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.

It’s snowing in Southeast Texas…

I know. Truly bizarre. In my short 6 months in Houston, I have already seen a major hurricane blow through the city, and now I’m watching SNOW fall outside my window. Granted, it’s not sticking… but I never thought I’d see snow in a place where people decorate palm trees with Christmas lights (but that is a whole other blog entry… once I start my “Fugstalkers” blog) .

Naturally, this snow makes me want to eat 100% winter comfort food. Here are the cravings that were running through my head this afternoon: soup, grilled cheese, hot chocolate, warm cookies, etc. I decided on a recipe from the Eating Well for Two cookbook. The original recipe was for Curried Squash soup with chicken and spinach. I altered somewhat. First of all, I couldn’t find frozen pureed squash (and I’m not surprised: I didn’t know it existed until I read this recipe). I subbed canned pumpkin instead. Secondly, I decided to leave out the chicken. The man at the meat counter was taking too long (patience is not one of my virtues). I used chicken broth instead of the water the recipe called for, and I used full fat coconut milk instead of light. The recipe with my changes:

Curried Pumpkin Soup with Spinach

1 15-oz. can of pure pumpkin

1/2 c. coconut milk (I probably used a little more than 1/2 c.)

3/4 c. chicken broth

1 6-oz. bag baby spinach

Juice of one (smallish) lime

2 tsp. brown sugar

1 tsp. Thai red curry paste

1/4 tsp. salt

I let everything but the spinach simmer in a saucepan for about 10-15 minutes, and then added the spinach and simmered a couple of minutes more until it was wilted. It looks like wayyyyyyyy too much spinach for the amount of soup, but it will even out once it has cooked down. A note: when they say “Eating Well for Two,” they mean for TWO (or one appetite the size of LG’s). I will double or triple this the next time I make it. 

The verdict? So good! The curry paste added just the right amount of heat. This was seriously the easiest meal I’ve ever made. I think I have made it known before that I hate chopping things, and this recipe lacked that activity. I will definitely be making this many more times. 

Thaime of My Life—Thaiphoon Bistro

That will be my only remark on the name of the Thai establishment located in Glenwood South just across from work. I went with a friend for the Chicken Pad Thai lunch special ($9) since dinner entrée prices are fairly steep. I did myself a favor by cutting myself off half-way through the noodles to avoid the lunchtime coma. But don’t mistake that as a review of the food because the Chicken Pad Thai was indeed the jam. And I have leftovers.

chicken pad thai...a thaiphoon specialty

One of the best parts about this meal is that you get to play with your food! Squeeze the lime, sprinkle on peanuts (all), chili flakes (lots) and sprouts (mmmm more crunch!) as desired. I cannot pretend to know that much about Thai cuisine, the authenticity or the bold flavors, but I’ll provide the quick overview: yummy, gummy noodles (not slippery), tossed in a delicious peanut/fish/chili/sweet sauce, green onions and even some crispy green bean spears. I added chicken for the protein and texture, though in flavor, it was just there, really. The menu indicates spiciness of dishes, the Pad Thai’s being mild, so I asked to kick it up to medium. The kitchen was happy to accommodate. On the side—a romaine salad with sweet peanut dressing! This meal deserves high marks for flavor, serving size, price and spice. At dinner, I would recommend the Grilled Beef Salad (with tender flank steak). It is wickedly nose-running spicy.

Thaiphoon also earns high marks for ambiance. That’s right. Ambiance. Check out their site to get an idea of the decor. They successfully combine traditional Asian with modern elements. A DVD case holds the food menu, and the drink list is displayed on records like track listings. And I love love love the flatware and water pitchers. And lanterns. And the orange.

© 2008 thaiphoon bistro