Tiny's No. 5

It's been a while since I've been back to Tiny's No. 5.

They definitely has the aesthetics down, very cute and very pleasing. 

I got the St. Vincent Mocktail - it has cucumber, lemon, mint, and elderflower tonic water.  It's pretty yummy.

We got the meat and cheese board.  It came with warm flatbread, 3 kinda of cheese and 2 types of meat.  It also has grapes and hazelnuts too.  Very delicious. 

This one is my favorite, it's Fried Green Tomato with their house made Jalapeno Ranch dip, I am addicted to it. And it also come with their housemade Jalapeno jam too. 

We got the Proscuitto & Fig, it has proscuitto, balsamic reduction (which they went a little overboard on that one), fontina cheese (which they had little of), fig jame, and arugala.  

So when they made our pizza, they also dropped it as they pulled it out.  So they had to remake ours.  And while that added another 10 minutes on top of prior that took took long.... more below. 

For dessert, we decied to share the donuts, which has alot of sugary goodness (cinnamon sugar, vanilla bean glaze), and the little jar has chocolate sauce to drizzle over it.  It is yummy though. 

So for dinner, I would recommend making a reservation, while not all the tables were full, it does get busy.  That said, we've sat down for good 10 minutes and no staff came to give us any water.  So I had to politely informed the manager.  Then, when our starter arrived, they just let sit instead of keep bring out the food.  So then we had the mishap with the pizza (where they let the pizza slide too far and went to the floor) so they have to remake it.  By the time all said and done the whole ordeal was about 2.5hr.  We added dessert, so that was us adding another 30 minutes, but for a meal like that, it shoulnd't be more than 1.5hrs.  So from the service stand point, this is the worst experience I've ever had here.  As good as the food is, I'm not sure I want to be back for the service. 

Tiny's No. 5

3636 Rice Blvd.

Houston, TX 77005

713-664-0141

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

 

Gelato Rossa

I saw on their social that they're open at 7am, and I happen to be going to the dr's that direction... 

thought I'd stop by.  To me, they were known for their Gelato, now, breakfast.

The pastries are small but the pricing is very reasonable. 

You can reasonably get a few of each, since they are small. 

I splurged for a latte, since they ran out of ice, she just did it with cold milk.  The coffee is not bad, and I would probably come back again if my timing is right. 

Cute little vespa out front. Don't forgeet that they also have a speakeasy in the back. 

Gelato Rossi

4564 Bissonnet

Bellaire, TX 

https://www.gelato-rossa.com/

 

Perseid

Locate inside a neighborhood by St. Thomas Univ, this is a cute tucked away restaurant. 

The restaurant is inside St. Augustine Hotel.  You go thru their couryard, which is nice and comfortable when the weather is nice.  

I got the Harvest Moon mocktail - it has Hibiscus tea, Yuzu, Pomegranate, and Ginger.  It's actually pretty good, not too sweet, nice and light texture. 

Of course, we want to start with bread service. 

Got a Ceasar Salad, never seen cruton that big before.  They do actually have anchovy in there.  It's surprsing, because it's not exactly the popular fish like to get. 

We got the Salmon Dip, which is a popular for the table.  It's salmon pate, with all sorts of herbs and spices, and their potato chips made in-house.  Highly recommend this one. 

We got the Branzino - It had a bouillabaise sauce, and it sits on top of veggies.  It's not the best branzino I've ever had, but glad I tried it to know. 

We got the Chocolat Gateau - they use high quality of chocolate, and the match it with banana cream ice cream.  Of course, the chocolate pudding came out hot, so the mix of the two is awesome.

Then we got the Beignets - so in my head, thinking yummy beignet + chocolate puddy = yummy goodness.  It's not that it's not a good pairing, but I didn't see that there's peach bits and vanilla inside these beignets already, so the peach/vanilla + chocolate was a tad much.  

The beignet by itself is fine.  It is a lot for dessert, I won't lie.  

After dinner, you can walk around the courtyard. A cross the bridge is the hotel bar, and you can have a night cap there. 

Ever since they have been mentioned by the Michelin guide, the place has gained popularity. So a reservation here is a must.  They do get popular for dinner, so if you want to try for brunch or lunch, that's also an option. 

Perseid

4110 Loretta Dr

Houston, TX 77006

832-844-0057

https://www.bunkhousehotels.com/hotel-saint-augustine/eat-drink/perseid

 

Avalon Diner

Went to meet my friend for breakfast.

photo credit: Yelp

For a good hearty breakfast, I got two eggs, sunny side up, bacon, hash brown and toast.  

Don't think this is easy peasy, it's actually alot of food.  While it doesn't look like anything special, this is a great start of the day.  They don't take reservation, it's first come, first find a seat.  I happened to arrived when there's a gap, there were several tables opened when I arrived, so I can just walk up and sit down.  That said, if they are busy, you just sit at the bench and wait.  The staff is friendly and definitely efficient, you get your food fast and they do give you time to enjoy your food, so don't worry, you won't be hurried out. 

I like this location, it's right by I-10, and there's plenty of parking spots.  

Avalon Diner

8823 Katy Freeway

Houston, TX 77024

713-590-4377

https://www.avalondiner.com/

 

Purrfect Sweets

 Went to a pop up market and saw these. 

These are little cookies with book covers.

These are pretty cool.  The cookie are tea cake cookies, so nice and texture and sugary goodness.  The covers are of Abby Jimenez's books, and have to say, it's nice, fun and delicious. 

Purrfect Sweet

https://thepurrfectsweets.com/

https://www.instagram.com/thepurrfectsweets/

Nikubol in POST HTX

Ended up grabbing lunch at the POST food hall. 

I was lured in by the pretty decor and the pretty pictures. 

Took them a while to get the food ready.  There were quite a few guests that were not happy with the wait time there. 

I got a curry beef bowl.  As you can see, they do fill everything to the brim.  It has purple cabbage, pumpkin bits, corn, beef, curry sauce, over a bed of rice and a fried egg on top.  

So here's my take: the beef is too chewy, the corn and the pumpkin (though cooked) are cold.  The bed of rice part of it was warm and part was cold.  That was awkward on the temp difference for a rice bowl dish. 

For drink, I got the Peach Fizz.  And it's not bad, but next time I'll ask them to skip the poppin' boba.  They were too sweet which make an already sweet drink overly sugary. 

The decor is cute.  And from what I understand, they do have a brick and mortar shop in Katy.  They said they allow you to build your own bowl, but from the ordering kiosk, there's not too much guidance or options to do that.  So, hopefully the Katy location can accommodate that. 

Nikubol

inside Post

401 Franklin St

Houston, TX 77201

https://www.posthtx.com/eat/nikubol

https://nikubol.com/

 

Pistachio in POST

Had a thing early at the POST HTX.  Of course, I'm seeking coffee. 

On the old Postal Counter side (also the entry closest to 713 Music Hall), is a little coffee shop where all the plants are. 

The pricing on the pastry is pretty high though...

.. but they have Dubai Cookie here.  OR - you can definitely go to the food hall and get something too. 

Here's my Americano with a splash of milk.  By the way, the add of the splash of milk cost $1.  So you've been warned. 

Anyway, still like this stairway, it's in the middle of the food hall part of the building.  

Pistachio

401 Fanklin St

Houston, TX 77201

https://www.posthtx.com/eat/pistachios-coffee