Family Foodstalking

Momma G recently visited me in Houston, and of course the agenda was packed with foodstalking opportunities. I had heard a lot about Reef ever since I moved here, but never had the chance to check it out. It just so happened that the week before Momma G came to visit, Executive Chef Bryan Caswell was named one of Food & Wine’s Top 10 Rising Chefs. This honor comes on the heels of another heady compliment: #1 Seafood Restaurant in the U.S. according to Bon Appetit. So, reservations were made, four days prior to “Bryan Caswell Day” in Houston.

The dining room of Reef is super chic. Funky, spindly light fixtures, huge wine room with floor to ceiling glass walls, and tables bunched close together for a warehouse-type feel. We were seated at a table right by the front window and got a big kick out of the valet strategically parking the red Ferrari right in front of the restaurant. Jokes were made about my car being parked in Galveston…

On to the food: everything we had was fabulous. Really, really unique flavors that I would have never thought of as going together… went together. Portions I thought were a good size: not too big, not too small. Overall a really great meal!

Biscuits with pepper jelly.

For some reason I expected the pepper jelly to literally be jellied peppers. It actually was sweet but had that nice kick of heat to it. Not something I would usually be a fan of, but I loved this.

Ceviche to start. I can't remember for the life of me what was in it. All I know is, it was tasty and pretty to boot.

Momma G forgot that her foodstalking daughter needed to take a picture before devouring these crab cakes.

However, it shows the inside- which to me is the most important part of a crab cake. Plenty of crab, not too much breading. The “taqueria style” salad underneath was fabulous too.My entree. Crispy Skin Snapper, Sweet and Sour Chard, Tomato Brown Butter. Y’all. That skin was the best thing I’ve ever tasted. Crispy, buttery, delicious. I’m not usually a fish skin fan, but this preparation won me over.

Mom's tripletail (never heard of it before this night- mild white fish) served over corn pudding and a grilled peach. Delicious- love the southern spin with the peach and corn.

We shared dessert: Vietnamese coffee tart with condensed milk ice cream and lime syrup. Like eating coffee with a spoon (if only it were that easy...)

And so ends our meal at Reef. I really loved it from start to finish. Pricey? Yes. Worth it? Absolutely.
We ate a lot of meals (maybe too many for Momma G), including recent favorite Tiny Boxwoods and long-time favorite, El Rey. One place we visited is one that hasn’t gotten its due on foodstalkers, but is one of my favorite restaurants in Houston. Dolce Vita is the Bettola of Houston- but better. I have professed my love of pizza here before- I love it for its versatility. Beer, wine, milk (Home Alone, anyone?), it goes with everything and can be adapted for any occasion. Dolce Vita is one of those chameleons. It’s the kind of pizza place where you drink wine, but it still manages to be casual. The setting is a rickety old house and a great, vine wrapped porch right in the heart of Montrose, the artsy area of Houston.

Dolce Vita's most famous dish: Truffled Egg Toast.

Thick slab of toast with an egg cracked in the middle, shaved black truffles over the top, drizzled with truffle oil and topped with a little parm. My first experience with truffles, and a good one at that.

Pasta special: ravioli with chicken and ricotta, peas, and truffle oil. Not as good as the infamous veal gnocchi special, but still very good.

Siciliana Pizza. Tomato, mozzarella, olives, and capers. Olives and capers on a pizza to me, are bliss. The way to do Dolce Vita is to plan to order enough so that everyone is able to eat pizza and everyone is able to eat pasta.

There you have it for the noteworthy LG + Momma G meals. There’s definitely no better group to foodstalk with than family.

Stay tuned for adventures from LG’s new kitchen AND a headfirst dive into vegan territory by Miss Em!

Sunday favorite: Tiny Boxwood’s

One of my dad’s most common compliments for a fabulous restaurant is this: “It doesn’t feel like you are in ______ ” (insert city that is not NYC or Paris or any other culinary capitol). While I in no way want to knock Houston or Birmingham or any other non-Paris of the world, it is true that part of a great meal is the ability to feel like you are “getting away,” even if it’s just for the duration of brunch. My favorite place to do this in Houston is at Tiny Boxwood’s. You’ll notice when you click the link that you have been directed to the website of a landscape architecture company/garden shop. Tiny’s is a small cafe located on the site of a nursery- so as you can imagine, the surroundings are gorgeous. There is some seating outside under big umbrellas, and an open dining room inside. Outside is my favorite- if you can get over the 110+ heat index, you are instantly transported to a grassy Parisian park.

Indoor Dining at Tiny's (photo from www.tinyboxwoods.com)

Cutest outdoor dining in the city, hands down (photo from www.tinyboxwoods.com)

I’ll have to admit: I’ve only been for one meal here, and that’s brunch. Tiny’s also serves breakfast, lunch, and dinner as well. The lunch menu looks particularly good- it’s next on my list to check out. There’s just something about brunch though- number one, it’s my favorite meal. If you time it right and eat enough, it can be your single significant meal for the day. Number two, coffee. And it’s great at Tiny’s.

One of the things I love most about this place is that you order at the counter. Now, it has resulted in some people waiting much longer than others for their order since they’re not grouped together. But I love it because there’s no awkward, annoying discussion of how to split the check, who’s got cash, who’s got a credit card, etc. Nothing ruins the end of a meal like that. Once you place your order, pick up your coffee drink from the bar (they’ll call your name… loudly), and head over to the water area. This usually isn’t an exciting part of a dining experience- but here, it it’s pretty cool. Tiny’ s has really awesome ice, and limes in addition to your average lemon to add to your water!

But you’re here for the food. My only complaint about the menu is that they don’t rotate it. There are certain things that change, such as the quiche filling and flavor of muffin, but other than that it’s pretty standard and pretty small. I think they would really benefit from incorporating specials into the menu from time to time. I’ll let the pictures speak for themselves. This is my go-to casual meal right now. Love that I don’t have to deal with the hassle of splitting checks or waiting for the check, but the atmosphere encourages long, leisurely meals (unless there are River Oaks vultures waiting on your table).

One of the breakfast pizzas- roasted potatoes, fried egg, basil, and some kind of cheese that I can't remember.

Muffin of the day: Raspberry

Granola, yogurt, and fruit (not mine- those who know me would figure that out due to presence of yogurt), and an amazing croissant with fresh strawberry jam. Amazing coffee and lime-water in background.

The flakiest crust you will ever put in your mouth. Delicious quiche.

Pretty food

When I logged in to the WordPress site, it said: “Welcome back, LG!” I take this to be a good sign that I am A. still welcome and B. they still remember my name. 

I can’t even begin to document all of the good (and bad- Ziggy’s, I’m looking at you…) food that I’ve eaten over the past two months, so I’ll just share some highlights! Without further ado… 

Grimaldi’s Pizzeria in Sugarland, TX. An off-shoot of the Brooklyn original! Absolutely fabulous. This was a pepperoni pie with fresh basil.

White pizza from Grimaldi's. Equally amazing.

Late night dining at BB’s Cafe in Montrose. The Southern Man: Fried catfish, cheese grits, eggs, bacon, and a biscuit.

Homemade pizza sauce for my Margherita pizza!

The finished product. Crust was a little soggy this time, but still delicious.

Five Guys Grand Opening in Houston. My life is complete.

Homemade pizza try #2. This time with pepperoni, black olives, and mushrooms (my standby). Crust was much better after pre-baking for 5 minutes.

That’s about all I’ve got after cleaning off my memory card. I ate a lot of pizza, now that I think about it. I’m ready to get back in the swing of things!

Thai food, BBQ and Sliders, oh my!

Hi folks. It’s been a while, hasn’t it?

If there’s one thing I love about living in a big city, it’s the variety of unique and sometimes oddball food experiences that pop up all around. There’s a new restaurant in Montrose that I had been dying to try. I believe it fits the oddball bill: Little Big’s- a small burger stand with limited seating (but a huge porch) that serves only sliders and their buddy, the french fry. Little Big’s was started by Chef Bryan Caswell, the chef/owner of Reef- another place I need to get to soon (it was recently named the #1 seafood restaurant in America by Bon Appetit). Although Reef specializes in seafood, the sliders became a popular menu item- so popular that Bryan decided to open a casual, counter-service outpost where the slider is king. 

I jumped at the chance to go on a recent weekend night, and I’m glad I did. It wasn’t the best burger I’ve ever had, but then again, I wouldn’t necessarily go there if I wanted a burger (and by burger, I mean a giant, dripping behemoth that is covered in ketchup and mustard). I ordered a trio of sliders, one of each of their offerings: spicy chicken, beef with caramelized onions, and mushroom. The spicy chicken was possibly my favorite, and I don’t typically go for white meat. It was perfectly spicy, perfectly crispy, and the single pickle was a nice touch. I love you, Chick-Fil-A, but this deal put the #1 combo to shame. The beef that makes up the beef slider is very tasty. You can tell that it is freshly ground in-house. However, mine was a little dry. The mushroom slider was a fried portabello mushroom cap stuffed with some kind of molten cheese. It was very good as well- the breading was nicely done. The buns are freshly baked, yeast-y wonders. We also ordered several baskets of handcut fries for the table and they were tasty. There is a condiment station featuring Little Big’s signature sauce: a sriracha remoulade that is perfect for dipping fries and smothering over the beef slider. I can’t wait until the weather decides to stay warm, as I have a feeling I’ll be spending a lot of time on that fabulous porch.

 

Excuse the BlackBerry photography. This foodstalker needs to remember to have her camera on her at all times.

Thai food was one of the first ethnic foods I fell in love with, and for that reason it will always hold a special place in my heart. In search of a big bowl of curry, I had lunch one day at Nidda Thai. The dining room is your typical cheesy Asian-themed decor, but you don’t go to a Thai restaurant for the atmosphere, you go for the food! I had the Panang curry with chicken. The curry was perfect- just spicy enough and appropriately sweet from the coconut milk. I love dumping spoonfuls of rice into the curry. In fact, I could probably be served just the curry base with rice (and no protein) and be perfectly happy. I would drink that stuff if it weren’t so spicy.

 

Bowl chock fulla comfort

 

In Houston (and Texas in general), rodeos are a big deal. I don’t know that I am a rodeo kind of gal, but any fair-like opportunity with free food and drink is A-OK in my book. To kick off the huge Houston rodeo season, there is a World Championship BBQ Cookoff. $7 gets you in the gate and one plate of food from the public tent (this is usually catered by a second-rate local BBQ joint from what I hear). Lucky for me, I had a friend who scored a free ticket to a private booth- and these are pretty hard to come by. There are hundreds of private booths where competitive BBQ pit masters test their skills. These booths are then sponsored by various corporations (from what I understand) and feature free ‘que and drink (open bar!). The pulled pork at our booth was DELISH. I could have eaten only that and been really happy. While I’m not ready to claim Texas BBQ as my favorite, I’m definitely warming up to the idea. The stuff I grew up on- Dreamland and Byron’s- remains #1 in my book for now.

 

All this for $7! My own personal stimulus package.

 

 

Pit masters hard at work

Look for a foodstalkers trip to Austin very soon! My favorite city should have a lot to offer in the eats department.

Raindrops keep fallin’ on my head

I’ve had a major sweet tooth lately. I started to feel like I wasn’t taking advantage of all of the wonderful bakeries/sweet shops in my area. All that has now changed. I am averaging about one major chocolate/sweets excursion per week. Here are my discoveries: 

Today I stopped by Raindrop Chocolate while I was running errands. This shop, located in a strip mall just down the street from me, has always intrigued me. I have heard that they make amazing gelato, but it’s very rare that I’m in the mood for ice cream-y concoctions. I decided to stop in this afternoon and see what else they had to offer besides the gelato. They had a very small selection of baked goods (2 things: some type of cake and amaretto cupcakes), around 8 gelato flavors (including unusual picks such as Blood Orange Chocolate and Wine with Raisins), a wide selection of truffle flavors, and several other chocolate treats. I went with 2 varieties of truffles: Sweet Curry and Dark Chocolate Caramel with Grey Sea Salt. Unfortunately, I didn’t get a picture of the Sweet Curry truffle, as I ate it before I was out of the parking lot. It may not be everyone’s cup of tea, but I really enjoyed it. It’s exactly as it sounds- Dark chocolate shell with a creamy chocolate interior that is spiced with curry powder. A sprinkle of the bright yellow stuff over the top made for a nice presentation. The Dark Chocolate Caramel one was my favorite, though. I love salted sweet things. The salt heightened the flavors of the sweet caramel- this particular version was standout because they used the large crystals of sea salt. It looked great and tasted the same. 

Another place I’ve been visiting recently is The Chocolate Bar, a cutesy place in Montrose. They are rumored to have awesome gelato as well, but my eyes were on the baked goods the first time I went. I sampled several gelato flavors, and was really impressed with all of them. I particularly liked the Coffee Toffee Time. I decided to go with a slice of Uncle Darryl’s cake, and it was an excellent decision. I am usually wary of any kind of cake that’s not made by my mom. I find that most store bought cakes (even from bakeries) are too dry and the icing is usually tooth-achingly sweet, so it was pretty hard for me to plunk down $10 for a slice of the stuff. This specimen was perfect- the cake was suitably moist, and the icing was actually a dark chocolate ganache, and the whole thing was sprinkled with toffee bits. This thing was HUGE. I ate it for 3-4 days, which is pretty impressive for me. That should give some sort of indication of how big these slices are (well that, and the price). I’ve been back since then for a couple of scoops of gelato. It’s a cool little place. The best part is that it’s open late (even on Sundays), so it’s there whenever I need it.

I have a thing for cupcakes. I don’t even know that I like them that much, but I tend to crave them frequently. I think it’s partially the look of them, and partially the fact that they are a cheap, portioned way to satisfy my baked good cravings. The closest cupcake shop, Crave Cupcakes, is a boutique bakery that specializes solely in cupcakes. I believe it’s based on the famous LA cupcake outlet, Sprinkles (and it looks like we’re getting one of those soon!). In my opinion, the cupcakes from Crave aren’t really anything to write home about. The times that I have gotten them, the cake has been semi-dry and the frosting is a hard shell of the sickeningly sweet variety. However, it serves the purpose to satisfy my cravings (it could also be due to the fact that I usually go right before they close in a mad rush to cure my sweet tooth). 

New year, renewed sense of foodstalking obligations

I kicked off 2009 with the traditional New Year’s Day meal of champions: Hoppin’ John. As a kid (and even up until a few years ago), I didn’t like the stuff. I’m not sure what it was, but I remember being really disappointed every year when it kept returning to our stovetop. But as 2009 is the first year I’ve ever been away from my family on New Year’s Day, I felt the need to keep the tradition alive. I loosely followed the recipe my mom loosely follows. The recipe follows, and I’ve made a note of my changes.

Hoppin’ John

1 tablespoon vegetable oil
2/3 cup chopped onion
1/2 cup chopped green bell pepper *Omitted
1/3 cup chopped celery
2 garlic cloves, minced
1 teaspoon dried thyme
1 teaspoon crushed red pepper *I used cayenne
1/2 teaspoon salt
1/4 teaspoon ground black pepper
2 bay leaves
4 cups water
2 smoked ham hocks (about 1 1/2 pounds) *I used bacon
1 (16-ounce) bag frozen black-eyed peas
1 cup uncooked jasmine or basmati rice
3/4 cup chopped red bell pepper
1/3 cup chopped green onion tops *Omitted
Heat the oil in a Dutch oven over medium-high heat. Add onion, green bell pepper, celery, and garlic; sauté 5 minutes. Add thyme, red pepper, salt, black pepper, and bay leaves; cook 1 minute. Add water and ham hocks, and bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 30 minutes. Add peas; cook for an additional 30 minutes.

Remove ham hocks from pan; cool. Remove ham from bones; finely chop. Discard bones, skin, and fat. Add rice and red bell pepper to pan; bring to a boil. Cover, reduce heat, and simmer 15 minutes. Remove from heat; stir in ham. Discard bay leaves. Spoon into a serving dish, and sprinkle with green onions.

Yield: 8 servings (serving size: about 1 cup)

Origin: Cooking Light

The whole thing turned out really well and I actually liked it! Michelle and I bought collard greens to make with the hoppin’ john (gotta have the money if you’re going to have the luck), but we quickly realized that they took much longer than spinach to cook, and since neither of us knew whether or not we even liked collard greens, we scrapped them. We finished the meal off with some Jiffy corn muffins, and I certainly felt like I did my part to make sure 2009 is a good one- at least as far as eating is concerned.

Craving sushi the other night and wanting to branch out, I did a quick search on the Houston Chowhound message board to see what popped up. I had seen Sage 400 mentioned several times before in various places, and decided to give it a try. Our sushi loving group of two decided to order a bunch of rolls and split between ourselves. We ordered the S.P. Roll and the Phoenix Roll from the house special rolls. We also ordered Spicy Tuna, Peppered Tuna and Avocado, and Eel rolls to round off our fancy rolls. The S.P. rolls and the Phoenix rolls were delish. I am not usually a fan of fancy rolls that have so much stuff on them that they make it hard to eat in one bite. These were the exception. While they were large, I thought the flavors went together well and both were just spicy enough. Our other choices were good, not anything mindblowing- but all in all, it’s one of the best sushi places I’ve been visited. Keep in mind that the three places I have lived in my life: Birmingham, AL, Auburn, AL, and Houston, TX, probably aren’t the authority on sushi- so I’m sure there is better out there (and probably even in this city). Funny that the night after I ate at Sage 400, I saw this review. I love reading Alison Cook’s reviews (I even have her blog bookmarked on the foodstalkers side bar!), and was surprised to see such a negative opinion. I am no raw fish aficianado, however, so it may be that I don’t know good sushi from bad sushi. Which is sort of sad and also kind of scary (I would hope that I could tell what bad sushi is). But as for my experience with Sage 400, I think I’ll be returning soon for some more oversauced rolls. I think that’s how I like my sushi.

Thanks to Central Market’s awesome deals, I came home with some tilapia filets, whole roasting chicken, and boneless skinless chicken breasts (with a free tortilla soup kit!). I went for the tilapia filets first and pan fried them the other night. I never really cook fish, even though I love it. It’s so quick and easy, and since I would usually only be buying one filet for myself, it’s really not much more than I would normally pay for another kind of protein. I found a recipe for a balsamic butter sauce to go over the tilapia, and it was divine. I could lick that stuff off the spoon (and I did).  Michelle made sauteed spinach to go with it, and it was one of the best versions I’ve ever had. Lots of garlic and really tasty.

Last night I roasted the chicken using my mom’s recipe. You melt 1/2 stick of butter, mix in a tablespoon or so of dijon mustard, then add rosemary, thyme, and a lot of paprika. Spread half of that over the seasoned chicken, pop it in the oven at 375, baste occasionally with the remaining paste, and cook until done. I read online somewhere that it should cook 20 minutes per pound. I had a three pound chicken and cooked it for just over an hour. I am not really a dark meat fan (yes, I have no clue why I made a whole chicken then either), but the breasts were incredibly juicy. Sometimes it’s hard to remember that chicken is supposed to be juicy- This made me a believer again.

That pile of green mush is Green Giant frozen creamed spinach. Foodies, don’t hate- it makes me nostalgic for freshman year in the dorm.

Michelle gave me a recipe for Orzo Salad to use up the remainder of my roasted chicken and I am SO glad she did. It is absolutely delicious. Ina never lets me down. The recipe doesn’t actually call for chicken, but I opted to leave out the eggplant and added the chicken in to make it a little more substantial. The hardest part is waiting for the pasta mixture to get to room temperature. I was sneaking bites here and there… you know, to check the seasoning.  I am super excited about having this for lunch for the rest of the week! 

Ugh. My camera was set to some wacky setting and I don’t know how to undo it. Or I just suck at taking pictures. 

I had this for dinner as well! It’s brewed in the Hill Country! 

Thanksgiving Stalking: Golden edition

I apologize for my absence. I wish I could say it’s because I’ve been busy foodstalking, but really it’s just laziness (in writing and in eating). We will do better. Cross my heart…

And now, a pictorial journey through my last few memorable meals:

Celebrating a new month with an “R” in it by picking up an Oyster Po Boy from BB’s Cajun Cafe. I’d heard good things, so I decided to check it out. It was definitely a home run. I appreciated the fact that I didn’t have to worry about losing teeth on hard french bread. I hate that.

It’s a Golden Thanksgiving! Look at that beautiful bird. 

The best gravy we’ve had yet. 

My main plate. Mom outdid herself this year. Pictured: Broccoli Casserole, Cranberry, Apple, and Sausage Stuffing, Corn Pudding, Sweet Potato Casserole (sweetened with pureed dried apricots this year!), Cranberry sauce, Turkey (is in there somewhere)

Sidecar of mashed potatoes and gravy. Too important to leave out. 

Lunch with my buds at Bottega Cafe.  I had the Friday special, which was sauteed trout with butter, almonds, and hazelnuts. A spruced up version of Almondine, I suppose. Very good. Special thanks to my photog, Kali, for this picture. 

That’s all I’ve got for now! I have been in a baking mood lately, so maybe some holiday cookies will appear after this weekend! 

H-town stalking

Just wanted to share some things I’ve been foodstalking over the past week…

Leftover Pear, Taleggio, Arugula, and Truffle Oil pizza from Dolce Vita. This place is amazing. Erin and I had life-altering veal gnocchi the first time we went there.

Cinderella Pumpkin Soup from Hubble & Hudson- not impressed. I had to doctor it up so much to make it taste like anything. It’s got nothing on Abby’s mom’s pumpkin soup. Hubble & Hudson itself is a cool place though. There’s a Viking Cooking School upstairs, and all kinds of gourmet goodies in the grocery area. 

Another H&H find. This display didn’t have a price on it, so I was little nervous when I took it to the check out station. Turns out it was $7 a bar, and completely worth it. I don’t know that I necessarily pick up on the lavender flavor, but it is some pretty powerful chocolate. 

This was waiting on me at my desk when I came into work on Friday. Oh happy day! I had ordered this through a coworker’s kid’s school fundraiser, and I anxiously awaited its delivery. People, you would not believe how long I debated Apple vs. Pumpkin. DAYS. In the end, I think I made the right choice. I haven’t warmed it yet (waiting till I can get to Central Market and get some bangin’ ice cream), but I think it’s going to be a winner.