Bar Doko

So my friend told me about Doko, and then I realized they have a bar right across the way.

Of course, indeed, we have to have a Happy Hour over there. 

You have to make a reservation ahead of time, the place is small.  Not that they can't accommodated, but depends on the day, you may have a longer wait, or sitting out in the hallway. 

First, we ordered the Chef's Choice Oyster.  The oyster itself is from Boston, which gives it a nice and clean finish.  He added chive and Thai chili oil.  It has a great finish.

Not to mention when we first sat down, we got a complimentary plum wine.  Super delicious.   

As all bars, they give you a little box of snacks.  

But we also ordered some Toasts.  We got the Egg Toast (left) and Waygu Toast (right).  The Egg Toast has egg salad with smoked trout roe.  It's pretty light in texture and very light flavor.

The Waygu Toast is so delicious, it has waygu beef tartare, truffle aioli oil, and topped with kinoko mushroom.  It's cute, but also delicious. I can literally eat the entire plate. 

When we go to pay, they gave us chocolate cookies as a thank you treat.  Pretty good.

So as a bar goes, it is a very intimate setting.  I did get a drink, I got the Hakuto - it has peach sparkling juice with grapefruit and lemon juice.  It's pretty good. 

Bar Doko

3737 Cogdell St

Ste 135

Houston, TX 77019

713-393-7725

https://www.bardoko.com/

 

MFAH - Cafe Leonelli

After visiting the Museum, we decided to get some dessert at Cafe Leonelli. 

After walking around a bunch, it's nice to grab a dessert and a coffee and just chill a bit.  Even the space is artsy. 

I got the Ganache Tart.  It has whipped chocolate ganache with sea salt in a cookie tart shell.  It pairs well with a cup of coffee and perfect after a fun day at the museum.

The cafe is super easy, you walk in and they grab your food and drinks.  The line move super efficiently and they have dessert and gelato too.  They are closed Monday and Tuesday which matches the museum's opening days. 

Cafe Leonelli

5500 Main Street

Houston, TX 77004

713-714-3014

https://www.cafeleonelli.com/

 

il Bracco

Went back to Il Bracco for lunch.

Let me get an Arnold Palmer to start. 

Last time, I had their focaccia bread, it has rosemary and garlic baked in and with the whipped butter, it was very good and great start for the meal.

This time I got the Chicken Piccata.  It came with alot of capers, which enhanced the salty part of the dish.   It sits on top of lemony sauce, which all works together.  Then you get a side of kale salad, which is good on its own.  I almost wished that they are separate so I can have the kale salad with a dish that's more 'dry' by nature. 

Of course, we get excellent service there.  The staff are all very courteous and since it's lunch hour, they are also very efficient, and that is greatly appreciated.   If you're here during weekday lunch, you are likely to get a good table for lunch.  But for dinner, a reservation is a must.

Il Bracco

1705A Post Oak Blvd

Houston, TX 77056

713-532-9950

https://www.ilbraccorestaurant.com/location/post-oak/

 

Local Foods

Went back to Local Foods for lunch.

I got the Salmon Poke Bowl.  It has ponzu salmon, sesame rice, cabbage, bok choy, pear, edamame, radish, egg, and aioli sauce.  Do the sauce sparingly, as good as it is, it can be alot.  I ended up using the sauce as a dipping sauce.  

I like going there around 11-11:30a, easy to find a parking spot and less busy.  Once lunch time rolls around, the place does get packed.  There's plenty of seating inside and outside.  So once you place your order, just grab a table and the staff will deliver the food to your table.  It's a quick business lunch place. 

They also has a great kids menu and brunch menu, I just recently found out.  Not to mention alot of gluten free and vegan options too.  Definitely worth checking out. 

Local Foods

1709 Post Oak Blvd

Houston, TX 77056

713-789-0642

https://www.localfoodstexas.com/location/local-foods-postoak/

 

Kaisen Sushi HTX

An article was comparing Kaisen to Oru so I got curious and conducted my own test.

It's inside Blosgett Food Hall.  Not having been here, it was my first visit here.

There's nobody works here, there's a giant window that the kitchen can look out, but otherwise, there's a wall of locker.

I place my order on their website, and I got a text message on the status of my order.  Once I arrive, my order sent a text with a QR code and you scan it to a tablet by the wall and the locker opens. 

There's some seating inside and some outside.  So I just grabbed a seat and checked out my goodies.

They did a great job packaging it.  The bag is insulated and cute design because not only does it have sturdy handle, they have a fold over tab to keep the food cold.

The nice part is that they have an ice pack, so that was nice and thoughtful. 

This is the omakase bento set A - It comes with 4 pieces of nigiri - there's Buri, Salmon, Tuna, and not sure what the other one was.  Then there's 2 pieces of Inari AND 2 pieces of sashimi.  To be honest, that's pretty filling, not to mention the fish is fresh and tasty.  So the roll really put me over.  That being said, that is also the best damn roll I've ever tasted.  I'm not typically a roll person, but for convenient sake, I do.  But out of all the rolls, that's the best one yet.  All that for $30

Then I got an Unagi Roll.  I didn't know what to expect to be honest since the roll from the bento was really good, this can go either way.  They had your usual unagi (eel) with avocado, inside out style with panko bits to give it more texture.  I love how they go you fresh ginger and soy sauce.  Of course the wasabi is tubed.

First off, don't worry I did not eat all of that in one sitting.  Second, I didn't know what to expect from Blodgett Food Hall, they have a whole array of food offerings, but didn't realized the set up is like this.  It's neat, it's futuristic, but if you decided to eat it there, and got thirsty, guess what, they don't even have a vending machine on site.  So you'll have to start an order all over to get a drink.  They did make me feel better that they have ice pack in the bag to keep the food cold, depends on how far you're going to take the food, may not be a bad idea to bring a couple more just in case. 

Kaisen Sushi

https://www.kaisenhtx.com/

 

Fuji Tea

This is my first time stopping by Fuji Tea.

Again, must've passed by here many times, but never stopped to check it out.

I know there's so many bubble tea places in the 1 mile radius, but curiosity and what not.  They pride themselves on using 'real' ingredients, to set them apart. 

I got the watermelon + passion fruit tea.  It's kinda cool that they came in separated colors.  I will say, it does tasted natural - or as they say, using 'real' ingredients.  Doesn't taste powdery as some of the shop does.

The place is cute and quiet when I was there.  Plenty of places to relax, especially when this is in the midst of a very busy shopping center.  

Fuji Tea

9312 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, Tx 77036

https://www.chinatownhtx.com/locations/MetropoleCenter

https://fujitea.us/

Weights & Measures

It's been many years since I've been back to Weights & Measures.

Down in Midtown it's tucked in a little corner. 

But first! Coffee! 

I got the S'more Latte.  No real marshmallow chunk on here, but they do a bit so they can burnt the top, and it does have that smell and feel of a real s'more.

I got the omelette, boy is that thing huge or what!  In it has cheddar, bacon, and veggies with tomato sauce at the bottom.  There's also diced potato to accompany all that.  It's crazy big plate of breakfast, obviously cannot finish all that. 

For brunch, making a reservation is wise.  What I have a problem with is that they seated us on high tops.  For brunch, high top is hard to relax into.  I feel like high top is great for happy hour, but for brunch, please let us seat at natural sitting level to enjoy our food instead of having our feet dangling.  Anyway, our server definitely fluttered everywhere, and literally touched our table and flitter away.

What was a nice surprise though, was we got to meet the brain behind Love Croissant, Omar Pereney.  He was super friendly and we chatted a bit.  Fun fact: my favorite of mini croissant, Omar made it for his nephew, and hence a product to share with us peons.  Thank you, nephew!

Weights & Measures

2808 Caroline

Houston, TX 77004

713-654-1970

https://weights-measures.com/