Restaurants
Same owner as BFD, Bradley's Fine Diner of the Bradley Ogden group. I'm expecting the food to be good. We ordered the family meal and the fried chicken was actually not bad, pretty tasty. However, the rest of the items we got were just ok. We got the mac & cheese and coleslaw and biscuits. Staff was very friendly and helpful, atmosphere nice. Overall, not bad, but not great.
I love everything I have had at Downhouse so when I was craving a burger I decided I wanted to go to Downhouse! It's my first dinner at Downhouse and at our server's suggestion I got the Kimchi burger. I thought it was pretty good, but my only complaint was the kimchi. You know being Korean, I'm going to be picky about kimchi. The average person wouldn't care, but to me the kimchi had way too much ginger, which isn't usually used in kimchi, so that was very distracting to me. If it wasn't ginger, whatever it was, was very overpowering. The one thing in the world that my mom hates is ginger, but she absolutely loves kimchi so she would not have approved. But, overall the burger was great, it was just that kimchi was a tad strong, but Matt liked it a lot. He didn't like his dish so much, Curry Fish & Chips. Ethan did like his fried chicken.
I am never disappointed with DownHouse!
I had heard about this, but never got around to it until Oscar had brought it up as a good happy hour spot. Oscar loved the oysters, the raw fish was very fresh, all very very good...especially that milk and honey dessert....yum!
I hadn't heard much about Osteria Mazzantini, but they were in Culture Map's voting contest for best restaurant. Although, Jimy did mention at lunch today at Caracol that he heard they weren't doing well...for dinner Matt wanted to try something new, so that's where we decided to go, despite Jimy's heeding. I did search on yelp and they go a 4 stars, so I thought, how bad could they be??
The décor was nice, but average design. Dark wood, browns, orange accents, an outdated color scheme....wow, I'm critical! I know, it's just the thoughts that go through this head. We didn't get the multi-colored light bulbs on the ceiling. It made the place look a little cheap, in my opinion. The wine casing did up the scale of the décor. I did like the brick veneer too. The orange aprons were kind of...trying to hard...going with black would have been sufficient.
The bread was nice, maybe a little too flavorful...with herbs and...I think our server said potato. The texture was nice...chewy. We got the mushroom polenta for appetizer which was pretty good. The arugula salad was not very good, too much cheese. With the help of our server, I got his suggested Carbonara and Matt got the Sirloin Steak. I did not like the Carbonara and Matt said his steak sucked. I tasted it, it tasted bland to me. He said the more he ate it, the worst it got. It was cooked differently on the different sides of the steak, well done in some areas, almost raw in some. He could not stomach the cooked arugula that came with his meal, and the potatoes were blah. He also said the orange aprons reminded him of Whataburger.
When our server, who was great, asked us if we would like dessert...which I had already decided I did not want to try dessert here...Matt just responded no, without asking me. He usually asks me. What we discussed later is how we decide if we want to try dessert or not...if the food is good, we're having dessert, if not, then we're not. It's just funny that we were thinking the same thing without having discussed it. I also asked him what he thought I would rate the restaurant...he said 2.5...he was totally spot on. We don't have the same taste in food, but we tend to have the same taste in quality. He said he thought I would rate it 2.5 because that's what he would rate it. And now...I have written too much about this restaurant...
I have heard good things, lots of it too. Nice place, fancy...we don't have reservations for lunch, so we're set up outdoors. It's not bad, not too warm, but they could probably use a few more umbrellas to shade from the sun. Great outdoor space though. I'm eyeing the red snapper tacos, but I was swayed by our server to get the chicken enchiladas. Chung gets the red snapper tacos and because they're 3 in each entrée, we trade one each. The red snapper tacos were perfect! Light, fresh, tasty...I should have gotten these! The enchiladas were good, but a little on the heavy side. We also got the guac and chips, which I liked a lot. The chips were really thick, and perfectly salted. The guac, no bells and whistles, but just seemed like mashed avocado, and was surprisingly good, actually. They did bring out this complimentary soupy shrimp appetizer, which was a little too seafoody for my taste. But, everything else I really enjoyed, I shall return!
Opened yesterday, Tuesday and I'm really looking forward to visiting! News crew is here, not sure what channel. I walk in and love the interior. Tons of sunlight, airy, bright! I love a bar around the perimeter of the café too, somewhere I can set up shop and work. I'm standing in line and it doesn't look like they have a ton of options. Maybe a handful of pastries...but they do look amazing! With the recommendation of my helper, I get the chocolate croissant and the bosoft. I also want the cheese Danish, as it's my favorite...but they're out. I get to the cashier, order a vanilla almond milk latte, and they are out of almond milk...it's 9:30...AM! The line is long and cashiers slow, so far, I'm not having the greatest experience....obviously they're still working out the kinks...
I sit and have the chocolate croissant...amazing! So flakey, delicious, and the chocolate was off the charts good! The salted caramel macaroon I ordered wasn't in my take away box...hm. I do stay till lunch and order the grilled cheese and soup. O...M...G...the grilled cheese sandwich is amazing! The bread, the cheese...wow! The food really makes up for all the kinks...wow...the bread is out of this world! I mean it's all very simple tasting, but the quality is amazing. I'm really impressed. I can't remember the last time I had so much bread...that bread...and I can't remember the last time I had an entire sandwich in one sitting...that bread...mm mm mm...
Ugh...I ate too much bread. I had the regular eclair and was very distracted by the fact that there was chocolate cream inside instead of the regular creme and can't say I liked it, but dang that chocolate creme was some good chocolate. I ordered another salted caramel macaroon and wow...that was absolutely delicious. So yummy! Sweet, tasted and looked like real caramel, so so very good. I also had a bite of the chocolate chip cookies...wow...now this is a real chocolate chip cookie, unlike the that cookie everyone at Tiny's raves about. This whole bakery is just top notch! Everything I tasted was A+ quality. Very very good, I'm really impressed!
I also got to meet Roy, the owner/chef...he sure knows his food!
I had read Punk's was located next to Coppa. I had driven by Coppa on Washington and figured maybe they didn't open?? Then today, following google maps to Punk's, I realized oh, there's another Coppa in the Village! Punk's and Coppa are next-door neighbors and located in a nice spot on Morningside. This side of the Village is really nice, it's changed a lot.
On walking in to Punk's, I really like the decor. Yelp says the price range is $$$ which means it's pricey, so I changed from my shorts into cargo pants. Following google maps there, it said $$, so I just wasn't sure which was actually right. Google was more accurate, it is super casual. That seems to be the theme these days, servers in jeans and a flannel. The decor is really nice, I like it a lot.
We are really excited about trying the food! With our server's help, we order the hush puppies, the loaded tater tots, the wedge salad, chicken sausage gumbo, 5 piece fried chicken, and the chicken fried steak with green beans. I tasted everything and everything was just ok. I was pretty disappointed after the 4th item I tried, and had pretty much made up my mind, I didn't love Punk's. Nothing was horrible, just nothing was good enough to write home about. I especially did not like the loaded tater tots, texture, flavors, and I think it had blue cheese in it, which I really dislike. You know, I never turn down dessert, and I just didn't feel confident it would be good, they way things were going, so we didn't order any.
You know, I don't know if I'm being too hard, I really wanted to like Punk's. I'm wondering if I just don't like Southern food or something. We did order fried chicken, hush puppies, tater tots, etc...which I never feel really good about eating anyways, after. I really just didn't like it all that much...but the atmosphere was great, very festive. Ethan, the 13 year old did love it. His first time trying chicken fried steak, and loved it. He also really loved the fried chicken, but later admitted he thinks he just likes all foods, unhealthy. For me and the mister, all was just an eh kind of experience...
First time. It was a really great experience. Steaks were phenomenal, wild mushrooms were so tasty, texture, flavor...yum! We also got the au gratin potatoes and asparagus, and these monstrous onion rings. Simple things like the wedge salad and bread were soooo good too. I love bread and the bread was so so so good, I couldn't stop eating it! The Red Velvet Brownie dessert was the best ending to a really great meal, recommended by our server. The service was top notch! I had an overall really great experience.
It's the same owners as the old Mo Mong. I have been to Mo Mong long long ago when they first opened, but haven't been back since. For lunch today, I took my typical Simply Pho partner and he did not like the change. Everything was so heavy. We tried to get an order of spring rolls but our server suggested the chicken with mangos. She was so great, but we really lean more towards the lighter foods. Matt tried to get a pho, but instead she guided him to a noodle dish with curry and odon noodles. I already had plans to get the garlic tofu (dau hau luc lac), as I had read in the My Table magazine it was to die for. It was not to die for, this same dish at Cali Sandwich is the bomb! Anyways, our overall experience was good, but just because we lean towards the lighter dishes, this will probably not be on our list of go to places for Vietnamese food. It's a competitive world out there!
First time to this location, but not the first time to Liberty Kitchen, been to the Heights. This River Oaks location is wow, beautiful! Very nice. Staff was amazingly friendly. Today, I decided I would try an oyster for the first time in my life. We ordered 2 trays of 12 oysters, their amazing mac and cheese and a salad. I tried my first oyster on a cracker, with cocktail sauce, horseradish, and lemon. That was really painless. Next, I tried it without the cocktail sauce and still painless. I didn't dare try it with anything less than that. The mac and cheese is my absolute favorite, best mac and cheese in town! The cocktails were not very good, no point in even mentioning them because honestly, I can't remember their names. Other than that, great experience, I really like this location! Beautiful, fun interior and nice outdoor patio.
The first time I ever had "Kobe" beef, was at Bradley Ogden, Las Vegas. A 1 ounce sliver cost $40 per piece...I had 4! But, it was all really worth it! The other thing I know about Bradley Ogden is that he's won the James Beard award...twice! So naturally, when I saw he was coming to Houston, I was a little giddy.
I have to say, it's a bit of an odd feel. I mean, this shopping center doesn't quite feel like the spot to open a restaurant. It's supposed to be "casual", but the prices are not "casual". My Wagyu beef dinner entree cost $54! But you know me, anytime there is Wagyu, I splurge because I absolutely love Wagyu beef! My meal was really good, we both enjoyed our entrees very much. My veggies were so stinking good, I mean I swear I think they must of laced it with something illegal. So very good...my entire meal. Matt got the Chicken dinner, which was nice. I know he really liked it and he is very picky. He said he liked the way it tasted and the way it was cooked. He also loved his vegetables. We enjoyed all of our items including the few items that were sent to our table, compliments of the chef. Those zucchini fries were yum yum! And lastly, I liked my pineapple upside down dessert over Matt's chocolate banana thing. Our bill came out to $171 not including tip. That seems a little high, but I did get a glass of wine and matt two draft beers, which he thought $9 was a bit steep.
The decor is nice, very trendy, rustic, rich colors mixed with this casual pieces, like the bench seats and the servers' plaid shirts. I liked it all a lot! Lots of interesting things to look at from cool light fixtures, wire lamps, black boards, kitchen through the wine racks, etc. Neat place. Our server was really sweet too and new to Houston.
We got to meet Chef Bradley, very nice guy. Apparently, the Funky Chicken next door is also owned by them. They will have 3 restaurants in Houston, after all is said and done, third one in Memorial City Mall. Bradley lives in San Jose, his son is the executive chef at BFD and lives here in Houston. Sorry about the blurry pictures, my settings were all off, will do better next time.
Today is National PBJ Day! So naturally, I decide to go to Monster PBJ food truck. You can find their always changing location at monsterpbj.com. I was really excited to visit and took my Ethan with me. We walked up and I asked them if they could recommend something, I ordered a sweet and spicy. Ethan made his own, pb, nutella and grape jam on white. When he opened it up, it looked like a pretty regular pbj. I asked if it was amazing or just good, he said good. When I opened my sweet pbj, it was ginormous! The sweet was interesting, it could probably use a little more of the good stuff inside. It had pb, grape-like jelly, and apples. The spicy was really different, but somehow it did taste good. It had pb, pickles and sriacha sauce. I know, strange. All in all, an interesting experience.
To finish off date night, I yelped a dessert and coffee place, saw Fellini got some good reviews and there we went! Great location and nice little outdoor patio space to enjoy beautiful days like this one. On entering the cafe I thought, ooh, nice and modern, very chic, maybe even a little European. We order a coffee, a vanilla soy latte, and with the help of the cashier, we get an almond cookie, a coffee eclair, a citrus powder cookie, canoli, and a tiramisu. Wow, what a disappointment! Other than the almond cookie, everything else was so bland, totally tasteless, or just not very good, which was fine, sometimes pastries are. I tried my vanilla soy latte, wow...that quite possibly is the worst latte I've ever had. The expresso was just bad. You can always tell if a latte is going to be good by the foam and if they can do good foam art, it's a sure bet. Their foam was a very sad attempt at a heart or maybe a fetus. Needless to say, I took one sip, another to make sure and did not drink the rest. However, the guys behind the counter were really great, super nice and helpful, but this cafe does not measure up to my sweet tooth standards, at all. Minus that almond cookie, which was really good.
Location #2 opened! The interior is nice, really interesting, and very creative. Is the menu the same, is always the first question. No, it's not. It's actually very different, although you can find some similar items as Rice's location, like the sides and the Posole soup. Other than that, I didn't recognize anything else. Matt did not like that they did not have the duck confit sandwich and ended up getting a Kale salad, which half way through it he decided he is not a Kale person. I didn't mind the Kale salad, but I got the Asian salad, as was recommended by our cashier. I like the new location and like the new menu, Matt not so much. Guess we'll not be frequenting the new location together much.
This is not exactly my first time here, but it actually is. I've had food catered from Downhouse and have walked in once when they first opened, but I'm pretty sure Downhouse has evolved since then. I just don't remember it being as attractive inside as it is now. I think more lights have been added or something, but whatever it was, the place looks really great! I love it's rugged, vintage, rich textures, very nice interior.
I order the stuffed French toast with a side of egg whites, scrambled. Matt ordered the breakfast tacos and grits. We both really liked and enjoyed our meals. I think I ate more of Matt's food than he did. His grits were so good. I did not know grits were made of corn, and these grits, you could taste bits of corn, it had so much substance to it, I loved it! My French toast was good, I think I could have skipped the apple sauce on my French toast. I did like the pear in the sauce though. The problem with a lot of breakfast places is that the food is too oily. My eggs did not feel greasy and there was no oil on the plate at all. I thought the quality of food was great. I really loved everything, even our server. Downhouse will definitely be on the list of regular places to go!
This is probably my most anticipated eat ever! Getting married Fall of last year put Oxheart on the list, where it stayed for 9 months! But, it's not like I didn't try. Actually, I tried a couple of times, but due to restaurant closings, for breaks or something, and being all booked, we are just now getting a chance to visit...and I am super duper excited!
On arriving, I'm realizing I haven't been over to this part of town much, if ever. It almost has a San Francisco feel to it, very eclectic. I love the old brick warehouses on this part of town, very vintage, love it. To find the restaurant, you'll have to go by the address because there is no sign anywhere, at least we didn't see one. We actually only saw the name of the company on the menu and no where else...very under the radar.
We ordered a bottle of wine, the Garden Menu and Tasting Menu. I don't think I have ever been to a restaurant that feels so intimate, so interesting and creative. I love the quaint feel inside, and the design and decor makes you feel like you're at someone's home, it's very low key and comfortable. The staff was great, our server's name was Brigette. She was amazing! She really knew her stuff and was friendly, and very helpful. I just remember as every dish came out, I was really impressed by the creativity and blending of foods. The flavors and textures were very unique. My favorites were the carrots in bouillon and the soup. I mean, the soup was just so tasty! It was very flavorful and tangy, just a great blend of spices and flavors. Definite favorite. Everything was so so tasteful and creative, brilliant! I loved my entire experience. Between the two of us, our bill plus tip came out to just under $300. It's expensive, but definitely worth the visit.
My walk away thought was that the food was creative and tasteful, not the best food I've ever had, but it was all very unique and probably the most interesting food. But, it wasn't just the food, it was the combination of creative, artful, and tasty foods with the intimate, low key vibe of the restaurant, which seems as odd of a pairing as combining vintage and contemporary styles. I just thought it was a very creative restaurant and the dining experience was the most interesting I've ever had...very interesting.
Very cute place, crepes were delicious. We had four crepes between Jimy and myself. Two savory, 2 sweet. I was stuffed, but what was I to do, just try one crepe? Here's the low down, I had the vegan crepe, which was great! It had beans, corn, and a few veggies, with an Indian kind of spice, very good. Jimy got the Chicken Carbonara because they said it was the most popular crepe. He said it was very good and that I was messing up his diet...as violins play softly in the background...or maybe just in my head. I took one for the team too and totally over ate, for you...all my faithful followers.
I asked the crepe guy, who happens to be Moroccan, I know this because Jimy asked, because he's from that side of the world too...anyways I asked the crepes guy what is a favorite sweet crepe, he said the apple, so that's what we got. Jimy saw Oreos & Cream and never mind his diet, we ordered that one too! They were both good, but after I tried the Oreos crepe, I couldn't go back to the apple. All very good and such a cute place. Definitely recommend!
Hearing about it more and more recently...this farm to table restaurant, Coltivare Pizza & Garden, was on the destination list for tonight's date night. We arrive and it's a 1.5-2 hour wait, they do not take reservations. We sit at the bar and between the two of us we had a glass of wine, 3 blonde bombshells, and a Lilly Langtry. Apparently, they just got their liquor license so they are still very limited on the wine and beer, only had 2 beer options. I'm a light weight, so they said the further down you go on the crafted drinks list, the more boozy...so I got the first thing, Lilly Langtry, which was just the right drink for me! It was tangy, sweet, not too strong, just perfect!
Our bartender was owner, Morgan Weber. I asked him what he recommended, he recommended the below appetizers. After he made his recommendations, I asked if he has good taste, or was his taste unique. He said, he thinks his taste is good, haha. I don't think he knew I knew who he was. He recommended the cauliflower and the Bycatch Baccia, which were amazing! BB was light and tangy, with some hints of nuttiness, very good. The cauliflower appetizer to me tasted somewhat similarly to Uchi's brussels sprouts appetizer, but with Uchi it's almost too saucy. This cauliflower dish had the right level of sauce, sweetness, and tang. I think it's better than Uchi's brussels sprouts, and that's saying a lot.
So we finally get seated, our main meal we had the butternut salad, pepperoni & yukon potato pizza, which are Morgan's favorites. All so excellent! The butternut salad, recommended by our server Laney, was tangy, crispy, so good! Great recommendation! The pizzas, I'm not really sure because by this point I started to go into a full force allergic reaction to the amount of alcohol I had, which I really hadn't had a lot. Disclaimer, I have very low tolerance, but the Lilly Langtry was soooo good, I couldn't pace myself. I thought the textures of the pizzas were good, the crust was so crispy. I saved some pizza so I could try again later, but my dining partner thought both were really good. We asked our server, Laney, to surprise us on the dessert and she brought out the pear crostata with a salted something gelato, which I could barely taste. I did sense a salty, sweet, and butteriness. I was very pleased with my entire dining experience, except the 2 hour wait. I thought the atmosphere, food, heart of the restaurant were so excellent. And for everything we ordered, our bill came out to $100, which I thought was so reasonable. Excellent experience, I definitely sense the love in the food, drinks, the whole restaurant, actually. Fabulous experience!
Underbelly has been on the top of my to do list, but somehow it's taken this long to visit. I really got a mixed set of reviews, but I have to say, I'm a definite thumbs up for Underbelly. As a matter of fact, I thought they would have more exotic meats, which actually makes me a little apprehensive. I think it's neighbor, Hay Merchant, has chicken feet and fried pig ears, that actually look like pig ears. I was scared. But, I am happy to report, the most exotic thing they had on their menu was maybe, pork belly? Man, I really loved it! Actually, I probably only liked two out of the four main dishes we got, but those two were so so good. My favorites were the Korean rice cake dumplings with braised goat...a definite must try. I also loved the seared Wagyu beef dish...made me have a moment. Anytime a restaurant has Wagyu, it's what I am getting! My party of 4 agreed. We also got the swordfish and butternut squash dish, which were good, but not as fabulous as the two I previously mentioned. For dessert we got the vinegar pie and doughnut dessert. I gave our server permission to surprise us on desserts. The vinegar pie almost tasted like lemon pie...and you know...I love me some lemon pie!
I love a restaurant that has a beautiful interior and Underbelly has it. It's one of those places that you just want to visit often and stay awhile. I like most and don't say it often, but I love loved this restaurant. This is definitely one of my favorite spots!
A long while back I knew someone that knew I liked cafeteria food. He suggested I check out Cleburne's Cafeteria...5 years later, I'm having lunch with Seth and that seemed like a great opportunity to finally check it out.
On arriving, I found myself really excited and looking forward to the eats. The selections looked amazing behind that glass casing. I chose my usual fried fish, mash potatoes with white gravy, green beans, and a white roll. Outside of a cafeteria, I never order these things. But, like I was telling Seth, it's me revisiting my childhood and I love it! It's just what I have always craved and get at a cafeteria.
I am first in line and since I don't want to take too long, I go ahead and just order my usual. Seth behind me spots the turkey and dressing! Grrrr! I didn't see that! I never got my turkey and dressing this year since I was in Europe for thanksgiving. Oh well, next time! My gosh the desserts were massive. It should be a criminal...I think they were a quarter of the cake sizes. We definitely don't have a mayor regulating. I'll be good this time and skip it.
The food was ok. I'm not going to lie, I was a little disappointed. I think I do prefer Luby's. Plus, I can get a Luanne plate which is half the size of the main entree. They wouldn't allow half orders at Cleburne's, I asked.
Oh and be prepared, they only accept cash.