Broken Spoke

Do you remember Cafe Montrose on Westhimer close to Mandell? Yeah, nowhere close to Montrose itself. But I never got a chance to go there to taste the 'real' Belgian food. As a matter of fact, while the restaurant physically is no longer there, the website is still there. Outdated, but there.

As far as I understood it, and disclaimer here, I don't know the situation, but from stories I've read and people I've talked to. The restaurant had to close and the sister and brother duo opened up Jeannine's Bistro down on Bagby and the ex-sister-in-law opened up Broken Spoke. Like I said, I don't claim to know any dirty details, but I know if the food tastes good, I'm more incline to return.

I've tried Jeannine's before the space expansion, it was cold out the food was nice the space was cozy. So, I'll need to return to do a better comparison, but for now, let's talk Belgin at Broken Spoke.


The space was decent, check out their ceiling mural, it was very well drawn and very colorful. I wouldn't exactly say that they'll give the Sistine Chapel a run for their money, but it's definitely unusual for restaurant to have a ceiling that decorative.

The space is not small, they can accommodate big parties like no other and the bar looked pretty stocked to accommodate as well, so don't let the outside discourage you. I would say the parking situation can be discouraging, but check the parking signs all around, you can find street parking just fine.

I will say that if you go during a slow time, such as Saturday midday lunch, the service will be spotty despite that you might be one of 3 customers sitting there for lunch. I didn't feel unwelcomed, but it was slow for sure. The owner did stop by to check on me, but I did have to wait for good 10 mins before someone takes my order. So, slow day = lazy day? Dunno. I wouldn't let that discourage you because I've heard great things from other people that I'm willing to go back for another try. Now, if that doesn't produce a different result, then yes I'll say no, but for now, it's still a yes for me.

If you're any of a Belgin food connoisseur, you'd know that their claim to fame is mussles. Any style you want, they can deliver. The most famous style is the Mariniere, which is nice broth steam mussle to bring out the flavor. Or you can go w/ other types of sauces. I went to curry because I remembered at Jeannine's it went really well w/ the fries when you dip into them.

Anyway, got a lunch order of Curry Mussels w/ fries. I would say it's very no frill on that front. Sauce was tasty but didn't give me much pizzazz. Incidentally, the fries when dipped into the sauce was good, but again didn't shoot me thru the roof. Had I have enough room in my tummy I would definitely get the profiterole, but alas I didn't. Boo :(

If you do go, aside from mussles, they also do alot of savory crepes, I highly recommend you give that a shot. They also have daily specials, so check w/ them to see what's out there.

Broken Spoke
http://www.brokenspokecafe.com
1809 Washington Ave
(713) 863-7029

No Go on Shimako

So, Monday night after a class over by Wilcrest, I stopped by a sushi bar that I've been curious about. It's Shimako on Westheimer by Dunlavy. The place was of interest to me because it's previous format was a walk-up style sushi place. You literally walk up and pick up the sushi you like and you have few seating for you to eat.

They have sinced moved away from that model, but in the space is much nicer, and chic decor. You walk up, there's 2 small table for outside seating, right by the door is couple more tables, then it's a full bar and the space. The interior space is gorgeous, chic yet upscale kind of feeling. Opposite the bar, at the other end is the sushi bar attached to the kitchen with a very fast working sushi chef.

My experience of the place was disappointing at best. I know it was 9pm on a Monday night, not exactly the prime time of dining hours. However, there were one bartender, one waiter, one sushi chef, and one bus person. When I walked in the waiter was on his cell phone, there were 3 other seated table when I walked in, one of which are filled w/ the waiter's friends. I'm not even going to touch upon the fact that not one single person that works there is Asian. I know I'm playing into the stereotype here, but at a sushi restaurant, the least you have one token Asian person to make you feel like you're eating something Asian. Yes, I'm bias... we'll move on.

So, the bartender seated me, the sushi chef took my order, the bus person got me my water, and the bartender helped me get my check. Yet, the waiter was the only person that should be waiting on me, have not even so much as to say hello. Oh wait, I think he did say hello when I'm ready to pay for my check. Give me a break! You're in the service industry. I was so tempted to not give him any tip and write: here's a tip for you ~ wait on your customer, then give all the tip to the sushi chef & the bartendar. Alas, they have my credit card info, can't very well do that and not expect any reprocussion.

So here's my review to tell you, first sign of an Asian Restaurant, even though you know the kitchen staff are 90% Hispanic, is to have at least one Asian person to run the place. Second sign, is when the one and only waiter is on his cell phone instead of hanging up and greet you, seat you, and get your water. That's a clear sign to stay away, despite the fact that you're hungry and wanted to give the place a chance. Third sign, when the sushi chef takes your order and the waiter still hasn't come by to check if you're ok, or place your order, or ask what was it for the ticket purposes, you should run the other way. Last but not least, if the waiter is sitting w/ his friends and not pay attention that you're ready to leave. You should not return.

I know this is a big rant, I will say that the food was good. There's some faire that I don't usually see at a sushi restaurant, but there's some staples that I don't see there as well. The price is higher than the norm, mind you that strip of Westheimer there's at least 5 sushi restaurant in a 2 miles radius. You're eating the fancy decor they put in along w/ the big flat screen TVs and the satellite cable. Food is not bad at all, but if the price is high and the service is lousy, why go to this place when there are other places that are happy to serve you and take your money on sushi that are good?! Plus, trust me, in this town, we are not shy of sushi restaurants. Lesson learned!

Shimako Sushi Bar
8401 Westheimer Ste 160
Houston, TX 77063
713-952-7600

Underground Fried Chicken dinner

So, what is an underground fried chicken dinner? Well, there's truly no mystery, it's really the off-menu item is all.

The dinner took place at Pesce on Kirby. Yes, the seafood place. The story goes, Chef Mark Holley was approached by a frequent customer who asked him to make some fried chicken for his birthday. The nearby table saw what he has, and they wanted it, and since that it became so popular that the restaurant decided to do a chicken dinner once a month. Even then, they have a 3 month wait list. No lie, call them, those dinners takes place on the last Thursday of the month.

On to the food, shall we?

As you know, or if you don't, Chef Holley does not disappoint. They offer a great range of seafood. But let's talk chicken. Apparently, the chicken were catch 2 days before, so everything is fresh, fresh, fresh. The batter has a very subtle kick of pepper and it was very juicy and no hint of dryness at all. Several people at the table were commenting how it tasted like how grandma used to make them... so I know it is good.

What's on the plate? So, obviously, the fried chicken. Chef Holley was saying his secret ingrediant is the sugar cane syrup (which is that puddle of brown stuff). For sides, he brought out biscuit (of course) with light brown gravy that has tomato in it. White truffle mac & cheese (not sure if grandma ever made that), and sweet potato with (I believe) walnuts & either dates or cranberry.

Like I said, there was gravy, and I didn't get any, because by then, I was stuffed... my eyes definitely wanted to devour more, but my stomach declined... plus, as my neighbor, Karen, said, there's dessert still.



The dessert was pecan pie (made in house) and bacon cinnamon ice cream. I know, I know, bacon? Well, in today's world w/ bacon chocolate and bacon cupcake, why is it strange to have bacon ice cream? It was delicious, and you can hardly tell that there's bacon in there. The bacon are in tact, so we all guessed that it was sprankled in after the cream became ice cream. You can see little bits of bacon in the ball of ice cream, but there's no overempowerment of taste there. You can definitely bit into little bit of bacons, but it's like ice. You know when you ice cream get froze bite. It's like that.

Overall between good food and good people, this is one heck of a deal. If you ever get a chance to try it, you should. Remember, 3 months wait.

Pesce
3029 Kirby Drive
Houston, TX 77098
713.522.4858
http://www.pescehouston.com/home.htm

Battle of Cupcakes... Patty's version (part 1 of many)

Well, when I read the Houston Press' Battle of Cupcakes I thought it was highly unfair. First off, they seems to have some sort of allegiance to Dessert Gallery. I personally don't have anything against Dessert Gallery. They have good lunch and they got good Brownie. Ohhh and they have good iced tea. But desserts??? I'm just going to say that you are entitled to your opinion, and mine is that I think they do better job on other food item than their dessert.

Anyway, back to the Houston Press' comparison. They picked Dessert Gallery vs. Sugar Babies. Personally between the two, they are made very differently. Let me just say, not all cupcakes are created equal. The folks at Sugar Babies really did it like how Mama used to. It's nice buttery and yummy goodness. Dessert Gallery's, personal feelings aside, both icing and the cake are dried. And that's on more than one occasion that had happened (we have people send us cupcakes and dessert from there). Yet, the writer picked Dessert Gallery. Gimme a break!

Back to my version of the Cupcake Battle. Today's challengers: Frosted Betty vs. What's Up Cupcake. I would've put up a picture of the cupcakes... except they were in my car and it sorta melted, and of course I had to eat it because it's so sad looking, and it went to my tummy... womp womp. Ok, on to the cakes...

First up, Frosted Betty, I got their famous Maple Bacon & Pistachio Cardamom. The Maple Bacon, I guess is used w/ maple syrup. They did have a small touch of bacon on top. First off, you can barely taste the bacon. Both my mom and I agreed that it was really buttery. The cake looks like yellow cake based, but the cake doesn't rawk my world. The icing was the buttery part. I know they do have some sort of bacon in there, but it was not overpowering at all. The Pistachio Cardamom was much more delectable. Both the cake and the icing are made out of pistachio. It's very smooth, and definitely my favorite.

Then it's What's Up Cupcake. What I had hoped was for their Coca-Cola Fudge cupcake. I've been dying to try that since I found out about them in Atlanta. (sidebar: they're big in Atlanta because Coke is based out of there, and several cake shops make them around town. So, I was ecstatic when I found out that someone in Houston is doing it. Well, they sold out of the Coca Cola one, but I settled for the Rocky Road one. I gave 2 other ones to the girls I know because they were holding down the shop down the street. But the one that I had was divine. Oh holy cow! The cake was moist, the icing was marshmellow cream. My oh my, it was a match made in heaven. They actually have nuts and mini marshmellow. Oh yum!

Well, the verdict? As hard as it is, I have to give it to What's Up Cupcake. The smoothness, the match and everything just went perfectly together. It was definitely delicious. I think I would definitely try Frosted Betty again, but this round goes to WUC!

While the upside was their goods are good. Trying to get my grubby hands on them are difficult. Frosted Betty came thru town once couple of days. Since they're based out of Katy (about 23 miles) from town, it's great that they're driving to town to get their cupcake fix. Luckily, they are pretty good about posting updates on Facebook (and thank goodness for that), so you can track them down around town. Contrary to What's Up Cupcake, they said they'll be at 14th & Shepherd on weekends I have yet to get them at their said time or place. I did voice that to the guys in the trailer, and they promised that they'll be more consistent. They did say that due to their popularity, they're kept busy and getting business constantly, which is great for them, but don't forget us the little people.

Mockingbird Bistro Wine Dinner event

So, I subscribed to Cleverly's Newsletter after the Houston Restaurant Week last fall. And I came across her announcement on the Mockingbird Bistro Wine Dinner. I've heard of it, just didn't know what it entails and been dying to try that out.

I grabbed my friend Steve and off we went. As you arrive, you can see that they kept alot of the Quasimodo's decor but with a new coat of paint and nice carpet. If you recall, the restaurant before the arrival of Mockingbird was Quasimodo, which was owned by the same guy who owns the building. I remembered because I used to live down the street and I would go to the laundromat next door. I would see him go between the restaurant and the laundromat, and we think that he and his wife live upstairs. All I remember was he used to play the 740AM radio and was grumpy. I would put a load of laundry in, eat dinner at Quasimodo and then go back and put my clothes in the dryer. That worked out for me.

Anyway, Mockingbird moved in around 2002 or 2003, because they just opened and shortly after I got married and moved out of the neighborhood. While I envied the diners at the new, chi-chi restaurant. I'm sure they were wondering why some girl carrying her laundry strolling right in front of them while they eat. That has got to be very very odd.

Fast forward to last night, I finally can afford to come as a diner. And it was well worth it. I was going to take a picture of each of the dish, but since we were in a small room that would've been obvious and embarrassing. The menu is as follows:

First Course
Pancetta Wrapped Jumbo Scallop with roasted pear and peach petite salad. Pinot gris/vanilla vinaigrette

Wine pairing: 2007 Belle Vallee Pino Gris

Second Course
Duck 3 Ways
-seared breast with dried fruit compote
-leg confit w/ farro risotto
-torchon of duck foie gras/raspberry aspic

Wine pairing: 2007 Belle Vallee Reserve Pinot Noir

Main Course
Duo of Colorado Lamb
-grilled lamb ribeye with wild mushrooms chevre maitre d'hotel butter
-slow braised lamb shank with peruvian lima beans swiss chard and prune/apricot gremolata

Wine pairing: 2006 Belle Valle Grand Cuvee Pinot Noir

Finale
Wild Berry Cobbler with Belle Vallee Port ice cream

Wine Pairing: 2004 Belle Vallee Pinot Noir Port
~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~~

So, first off, I'm not a true wine connoisseur, so I cannot throw out adjectives like robust, fruity, aromatic...etc at a drop of a hat. That part, might be lost on me, but the food doesn't. What they didn't put on the menu was during the reception, they did tuna tartare, grilled lamb chop, and crab leg lollipop in orange sauce; all of them goes very well with their Pinot Gris. (In case you haven't figured out, this is a wine sponsored dinner, that's why all the wine came from the same winery.)

The jumbo scallop was nice and fresh, along w/ the roasted pear and peach, that really brought out the pancetta. However! When you eat it w/ the vinaigrette, it brought out flavors that is excitement. And when you pair it w/ the pinot gris, it really neutralizes the acid and makes everything neutral and happy.

The Duck 3 ways was definitely my favorite part. I was already impressed by the surprising flavors from the risotto, but to add the duck breast, it just builds the yummyness in my mouth. I liked the breast was seared but you can still taste the marinate and the fruit on top of it, made the meat sweeter than it already is. But, the best part of all was the foie gras. I don't care what your view on foie gras is, that foie gras was super awesome and I haven't been able to stop talking about it. It has a thin cracker at the bottom, a small portion of foie gras, and topped w/ a piece of raspberry aspic. What the heck is an aspic? I don't know, but it was good and that's good enough for me. Can I get more????

The main course was the lamb. The lamb w/ wild mushroom, and let me tell you, that sauce and the mushroom really made the lamb ribeye. You don't see lamb ribeye very often so it's definitely a treat to have something so rear. The braised lamb shank was really shredded and mixed w/ the beans and prune and the apricot gremolata mix laid comfortably on a square pastry. It totally made me want to pick it up and devour. Of course, I didn't, but I wanted to.

The dessert was a berry cobbler, but if seems more like a layer of fresh fruit at the bottom, a cookie-like top dusted w/ powder sugar, and the special port ice cream, which I can taste there's cinnamon in it. That was delicious. I'm still gaga over the foie gras, but the ice cream cobbler combo does hit the spot. The port wine that was paired was very strong in terms of alcohol content, so I backed off on that, especially when I don't have a designated driver with me.

Dinner was nice, I was a little apprehensive about the open seating. I don't care to be forced into mingling with others, I wanted to have a relax and enjoyable dinner. Luckily, our table were seated w/ cool guests which makes conversations easy and comfortable. To that, I thank my lucky stars that brings people together serendipitously. The cost is $125, gratuity of $25 is tagged on, plus tax you're lookinag at $136 and change. Obviously, this is not something you do every night, nor does Mockingbird offer them 'that' frequently. Maybe once a quarter, so a treat once in a while is ok.

I do look forward to other menu items at Mockingbird, they have superb servers and staff, their chefs are amazing. I'd definitely go back, wine dinner or not.

Mockingbird Bistro
1985 Welch St.
Houston, Texas 77019
Tel. 713.533.0200
Reservations recommended

bring change for valet parking.

Del Frisco Steakhouse

A bunch of friends and I went to Del Frisco for a birthday dinner. They can accommodate dinner for large party for sure. Their downstair bar can be seen as cozy, though the seating for bar wasn't alot. The seating upstairs however, was ample. Just the stairs makes you feel like you're about to experience something important.

As the evening progress, you see the entire restaurant fills up. That was surprising to me because it was a Monday night. But if you look around, you quickly realize why. Most of them were business men out to discuss business over dinner. They are all probably staying at the many nearby hotels and just trying to catch a good steak. Either way, the gorgeous window over look Westhimer street at night was breath-taking. For a mere moment, you may have thought that you've escaped to some exotic city, anywhere but Texas. It was indeed gorgeous.

Let's talk food, shall we?! The first thing we all made fun of was the menu and its giant font. Several of us in the party didn't even need glasses. Haha... I ordered a 8oz filet mignon. That meat was nice and good for me. The others in my party ordered the Governor's Filet which was a 6oz Filet Mignon plus Chateau Potatoes (aka mashed potato), another person got a Peppercorn Steak, that was really full of peppercorn. They have some very yummy sides, but the complain was that they like to serve it all the way around. What happens when the person just want the side dish to his or herself?

Their dessert was good, but nothing so extraordinary that makes me return for more, which was like the steak. Don't get me wrong, it was good, I love my meat. But, nothing makes me want to make that as a destination to return time and again. I will refer people to it, simply because of it's location, which was centralized for businessman and tourist alike. Otherwise, I'm sticking with my steak at Morton's.

Del Frisco's Houston
5061 Westheimer Road (side of Galleria)
Houston, TX 77056
713-355-2600
Del Frisco's Website

Celebrity Cupcakes

Well, I've been hearing about the Celebrity Cupcakes in Rice Village Aracade for a while. While I don't bake cupcakes, I've crocheted them, and I'm now learning to craft soap in shape of cupcake... I *heart* cupcake. I would say I'm a connoisseur... I was there when Cookie Jar was around, and had a cupcake cake for my husband. I order frequently from Sugar Baby's. I even travel outside of the Loop to go to Ooh La La in Cinco Ranch. Of course, who can forget about Crave Cupcakes? Which, ahem, where the heck is my Sprinkle cupcakes??? I have to go to Dallas for my Sprinkles.

Anyway, back to Celebrity. The building it's housed is gorgeous, brand new and all around pretty. It's tucked in from the main street which is smart because we all can appreciate parking on site. It's right behind Bistro des Amis on Morningside & University. The decor is nice, dark wood trim with nice eggshell painted walls with gigantic windown pane doors. It's quite lovely.

When you get in, however, you realize how small the place really is. Looks like the kitchen is right open for all to see, which is fine by me, as I'm sure the aroma when fresh cupcakes comes out is wonderful. The display is very chic and very much the type of cupcake display cases you've seen at nicer stores. The lady that was there, I can only assume is the owner, wasn't all that friendly. I wasn't greeted when I walked it, it was just me and her, which also worries me on a good weekend day and a business like that is not busy, when a Crave is sold out. Now, granted, it's on Superbowl Sunday, but don't people eat cupcake at Superbowl parties?

The cupcake itself looks nice. Not messy nor does it look homemade, it's definitely professional looking cupcake. I tried to Chocolate Truffle, it's not really what it sounds like. It's more like a chocolate cupcake with chocolate icing. I would say other than it looks good, the cupcake wasn't anything spectular. They certainly have the good location in their favor, but not sure if the owner's unfriendliness or the ordinary taste of the cupcakes makes the place stagnant, but I fear that when Crave Cupcakes move down the street in Spring would that put a small mom and pop shop like Celebrity out of business. We shall see.

Celebrity Cupcakes
2343 University Blvd. Ste B
Houston, TX 77005
713-667-CAKE (2253)