakfast.

Ok, here's my breakfast, it's Chimichurri sauce, Eggs with bacon and there's a slice of toast underneath.  I'm really digging the chimichurri sauce but it wasn't enough, so had to have some hot sauce to add to it.

Got me a latte here.  Very pretty.

Basically the challenge in the Rice Village is the parking.  They are right in front of a garage, so as long as you stay within the 2 hrs, it is complimentary.  If you want convenient, park in front, which is metered.  Or if luck is on your side, you can try for street parking.  

The place is spacious and can accommodate larger party for breakfast here.  There are also smaller tables or when the weather is not so hot, you can grab a patio table.  Staff are attentive, checked on me because I'm seating on the front side of the area.  Not a bad breakfast spot.

Bluestone Lane

2414 University Blvd

Houston, TX

718-374-6858

https://bluestonelane.com/cafes/rice-village/

 

Coffee Fellows

Another drive-by discovery.  This Germany concept now in Houston!

Coffee Fellows by Bissonnet, the shopping center is small but packed with several businesses in there.  So don't expect too much on the parking.

By the time I got there, most of the seating were taken.  So I took the window bar.  There are wifi passwords and charging everywhere, fully anticipating you to come and work. 

Got a muffin.  They do have salad, sandwich and bagel sandwich too.  

Got a cup of latte with almond milk.  You can see there's a little charging circle over there.  You can fully set up here and work all day.

As mentioned earlier, the parking is definitely a thing.  Since there are several businesses in the building, and if the clients here are camping out for long period of time, it's definitely hard to to park.  Try the back street of the building or go earlier before couple of the businesses open. 

Coffee Fellows

4900 Bissonnet 

ste 100

Houston, TX 77401

713-677-0418

https://www.coffeefellows.com/

 

Bitty & Beau's

Was checking out another coffee shop and totally forgotten about Bitty & Beau's.

They're in the heart of Rice Village.  

You walk up and order, there's lots to choose from, and a few pastries too.

The place is super spacious, tons of places to sit.  

There are also crayons and paper for kids to draw and keep them busy.

Got a latte, and they do have alot of flavors to choose from, but then there's not alot of milk alternatives.  I was hoping they have Oat, Almond, or Soy but I was only able to get 2%.

I grabbed a rainbow bagel, they toasted it for me.   The place is so big that there are knooks where you can be tucked away and work or make calls comfortably.  

How they get your order is that you get a playing card.  And once your order is ready, they'll call you for it.  It's pretty neat.  In case you're not familiar, they have one in almost every state.  But the great thing they're doing is that they're hiring intellectual and developmental disabilities individuals there.  Which is an excellent idea

Bitty & Beau's

2367 Rice Blvd

Houston, TX 

713-205-6137

https://www.bittyandbeauscoffee.com/location/houston/

 

Coffee Trend

This is coffee shop week, so buckle up!

Drove past this coffee shop on my way to the store, and was curious.  Came back another day to check it out.

The space inside is tight.  You walk in there's a couch, bar where you order, 3 bar tables and 2 seats by the back.

Grabbed a quick coffee & croissant.  It was interesting, they have on their menu Blueberry Lavender, which I've never had before.  But the staff was saying, that's a flavor they came up with while messing around, best to go with lavender.  Erm, ok, lavender it is.  

It taste like any lavender coffee you've may have had.  Not too overpowering and not too sweet.  The croissant was fine and they can heat it up for you.  Besides pastries, they also have some breakfast tacos, should that be your jam.  Check on their site, they're having Bike Days, Crepe Days and what not.  They also have corn hole games on the outside, in case you need some entertainment.

Coffee Trend

4042 S. Braeswood

Houston, TX 77025

713-367-0338

https://www.coffeetrendhtx.com/

 

Feng Cha

It's great to have a bubble tea place at Marq-E.  Though, I wouldn't complaint if they have ice cream in this heat.

At any rate, came in to cool off a bit.  They have board games and stuff, if you're going to hang there a bit.

I got the Kiwi Basil Green Tea, I like that they have little bits of Kiwi, thinking the Basil is just to cut the sweet, but it worked out fine.  Not too sweet, great for flavor tempering.  Fast service that day, we happen to catch them before a crowd walked in.

Feng Cha - MarqE

7620 Katy Fwy

Ste 310

Houston, TX 77024

832-740-4098

https://www.fengchausa.com/

 

Cafetopia

Been seeing this pop up across my IG feed lately. 

Decided to check it out, which is outside of my normal haunts, and was totally surprise it's in a small shopping center.

This little cafe has lots of cakes.

Even little nook for reading and what not.

I got the Mango Green tea - very orange in color.  But you taste more green tea than mango on this one. 

They were running a special bundle deal, 4 slices for $29.  So I picked Passion Fruit, Mango, Tiramisu, and Green tea. 

The Passion Fruit has nice fruit flavors, not as much as the Mango one, which we all agreed was the best in flavors.  The Tiramisu is nice and not too sweet, though I wouldn't mind if it's more creamy.  We were too full for Matcha, so didn't get to it, but it looked good. 

Also to boot, I also got some macarons.  There are chocolate, vanilla, and mango, all are great in texture and flavor, not too sweet or over-empowering.  It's pretty good when it's cooler to go with a cup of coffee.

Cafetopia

12001 Richmond Ave

Ste 8

Houston, TX 

713-333-2579

https://thecafetopia.com/

 

Yummy Pho & Bo Ne

Went to Yummy Pho Bo Ne.

They're known for their bone marrow pho and their steak and eggs.

Since it's peach season, to start, got a peach iced tea.  There are real peach slices in there.

Don't even know what possessed me, I got a large bowl of pho, there's alot of pho in there.  Also has alot of meat.  Since it's nice and soft, it's easy to tear apart with chopsticks and noodles are small enough, without too much chewing involved.  The broth is pretty good, which is probably the draw.

The place was packed within a few minutes of our arrival.  Had we missed it, we would've had to wait.  This place is popular no matter what time.  Supposedly you can book a table online, but I'm not too trusting on that, since they squeeze you in wherever they can. 

Yummy Pho & Bo Ne - Katy

23119 Colonial Pkwy

#A11

Katy, TX 77449

https://yummyphokaty.com/

Yummy Pho & Bo Ne - Tomball

17375 Tomball Pkwy

Ste 2H

Houston, TX 77064

https://www.yummyphotomball.com/