Jingle Bell Bar

T'is the Season....

Went to a Holiday Pop Up Bar

The halls were definitely decked.... 

Including the staircase, 

Other parts of the bar area.

They do have a small menu offerings....

This is just truly a bar that's transformed with awesome decorations in every corner.  The drink menu is pretty decent, but this is one of the few holiday popups that has zero proof offerings.  And if you want to upgrade with 100% proof, you can opt to do that too.  There are cocktails, beer, wine, and shots.  

For food offerings, they have charcuterie board, tamales, flatbread, and for sweets they have cookies platter, cinnamon roll, and reindeer chow too. 

For parking, it's a little unique.  You can see the bar is really at the bottom of the Skyhouse apartment building.  You pull into the building's parking, they do have valet there, and some retail spots behind them.  Just pay attention to the signs. 

Jingle Bell Bar

also was Aero Bar

2031 Westcreek Ln

Houston, TX 77027

https://www.jinglebellbarhtx.com/

 

Clark's

Been meaning to try Clark's for some time.

Finally got a chance to come here.

They have a very yacht club vibe to the decor and the staff's clothing. 

They give you some bread, and I don't usually see this, nor is it often offered.  But butter plus salt was a first for me.  It was a nice combo.

Since they're known for oysters, we have to get some.  To be honest, I'm very partial to North East Oysters.  I know there's tons of Gulf ones, but let's face it, it's gritty and cannot compare to the North East ones, they tend to be more crisp, clean, even they may be on the smaller side.  At any rate, we got (L) Blue Hill Bay (Maine), East Cape & Glacier Bay (PEI).   I don't usually get a chance to have PEI down here, Maine are often do-able.  But once you've had it, and how clean and crisp they are compared to Gulf Coast's oysters, you'd understand.  Which is why, we thought it was weird that our server was recommending Moon Bay from Louisiana.  If you are every given a choice of North East Oyster, always choose that!

We got Roasted Cauliflower, to our surprised, every bite was delicious.  They added hazelnuts, raisins and chili pepper.  Not spicy, but does have flavor.

Not Pictured: Black Mission Fig - that was another nice surprise, 4 little figs - halved, feta, thinly sliced celery, with toasted pecan on top.  That was a nice combo.  Highly recommend.

We ordered Crab Cake to share, it has watercress & frisbee salad, and the crab cake itself sits on top of Hollandaise sauce.  It's not too heavy, just made it less dry.  Not that the crab cake itself is dry by any means, but in case you want something to dip. 

Heard good stuff about the Crispy Snapper.  It sits on top of a bed of grits, and surrounded by a layer of Sofrito which is a layer of tomato, pepper, and garlic blend.  The sauce wasn't as strong and flavorful as I had hoped but it does give the contrast to the crispy skin of the snapper.  The fish was good though, just the flavor profile can be raised a bit more.

For après meal, we got a coffee, they don't have a cappuccino machine or decaf.  So French Pressed it is.  

For dessert, we got the Basque cake, which is essentially an almond cake, topped with cream cheese ice cream, which I've never had that before.  The texture is not thick like cream cheese at all.  And I won't lie, my favorite part is the cherry preserve and the nuts, if you get a bite of cake, ice cream and the cherry preserves, it's delectable.  

The place is not big, so having a reservation helps get you better seating.  Not that they won't seat out outside, they do have heat lamps on.  But the night we were there, it was drizzling so being outside would be difficult when the wind blow the rain in.  Also, for parking, it's best to valet just because the parking in the neighborhood has lots of signs.  It's worth paying the tip for the complementary valet.

Clark's

3807 Montrose

Houston, TX 77006

713-347-8180

https://www.clarksoysterbar.com/

 

Little Rey

 Went to Little Rey for a work function.

It is literally nestled in between office building and an apartment building.  If you blinked, you may have missed it. 

Since we're here for a party and yes, they will allow you to reserve some tables in the back of the restaurant to have a small gathering. 

Of course, we have to have queso and guac.

Quesadilla is super popular and of course chicken. 

They have beers, margaritas, and agua fresca and they rotate flavors regularly.  It's a great place for after work happy hour or a quick dinner with the family.  The place is kid friendly, as a matter of fact, there is a little patch of grass outside, so if the weather is nice, you can sit outside and let the kids run around.  Or in the morning, you can also stop by for breakfast tacos or breakfast dishes.

Little Rey 

2345 Mid Lane

Houston, TX 77027

832-942-5081

https://www.littlerey.com/houston

Beard Papa

It's been a while since I've been back to Beard Papa's.

After they closed the location in Chinatown, I have to trek out to Katy for some good puffs.

They still have some seasonal items.

You know what, I went with the tried and true - eclair.  Nice shell and crack easily, they make the puff is made to order and the cream is not added until you order them, so no soggy puff there.

Other than Katy, you can go to Sugarland too, so will try that next time. 

Beard Papa's

23119 Grand Parkway

Katy, TX 77449

832-913-1257

https://www.beardpapas.com/katy 

 

Cafe 11

Was seeing folks on FB talking about this place out in Katy...

... so we made the trek out there.  They are supposed to be Hong Kong style cafe.   And as you know me by now, curiosity always kills the cat.

One of the top reason to be there was the Teddy Bear tea.

Of course, you have to give it a bath.  And yes, the bear is made out of tea, so when it melts it'll go well with the rest of the tea. 

One item I was curious about was the Savory Rice Roll, it was cheung fun (rice noodle roll) with peanut and plum sauce mix.  It came out with soy sauce too.  But the mix wasn't what I remembered growing up.  

Then, there's a Dino Boba tea.  Again the little Dino ice is made of tea, and yes, there's boba in the cup.

I got the pork katsu curry rice, it came with broccoli and an egg over it.  To be honest, that is alot of food.  Now, don't get me wrong, I take sauce over rice on any given day.  The sauce was ok, it's the Japanese curry sauce, which is a tad sweetened.  But it wasn't heavy on taste, which tasted a tad blend.  That was a bit disappointing.   But A for effort.

At any rate, this place is a small operation, very mom & pop.  At the same time, we see 1 server running around, greeting, seating, taking order, running food to tables.  Another server hanging about, and one person at the drink station making drinks.  That just a weird set up to me.  What do I know, except that service is slow and obviously the 2nd person can help and didn't.  Oh well.  If you are driving around, they are on the backside of the Cat Haven shop.

Cafe 11

23015 Colonial Parkway

Ste A-105

Katy, TX 77449

832-913-6629

https://www.cafe11katy.com/

 

Navy Blue

Went to brunch on a Friday.

Getting a reservation was easy to do.

To start: I got a Gimlet Mocktail - I was hoping it to be less sugary than it really is. 

To start, we got some nice warm bread to start. 

We shared the Mahi Mahi Dip - it's wasn't as good as I had hope it'd be, but the house-made chips are good though. 

We ordered an omelet, it has raclette cheese inside and of course I'm all about the cheese.  The Frisee salad was good though, I'd enjoyed that alot.

Then we split a crab cake with remoulade and tomato chutney as topic.  Put it together with the omelet was totally delicious.  

Grabbed a coffee after the meal.  That espresso was pretty good.  

I would say, the whole meal was not bad.  I was surprised to hear the Mahi Mahi dip was a disappointment.   But the omelet + crab cake was a brilliant mix on our part.  I was thrilled with the outcome with that. 

If you are going, make sure you make a reservation.  I feel like brunch is not really needed, but for a dinner, for sure to make a reservation. 

Navy Blue

2445 Rice Blvd

Houston, Tx 77005

713-347-7727

https://www.navybluerestaurant.com/

 

 

Adair Kitchen

Return to another breakfast place. 

Funny that I return literally 2 years after the last visit. 

But first, coffee! and OJ!

Of course, a giant plate of breakfast is also welcomed!

I got the omelet, and you get to pick 3 mix-ins.  So I got chorizo, cheddar, and onions.  It came with hash brown casserole, and a small thing of salad.  

My omelet was delicious, but I have a feeling, as long as I get to customized it, I'll love it.  I do have a complaint about the hash brown casserole though.  The middle was too smooshie, and I would've love it less smooshie, not like a crunch but not like mashed potato.  Strangely enough, the salad was super good, it's arugula, so I mixed that into my omelet. 

Adair Kitchen

5176 Buffalo Speedway

Houston, TX 77005

713-554-0017

https://www.adairkitchen.com/

 

Red Robin

Went to Red Robin before catching Wicked.

I got the Sunset Lemonade - it has lemonade, citrus juice, desert pear flavor. 

I got fish & chips for lunch - as you know, it's just fried, fried and more fried foods.  Oh yeah, and there's cole slaw.  At any rate, it's a quick no-brainer.  The fish was very filling and the cod fillets are solid.  They were really battered well, so it fried nice and crispy.  Super good for fried food, mainly I feel partly healthy since it's fish. 

For a quick bite before a movie this does the trick, and of course, you say the place and the jingle is hitting you in the subconscious of your mind. 

Red Robin

7620 Katy Freeway

Houston, TX 77024

713-476-9096

https://locations.redrobin.com/tx/houston/504/

 

North Italia

 Went back to North for dinner with another group of friends. 

I love how food just bring people together.  Truly breaking breads together is a magical thing.

To start: I love the Zucca Chips - truly addictive.  I can eat the whole bowl by myself. 

Another encore of the Truffle Bread.  My only complaint is that I wish the bread was warmer to melt the cheese. 

Here's where things differ than the last recent trip.   It was recommended to get Squid Ink Tonnarelli - I don't usually have squid ink pasta, not because I have any aversion, just that not everyone can make it well.  This came with shrimp and calamari, the sauce is spicer than the other tomato sauce based dishes, but it truly brought out the flavors. 

Then we went traditional and got Bolognese - which has the traditional meat sauce and pappardelle pasta.  The sauce was less spicy than the squid ink pasta, but it's solid on the meat sauce.  No complaint from anyone at the table. 

Since we have kids at the table, we went with the Pig, which has pepperoni, salumi, Italia sausage.  Hmmm, meat!  So good. 

For dessert, which by this time, I'm super stuffed.  So I settled for affogato.  So good... one giant scoop of vanilla ice cream, coffee beans and a shot of espresso.  I did skip the coffee beans though, the last thing I need is espresso + coffee beans and bounce off of the walls.  It was nice nonetheless.

As usual, reservations are highly encouraged.  Mainly because the area is super busy, so having a locked on a table only save yourself grief.  

North Italia

818 Town & Country Blvd

Ste 100

Houston, TX 77024

713-461-0600

https://www.northitalia.com/locations/houston-city-centre/

Cucharita

Was looking for breakfast options, and instagram sent me here.

Lots and lots of yummy pastries - oh sure, twist my arm.

Pretty pastries and coffee, sign me up!

But first, coffee! I got Mexican Coffee with sweetened milk, that works out, not quite a cafe ole but already sweetened.  Also comes with a mini cookie.

I asked my server to recommend a pastry, she recommend the Strawberry and Cream inside a croissant.  It's actually pretty good, cream is not too sweet and strawberry was just right.  Very complimentary.

I got the Chilaquiles de la Semana - which is a surprise me kinda of dish.  It has 2 fried eggs, chorizo, and tortilla chips with green sauce and queso blanco and creama Mexicana.  It was definitely filling kinda dish.  But you have all the food groups and flavor profile all there.  Dang, maybe I shouldn't have ordered that Strawberry Croissant (to be fair, I did taste tasted it and then packed it for the next day).  At any rate, that is a very filling meal and very much worth your time going down there. 

Cucharita

214 Fairview St

Houston, TX 77006

713-942-0000

http://www.cuchararestaurant.com/