Granville - Burbank

This week, we'll be doing Los Angeles eats..... We went to Burbank, CA and this is what we ate.

In the cute downtown Burbank, we landed Granville.

I got a mocktail.  This is Elixir - which has Granny Smith apple, thyme and coriander, cucumber and lemon.  It might be a tad more zingy than I'd like, but it's a good relieve for a hot sunny LA day.

I got the Thai Ginger salad with tuna as protein.  That's silly since avocado is decent filling enough. It has soba noodles, mango chunks, tomato, peanuts, ginger bits, and Thai Sesame dressing.  They added seared tuna.  

You don't feel it, but the entire plate actually has alot of food.  The noodles are fillers, but every bite I get the dressing and it's not over powering the flavor of the food.  The entire dish is so 'California', the light flavors that comes together, and yet it's so feeling and crunchy veggies that comes together.  

Coming here is very easy.  You don't need other have a reservation and lots of people go shopping and stop in for lunch.  There's patio seating, as well as bar seating.  The place has so many tables, unless it's a busy day, you should not have trouble getting a seat.

Granville

121 N. San Fernando Blvd

Burbank, CA 91502

818-848-4726

https://www.granvillerestaurants.com/

 

ChiCha Sen Chen

So everyone was all, you must check out this bubble tea place.

The line is worth the 20 minute wait, they say. 

Lucky for me, I was able to pull up and the line was only out to the door. 

The decor is very zen and tea oriented.  

I got the orange osmanthus with boba.  The tea is smooth, the boba is just, well, boba.  I think I would've preferred the tea by itself better.  The tea is good, but not sure if it's Michelin Star good. 

I do like the atmosphere, the place is nice.  If you want to hang for an afternoon, this would be a good spot, especially after all the yummy food in the center this is located.   It's a good end of a meal.

Chi Cha Sen Chen

9750 Bellaire Blvd

Ste 180

Houston, TX 77036

713-684-7810

https://www.chichasanchentx.com/

 

Refresqueria

Went to the Refresqueria in the Village.

My favorite of all time is Aqua Fresca, cantaloupe is my favorite.  And look at how big that thing is.

They have ice cream and flavors that you don't get anywhere else.  

Also paletas, flavors that are pretty cool.  Wish I have more room for the goodies.  

Not to mention, they have fruit salad with chamoy, elote, nachos, and other yummy goodness.  Now, some people might think they are junk food, but if it's good food, I'm all good with that.

There are plenty of seatings there, so you can grab whatever and hang.  

Refresqueria

5407 Morningside

Houston, TX 77005

713-750-9873

https://www.refresqueria.net/rice-village 

 

Theodore Rex

Been meaning to go to TRex for a while, finally gotten a chance to go.

First off, they are are the Historic Warehouse district, which I did not know that's what we're calling that area now.  Parking can be challenge and if you can get a ride share there, do that.  If not, street parking is your only bet, so keep your eyes peeled.

Cute menu

They have non-alcoholic wine selection - and unapologetically calls it grape juice.

We shared the dumplings, it has beef, parmesan, ricotta and you see some olive oil drizzled.

The Yelpers were recommending the Melted Onion in buttermilk.  So it's interesting, it's onion but cooked to mush, topped with breadcrumbs and herbs.  There's so much buttermilk that it drowned out the onion flavors. 

This is one of my favorite for the night: this is tomato toast, literally tomato squished to mush and you spread on toast.  It's delicious, this one I would come back and order this again. 

We ordered the Crudo, that is also very good, worth getting again. 

This is Japanese turnip (kohlrabi), horseradish, white soy sauce and chive.

Redfish crusted with toast and it has honey & butter on there.  The sauce is puree green pea.  I'm not exactly a huge fan of green peas, but as a sauce, I'm ok with that.  

This is the chicken breast glazed in coconut with anchovy garlic chili sauce.  This is probably one of the more hyped but not delivering for me kinda dish.  It all sounded good, but it was not doing it for me in the flavor department.  

This is the warm strawberry buttercake, and the cream is cardamom flavored, it's pretty nice.  Would be nicer with a cup of coffee. 

This is a frozen dark chocolate mousse, this one was the winner for our table.  

It was kinda a bummer for me because I had high hopes coming here.  The reputation has always been great, which set a high bar for me.  Yet not every dish knock it out of the park for me. 

The place has like 10 tables at the house, so walking-up is not recommended.  Get a reservation ahead of time if you want to guarantee a time to dine close to when you want.   We did see that they have another 'room' maybe back of the house where they can do extra seatings but they seemed reluctant, but I won't count on that. 

Theodore Rex

1302 Nance St

Houston, TX 77002

832-830-8592

https://trexhouston.com/

 

Aga's Indian Food

Was at the Southside of town, and friend suggested Aga's.

By looking up only knew this is Indian cuisine and I'm game.  When I arrived, not realizing how big this place is.  I thought surly it's for the dinner crowd.  But lo and behold, by the time we sat down, the tables all started to fill.  And hardly any parking spots are left.  Wow!

First off, I got the Blue Lagoon as a blueberry + Topo Chico and syrup mocktail.  Nice and cute for a hot day.

I'm a fan of papadum, so ordered Papad.  Apparently, Southern Indian calls this Papadum, while Northerns called this Papad.  Either way, same thing: flat, round wafer that is spicy and crispy.  I used to eat loads and loads of these in my younger-spicy food consuming days.  But also don't remember it being this spicy.  So while it was good, I can only do this in small doses.

Then for the entree, I ordered Paneer Tiki Marsala.  At first, I thought I might be interested in the lamb or the beef, but the cheese was calling, so Paneer it is!  It came with naan, so I was happily dipping.  By the way, it's actually alot of curry.  I had to take it home, and made some rice to eat it for left over.  It's crazy good second day after the curry has a chance to seep. 

So coming here, if arrive early, you definitely can get a seat.  Don't wait till prime time is my advice.  Plus the parking lot fills up quick.  So early bird and all that.  When you sit down, they ask that you scan their QR and order from the online menu.  They are super quick, as soon as they enter your order on the device, food turns around and arrive.  So speed of service is awesome!  Totally prepare to take home leftovers, there's lot of food the price you pay.  No wonder so many families come here on the weekend.

Aga's Restaurant

11842 Wilcrest Dr

Houston, TX 77031

832-786-8000

https://www.agasrestaurant.com/

 

ECK Bakery

I don't usually get a chance to come this way of town, so I must do a stop when I can. 

Especially the chef does sometimes take the summer off, so you need to catch them when you can.

So, what am I catching? 

Egg custard tart, of course.  The egg custard is nice and fresh, but the most important part that makes it special is the shell.  It's flaky, crispy, not too sweet, and not to sugar-cookie-ish. 

The other items they have is the Curry Beef Puff, it's a nice texture and has the yummy curry beef in the middle.  It's really a nostalgic thing more than anything, totally reminded me of childhood.  Though, I recall having it at dim sum places or bakery type places. 

If you arrive early enough, they do have alot of offerings such as Puff Pastry with other fillings, egg custard tart or coconut tart, specialty pastry - Chinese style cookies. Sometimes cakes, some time lotus wrapped rice, but what is 'off menu' is their Mango Mochi.  You do have to go early for that one, because it's so not a secret that everyone who knows about it gets multiple and once they sold out for the day, it's done.  So you've been warned. 

ECK Bakery

6918A Wilcrest Dr.

Houston, TX 77072

281-933-6808

 

Lady M Cafe

Been meaning to check out Lady M Cafe. 

It looked very fancy on the outside. 

Sure enough, it is pretty. 

I got a seasonal lime soda.  Not to sweet but cold enough to beat this humidity. 

I got a slice of earl grey mille feuille. 

What I like about their cake is that it's a lot of flavor but not too sweet.  Not to mention if you know how a mille feuille is made, you know why they cost as much as they do.  There are other cakes and other flavors to try. Truly a decadent enjoyment after a meal or shopping.  

Lady M Cafe

12270 Westheimer Rd

Ste 120

Houston, TX 77077

281-572-8388

https://www.ladym.com/boutiques/details/tx-westheimer

 

Melange Creperie

It's been literally years since I've been back to Melange Creperie. 

It does gets busy on the weekend, there are often big groups hang out there. 

I got the Cardamom Honey latte, just because I've never had that before.  

Here's a Ham & Cheese with an egg (sunny side up)

Very same crepe but scrambled... no peekaboo egg for you. 

At Melange, they do have a lot next to the building, but it does cost to park.  Do scan the QR and follow instructions.  Do I park across the street or down the street from the park? Yes.  Just pay attention to the signs. 

Melange Creperie

711 Heights Blvd

Ste B

Houston, TX 77007

713-393-7578

https://www.houstoncrepes.com/

 

Sixty Vines

Haven't been back to Sixty Vines in a while. 

Out of good measure, I made a reservation.  At first, they were going to put us on the first floor and outside.  In this heat? Are you kidding me?  Luckily, I asked to be switched.  I have a feeling that had I checked-in upstairs they would've seated me upstairs which is all inside. 

We had some broccolini.  Nicely grilled. 

We got the Crispy Zucchini - it's pretty good, not as good as the ones from North Italia, but still yummy. 

This is the Shrimp Campanelle - obviously have shrimps, garlic, tomato, basil and white wine sauce. 

Got the Spicy Sausage pizza to share.  Super flavorful.

This is the Affogato - it has a devil food cake at the bottom, a scoop of vanilla ice cream with coffee caramel, and a shot of coffee waiting to be poured over.  

By the time, this arrives I was so stuffed, barely got to enjoy it.  It was pretty delicious though.  Worth getting. 

If you're coming here during the weekday, probably no issues getting a table but for the weekend definitely need a reservation.  In terms of parking, you get 2 hours free in the garage.  If you are going to park in the respective lots, there are meters, so pay attention to those.   Of course, you can try parking on the street, but do check for signs.

Sixty Vines

2540 University Blvd

Houston, TX 77005

281-800-8808

https://www.sixtyvines.com/locations/rice-village

 

Amy's Ice Cream

Sometimes you just need to pull over and get some ice cream.

I haven't been back to Amy's Ice Cream in a long while.

Of course, they're known for mixing the ice cream.

I got coffee ice cream mixed in with peanuts and Kit Kat.  You never know how it comes out until you try it, and I have to say, it was a nice surprise.  Lots of crunch and lots of flavor on top of coffee, and it was a delight how it came out. 

Amy's Ice Cream

3816 Farnham St

Houston, TX 77098

713-526-2697

https://amysicecreams.com/locations/#houston

 

Agnes & Sherman

Lots of hub bub about Agnes & Sherman in the Heights.

This is billed as Asian Diner fusion.  They are located on 19th Street.

Since they're still hot, a reservation is definitely needed. 

I got the Mojo Nono - which is passion fruit, mint, sparking soda.  A not sweet virgin mojito.

I saw alot of people on IG were ordering this.  This is Scallion Waffle with a scoop of sambal honey butter.  Sambal is an Indonesian Chili Paste, but it's not spicy at all. It has a hint of shrimp paste. 

Was very disappointed on this one.  I guess because of the hype, the dishes didn't all come out while it's hot.  The waffle was already cooled down when it arrived.  The batter is the wheat batter, which is very different from Chinese batter.  The scallion taste is fine, but I would like to think it'd be better while it's hot. 

Egg Foo Young - It has crawfish, scallion, gravy over rice.  It's actually very delicious on that. 

I think this is one of my favorite - this actually made alot of sense. This is Tteobokki (Korean Rice Cake - very close to thick pasta texture).   It's covered in beef rags with cheese on top.   

We were lucky enough to get the Sprout with sesame, it's pretty dang delicious.  But I didn't see it on the rotating menu anymore.  Do get it if you see it.

This is Disco Fries - This was dangerous - I can sit there and eat the entire plate.  This has fries at the bottom, cheese curd and pork gravy and added mustard green.  

It's an unusual combo, but it's not bad.  I'd like it had it been warmer, but it was again room temp.  

Here's a sundae - this is actually pretty good too.  Pandan ice cream with chocolate shell (I'm game for ALL things chocolate shell), coconut shreds, peanuts and Pei Pa Koa (honey loquat syrup) over whipped cream. 

Pei Pa Koa is what we take when we have a sore throat, it's all made up of herbal goodness.  So it's kinda weird to have syrup drizzle over whipped cream.  Now, it's sweet, kinda like honey is sweet but good for sore throat, it's like that.  Definitely a unique combo that I never had before but it's actually a surprisingly delightful combo.  By then, I was so full, I can only have a few bites.

So let's talk about the place, 19th street is busy and they are only open for dinner, so you'll have to keep your eyes peel for a parking spot.  Since they're still hot on social media, reservation is definitely a must.  You can try the bar, but it's not easy since they have like 6 seats.  The staff and bartender are all great, but I think with the hype the kitchen is not keeping up.  Maybe I'll try again when the hype dies down, but maybe not soon.

Agnes & Sherman

250 W. 19th Street

Houston, TX 77008

713-965-6088

https://www.agnesandsherman.com/