Cafe Brasil

Good morning! Breakfast was in order!

Haven't been to Cafe Brasil forever, it was delightful to be there.  I love the space and the coffee is great.

 I got the hazelnut latte, it was great, don't even need to add any sugar.  Got the bacon, mushroom, and cheddar omelet.  It was nicely done, nothing too much of a pizzazz.  Nice to have fruit and potato and toast to accompany the dish, but by the time I go thru the omelet, I don't have room for much else.  I was nice to just chill and enjoy breakfast.  The space and service lends to that.  If you want a relaxing breakfast, give that a shot.

Cafe Brasil

2604 Dunlavy St

Houston, TX 

713-528-1993

http://www.brasilcafehouston.com

Aka

Went for a quick dinner.  Was desperate for Ramen, and even though I was lucky enough to get a parking spot at Kata, I was not lucky enough to get a seat either at the bar or a table... 

...so went down the street to Aka instead.  

To start, I got the Yam Tempura.  I'm so glad that they are the first people smart enough to just have this order of yam by itself.  You usually have to get the vegetable tempura in order to get a few pieces of yam.  Which, let's be honest, is the whole reason for ordering it.  When was the last time you hear someone said, Hmm... Let's get it for the Asparagus Tempura?  Said no one ever!  So, I'm grateful a plate full of Yam Tempura.  Not to mention, the slices are huge... super yum!

Sadly, the bowl of ramen was just for looks.  Way too much soup and bamboo and not enough noodles or much else.  The egg was ok, there was meat in there, which is soft and easily pulled apart. But there was no flavor to the soup and I was mainly fishing for noodles.  Like I said, there weren't a lot of noodles to begin with.  Needless to say, this part of a tad disappointing.  Luckily, I had some yam left.

This is the first time ever at Aka that I'm disappointed with their food.  Usually sushi, sashimi, rolls, and cooked food are decent.  Not to mention awesome Happy Hour and drinks.  This is the first time I got something here that is subpar.  I hope that was just a fluke because I really like this place.

Aka Sushi

2390 W. Alabama

Houston, TX

713-807-8447

http://akasushi.net/pages/location.html

Adair Kitchen

Went to a quick lunch with a coworker.  Since Adair is nearby, thought we stop there.

I ordered the soup and sandwich combo.  Got the Tortilla Soup, not too much of the tortilla chips, you find little chunks of chicken and definitely slices of avocado.  Not too heavy, just right.  YUM!  Then got the Ham and Cheese and Raspberry Spread sandwich.  At first, I was kinda weirded out by the raspberry spread, but it's subtle and not over powering the savory flavors.  As a matter of fact, one side complimented the cheese, and the other side got covered by lettuce, you can't really pin point the raspberry, you can tell it's different but not an in-your-face punch.

So, here's the thing about lunch crowds, they are near by a big church, and several office buildings.  So, you must go early.  We got there right on the dot 11:30a and the line was out the door.  Luckily, things moves pretty quickly.  Tables, however, isn't that promising.  Though a lot of the workers have to go back to work, there were a few people conducting business meetings or using the place as an office.  So, they linger around a bit longer.  Just go early.  

Adair Kitchen

5161 San Felipe

Houston, TX 77056

713-623-6100

http://www.adairkitchen.com/home

Dish Society

Went to grab a quick breakfast before kiddo's class.  Thought of just pulling up to Dish Society.

I just love their coffee.  It tasted as good as the first time I had it.  I can't exactly explain it, but it is so good that I always want to get another one.  This is a mocha latte.

Here's the Nutella French Toast.  It has whole grain bread, which you can find the grain easily.  Nutella in the middle and fruit on top.  As pretty and decadent as it is... I strongly advice NOT to pour the syrup on.  I was greedy, and thought, as all syrup should go with the French Toast.  Boy, was it over sweeten the entire dish.  And I can take a lot of sweet.  Needless to say, it is sweet on its own.  No need to put more.

It's quite deceiving, since it is embedded in the apartment building.  So, from the outside, you can't quite tell how busy they can be.  Until you pull into the parking, and see the line out the door.  Luckily, they encourage you to order before getting a seat, and usually by the time I order, a table would open up.  That was super convenient.  Everything they make is from Texas some how.  The cow, the grain, the bread, the coffee.

Dish Society

5740 San Felipe

Houston, TX 

832-538-1060

http://www.dishsociety.com

Mikoto

Finally made it to the new Ramen stop out on I-10.

With all the waving banner, it was promising.  The inside looks a lot like Jinya, with the large table with the rocks in the middle.  They also have small side booths as well.  

I got the Pork Paitan, Pork broth, pork meat, scallion, onion, nori, and of course noodles.  The noodles itself was nothing special.  The broth was nice, and I can stand it to be thicker and maybe a tad oilier, though I know that's not a common thing for a lot of the diners.  The meat was awesome, it falls apart as you touch it with your chopsticks.  The egg was also one of the better ones I've tasted in months.  The veggie, soup, and noodles proportion was nicely put together.

We've also heard great things about their sushi.  But as you know, a lot of times you're filled up with noodles and soup that you don't have enough room for sushi.  This is definitely a case of eyes bigger than stomach.  We ordered the Lobster Crunch Roll.  You have tempura-ed lobster, crab mix, spicy mayo, eel sauce and a bit hot sauce plus the little crunches.  It was definitely good, not the best I've ever had, but good.

That whole meal was good.  But as you know, you're there for ramen, so between the noodles and soup, you don't have much room for anything else.  The sushi was good, and from hearing other's experience, it deserves to come back just for that.  As a matter of fact, for one page of the menu that's for ramen, the other side is all sushi related.  So, definitely worth coming back of that.

Mikoto Ramen & Sushi Bar

12155 Katy Fwy

(hiding behind Chili's)

Houston, TX 77079

281-741-4695

http://www.mikotoramensushibar.com

Remington

Went to happy hour with some coworkers at the St. Regis.  We ordered some food to go with our drinks...

Cheese plate, came with marmalade, sugar coated walnut, charred pear, fruit toast.  It has cheddar, brie, swiss, and can't tell the other one.  It's a nice little line up and a good start.

Grilled Chicken & Shrimp Quesadilla.  It has cheese, chicken, shrimp, corn pico, sour cream, salsa.  It's actually very delicious.  I think I liked the chicken more... but these slices are huge, you won't be hungry after that.

Remington Bar in St. Regis
1919 Briar Oaks Lane
Houston, TX 77027
713-403-2631
http://www.stregishoustonhotel.com/houston-restaurants

Chaste Foods (or drinks)

So we walked by this booth, and they looked interesting.  They have Infused Coconut Water, Fruit infused water, coconut milk, almond milk, all sorts of drinks.

Since my toddler cried thirsty, and you are right in front of all these bottles, the only thing you can do is suck it up and buy whatever it's in front of you.  Well, let me tell you, we got a bottle of Chocolate Milk and a bottle of Infused Coconut Water, that was $9.  At first, the lady told us it'll be $6, not realizing she was only mentioning the milk not including the water.  The water, I saw the sign, and I fully expected it.  But let me tell, you, that was the most expensive milk I've ever purchased.  The second most expensive was Cashew Milk from Blue Print Cleanse, which was averaging about $8 a bottle.  But for an 8-ish oz bottle, for $6, that's a lot!  Luckily, we split and the little one liked it.  Then on the way home, I was a little irritated on the water.  It was infused with Coconut, but not real coconut water.  If you were go to go Whole Foods and buy any one of the coconut water, it wouldn't have been $3.  

So, bottom line, nice concept, and I do want to support non-chain, local business.  But if the pricing is so high, I'm not sure I can stomach that.  Next time, I'll let my toddler sucker me into a toy than an expensive milk.

Chaste Foods

https://www.facebook.com/chastefoods/