Bernie's Burger Bus

Lenten Friday... just happen to catch Bernie's post about Lobster Friday, 

perfect timing!

Got the lemonade, not to sweet and not too sour.  Best mix with iced tea for an Arnold Palmer.

Hmmm.... truffle fries... *drool*

Main course: lobster roll, New England style.  The meat is cold and the bun is toasted.  All was done well, top notch.  Haven't had a decent lobster roll in some time.  Personally, I like the real meat chunks than broken up pieces. I also think that my taste bud wanted more butter than mayo and rather it'd warm than cold.  That said, a good lobster roll is hard to come by, if there's a good one, I'm going to try it no matter what. 

This was my Lenten Friday meal.  It was truly a lot of food.  I should've split it in half and take the other half home and not be greedy and get the fries, but they all sounded good together when I was ordering it.

Word got out that Fridays are Lobster Roll Friday, there's tons of people showing up for lunch.  While the weather is nice, sitting out at the patio and enjoy the weather is great too.  Now don't get shocked on the price, because keep in mind, lobster has a market price, so we paid $23.95 for our sandwich, so don't get shocked when you see the ticket at the end of the meal.

Bernie's Burger Bus

5407 Bellaire Blvd

Houston, TX 77401

713-349-9400

http://berniesburgerbus.com/

Jinya Ramen Bar

Went to Ramen with the Mom Friends, totally awesome GNO!

We picked Jinya as a redemption of the bad Nao experience.  Well, now that we have a baseline, it's easy to exceed it.

Started with the fried brussels sprout.  Let me tell you, had they done brussels sprout this way when I was growing up, I'd eat more of it.

Shared the potstickers, pretty good... nice and pan fried.

And edamame, trying to not get filled before the main event!

Piece la resistance!  Tonkotsu Black, which has pork, scallion, seaweed, (full) egg, garlic chips, fried onion, and a dob of spicy sauce.  I like their soup base, it's thick enough for the noodles.  Mix it altogether, nicely taste.  I think I'd like for it to be more texture, but for inside the loop it's good.

We went on a Friday night, early enough but had to wait for good 30 mins.  They were not joking.  I thought successfully found a parking space at that time (where gym rats prime time at 24 Hr Fitness) was a victory.  Waiting was just as much as a feat.  Luckily, we got in before the masses came in.  They were truly busy, but service did not lack and the food was consistent, which I totally appreciate.

Jinya Ramen Bar

3201 Louisiana St

Houston, TX 77002

832-925-8596

http://jinya-ramenbar.com/

Maison Burdisso

I've been a long time admirer of Maison Burdisso's macarons for some time.

So glad to see them there.

I just love how colorful they are, and they tastes good to match.  The shells were soft and you can tell it's fresh, the cream/filling never disappoint.  It's flavorful and you can taste the real ingredients they put in there.  Talk about technique, I say that because I know how hard it is to make good filling to match the good shells you baked.  They have definitely delivered.

You can find Maison Burdisso either on Tuesdays Rice University's Farmers Market, or Saturdays at Eastside Farmers Market.

Maison Burdisso

http://maisonburdisso.com/index.html

Ripe Food truck

Was at Eastside Farmers Market milling around.

Saw somebody eating avocado toast, thought sure, I'll try that.

Left is agua fresca with strawberry and mint, and the right is lavender lemonade.  To me, the strawberry and mint was very much like the fruit infused water as opposed to the agua fresca from street stands that I was thinking.  In that case, I like the lavender lemonade a lot, it's very refreshing and you can smell the lavender as you walk up to the truck.

Ok, what I saw the other people had and drawn me to them.  Huge slices of avocado toasts.  I am not an avocado fan typically, so I was very surprised that I liked this so much.  The bread texture was nice, the tomato was not flimsy, the avocado was fresh, and with just enough amount of seasoning, made it all come together.  I enjoyed it quite a bit.  I was talking to a couple while sharing a table and they love it so much that they got an extra order to take home.  That's a true testament of doing food right.

Their theme of their truck is healthy, plant based (aka vegetarian), and most importantly locally grown.  I place a lot of value of what's grown here versus import, because the soil is tailored to the people that live here which also share the same air.  So, if you have allergies, if you eat something planted here or came from here (i.e. honey from local bees), it helps prevent or lessen your condition, just by that.  So, I appreciate that.  And you do see some transactions done amongst vendors here.  For instance, they use lavender from the lavender farm booth, and veggie from the stall a few booths down.  Talk about bringing a community together.

Ripe Cuisine

713-876-4768

http://ripe-cuisine.com/

Tiger Den

Happen to be on the Southwest side of town, and stopped in early for some ramen.

It was right around 6p but they still made me write my name and wait outside when they do have plenty of tables open.  Hmm... very curious.

Got a cup of green tea to sooth my throat... hot, hot, hot!

Got the brussel sprouts for starter.  It was crispy but the flavor seems to go with the sauce which were all sank towards the bottom.  That means, whatever on top didn't have as much flavor as the stuff in the middle and the stuff at the bottom were way too concentrated.

Got the Tonkotsu ramen.  The soup is thick, which is what they boast, but for my personal taste, I think it can stand to have been cooked longer or more ingredient to give it a thicker texture.  Not that it's bad, it's decent, but could be better.  The noodle is fresh, got good elasticity, which I knew they were made in house from my first visit here.  The egg is just right, no complaint there.  I added extra pork slices and they are not the type that falls off as you touch it, but it is tender and has decent flavor.

Overall, I think everything is decent, especially after having no good, no flavor ramen elsewhere.  That said, I think they did get a bit complacent with their dishes since they are pretty much the only game in that side of town.  I think if you park them next to Agu or Jin or Jinya, it'll be very different.  Anyway, got seated quickly, good service.  Overall not a bad experience.

Tiger Den

9889 Bellaire Blvd

Ste D-230

Houston, TX 77036

832-804-7755

http://www.tigerdentx.com

HLSR - World Championship Barbecue Cook-off

Super blessed to work with a Rodeo insider. 

Got an awesome hook up for an awesome tent a the Cook-off

The grill is a production, you see the grill here, and also a larger trailer in the back that is providing food to over 700 people, each night.  

We are served by the members of the group, and they are total pros at this.

So, what did we get?  Chicken, sausage, sides (which I got potato salad, but they have slaw as well), brisket (yummo) and ribs.  Out of the plate, I like the sausage, just because how it was seasoned.  The chicken was great because it was not dried at all.  The brisket was out of this world, they even show you what type of rubs they were using.  LOVE!

Of course, barbecue is not complete without cobbler, and it's my favorite peach cobbler at that!  Perfecto!

View of our tent, with the band. 

If you have never been to a Cook off event, it is essentially a massive party.  Every tent is like a private party.  So, the name of the game is either you have an awesome tent to go hang, which we do. Or, you get as many bands from different tents and go party hop from one to another and bounce around the ground.  The Carnival is already open for fun, along with the junk food you can get there. But if you don't have any connections to a tent, there are a few public tents from various vendors.  The main stage with a live band is free for all, and there are a few tents that charge a fee to go in.  So, not all is lost.

There are different quality of tents too.  The first time I've ever been to one, it was very plain and simple.  Literally, just a table of food and tons of chairs and tables for seating.  We then got our friends' bands and went to another one that has a live band, very very nice port-o-potty and free beer all night long.  This time, was best of both worlds, great barbecue, free alcohol, not just beer, but liquor and wine too.  Also a very fun live band that gets people moving.  Super fun.

Houston Livestock and Rodeo

http://www.rodeohouston.com

HLSR Uncorked & Best Bites Part 2

Continuing from yesterday's Best Bites, more picture heaviness aka me rubbing it in your face that I ate all these awesome yummy goodness.

 I've never been to Dario, was curious what they've got:

 It is steak bites and mini crab cake.  The crab cake was good, the steak was a tad too salty for my taste.

 Hotel Icon's Line & Lariat also showed up...

 They have fried quail with slaw over barbecue sauce, the sauce has some tang, but tons of spicy... hmm... 

 Awesome specialty chocolate by Cacao & Cardamom.  Each of their little chocolate is like little pieces of art.  Of course, they are delicious and delicate too.

 Ritual represents!

 They have a cute mini bread bowl with seafood bisque.   Sadly, it was great on looks, not so much on taste... from what my friend told me they are better at grill than soup.  Maybe in person they are better, since they don't exactly have a full kitchen here.

 Lobster Bisque from the Palm.

 Sadly, I think they've been sitting out too long, there's a nice thick layer of skin on top.  And it was too thick for my taste.  I was told there are real pieces of lobster meat at the bottom.  I'll just take her word for it.

I've never heard of Eurasia before, so that looked interesting.

The beef roll looked interesting.  Thin sliced beef wrapped with veggies inside... not much to write home about. 

So glad Julia told me to wait for the tartare... this is their all star dish!  Totally awesome, worth going to the place for.

Crave cupcake was giving their minis away by the box towards the end, they are yummy... but by this time, I was stuffed.... saving it for later.

Short Rib alla Milanese.... it was too heavy for my taste.

This is an interesting one...

Cheese Curds with Raspberry sriracha, totally not spicy, but pretty unique, which I've never had before.

From Weight & Measures, anything from their yummy bakery is good... nothing bad comes from there.

Enjoyed a very well balanced Reisling from Dr. Loosen, which I was super impressed with all 3 of their rieslings, but this one is the best one.

Izakaya, you had me at Uni.

Cute little tartlet, honestly did not get much of the uni flavor, but it's cute and is a popper size... om nom.

Dulce is more a specialized cake shop for occasions, but they brought it too!

Mexican Chocolate Très Leches, first of all, I love tres leches.  Second, it's chocolate.... amazingly, it doesn't seem that way when you first tasted it, but when you swallow, the pepper kicks in and you feel it going down.  It was a pretty neat experience.

By the end, we basically needed to be rolled out.  Apparently, if people abandon their table, you can have their center pieces.  A premium table (seats 10) cost $250pp, for regular reserved table it's $125 pp.  All funds raised are for scholarships, and everyone worked there are on volunteer basis.  

Honestly, we didn't really sit down much except for breaks in between.  Since the bites are small, you pretty much gobble up while going to the next line.  And they do have some bar table to rest a bit or get organize.  The experience, it's definitely neat.  They give you a collectible wine glass, so if people abandon theirs, you can get a set.  Valet is free, but of course you tip.  They now also have an uber section for waiting for rides.  

Better get your tickets early next year: 

http://www.rodeohouston.com/Visit-the-Show/Pre-Show-Events/Wine-Show-Auction