Alora

I saw someone promoting Alora on IG, and thought it was worth trying. 

It is located at the former location of Kau Ba down Montrose/Westheimer area. 

I got the Mojito mocktail, luckily, it's not super sweet like most places you get a mocktail. 

I'd ask for the bartender special mocktail, and they did something with chili and lime juice.  Pretty good for a hot day.

Got the Crispy Spring Roll - the sauce is like a kind of taro sauce. 

This dish I loved, Patatas Bravas - the potato is crispy enough, and the sauce is rocoto aioli flavor - so addictive, so good. 

This is the La Bajada Trio - it's a good Happy Hour dish.  They made their own goldfish, roasted their own  nuts.  The BBQ rice chips were so good, dish that they just have that as a dish.  Then you got some green mango and chili sauce. 

Had the Chaufu fried rice.  I've had some Peruvian fried rice before, but it was not as flavorful as I'd preferred. 

The cuisine is a cross between Peru & Vietnam, and I will say some dishes were out of the park.  Some it was meh,  since we're lucky enough to be in a town that diversity of food is so easily accessible.  Also, while they do ask for reservations, we went on a Thursday and it was not crowded at all.  The place is not big, there's plenty of outdoor seatings.  But they were no busy.  

The parking in the area is tight.  There's no valet for the place.  But plenty street parking, just be courteous to the neighbors. 

Alora

2502 Dunlavy St

Houston, TX 77005

713-485-4836

https://www.alorahtx.com/

 

B&B Butchers

Came to B&B Butchers for Happy Hour. 

Started with a mocktail.  I love the movement that has more and more offerings, instead of the good o' virgin mojitos.  This one has Lime, Mint, Tonic and a non-alcoholic gin. 

We got the bread service, it came with onion butter, salted butter, and maple mustard butter - I think the consensus was the salted butter is the winner.

I got a side of saute mushroom.  Yummy as usual. 

Creamed Spinach with lots and lots of cheese.  YUM!

Then we got the Lobster Mac & Cheese - super cheesy, super delish, and if you mix the spinach with the Mac & Cheese - you cannot lose on that one. 

I love the Carpet Bagger on the half shell - fried oyster, bacon, blue cheese, and hot sauce.  So delicious.  I can sit there and eat an entire plate. 

Then we got Bacon Three Ways - It has lamb cut with mustard mixed green, Tommy cut which has blue cheese with truffle infused honey glazed, and good ol' bacon. 

Even though we knew happy hour won't be crowded, we went ahead and made a reservation anyway.  That way they know that if we are sitting a bit longer they won't hustle us to leave, knowing that we won't be long.  

For parking, you can do valet there.  Or there is a huge lot behind the property that you can self park.  Just practice safety.

B & B Butcher

1814 Washington Ave

Houston, TX 77007

713-862-1814

https://www.bbbutchers.com/houston

 

Bosscat Kitchen & Libation

Went to do a send off with a friend and ended up at Bosscat.

Been here for work event before, but never non-catered dining. 

First off, I got the mocktail, I'm the Driver, it's fruity, not too sweet, and citrusy.

We started with Barrata with Bacon Jam and toast, this is highly recommended.  It is THAT good!  Not going to say we licked the plate, but it is lick-worthy!

Then we split the Spinach Artichoke Eggroll.  I'm a huge Spinach Artichoke person, but this was not up to par.  The sauce is fine, the food is fine, the dish is just fine.  If I'm going to sacrifice calories, I'd like for it to go somewhere I'm going to be happy with and this was not it.

That said, Wednesday night is Whiskey night, they have all sorts of specials.  Our server was hilarious and well deserve the tip that we gave.  He made the entire experience fun and made sure our drink orders with the variations is to our liking.  Definitely will come back and ask for him again.

Bosscat Kitchen

4310 Westheimer Rd

#150

Houston, TX 77057

281-501-1187

https://bosscatkitchen.com/houston

 

Bowl & Barrel

It's been a few years since I've been to Bowl & Barrel.

They always got some good drinks and food.  Full bar and bowl, what can go wrong?

Mean and cheese board? YES please!  2 kinds of meat, 2 kinds of cheese, and some trail mix with toast.

There was Spinach & Artichoke dip, which is also very yummy mainly because they add these bread crumbs on top, to die for.  What's not pictured is the Giant Pretzel with beer mustard, so good and you can definitely have me noshing the entire event that I'm supposed to be bowling.

If you need to pre-game, you can go to General Public next door. They definitely have a fuller menu, but worth stopping by.

Bowl & Barrel

797 Sorella Ct

Ste 118

Houston, TX 77024

https://www.bowlandbarrel.com/houston/

 

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/

 

Stock the bar party

When your friend is getting married and you need a gift for a couple that has everything, what do you do?

You throw a stock-the-bar-party.   Then the next question is: how do you make it cute?

Saw this on Pinterest and in my mind, it's cute and easy, so took on the challenge.

Turns out, I did not calculate the weight or support.  Basically, you get a flower pot, a floral foam, we did a sphere one, stuff some gift tissue at the bottom, and stuff some basket grass, and add.  From the few sites I saw was glueing skewer sticks at the back.  When in fact, they didn't tell you to check how heavy your bottles are.  

My tip here, if it's glass bottle, use a to-go chopstick, if it's plastic bottle, a regular skewer might be alright - better yet, double up on the stick.  That said, you also need to consider the weight because when we were moving it, the weight force the bottles all roll forward, well - yeah, it's a sphere, of course it would.   So keep that in mind.

We found a bow from something else and stuck it on the front and it went with the rest nicely.

 

Liberty Kitchen Oysterette

Haven't been back to Liberty Kitchen for a while. 

Didn't realized it was before Covid. 

Got a Berry Basil Smash - it has vodka, strawberries, basil, sparkling wine.  It's yummy.

This is the Happy Hour deviled eggs, which is $5 for 3.  What you don't see is that there's a slice of pickle at the bottom, and bacon jam on the side for us to top off with.  Of course, I just practically lick the little jam container.

House Rolls - agave honey butter, olive oil, and bacon jam.  So good.... Just give me more carbs. 

Black truffle Hamachi - there's bit of crispy garlic and truffle ponzu sauce.  Nice and fresh and not too overpowering by the truffle. 

We decided to spoil ourselves and ordered truffle fries.

Chesapeake Crab Balls - it's my first time ordering it, and it's better than I had expected.  The remoulade sauce was very nice and it all come together nice than I had thought.  Definitely getting this again.

We went during Happy Hour, and it's pretty laid back.  I imagine it gets busier on a Thursday or Friday evening.  But otherwise, service was top notch, and the dinner crowd is laid back on a Tuesday.  If you want to pick a chill place, come here on a Monday/Tuesday.  In terms of parking, since the Railway at the end of the shopping center is closed, you can park there for the time being, but do read the signs.

Liberty Kitchen & Oysterette

4224 San Felipe

Houston, TX 77027

713-622-1010

https://libertykitchenoysterette.com

 

Tiny's No.5 - Happy Hour

Haven't been to a small happy hour for a long time... finally got a chance.

Artichoke with herb butter - pretty delicious.

It came with bread and we asked for butter to go with that.

Heirloom Tomatos & Barrata.  It was interesting, I've never had watermelon with balsamic vinegar before.  But the green tomato was very good with the cheese.

I love Brussel Sprouts - well as long as I'm not the one preparing it.  It was very good, I didn't try the sauce on the side, but it was good on its own.

I got the mojito, very light and easy going... Not too hard but just enough for a hot muggy day.  Hopefully the 'cold front' comes along, and you can sit outside to enjoy the weather.

The only thing I didn't realized is that after lunch time, this little neighborhood joint is all dressed up.  All the guests are dolled up for happy hour and dinner, made just felt hugely out of sort.  So, you've been warned.  

Tiny's No. 5

3636 Rice Blvd

Houston, TX 77005

713-664-0141

https://www.tinyboxwoods.com/location/tinys-no-5/

 

Eloise Happy Hour

It's been a while since I've been to Eloise.  This is my first time here for happy hour.  It's nice to do a group thing, because we can order a bunch and not look like pigs.  Not to mention, you can try a little bit of this, that or another and order more if you like something. 

This is Joe's Hot Chicken, good news is that it's not hot.  Bad news is that it's so addicting.  It was nice and crispy and crunchy, much like the KFC (not Kentucky but Korean).  It's super flavorful and not dried.  Definitely can eat the entire thing by myself.

Cheese board, cheese from Houston Diary Maids. There are toast, apple slices, roasted pecan and honey. The Toast is raisin bread, nice and crunchy.

Lamb Meatball with romesco sauce with cucumber.

Brussel Sprouts - I'm totally a fan on this one.

Deviled Eggs, it has a bit of sour cream and bacon on top. 

Oyster Rockefeller - which has spinach, bacon, parmesan and bread crumbs on top of Gulf oyster.  It's pretty good, and I can stand for it to have more parmesan on it.  But that's just me... definitely worth ordering.

Happy Hour is very chill here, and now that the weather is nicer, you can definitely sit outside and enjoy the beautiful fall weather.  Service is good, they again didn't have my drink of choice, but that's ok, got a beer instead.  Fun time had by all, and definitely coming back for that chicken!

Eloise Nichols

2400 Mid Lane

Ste 100

Houston, TX 77027

713-554-0136

http://eloisenichols.com

 

Bovine & Barley

Back to the Adult Ice Cream truck.

My neighbor was having a party and called them over. 

For every order you have to order food, as per the Texas law that alcohol can be delivered with food.

Got a mojito, again, they give you a small airplane size bottle of alcohol.  By the time you mix it with the slushy, it fills the cup.  I got their house chips.  They're, as the name goes, made in-house.  And it's very addictive, so I got 2 just in case.  Super yummy, hit the spot!

Hope I can stop by their shop one day.

Bovine & Barley

https://bovineandbarley.com

Aka Sushi House

Sometimes, you just need a little something something...

I was having an urge to have sushi... so here we are, do a quick pick up from Aka.

Got couple hand rolls, takoyaki, and vegetable tempura.  Since it was before 6pm, (it was my lunch) it's on Happy Hour price.  So, feel free to order more for your family.  Highly encouraged.

I ordered ahead.  The pickup was right on time.  The staff has everything ready.  The only thing I have a minor complaint about is that they still need you to sign the tab.  I think they need to adopt what a lot of places have, and that is, if your tab is under certain amount, you don't need to sign.  

Aka Sushi House

2390 W.Alabama

Houston, TX 77098

713-807-7875

http://www.akasushi.net