Yori Yori

Was doing grocery shopping at H-Mart, figured to grab lunch while we were at it.

It's funny, amongst all the places there, we always ended back up at Yori Yori.

I got the Grilled Short Ribs lunch special.  As you can see it comes with side kimchi and potato, some veggie and rice.  All for $8.95.  You can get a soup too, just ask them.

So strange, we weren't there particularly early but plenty of parking spots.  And they are reasonably fast on their dishes.  They do have a number system now, so if you wander off, you can still hear your order being called.

Yori Yori

inside H Mart

1302 Blalock Blvd.

Houston, TX 77055

713-467-0777

Fogo de Chao

Went to Fogo for a friend's birthday, I pretty much did not eat all day in preparation.

We went during blue hair hour, so no wait, not alot of people there.  It was nice, because the servers are super attentive and they are able to accommodate to any request we got quickly.

They have a grill at the front so you can see your meat being cooked.

They give you plantain, yuca fries, and potato when you sit down... all the carbs.  Not to mention their Brazilian popover bread, which my friend had devour one basket after another... I was surprise no one stuff a couple in their pockets.

Very full salad bar, which besides greens, they also have...

More meat, in case you want more meat on top of the meat you'll be getting once you sit down.

Here's a few selection.  There's bacon wrapped ribs, sausage, and rib.  There were alot more, of course... the luxury of going early is that the servers are eager to help.  If you don't you want, you can tell them and they will make sure one of the people will get it from the kitchen for you or check when the next will come out.  So, that's super nice.

Normally, I would get the papaya cream with the blackcurrant liquor, but with all that meat and plantain and popovers, I was super stuffed.  Alas, my eyes were bigger than my stomach and ordered the creme brulee.  It was super nice and refreshing.

Of course, if you ever go you must make a reservation.  We went during non-peak hour and made a reservation anyway, just so to guarantee a spot.

Fogo de Chao

8250 Westheimer Rd

Houston, TX 77063

713-978-6500

http://www.fogodechao.com/

Bollo

We drove by the old Sorrel, and it's now Bollo Pizza. 

Figured we'd give that a try.  The first time we went to try for dinner time, it was packed to a waiting line out the door.  The second time we tried, we went during off peak hours, an hour before dinner rush, and it worked out perfectly.

Got an Arnold Palmer, and the server was nice enough to keep an eye for refilling it for me.

We got the Margherita, which we understood to have mozzarella and tomato, but didn't realize the proportion is so off... there were exactly the 4 slices of tomato you see here, none where hidden underneath the mozzarella.  Also, typically, since they have the mozzarella, which here they have 2 types in the pizza, they don't add the bottom layer, but they did here... so it really felt like would you like some pizza with your cheese than the other way around.

Then we got the Carne Trio, as stated there are 3 meats.  Pepperoni, Sicilian Sausage, and proscuitto with mozzarella cheese.  That proportion here is much better.  But since I got super cheesey from the previous pizza that I was kinda cheesed out.

  As gluten free pizza goes, that works because I liked thin crust.  But I think the amount of cheese pretty much give any lactose intolerant person a run for their money.

They pretty much kept much of the old Sorrel's layout, but built out the bar to be more robust and more seatings outside than before.  They kept the screen at the front desk where the hostess station is, that was interesting.  Our server was wonderful.  When you get your check, tell your server that you'll be paying by credit card, and he will whip out his little their smart device and check you out on the spot.  

Bollo Woodfire Pizza

2202A W. Alabama St

HOuston, TX 77098

713-677-0391

http://www.bollohouston.com/

North Italia

Went to lunch with my boss, and he was asking if I wanted good or bad Italian... urm, who would want bad Italian?!?!?!

I'm happy to get to try North Italia, heard alot of cool things about that place.  

We shared the calamari.  I had to kept composure, but I sure was eyeing the last piece.  If it's not because that's my boss, I probably would have eaten the entire thing... hey, at least they have some arugula, it's practically a salad.

I ordered the lasagna, it comes in a nice dish, the garlic bread looks and tasted awesome.  There's mushroom, eggplant, spinach, ricotta, mozzarella, tomato sauce and all baked in it's own nice little dish.  The whole thing is very filling, I had barely half and was already full.  Left over wasn't so bad either.  They do have gluten free version of pasta, but not all pasta dishes were available but ask your server.

I was super surprised to see that place is small and there's a huge lunch crowd in the middle of the weekend.  That said, you may have to share a table with strangers if you want to eat and in a time crunch.  However, amid the chaos, the service is top notch.  Our server is constantly checking up on us, refill our drinks and bring us boxes when she saw that I didn't finish my dish.  Didn't even have to ask.

North Italia

1700 Post Oak Blvd

Ste 190

Houston, TX 77056

281-605-4030

http://www.northitaliarestaurant.com/

Tommy's

Right by my office building, they have a nice restaurant.  Thought I'd give it a try.

Grab a quick bite... got it thru the bar.

Here's the crawfish enchiladas, they love the corn, as you can see, a third of the plate is corn.  The enchilada has decent meat in there, but you see tons of sour cream and cheese on it.  I'm not a big fan of sour cream, so I ended up scraping alot of it off.  There were tons of cheese and luckily they have enough amount of crawfish meat to balance it off.  Little to say, I had the broccoli in attempt to make the entire meal more balance.  The other stuff looks more promising, maybe they'll be better.

Tommy's Restaurant Oyster Bar

2555 Bay Area Blvd

Houston, TX 77058

281-480-2221

http://tommys.com/

Hugo's

Went to dinner for Hugo's, it's been a long time since we were there.

 On weekend, they're super busy.  When in doubt, make a reservation.  That has not failed me with this place yet.  They have their own reservation system, so some browsers might not work very well, so make sure you call them.

 For starter, we got chips & guacamole, it's very nice and addictive.  I liked the salsa too, but it's a tad too spicy for me.

 I got the Carnitas, which is slow cooked pork with salsa, cilantro and onion.  Sadly, it was not as good as I'd hope.  The meat was very dry, and even though I tried to soak the meat in salsa for a bit, there were no saving it.  

 We ordered Repollito - charred Brussels sprouts, pretty good, the sauce is a tad zingy.

 Coliflor - Cauliflower roasted in poblano sauce, with pepper and onions.  It wasn't the best I've had there....

This is Lechon - which is braised pig with crispy skin and habanero salsa.  It was not as good as I'd hope.  There were no crispy skin to be had, the little bit of pig there is is dry, so not sure how long they braised it.  

The entire meal was unfortunately disappointing.  Not sure if it was because they were super busy and the kitchen suffered?  But our server was awesome, he was knowledgable of the menu, any questions you throw at him, he knows the answers.  Not only that, he kept an eye on our table and quickly notice if water or tea needed to be refill, and if we needed to box anything, he was quick to the task.  One other thing about coming here is that you have to valet because there's not alot of street parking for non-valet.  Might as well bring extra change just in case.

Hugo's

1600 Westheimer Rd.

Houston, TX 77006

713-524-7744

http://hugosrestaurant.net/index.html

Weights & Measures

Went to Weights & Measures for brunch.  

 I actually missed the bake shop because I went thru the wrong door, but they definitely have some pretty awesome baked goodies...

 Nice glass of OJ!

 I had house smoked salmon egg sandwich with a side of bacon.  It's basically a large piece of bread, topped with smear that is dill mascarpone.  Topped with chopped salmon and scramble eggs.  At first, I wasn't too sure about it, but after the second bite, it kinda sat well with me.  I think the initial shock was that the dish was luke cold by the time it got to me.  But, I imagine, if it's warmer it would've been kick ass, will try that again next time.

 We ordered chocolate pancake for the kiddo.  I love that they are super considerate and make kid-friendly sized.  Sadly the pancake was a tad too dry, we didn't want to douse it with syrup, but forced to.

The place is cute, it is sharing a building with a dance company.  When the bill came, it came in a nice little cassette tape box, who still have those in good shape anymore?  The front of the restaurant has a bake shop that can get busy, but you're welcome to smell the deliciousness while you wait..  The parking lot is small, so they encourage you to park on the street.  While that is all and good on a weekend, for happy hour and dinner, that would be super challenging.  So, you've been warned.  Another thing, reservation is encourage... especially for the midtown crowd, don't try your luck.

Weights & Measures

2808 Caroline

Houston, TX

713-654-1970

http://weights-measures.com/