Osaka

Since I'm making up for lost time, we went for quick sushi at Osaka.

 For some nigiri: I had chopped scallops, smoked salmon, and tuna... those are my stables.

 Since we're sharing with others, we had 2 spicy tuna rolls and a Philadelphia roll... for you purists, don't worry, I didn't have the Philly roll, just because I don't care for creme cheese on anything other than my bagel.

For more sharing, we have here 2 spicy salmon rolls (on the outers) and the Hamachi/Masago Roll in the middle.  As described, it has Hamachi (yellowtail) and Masago (capelin fish) with green scallion.  Not bad, I think that'll be part of my repertoire going forward.

The thing about Osaka is that the chefs are fast and the service is always quick.  When you sit down and order, they give you a complimentary appetizer.  When you're ready to pay for your tab they'll offer you a scoop of ice cream with fried banana, it's nice.  Which almost made it justifiable to pay $6.95 for 2 pieces of nigiri of average grade.  Comparatively, Kata charges $5 for 2 pieces of same if not better quality sushi... hmm.

Osaka (Bellaire)

4001 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77025

713-838-9812

Grub Burger Bar

It was my friend Shawn's birthday, so we decided to meet up for lunch.  

 She saw Grub, which neither one of us have heard of it, so what the hey... we're adventurous.

 First off, they have shake... yum!  I had the Nutella shake, and Shawn had the Chocolate shake, classic!  Don't worry, if you want to shake things up, they do have Spiked version of these shakes too.

 Guess they have Happy Hour drinks special daily, from $3, $4, and $5 up.  Of course some grub to go along with those beverages.  

 I had the Lockhard Legend, which has onion rings, applewood smoked bacon, melted cheddar cheese, with Dr. Pepper BBQ sauce, and pickle at the bottom.  Mine came with sweet potato fries.

Shawn got the Off-the Menu Special, which was pulled pork with cole slaw and it came with onion rings.  She said it was only ok, but the other stuff is good enough for her to return, so that's a good sign.

This place is relatively new, they only have locations in College Station and Houston (City Centre).  They also have a full bar, patio, and a small portion for full service seating.  Otherwise, you walk up to the counter, order, grab a number, fill your drink at the drink station, and find a seat.  They do have a server that tends to your area in case you need to find more napkins, forks, and what have yous.  They do pride themselves on the freshly baked buns.  Give them a try.

Grub Burger Bar

City Centre (upstairs from Urban Outfitters)

709 Town & Country Blvd

Ste 200

Houston, TX 77024

713-827-7157

http://www.grubburgerbar.com/city_centre_houston.html

Chatters

I think Chatters is one of the underrated neighborhood joints that are overshadowed by all the fancy hipster restaurants on Washington Ave.  

Again, I got my Arnold Palmer, which is now a 'usual' that I measure against between bars everywhere I go lately.  It's not too sweet, but not super outstanding either.

Every dinner entree comes with either soup or salad.

I had the Gyro plate with rice.  Very low thrilled, but the meat is done right.  Usually it comes pita bread, but since we're doing it gluten free style, you can swap out for rice. 

They do have a gluten free menu separate from the main, but when you tell the server, it is truly them taking out the bread portion and replacing it with something that's not.  No big theatrical about it, just subbing things out.

Like I said, Chatters is underrated and overshadowed by the big name, hipsters on Washington.  The food here is not bad, the atmosphere is nice.  There are a few odd paintings that are head scratchers, and location is not bad.  Servers are always attentive and ample parking for ease.  Yet, every time we come here there's plenty of empty tables.  They do mostly do Mediterranean but they also have other stuff too.  Truly deserve another look.

Chatters

140 S. Heights Blvd

Houston, TX 77007

713-864-8080

http://www.chatterscafe.com/

Provisions

My friend Julia and I decided to have some girls time sans baby.  She picked Provisions, which I've been meaning to try.

They are located in the old Gravitas place, but cut in half... food is definitely up to par.

Here's my Arnold Palmer, it's a little too tea and not sweet enough.

We shared their Cesare Wedge salad, of course there's Anchovy on top, but it doesn't taste fishy at all.  If anything, it taste very lemony.

We also shared their Tuscan Kale pizza.  At first, I was very skeptical about kale on pizza, but the mix with the spicy sausage really did the trick.  I must've ate all of my half so quickly that could've finished the entire thing.  But we needed to save room for...

Dessert, of course!  This is their Neapolitan Chocolate Mousse Cake... I love how they serve it in the little jars and you can see the layering.

The top is filled with dipping dots, you know, those ice cream you get from a stand at the mall.  Except this is made in house with freeze dried strawberry.  The middle is chocolate mousse cake, layered with caramel cream, and the top is the ice cream.  The goal is to take your spoon and take all the layers in one bite, and it was a great idea!

At the end of the meal, comes the check.  Instead of the folio, it comes into a sardine can, a clean one of course.  The idea is great, just that my credit card won't fit it very well.  But cute idea!

I would suggest you make a reservation no matter what time of day you go.  They do have parking in the front, side, and back, but not alot.  If you go at lunch time, you shouldn't have trouble parking.  But at night that might be an issue, but no worries, they have valets, or you can try your luck on the street, just make sure you read the signs.  My next goal is to go to Pass, and make a little comparison.  

Provisions

807 Taft Street

Houston, TX 77019

713-628-9020

http://passandprovisions.com/#/provisions

Tiny's No.5

Met up with a friend for lunch during the week, since we don't get to do that often, we also picked a place she'd never been.

While I've been here numerous times, I never come here during the week in the middle of the day.  I usually come here for brunch... not a proper lunch.

I had the passion fruit Arnold Palmer, it's quite tasty.  You don't really taste the tea at all.

This is the Frenchman, which has beef, pesto sauce, goat cheese and sliced tomato inside and I got a side of sweet potato fries to go with it.  The sandwich is super nice, the bread is made in house, and you can tell the difference.  The pesto enhances the meat and made the bread taste super delicious.  I would say if we don't have the filling just the bread and pesto, they can get away with it.  Definitely worth trying.

Even though Tiny's No.5 is hidden in the middle of the neighborhood, people knows about it and does make the trek to come out there.  So during lunch time, don't be surprise you can't find a parking spot or a table.  Luckily, people do rotate through quickly, and that's not a problem, but you have been warned!  Unfortunately, they do not have the shuttle service during lunch time.  But for evening, if you walk here and want a ride back, they do have a golf cart that drive you back.  Or you can check out one of their bikes and return it the next day.

Tiny's No.5

3636 Rice Blvd

Houston, TX

713-664-0141

http://tinyboxwoods.com/tinys_no5/home.html

Hong Kong Cafe

For a casual afternoon snack, I'd like to go to Hong Kong Cafe for a quick meal.

Don't forget, kids, they only take cash.  You've been warned.

For something different, I got the red bean (adzuki) drink with milk.  It's not quite a drink but not quite a dessert, definitely sweet and refreshing. 

French Toast Hong Kong style.  They basically have a sandwich, battered, fried and you have this slice of butter and pour some syrup over it.  YUM!  There's also a variation where between the sandwich, they'd put peanut butter in the center.  Once they battered and fried, the center get all gooey and it oozes out, pretty tasty!

The meal also came with fried chicken wings... pretty self explanatory.

This whole combo cost $5.65.  To recap, you get a drink, something as an 'entree' and chicken wings.  For less than $6 where can you find something that's filling?  You can't!

Hong Kong Cafe

9108 Bellaire Blvd, Ste A

Houston, TX 77036

713-772-9633

Kata Robata

Now that I'm done with pregnancy, needless to say, the first thing I do is to go back to my sushi ways...

Since I already did the HRW earlier, I felt like we can have proper sushi for once. 

Sunday afternoon, happy hour: Spicy Salmon roll for $5.  We went to town!

Also on happy hour menu: Kobe Beef Taco, they use corn tortilla, which is actually very good with the citrus flavors.

From the left: Amberjack sushi, Tamago (egg), Chopped Scallop.  I only find that amberjack comes easy at Kata, and very few place else.   So, I really don't mind putting up the extra cash to get some yummy amberjack.

This is a new roll that I tried: Rising Sun, which has yellowtail and avocado in the middle, peppercorn tuna on the top, it was flavored with truffle vinaigrette.  I'm addicted to truffle anything, so needless to say this is good no matter what, but the roll itself is very good just with the yellowtail and peppercorn tuna.  I will definitely get this again.

Sunday afternoons are always a good time to go to Kata.  You don't have to get a reservations and definitely get a spot for a good meal.  Quality never  waver just because it's non-prime time.  The service is great no matter what time it is.  Their specials changes as the fish comes available or the chef decided to create something different.  However, if you do go during prime meal time, I highly recommend a reservations even if it's for the sushi bar.

Kata Robata

3600 Kirby Dr. Suite H

Houston, TX 77098

713-526-8858

http://katarobata.com/