Eats and Drinks

Peter Lehmann Shiraz Barossa

2007-04-02T06:15:00.000-07:00

This was not the vintage recommended by Wine Spectator, but the 2004 Peter Lehmann Shiraz Barossa ($14.91 @ Spec's) is a very nice harmonious wine too. I enjoyed the well rounded flavor with its gentle fruit notes and just a hint of tartness to set them off. Note to self: Next time buy a case!

According to the Wine Spectator Lehmann buys grapes from growers in the Barossa valley (Australia) to create this compelling blend. They rate the 2002 vintage at 90 points and I would expect that the more recent ones are not far behind.

Moulin a Vent

2007-02-26T20:24:00.000-08:00

He: I am the first to admit that I don't know the correct wine tasting vernacular or too terribly much about wines. As part of my continuing education we decided to sample some of Winespectator's top 100 list of wines below $15. The first bottle we opened was

Georges Duboeuf Moulin-a-Vent, Domaine des Rosiers 2003, France ($14.70).

Winespectator gives this Beaujolais 90 points. I am not a fan of traditional fruity Beaujolais, but this wine bears practically no resemblance to them. Is is very spicy, in my opinion too much so. We spread the bottle over three evenings and each time I only stated to enjoy the wine on my second glass. The spice seems to overwhelm everything else at first. The wine smells almost more like food than wine. It is certainly one of the more unusual wines I have tried, but I don't think it will become one of my favorites. If you are looking for a complex Beaujolais, this may just be the ticket.

Mockingbird Bistro

2007-01-21T21:09:00.000-08:00

She: We had dinner at the Mockingbird Bistro (1985 Welsh, Houston) on Friday night. It was an agreeable dinner, but it didn't knock my socks off. For the price, I'd much rather go to Mark's.

I thought the prices on the menu were quite high, so I tried to balance what I ordered and got one of the cheaper first courses available (a Caesar salad for $10) in order to get their off-the-menu fish special, which sounded good. The salad, which came out as a modest heap of large leaves of lettuce lightly coated in dressing, plus two crostini on the side, was very nice. Unfortunately, I was a bit disappointed in the special fish, which was a filet of cobia on top of wilted spinach, potatoes, and . . . something else, I don't know . . . surrounded by a lobster bisque and garnished with julienned zucchini and squash and a bit of crawfish. (Perhaps the chef thought crawfish served as mini lobster?) The greens and potatoes were actually quite tasty, but the fish was not a good pairing. I'd never had cobia before, and it's a perfectly acceptable fish, but I think something flakier and less meaty would have had a better mouthfeel and taste for the dish. The filet itself was fine, but not particularly flavorful, so I was somewhat disappointed with what I ordered.

For dessert, I ordered the sorbet, which was nothing to write home about.

The dinner was fine, the service good, and the ambience of the restaurant quite nice--not too loud, and not too dark--but the experience wasn't so memorable that I'd want to go there again if I had the choice. At the same time, the Mockingbird might come to mind if someone asked me for a restaurant recommendation off the beaten path for some special dinner date or event.

He: My memory of the food at Mockingbird is already fading, which tells you right there that it wasn't worth the $175 we paid for the two of us. I started with a French Onion Soup, which was good, but unremarkable, continued with a Salmon, and finished with the Apple Bread Pudding. Each course was good and satisfying, but I didn't think anything was special enough to justify the steep prices. The main dish was somewhat flavorless and the dessert was a little too sweet.

The service was a little slow after we sat down, but perfectly acceptable for the rest of the evening. The venue is very nice. Not too loud and despite being seated in front of the wine rack, we the wait staff did not disturb us much. My verdict is that the Mockingbird is a good place to go on somebody else's expense account, but there are better places to spend my own money.

Sushi King

2006-12-29T15:56:00.000-08:00

She: We had an absolutely TERRIBLE experience at Sushi King this week. We won't be going back to eat there again.

It took us over two hours to get out of the restaurant because the service was nonexistent. The manager actually took our initial order and botched it, leaving off half the sushi we ordered. It then took ages for our food to show up, even though the restaurant was not busy on a Tuesday night. They also had no pickled ginger for anyone at the restaurant. And, it took forever to flag down a waiter to 1) refill the soy sauce bottle at the table, which was practically empty when we first got there; 2) correct the order that the manager messed up; 3) get the rest of our food and any refills on water and green tea; 4) get the check when we were ready to leave. Every interaction we had with the wait staff was terrible.

I might have forgiven such lapses in service if the restaurant had been busy, but it was a Tuesday night and the place was half empty. Although the sushi was decent, the service was so bad that it's just not worth going to this outfit. There are much better sushi places in Houston that will give you the same quality of sushi for a better or comparable price, with much better service (see, e.g., Teppay or The Fish; see also Oishii). We had an absolutely awful experience at Sushi King and won't eat there again.

He:
Never again! We went to Sushi King (3401 Kirby, Houston, TX). I had eaten there three times before and thought it was safe to take clients there, but I was mistaken. We were seated promptly, but that is where the decent service ended. The manager took our orders, or at least attempted to do so.

When the food arrived about 40 minutes and several inquiries later, we got the sushi, but not the rolls we had ordered. While waiting for the food we had to beg for water and tea refills multiple times. To top it all off, the restaurant had run out of ginger. How can you run out of ginger? It isn't exactly persihable. It should be possible to keep a decent supply on hand.

The sushi actually was pretty good. Good enough in fact that we negotiated with the wait staff to receive the rest of our order: three rolls. They were not worth the additional long wait. One of the rolls was a spider roll, and the most noticeable taste was that of old frying oil. The other two rolls were just bland and uninteresting.

Getting the check was nearly as difficult as getting the food. In the end we spent over two hours on what was supposed to be a quick dinner. This is only the second time that I have left a $0.01 tip to express my displeasure with the service. It was especially irritating to me, because the reason for the dinner was entertain clients, not to irritate them by bringing them to an obviously mismanaged restaurant.

Hugo's

2006-12-25T17:58:00.000-08:00

She: We actually visited Hugo's (1600 Westheimer, Houston) about a month or more ago, so I don't recall the details of our experience there very well. I do remember, though, that this was my second visit to Hugo's and it did not improve my first impression of the restaurant.

On this second visit, we had a sampler platter of appetizers that were reasonably tasty, but not outstanding and certainly not worth making a trip for. For an entree, I had the Callo de Acha, four seared sea scallops served on top of sweet corn bread and greens with a cream sauce. I was disappointed primarily because the scallops were not particularly fresh; I've had better tasting scallops in Pei Wei, of all places. Other people in the party ordered meat dishes and appeared to be more satisfied, so if I go there again, I have a better idea of what to order.

I'm afraid I can't be more specific, but in general I think Hugo's is an okay restaurant that would not be my first choice.

Vic & Anthony's

2006-12-25T17:38:00.000-08:00

She: We were invited to a holiday dinner at Vic & Anthony's (1510 Texas St, Houston), a big, extravagant steak house in the flavor of Pappas and Fleming's. I don't mean to sound overly harsh, but . . . I'm glad we went on someone else's nickel. I would not have been happy to have paid for the dinner we received. Pappas and Fleming's (on West Alabama) are much better steakhouses in Houston.

The parts of the dinner that I enjoyed most were the appetizers and the dessert. The broiled portabello mushrooms and the tomato & mozzarella were quite tasty, primarily because of the fresh mozzarella that came with both. (The tomatoes in the T&M salad could easily have been brighter; I've had homemade T&M salad with tomatoes from Whole Foods that tasted better.) The calamari was decent, but nothing to write home about.

For a salad, I had the Pear and Saga Blue Cheese Salad, and I found that the flavors in the salad were not quite balanced right. Mark's does a much better variation on this theme.

I'm glad that I filled my stomach with the appetizers and salad, because I was sorely disappointed with my steak, an 9-oz filet mignon. It came out less than warm, for one thing, and overcooked, for another (I had asked for medium, and it came out more like medium well bordering on well done). It was also not a very quality cut of beef; there were a lot of tendons and gristle-y parts running through it. I also found it lacking a lot of flavor. And although I know that many steakhouses drench their steaks in butter to give them flavor, I found the small pool of grease coating the bottom of my plate to be a little off-putting, especially since there was no corresponding flavor.

The sides that I tasted--au gratin potatoes; broccoli; wild mushrooms; and creamed spinach--were all decent, but nothing to write home about. They are certainly substantial (e.g., you get practically a full head of broccoli), so don't go too overboard when ordering.

For dessert, I had a selection of the sorbets (mango, apricot, and strawberry), and they were a refreshing course after an extraordinarily heavy dinner that failed to meet expectations. Again, the dessert was nothing to write home about, but the quality was much better than the rest of the dinner and I was pleased to see that the sorbet came out nicely chilled and not melting. It had clearly not stood melting in the kitchen while the rest of the party's desserts were plated.

The service we had was impeccable, but unfortunately, the food didn't measure up, in my opinion. If you're looking for a good steak dinner with all the bells and whistles, Pappas or Fleming's on West Alabama would be a much better option.

He:
Vic & Anthony's has been on my list of places to try for a while. Luckily, we were invited to a Christmas Dinner there and there just isn't a better way to try a restaurant than on somebody else's nickel.

The restaurant made a good impression as we walked in. It is tastefully decorated and attentive staff is on hand to greet guests. We sat at the bar for a while before moving into the dining room. They serve warm nuts with the drinks, which I thought was a nice touch.

The service continued to be excellent in the dining room. We were a party of about 15, but the wait staff managed to serve everyone quickly and efficiently. My only complaint is that the restaurant was so loud that it was difficult to carry on a conversation with the person sitting on the other side of the table.

I tried the Filet Mignon (what else?) medium rare, and we shared a selection of sides. The prices were comparable with Fleming's, Pappas, or Brenner's. Unfortunately the food was not. There was nothing wrong with any of the dishes, but nothing stood out as especially good either. The meat was a little dry and not as flavorful as I expected, but the sides were the real disappointment. We had mushrooms, various potatoes, spinach and a bunch of other things I don't remember. I thought most of them were bland.

The high point of the meal was the dessert. I picked the bread pudding, and thoroughly enjoyed it. However, who goes to a steakhouse for the dessert? On the whole, I think there are many better options for about the same money. My first pick would be Brenners followed by Pappas, although I haven't eaten there in a long time.

Glenrothes 1992

2006-11-11T08:07:00.000-08:00

So I went to a whisky tasting yesterday and instead of bringing something good but conventional like the Oban that I always keep for emergencies, I went to a local wine merchant and asked them for an unusual scotch. In the end I got a bottle of Glenrothes, a Speyside Malt, that was distilled in 1992.

When I got to the tasting, it turned out that mine was the only duplicate bottle among maybe 30 that people had brought. While my attempt to bring something unusual clearly failed, the wiskey turned out to be wonderful. It is very mild with complex flavors and low on peat and at $55 fairly reasonably priced. Apparently there is something special about the batch distilled in 1992, but I don't know what. When this bottle is almost empty I'll have to get another year and do a taste test.

There were many other good shisky at the tasting, but by dumb luck I brought the one I liked the best in the end. On the opposite end of the spectrum I tried a supposedly very good Kentucky Burbon, but that just tastes like paint stripper next to any decent scotch.

Home Slice Pizza

2006-10-16T20:00:00.000-07:00

He: We had to skip the beer, but at least we got to eat pizza (and salad to create the illusion that this was a healthy meal) at Home Slice Pizza (1415 S. Congress Ave, Austin, TX). The restaurant is a shack that looks like a rundown diner from the 60. If you are looking for a place to impress your guest, this is not it. But if you are looking for a place that serves a delicious pizza and offers informal but friendly and efficient service, this should be high on your list.

Perhaps the most striking thing about Home Slice Pizza is the wonderful scent of fresh pizza that permeates the restaurant. I wasn't really hungry when I walked through the door, but by the time we were seated two minutes later I was famished.

The House Salad stands out primarily by virtue of the dinner roll that comes with it. It easily ranks as one of the best I have eaten in the US. We opted for a Pepperoni and Mushroom Pizza (House Special #5). Apparently inches are bigger on South Congress Avenue. We were surprised at the size of our 14 inch pizza. Nonetheless it disappeared quickly. The crust was paper-thin and tasted just as good as the dinner rolls. The mushrooms were fresh and must have been marinated in some secret sauce to give them an interesting flavor. Combine this with high quality cheese and pepperoni and a light sprinkling with oregano and you have a winner. In my book this pizza joint trumps all of the other ones we have tried.

Dinner for two without alcohol cost $30 including the tip. It was money very well spent.

She: I LOVE Home Slice Pizza and have been back twice since the first visit. I haven't eaten NY-style pizza in a while (read: years and years), so I really can't compare HSP with the real deal, but as regular pizza stacked up against other regular pizzas, HSP is my new benchmark. The crust was amazing and the tomato sauce very flavorful. As He mentions, the pepperoni, cheese, and mushrooms were all certainly high quality, but the crust and sauce really made the pizza for me.

The salad was also very good. It's big enough to feed two if you're also ordering a reasonably sized pizza, but you may have to duke it out for the roll, which I think is made out of the same dough as the crust. When we ate the rolls, we knew we were in for a treat if the pizza was even half as good as the rolls. We were not disappointed; the pizza was absolutely outstanding.

Admittedly, the service I had on the next two visits was not as good as the first time. I think it's a symptom of sudden popularity, to which I have admittedly contributed. I hope that it's just growing pains and they'll be able to have service on par with their food soon.

If you're ever in Austin with a hankering for a pizza, Home Slice Pizza is your best bet.

Mark's

2006-09-07T06:03:00.000-07:00

The other night I went to Mark's (1658 Westheimer, Houston, TX) for a business dinner. I had not been in a while and was excited about eating there again. Unfortunately the meal was not as enjoyable as I expected.

The ambiente is the same as always and I even recognized our waiter from my last visit. The service was good and fast even as the restaurant filled up as the evening wore on. No complaints in this department.

I had the Duck Gumbo for starters, a Risotto Crusted Halibut for the main course and sampled various desserts. All of the food was good, but none if it lived up to my admittedly high expectations based on previous visits. The Duck Gumbo was surprisingly flavorless and I am not sure what made it a gumbo instead of just a regular soup. The halibut was good, but the risotto crusting really didn't add any flavoring to it. I was expecting an interesting juxtaposition of flavors, something out of the ordinary. Instead I got a very well prepared piece of fish and no surprises. The same held true for the desserts. All of them tasted great, but none of them were truely exceptional.

This meal at just about any other restaurant would have gotten a glowing review from me, but other meals at Mark's have raised my expectations so high, that the food didn't quite measure up this time.

Brenner's Steakhouse

2006-08-24T05:52:00.000-07:00

He: For the first time in a long time I got to have a nice dinner that is worth noting down here. We went to Brenner's Steakhouse (10911 Katy Fwy, Houston, TX). The restaurant is on the feeder of I-10 in a generally unappealing neighborhood. From the outside it doesn't look like much, but as soon as you walk through the door the din from the highway fades. The restaurant has an inner courtyard with a ponds and mature trees, which is a startling contrast to the dusty and noisy outside.

Our table was in the back in a very comfortable vaguely rustic room. The menu is very short, but everything on it that we tried was excellent. We started with the crab cakes that one of my friends billed as the best in Houston. I haven't done an exhaustive study, but see no reason to doubt his claim. They are more crab than cake in that they seem to consist of large pieces of crab held together by seasoning. This was followed by French Onion Soup for me, which had the thick consistency and full flavor of a soup that has been boiled for a long time. Next up was a Fillet Mignon and a number of sides for the table including 'German Potatoes' and the usual spinach and mushrooms. The fillet was cooked to perfection, but possibly a little dry. I don't think the restaurant is to blame for that: it was a very lean piece of meat. We had two bottles of wine between the seven of us. Unfortunately I don't remember what they were, but both were quite interesting. One was recommended by the in-house sommelier. When in doubt what to drink, she is a very good resource.

The closest competitor to Brenner's is probably Pappas Steakhouse. I haven't eaten there is forever and can't really draw a direct comparison, but I think I enjoyed Brenner's more because of their less claustrophobic interior design and smoother service. To compare the food I'd have to go back to Pappas again (a fate worse than death).

The bill came to $82 with tip, which I thought was quite reasonable. Brenner's is definitely on my recommended list.

"Original" Irma's

2006-06-19T13:11:00.000-07:00

She: Apparently there are two "original" Tex-Mex restaurants in town: "Original" Ninfa's and "Original" Irma's. I've now eaten at both, and I think I prefer Ninfa's. But I'll freely admit that 1) I'm not a huge fan of Tex-Mex in the first place; and 2) I'm comparing a current Irma's experience with a year-old Ninfa's experience.

Irma's (22 N Chenevert, Houston, TX) definitely has some good things going for it. For one, their special lemonade is superb--I'm not sure what's in it, but it looks like strawberries and perhaps some other fruit in addition to lemon juice, and they serve it with a few small pieces of fresh fruit floating at the top. It's tasty and refreshing and a welcome change from regular old lemonade.

For another, they have terrific guacamole. It's hearty with lots of chunks of avocado in it, plus plenty of cilantro, which I love. I only wish they'd serve it in bigger portions.

The rest of the Irma's experience, though, was fairly run-of-the-mill. I had fajitas, and nothing stood out in my mind as particularly memorable, although this is not to imply that the food was bad. On the contrary, the food was filling and good, and I can see why Irma's has the fans that it does. But I seem to recall Ninfa's having much better flour tortillas (Ilove homemade flour tortillas) and tastier fajita fillings.

Still, Irma's is definitely one of the better Tex-Mex experiences to be had in town. (I'm sorry, folks, but I'm just not a big fan of Chuy's.) It's a good place to bring out-of-town visitors who want to know what Tex-Mex is all about.

Patu

2006-06-19T12:49:00.000-07:00

She: Interested in trying something new, we decided to check out Patu (2420 Rice Blvd, Houston, TX) in the Rice Village. We ordered their special yellow curry with seafood and a rice noodle dish with beef, egg, broccoli, and cauliflower.

I definitely enjoyed the curry. They bring it out in a tureen and pour it onto a heated metal plate so that it sizzles. Although I'm sure the sizzling routine is just to put on a show, the dish didn't disappoint. The sauce was tasty and they gave you plenty of rice to go with it, which I liked. My only disappointment was that I would have liked more pieces of seafood in the curry. As it was, they gave us some shrimp, scallops, squid, and imitation crab leg, plus four mussels. The dish also had carrots, green beans, snow peas, and green pepper.

I was a little disappointed with the noodle dish, but I think that's primarily because of my aversion to fish sauce after a pad thai catastrophe in my kitchen. I could definitely taste the fish sauce in the noodles, so I wasn't too enthusiastic about it, but at least it wasn't as strong as when we ate at Satay in Austin. There were certainly other flavors in the dish as well, so I didn't mind eating it. The beef was a bit overcooked, but I liked the egg, cauliflower and broccoli mixed in.

I think Patu is worth another visit. They give you a lot of good food for what I think is a decent price, and in a head-to-head with Nit Noi, I think Patu wins.

Azuma II

2006-06-19T12:38:00.000-07:00

She: Despite my initial experience at Azuma Downtown, I recently agreed to eat at another Azuma in Houston, on Kirby (5600 Kirby, Houston, TX). For comparison, I ordered the same sushi combination as before.

The verdict? The fish at the Kirby location seemed a lot fresher and the cuts of fish were definitely less skimpy than at the Downtown outfit. I was much happier with my lunch at the Kirby joint. But, you still get so much more bang for your buck at Oishii (for a lot fewer bucks, too) that I don't need to visit Azuma again.

If you're in the neighborhood of the Kirby Azuma, drive a little farther west down 59 and hit up the Oishii. Your stomach and your wallet will be much happier.

Post Oak Grill

2006-06-15T08:00:00.000-07:00

She: I've now eaten at the Post Oak Grill 3 times in the last 13 business days, and I am thoroughly unimpressed with this overpriced restaurant.

Because I'm trying to eat a bit more healthy, I ordered three different kinds of salads through the course of my three visits: The shrimp, crab, and avocado salad; the crab cake salad; and the Santa Fe salad. I liked the crab cake salad the best, but that's not saying very much.

The shrimp, crab, and avocado salad listing on the menu is somewhat misleading. I ordered it because I expected it to be a bed of greens with some shrimp, some lump crab meat, and slices of avocado on top. In reality it was a large pile of a chicken- or tuna-salad-esque mixture of too much mayonnaise, chopped tomato, shrimp, precious little crab, and avocado on a few pieces of lettuce. Needless to say, I was disappointed. The SCA salad is probably $15 or so.

The Santa Fe salad was not much better. I asked for grilled, rather than fried chicken, which came on top of salad greens, a few paltry tomatoes, some crumbled bacon, grated Monterey Jack cheese, and too many fried tortilla strips. The salad was fine, but it was $13 or $14, and the chicken was fairly lackluster. You can get a better salad at Barnaby's for a much better price.

I liked the crab cake salad the most, but it's still fairly disappointing. It's basically 2 crab cakes served alongside a bunch of plain salad greens. I counted on the crab cakes to lend the necessary flavor, which they did to a certain extent, but the crab cakes are certainly not the best I've ever had. They had more bread crumbs and filler stuff than a good crab cake, in my opinion, should have. Benjy's in the Rice Village has a 14-vegetable salad with crab cakes that is much better.

I think the Post Oak Grill can charge a premium for its food because it's admittedly much better than most of the alternatives available in the downtown Houston tunnels, but I wouldn't eat there by choice if I had to look for lunch downtown.

Azuma

2006-06-15T07:52:00.000-07:00

She: I went to the Azuma in downtown Houston (909 Texas St., Houston) for the first time last week and was fairly disappointed. Oishii and Teppay are still the standard bearers in Houston for sushi (the former for price; the latter for quality).

I ordered one of Azuma's lunch specials, which consisted of a California roll and six pieces of sushi. The food was okay, but there was nothing wonderful about it, and the cuts of fish were awfully small, so that you felt more rice than fish in your mouth. The rice, by the way, was a bit undercooked, too, so it was somewhat harder than it really should be for sushi.

The bill for my entree added up to about $16 (partly because I substituted two pieces), but I could have gotten the same thing at Oishii for probably $10.

I also ordered the mochi for dessert, but wasn't too impressed with that, either. Someone else in the group I went with said that the mochi you can buy at Central Market ($8 for 8 pieces) is much better.

And lastly, the service was pretty bad. I went with a group of people, and it took us two hours to get in and get out. I definitely don't have to eat at Azuma again.

Nara Restaurant and Sushi Bar

2006-06-13T07:54:00.000-07:00

He: Can you say overpriced? Nara (11124 Westheimer, Houston, TX) takes this concept to new heights. We went there recently with friends who live in that neck of the woods.

Our dinner included one Miso soup, about 12 pieces of sushi, one roll, and one dessert. We drank water. The bill was $91 plus tip. Now if this had been the best sushi ever, I would not complain about the price, but the food was nothing special. The soup was good, but it is difficult to screw up Miso soup. We actually sampled half of two rolls. One was a spider roll and I have to admit that the oil they used to deep fry the crab was fresher than what we got elsewhere. I am not sure what the other roll was, but I didn't think it tasted particularly interesting. The ingredients seemed long on vegetables and short on anything that would round out the flavor.

The real let down was the sushi, though. We got the usual suspects including salmon, tuna, yellowtail, and for variety some grouper. While none of the sushi was bad, none of it was good either. The tuna and the grouper were chewy in a way that suggests that the cut came from a very large fish. We didn't order a second round, but I don't think I would have wanted seconds of either of these. The rest of the sushi was all right in terms of consistency and taste. All of the pieces were tiny except for the salmon (big surprise!). As with Shiva, the high point of the meal was the dessert of excellent Banana Tempura, which at only $4 a serving was probably the only reasonably prices part of the meal.

Nara offers quality like Oishii at prices well north of what Teppay charges. At Oishii we would have paid about $25 for the dinner that cost $100 at Nara. At Teppay we would have paid maybe $60 for vastly superior food. Nara has the dubious distinction of being one of the few restaurants I will not willingly visit again.

Shiva Indian Restaurant

2006-06-13T07:39:00.000-07:00

He: Last weekend we went to Shiva (2514 Times Blvd, Houston, TX) for some Indian food. We ordered two of their sample dishes to get an overview of their offerings. The service was a little sketchy, but ultimately we were able to place our orders. We were seated near the kitchen, which meant a lot of traffic, but also the opportunity to watch somebody make Nan. The restaurant is decorated a little like party tent with glittery pieces of fabric hanging from the ceiling.

Our samplers included a lamb curry, various pieces of Tandori chicken, the spinach dip with the name that I can never remember, yogurt with vegetables and rice pudding for dessert. For about $30 we got more food than the two of us could eat. The meats seemed to be decent quality, but I was disappointed with the preparation. The curry sauce was watery and boring. It did nothing to enhance the flavor of the lamb. The Tandoori was overcooked and dry. The yogurt dish was pretty bland too. The high point of the meal was the rice pudding, which seemed to have to most complex flavor of any of the dishes, but there was very little rice in it and it was too liquid for my taste. In my book the Istanbul Grill in the Rice Village is still the place to go for rice pudding.

In summary, we got a reasonable dinner at a reasonable price at Shiva, but it fell far short of memorable Indian food. This is a place to go to when you are hungry enough that quantity is more important than taste.

She: The thing I remember most about Shiva is that they gave us a HUGE amount of food. All of it tasted reasonably good, but nothing was particularly spectacular. We ordered two of the samplers off the back cover of the menu.

I thought that the lamb curry we had was somewhat disappointing, primarily because the lamb was a bit gristly. The Tandoori was also indeed dry, although the spinach-and-cream dish (I can't remember its name) was tasty. The things I liked the best were the Nan (because I always like Nan), which was better and lighter than the Nan we got at Sarovar, and the rice pudding. I think that Indian rice pudding is supposed to be somewhat soupy, so the liquid-ness of it didn't bother me, but if you prefer firmer rice pudding, Istanbul Grill is definitely the place to go.

If we go back, I think I'd like to try some of their actual entrees; I'd venture to guess that those are probably better than things that they have pre-prepared to go into the sampler platter.

EZ's

2006-05-18T16:12:00.000-07:00

She: For yet another "working" lunch, I went to EZ's (3918 N. Lamar Blvd, Austin). I'll admit right off the bat that I probably didn't order their best dish, which is arguably their hamburger or their pizza, but regardless, EZ's didn't impress me too much.

I ordered their "Liberty Chicken," which is basically a marinated, grilled chicken breast with rice, steamed veggies (zucchini, squash, carrots, and broccoli), and focaccia bread. The meal was satisfying and filling, but not a must-have-again dish. The best part of the meal was the focaccia.

I also had some of their french fries (off other people's plates) and those weren't too exciting, either.

If I go back to EZ's, I'll probably opt for a burger, but I won't necessarily go back on my own initiative. Barnaby's in Houston offers the same food for the same price, but at a much higher level of quality.

Nevertheless, UT students take note: showing a UT ID card gets you a discount (perhaps 15%?) off your bill.

Hyde Park Bar and Grill

2006-05-18T16:07:00.000-07:00

She: I visited the Hyde Park Bar and Grill (4206 Duval St, Austin) for a working-type lunch earlier this week. I ordered a turkey burger and an order of their reputedly spectacular french fries.

All in all, I was fairly disappointed. The french fries were nothing to write home about, and they came out lukewarm. Although some had a good potato-ey heft to them, there was nothing terribly interesting about the flavor.

And I could say the same about the burger. I realize that turkey burgers never taste as good as beef burgers, but I decided to give the turkey a try, because any restaurant that can make a good turkey burger has my approval. Unfortunately, Hyde Park was unable to rise to the challenge. There was nothing to distinguish this turkey burger from any other, and the wheat bun was pretty cardboard-y.

The bill plus tip added up to about $8.50. The money would have been better spent at Barnaby's in Houston for the same kind of food.

Fadi's Mediterranean Grill

2006-05-17T19:15:00.000-07:00

He: Last week I had dinner with another friendly Brit and his two equally friendly lady friends. One of the lady friends was Scottish, which was an impediment to conversation at times, but since we ate quickly and then watched a movie, this was not a major problem.

They picked Fadi's (8383 Westheimer, Houston, TX) to have dinner. Fadi's offers the regular array of Mediterranean foods. I had the lamb shank, fried cauliflower, and a salad with a generous helping of mushrooms. You can choose any combination of meats and sides, but the friendly staff behind the counter will prepar a plate for you. It is not a buffet like Dimassi's, but the food is ready to serve, not cooked to order.

Fadi's side dishes were fresh and tasty. The fried cauliflower was fully cooked, but still a little al dente. It was a significant improvement over the soggy version Dimassi's serves. The same was true for the salad. It was crisp and fresh and clearly hadn't been sitting under the warming lamp for half a day. Fadi's lamb was less fatty than Dimassi's, which probably makes it healthier, but also somewhat less juicy and flavorful.

All in all I thought Fadi's offers a very good (and quick) dinner in the $10 price range. I will happily eat at this restaurant again.

Sarovar Indian Cuisine

2006-05-16T20:03:00.000-07:00

He: It was time for a break from all the pizza and the Asian food. We decided to switch subcontinents and try out Sarovar (8440 Burnett Rd, Austin, TX). The restaurant was almost completely empty when we got there around 7 on Saturday. Even though an Indian person recommended it, I was a little worried. It didn't help that the service was a little scatterbrained and the waiter was slow to materialize. We pressed on regardless and ordered the Sarovar Chicken, a house specialty per the menu, and an old favorite, the Lamb Vindaloo. The restaurant offers three levels of spiciness. We opted for mild, and that is what we got. Next time I am going to vote for medium. An Indian meal is just not complete without at least a little sweat beading on one's brow.

The chicken was good albeit somewhat bland. I don't even remember what other ingredients the dish included. It was some form of vegetable and a thin red sauce. The portion was small, but sufficient for a light dinner. We ordered a la carte, but they offer the same dish as a package deal with soup, salad, and a whole bunch of other things. Presumably that would be enough to fill a person up.

The Lamb Vindaloo was probably more like Sheep Vindaloo. The sauce was pretty decent, but the meat was tough and overcooked. The best part of the dinner was dipping the excellent Nan into the Vindaloo sauce. In fact the Nan was so good that we had to get a second helping.

Thinking about Indian restaurants I realized that I really haven't had any memorable Indian food in a long time. We should explore the options in Houston. Surely a city that big can produce one or two good Indian restaurants. Next time She comes to Houston we will get to work on that.

While I was not exactly impressed with Sarovar, I would happily go back there again and give them another try. Dinner for two was less than $30 (excluding tip), we got decent but unexceptional food, and the Nan was good enough to compensate for other shortcoming. Next time I am going to order the food medium spicy while avoiding the sheep.

She: I enjoyed my dinner at Sarovar, but I generally enjoy anything that comes with rice, so I'm an easy customer. I'm also not too well-versed in Indian food, so I can't give a very qualified opinion. Although the sauces for our dishes may have been on the bland side for Indian food, that didn't bother me too much, and using piping-hot nan to mop up the sauce was delicious.

The cuts of meat were certainly better than those to be found at Bombay Bistro, although the meat could have been fresher. Sarovar also gives you a lot more rice than Bombay Bistro does. On my two-data-point survey, Sarovar is definitely the winner.

There aren't too many restaurants in Austin that I've visited that I would enthusiastically visit again after the first visit. However, Sarovar is one. I've turned into a sucker for their nan.

Mangia Chicago Stuffed Pizza

2006-05-15T12:31:00.000-07:00

She: Again hankering for a pizza in Austin, we decided to try Mangia Chicago Stuffed Pizza (3500 Guadalupe, Austin). Having tasted a "Chicago Special" on their legendary Chicago stuffed crust, I can understand the hype surrounding this particular pizza joint. It's not necessarily the best pizza I've ever had, but it was pretty good.

I didn't know what a "stuffed crust" was when we ordered, but we decided to get it because that's supposed to be Mangia's specialty. It turns out that the crust is "stuffed" in so far as the pizza is really something of a sandwich, with two layers of crust surrounding a filling of what would normally be your pizza toppings--cheese, mushrooms, green peppers, onions, and sausage in the case of the Chicago Special. The sauce is spread on top of the top layer of pizza crust. The whole thing is at least an inch and a half thick. (We asked the woman at the cashier what size pizza we should get to feed both of us, and she recommended a small (10" in diameter). When we picked the pizza I up, I was really dubious about the size--but then we hefted the box and realized that we had just gotten a dense pizza. It definitely filled both of us up.)

The pizza was certain filling, tasty knife-and-fork fare. I can't say for sure how it compares to the Flying Tomato pizza we had two weeks ago, though. First, the difference in the crusts makes Mangia's Chicago stuffed crust pizza an entirely different beast than regular pizzas. Also, Mangia had much fewer toppings (the Chicago Special falls under their "three topping" price category), so the Flying Tomato pizza had a more complex flavor through no real fault of Mangia's. The two are about the same price, so it depends on what you're in the mood for, I guess.

At any rate, I understand now why Mangia gets such hype (or should I say, hypes itself?) as "Austin's Best Pizza." It definitely serves up good pizzas worth eating more than once. Of course, they're so dense that one will do you in for a good long while, so I'm not sure how often I'll personally eat there. But I'll get around there again some day.

He: Austin seems to have several decent pizza places and between them they cover the various styles pretty well. Mangia is in charge of the Midwest with their Chicago style deep dish pizza. In the unlikely event that you haven't tried one, picture the toppings for a 14 inch pizza heaped on a 10 inch crust and you get a pretty good idea. Our pizza was about 1 1/2 inches high including a thick sedimentary layer of cheese. Besides that the toppings included green peppers, suasage, and onions.

A 10 inch pizza is quite enough to feed two. What the pizza lacks in circumference it makes up in weight. I almost dropped the box because it was much heavier than I expected. Another operational detail worth pointing out is that these pizzas need to sinter for 30 minutes, so make sure you call in ahead of time.

Finally, let's talk about the food. I enjoyed it, but felt that there was too much cheese and too much tomato sauce involved. These two ingredients seemt to overwhelm the other flavors. Mind you, it was a perfectly fine sauce, so this isn't really a problem, but I am looking for more differentiated flavors in a really excellent pizza. Flying Tomato did a better job in this department, and for my money, Collina's in Houston still shows both of them how it is done. Nonetheless, Mangia provided a good dinner at a reasonable price ($18) and I wouldn't mind eating there again.

Hank's Ice Cream

2006-05-10T07:07:00.000-07:00

She: If you're interested in some real-deal homemade ice cream, look no further. Hank's Ice Cream (9291 Main St., Houston, TX) serves up generous styrofoam cups of great, flavorful ice cream. It's a real treat.

I had the Coffee Krunch, which was coffee-flavored ice cream with toffee bits thrown in, and it was very tasty (although a bit melty). He had Banana Pudding, which I tasted, and which I'll definitely have to get the next time--it tasted like real bananas, and had lots of vanilla wafer cookies thrown in for authenticity.

Hank's has lots of delicious-sounding flavors, including a Lemon Custard that we had recommended to us, and they get served up in regular styrofoam cups (the average coffee size) for $2.50 and larger cups for $3.50, including tax. It's a substantial amount of good ice cream for the price. I'd recommend checking it out!

He: This hole-in-the-wall ice cream place is a real find. I had the banana pudding flavor, which tends to be a difficult one to get right. Most of the time it is either too sweet or it tastes like the banana flavor came out of a bottle or both, but at Hank's it tasts just right. I wonder where they get the banana pudding, because it would probably be well worth sampling in its own right. The lemmon custard is rumored to be excellent as well. It sits right on top of my to-do list. If you are like me, very enthusiastic about eating home made ice cream, but less eager to actually do the work, go check out Hank's.

Flying Tomato Pizza Kitchen

2006-05-02T20:19:00.000-07:00

He: If you are interested in a pizza, Flying Tomato Pizza Kitchen (1600 W 35th Street, Austin, TX) has what you are looking for. We had the Rustica which features all sorts of meat, a tasty tomato sauce and a crisp thin crust. Collinas in Houston has better pizzas, but this outfit is a close second. This locaton of Flying Tomato is take-out only. Make sure to call ahead so you don't have to wait. The location doesn't offer any entertainment options.

She: I haven't had too much pizza in Austin, but the FTPK makes a very decent pizza. I'm not sure how it stacks up against places like Mangia's, which I know is a popular favorite, but it's certainly better than Austin's Pizza, the standard national chains (Domino's, Papa John's, Pizza Hut), and the pizzas to be had at the Brick Oven Italian Restaurant. They have lots of different topping combinations available and they all looked tasty; the Rustica is probably their equivalent of an "everything" or "supreme" pizza, with different kinds of meat (pepperoni, sausage, etc.), mushrooms, olives, and green peppers. Very tasty. But, as He said, definitely call ahead!

Suzi's China Grill

2006-05-02T19:20:00.000-07:00

He: The many years of road construction on I-10 west of Houston unclogged that section dramatically. For once I made it to Austin in time for a real Friday night dinner despite leaving Houston around 5pm. We decided to try Suzi's China Grill (7858 Shoal Creek Blvd, Austin, TX). It is a proper sit-down restaurant, but the atmosphere is a lot like Pei Wei. They offer sushi, which we did not try, and Malaysian themed Asian foods.

We ordered the Malaysian Chicken and the Basil Shrimp. The food came fairly quickly, but that was pretty much the last time we saw our waitress. Getting a second helping of rice was nearly impossible and even waving down another waitress and asking her for rice produced no measurable results. It is worth pointing out that the chairs around the table they gave us had not been wiped down and that the people who used them before us were messy eaters.

The food was better than the service. The Malaysian Chicken tasted all right, but I found the combination of curry and coconut somewhat strange. It would probably grow on me after a little more exposure. The Shrimp dish is something I would eat again. Besides basil and shrimp it was supposed to have Shitake mushroom. Upon close inspection we discovered a few, but we decided that most of the mushrooms were Portabellas. It was tasty nonetheless.

Pei Wei has better food and is somewhat cheaper, but in a pinch Suzi's will provide a decent meal at a decent price. We paid about $30 for two without alcohol. Overall Suzi's was just good enough to warrant another visit at some point.

She: I agree more or less with what He said. The shrimp and basil dish was definitely the better dish of the night; it had good flavor and a fair amount of shrimp and mushroom (unlike some "shrimp" dishes" that only have 2 shrimps). The Malaysian Chicken was fine, as well, but made less of an impression on me; I can't even clearly remember what it tasted like now.

I'd probably go to Suzi's again, but I don't think that the increase in price compared to my old Asian food stand-by, Java Noodles, is commensurate with the increase in quality/flavor. And I'd warn you that Suzi's give you teeny tiny little servings of rice. You'll probably have to ask for another helping, too. I hope it comes faster for you than it did for us.

Triumph Cafe

2006-04-17T10:59:00.001-07:00

She: A friend of mine had recommended Triumph Cafe (3808 Spicewood Springs Rd, Austin, TX), but after having visited it, I think the main reason why she recommended it was the free wireless.

Triumph Cafe is primarily a Vietnamese restaurant (although they serve American breakfast). I ordered pho, which is usually my favorite Vietnamese thing to order, and was pretty disappointed. Sure, it tasted like pho, but it definitely wasn't the best pho I've ever had. The soup was somewhat lackluster and didn't have as much onion or parsley as I like. The only good thing about it was that they provided a decent amount of meat in the soup.

He ordered some kind of lemograss chicken vermicelli. He'll probably write about it more himself, but I had a taste and it was much like the pho: lackluster, with no real zip to the flavor.

No need to visit again unless I need the wireless.

Satay

2006-04-17T10:59:00.000-07:00

She: We visited Satay (3202 W Anderson Ln, Austin, TX) for a Friday night dinner after getting a recommendation out of an Austin guide book. We ordered chicken dumplings (but got vegetarian ones), yellow curry, and the DWI noodles.

I have mixed feelings about Satay based on our one meal. The vegetarian dumplings were pretty flavorless, although I thought the sauce that came on top of them was interesting. The DWI noodles were okay, but I avoided them after the initial helping mostly because I could taste the fish sauce that had been used on them. (After a wreck of a cooking experiment, I am really not a fan of fish sauce.) I'm sure someone else with no such an aversion to fish sauce might have found the noodles perfectly fine.

The thing I liked best was the yellow curry. There was a nice coconutty flavor to it, although the serving size was not quite as hearty as you'd find in other restaurants like Nit Noi or Thai Cottage in Houston--it was more curry sauce and less curry ingredients, like chicken and potato.

I think that I would be willing to give Satay another try, but for alternative Asian restaurants, it certainly didn't make as good a first impression on me as, say, Java Noodles did. I think the second visit would definitely clear up whether it should be a restaurant worth visiting regularly or not.

Bombay Bistro

2006-04-17T10:57:00.000-07:00

She: We ordered take-out from Bombay Bistro (10710 Research Blvd, Suite 126, Austin, TX) so long ago that I can't remember what we got! I know we had one lamb and one chicken dish, and I think one was a paneer and one was . . . something else? I can't remember! But at any rate, He and I were relatively unimpressed with the food, so the main thing worth remembering is that Bombay Bistro shouldn't be our first (or even the fifth or tenth) choice for a meal.

The sauces that came with the dishes were relatively tasty, but they were quite oily. The cuts of the meat were also dubious--somewhat gristly, fatty, or both. We were pretty hungry when we ordered from Bombay Bistro, so it was a perfectly adequate meal, but I don't think we would have found the meal as satisfying under other circumstances.

We've had better Indian food, although not necessarily in Austin. It's not necessary to visit Bombay Bistro again.

He: There is something about this shopping center that encourages less than delectable food. The Brick Oven is not up to par for Italian food (and that includes the pizza as we recently determined) and Bombay Bistro a few doors down is definitely not worth a second visit. We tried the chicken and a mystery meat that was supposed to be lamb. When I started eating I was very hungry and didn't care much about the food quality, but about half way through the meal I realized that the chicken was a much older vintage than I would prefer. The other dish was not much better. There really isn't much point in talking about the sauces or the preparation, which also left much to be desired. I doubt that there is any way to arrive at a good meal starting from ingredients that are uncomfortably close to going bad.

Paulie's

2006-04-11T20:49:00.000-07:00

Tonight I had dinner with a friendly Brit who lives next door. He suggested Paulie's (1834 Westheimer, Houston, TX) . Even though that is walking distance from here, I had never heard of the place. It turned out to be a small Italian diner complete with a noisy group of Italians and all the food one would expect. The interior is rather utilitarian with the exception of the artwork on the walls. The paintings were somewhat like fuzzy Mondrians and I found them surprisingly appealing compared to other paintings in restaurants. Service is practically nonexistent. You order your food at the counter and come back to pick it up when it is ready. Some of the tables had not been wiped down. We had to hunt of a clean one, but the place was empty enough that this wasn't a problem.

The food was plentiful and generally good. I had pasta with marinara sauce and shrimp. The pasta was a little overcooked, but the marinara was pretty good. My only real complaint is the amount of garlic in it. There were as many garlic pieces as there were mushrooms. In the interest of full disclosure I should say that I believe garlic should be used as a spice, not as an ingredient of a dish. Garlic-lovers will probably be quite happy with the sauce. The shrimp were fresh and tasted as if they had been grilled. The pasta dish compares quite favorably to anything Landry's has served me recently.

Dinner included a basket of garlic bread. Again they went overboard with the garlic, but the bread was actually very good. All in all it was a good dinner despite the excessive amount of garlic. We paid $38 for two entrees and two imported bottles of beer. The price was probably a bit steeper than the food justified, but the two beers were responsible for $7 of the tab.

I don't think I will go back, but that is mainly on account of the garlic concentrations.

T'afia

2006-03-27T19:50:00.000-08:00

He: T'afia (3701 Travis, Houston, TX) is a study in pretensions. It begins with the name, that I find difficult to remember. According to the menu it is something like a toast with several meanings in some obscure language that I can't recall. The waiter had to explain the menu. It was so hip that the food items were sorted by price rather than function. They take great pains to inform guests that everything on the menu is organic and from local Texas family farms. There is nothing wrong with this, but I find it irritating to be lectured on it at length while trying to decipher an intentionally cryptic menu.

Clearly I never fully figured the menu out. I got a soup ($6) and what I thought was a main course ($20). The beet and carrot soup was excellent. It was a pureed but not creamy and a little spicy. To my relief it showed up on a normal plate and it came with a normal spoon. The main course was also excellent, but it wasn't a main course. I ordered the halibut and that is exactly what I got: One chunk of halibut cooked to perfection and seasoned just enough to complement the taste of the fish. There was no trace of any side dishes except for the bed of grains the fish came on. I mistakenly expected to get something besides the fish to eat, but I should have known better. The menu stated with admirable clarity that this dish would consist of halibut. Nothing else was mentioned and nothing else was delivered.

As dinner turned out to be a little skinnier than I expected, I decided to get the cheesecake for dessert. The dessert menu is quite explicit in its descriptions and doesn't require the waiter to assist with interpretation. Like the rest of the food, the dessert was excellent.

This restaurant would be simply wonderful minus the weird attitude and the unnecessary complications caused by excessive hip-ness. Given its lack of user-friendliness, dining there will require some practice. That is not really a bad thing.

La Griglia

2006-03-22T21:17:00.000-08:00

He: Another dinner at a Landry's Restaurant and another pasta dish that was perfectly all right, but failed to excite me. I don't remember the name of the dish, but basically it was pasta, chicken and peas in a creamy sauce. It was reasonably well done in a bland institutionalized way. This is the kind of food one forgets as one walks out the restaurant. The tiramisu I had for dessert was equally uninspiring. I am convinced that Landry's sells the same dish at all of their restaurants and just rebrands it to match the theme of the location. Really the only part of the meal that stood out at all were the pizza bits in the bread basket. Those were quite good and an unexpected treat.

Compared to the Landry's in Kemah, the portions at La Griglia (2002 West Gray, Houston, TX) are smaller and the service was a little sketchier. Of course they were rather busy, which may account for it. Pricing is about the same. We spent $110 plus tip for dinner and dessert for three and a $35 bottle of wine. The price seems acceptable, but there are more memorable places to eat for the same amount of money.

Pappas Burger

2006-03-22T20:46:00.000-08:00

He: Usually I get dinner at Jason's Deli after my racquet ball game, but tonight there was a line out the door. We went across the street to Pappas Burgers (5815 Westheimer, Houston, TX) instead. I ordered the Ahi Tuna Sandwich. The fries that came with it were greasy, but the sandwich was a pleasant surprise. The fish was tasty, and on the rare side of medium rare. I probably should have skipped the uninteresting bun and just eaten the tuna and the tasty mild pickles it came with, but I was too hungry to pass up that much food. This was a very decent dinner and at $10 a good bargain too. It helps that the restaurant was half empty and quiet enough to carry on a conversation. The last time I ate there it was absurdly loud and chaotic, which was enough to scare me off for a few years.

Landry's Seafood House

2006-03-07T19:45:00.000-08:00

He: The only other Landry's restaurant I have eaten at is Joe's Crab Shack. The Seafood House in Kemah (#1 Kemah Boardwalk, Kemah, TX) is certainly better. I had the Grilled Seafood Pasta and a salad to start off the dinner. The salad was fresh, but the dressing probably came out of a bottle. There was nothing wrong with it, but also nothing right. More interesting dressings are readily available at any grocery store.

The pasta followed the same pattern. The shrimp and the scallops were fresh and tasty. I especially enjoyed the scallops, which were grilled to perfection. The rest of the ingredients didn't live up to the standard set by the seafood. For example, I was not too excited to find mushrooms that either came out of a can or were horribly overcooked in my pasta. In the end I just picked out all the seafood and left much of the other components behind. Next time I'll order something that contains more seafood and less other ingredients.

All in all, while the food wasn't the greatest, it provided a reasonably satisfying dinner at an acceptable price for a tourist spot (one person: $22 w/o drinks). I should mention that the service was quick and friendly. Not a given in places like Kemah.

Oishii

2006-02-28T22:18:00.000-08:00

He: Oishii (3764 Richmond, Houston, TX) is my favorite bargain sushi place in Houston. The fish is generally fresh and the service is informal but quick and friendly. (On a few occasions we got fish that was slightly past its prime, but this hasn’t happened to us lately.) We used to eat there quite frequently and went back for a visit this last Saturday. Our standard order consists of salmon, tamago, unagi, escolar, yellowtail, tuna, and a couple of rolls. $25 bought a very satisfying sushi dinner for two. This is no Teppay, but it is a great place for a hungry person to eat sushi without going broke.

Alexander the Great Greek

2006-02-26T06:21:00.000-08:00

She: We met with some people from our semi-regular dinner group to try Alexander the Great Greek (3055 Sage, Houston) last night. Although I'm not a really big fan of Greek food, AGG does a pretty good job of it. That having been said, though, it would not be my first pick for a $90 meal for two people.

Four of us in the group split a big sampler platter (perhaps He can tell you what it was called, because I had no idea.) Although I didn't try everything, most of what I did try was fairly tasty. I especially recommend the spinach-stuffed spanakopita, the keftethes (little round meatballs), and the pastichio (a sort of Greek lasagna with ground beef, macaroni, and cheese, plus an interesting hint of cinnamon). I thought that the spanakopita and keftethes in particular had the most flavor.

We added some lamb chops to the sampler platter offered on the menu, but I wasn't a huge fan of those; the one I picked was very fatty and really only afforded three bites of meat. I also wasn't thrilled with the gyro meat included with the sampler platter, but then again, I don't really like gyro meat in general.

Included with the platter was a choice of soup or salad; I picked chicken soup. It was a decent chicken soup, although not really the best version I've had. In addition to orzo and pieces of chicken, the soup had a fair amount of lemon juice in it, which made it a little sour, plus some egg to thicken it up. The lemon juice gave it an interesting taste, but it was just a little too sharp for my tastes.

The dessert, which was the most un-Greek thing we ate, was the thing I liked the most. He and I picked a mocha ice cream cake, which was quite good, if a bit too frozen. If I ever went back to AGG, it would be for the dessert. But, be forewarned: the pieces they bring out are a lot smaller than the sample pieces they use to show you the desserts!

We happened to be at the restaurant late enough to see musicians and belly dancers, which was certainly interesting. However, as usually is the case, the music was deafeningly loud, so if you want a quiet meal, show up early and try to get out of there before 8:30 or so.

After reading back over this post, I realize that most of my paragraphs are "there was something pretty good" followed by a big "but." I guess that adds up to a net zero sum. We had a nice dinner, and I would go to AGG again if I had a reason to, but I also wouldn't go out of my way to pick it if I had the choice.

He: This was probably the best Greek food I have tasted. We shared a dish called ‘King Phillip’s Royal Court Feast’ and added some lamb. The Feast consisted of a variety of warm appetizers with unpronounceable, or maybe I should say unrememberable names. There were little pastries filled with cheese and spinach, some gyro or course, meatballs, a pasta dish that looked a lot and tasted a little like lasagna, baked eggplant, and probably a number of other things I don’t remember. Each component was tasty. The oily, over seasoned aspect I usually associate with Greek food was completely absent. The lamb actually seemed a little flavorless. It could have used a dip in a marinade to provide a counterpoint to the lamb flavor.

We selected a $30 Greek wine to go with the dinner. Unfortunately I don’t remember the name, but it confirmed and expanded my prejudice against Greek wines. I used to think that all Greek wines are harsh and unpleasant to drink. This one wasn’t, but it disappointed by being the blandest and most uninteresting red wine I have had in a long time. I suggest staying away from the wine list.

Aside from the food the dining experience is, well an experience. Our waiter pretty much ordered us to have certain dishes. His selections turned out to be all right, I would prefer not to be press-ganged into eating his favorite foods. There was live music that started at a reasonable volume, but got to be unpleasantly loud as the evening progressed. Two belly dancers provided entertainment, followed by several presumably Greek men dancing while balancing a glass of wine on their heads. All of this provided an ethnic touch, but I prefer a quiet conversation over this form of entertainment.

Finally, it is worth mentioning the cost. We paid $90 for two, which included $10 for the entirely forgettable wine. At first sight this doesn’t seem unreasonable, but there are many restaurants in Houston where $100 will buy a much better dinner for two (without wine).

French Gourmet Bakery

2006-02-26T06:15:00.000-08:00

She: Yesterday we decided to check out the French Gourmet Bakery (2250 Westheimer, Houston) to see if it can hold a candle to Croissant Brioche in the Rice Village. Alas, we were disappointed yet again. Croissant Brioche continues to set the gold standard for almond and chocolate croissants.

We tried FGB's versions of the two croissants, plus an apple-and-raisin strudel. All were acceptable, but just not as good as CB's pastries. Everything was a little bit dry and the flavor was somewhat lackluster, especially in the croissants.

Of course, FGB, like the Upper Crust Bakery in Austin, adds up to half the price of pastries from CB. I'm sure there are folks who might think that the savings available from FGB are worth the decrease in quality. But, for those searching for the very best, CB still takes the cake.

He: The name of the establishment is a piece of misinformation. As we were walking in we saw a sign on the counter promising the best almond croissant this side of Paris. I beg to differ. The almond croissant was the least appealing of the pastries we tried. The filling is one big, slightly mealy glob, and the croissant itself lacks the flaky texture of French or decent near-French croissants. The same lack of texture afflicts the chocolate croissants. Croissant Brioche in the Rice Village still offers the best croissants I have found in Texas. We also tried the apple strudel, which was all right, but wholly unremarkable.

The three pastries and a cup of coffee cost $7, making this the cheapest bakery we have tried recently. Upper Curst Bakery in Austin is next in terms of price, and Croissant Brioche is the most expensive, costing about $15 for four croissants and some coffee. I think the extra dollars are well spent.

Brick Oven

2006-02-19T18:22:00.000-08:00

He: This was our second visit to Brick Oven (10710 Research, Austin, TX). The first one was a year or two ago and we came away with a rather favorable impression of the restaurant. We went back because I felt like eating some rich Italian food. Things started off on a somewhat more homely note than I had expected. As we were lead to our table, I noticed that the greeter was wearing something that looked suspiciously like carpet slippers. Of course there is nothing wrong with that, especially in a restaurant that is supposed to serve homestyle Italian food.

So, let's talk about the food. We got the Italian stromboli and the chicken cannelloni, salads and a chocolate mousse cake for desert. The plan was to share all of the food. The stromboli was quite serviceable, but left me wondering why I had been so eager to come back. It came with all the usual fillings and marinara sauce on the side. As the waitress explained to us, the difference between a stromboli and a calzone is that the stromboli has vent holes cut into it. Consequently the contents are a little dryer. Our stromboli was certainly a case in point. The contents did turn out to be a little dry and there seemed to be too much dough for the amount of sausage, peppers, and other flavorful stuff inside.

Nonetheless, I liked the stromboli better than the cannelloni, but part of the problem was that they were fairly cold by the time I tried them. The actual cannelloni was a bit mealy, almost as if it hadn't been fully cooked. The cheese almost certainly came out of a zippered bag that said 'Kraft' somewhere on it, and the tomato-based cream sauce that I remembered fondly from my first visit was surprisingly tasteless. I am sure that this dish would have been more appealing while hot, but probably not enough to live up to expectations.

The dessert was a pretty decent, but most likely mass-produced cake. It was a little too sweet and lacked the complex flavor of cakes made with high quality chocolate. However, it delivered an appropriate degree of enjoyment for the cost of $4 a slice.

Despite being disappointed with the food, I think Brick Oven is a fine place for a casual and inexpensive dinner. Our bill came to $33 including the salads and one dessert. I wouldn't call this restaurant a bargain, but the quality of the food is pretty much in line with the cost. Should I come back, I'll make sure that I am seriously hungry and order one of their good looking pizzas.

Upper Crust Bakery

2006-02-19T12:53:00.000-08:00

She: We turned to the Upper Crust Bakery (4508 Burnet Rd., Austin, TX) this morning for a late breakfast. The verdict? It's a great, affordable breakfast option for pastry-loving Austinites.

With two glass cases full of goodies to choose from, we picked the Strawberry Danish, the Cinnamon Roll, and for comparison to Houston's Croissant Brioche, an almond croissant and chocolate croissant equivalent (which go by different, fancier names at the UCB). All were very tasty, especially the Cinnamon Roll, which is apparently their most popular specialty for good reason. Not too sweet, it had a good combination of textures (a bit toasted and crunchy on the outside and chewy on the inside) with a great cinnamon taste. He and I are planning on getting a few more in the future.

The croissants were also very good pastries, although not quite as good as Croissant Brioche's. To be fair, the UCB croissants are not really so much "croissants" as they are just really tasty, non-croissant pastries. That is to say, if you order these pastries not expecting them to taste like croissants, they are delicious and a great interpretation of the traditional combinations of chocolate (or almonds), flour, sugar, eggs, etc. I especially liked how the chocolate "croissant" had cinnamon and sugar on top--an interesting twist on the standard chocolate pastry.

The Strawberry Danish was similarly good, although not as interesting as the Cinnamon Roll or croissants. I ordered it primarily because of the fresh strawberries on top. It was a nice pastry, although I'd probably rather eat it for dessert than for breakfast.

The best part? The breakfast tab came up to less than $10 for four pastries and two bottomless mugs of coffee--two thirds the price of breakfast at Croissant Brioche. UCB will definitely get more business from us in the future. On the to-try list: their sandwiches (I'm on a quest to find good chicken salad) and cakes (which can be customized for birthdays and other occasions). If those menu items are even half as good as the pastries, they should be very good indeed.

He: I don't have much to add to this. Their cinnamon roll is an interesting and tasty variation on the usual take. UCB's version is appealing in part because of what is missing: It contains no raisins and instead of the common sugar glazing it has a light sprinkling of granular sugar and cinnamon. UCB bakes the rolls in muffin tins to give the outside its crisp texture. The dough is actually a little salty, which provides a nice counterpoint to the sugar and cinnamon. I will definitely come back for more of these.

The rest of the pastries were necent, but not remarkable in any way. I expect croissants to be flakey and UCB's were not. The cinnamon on the chocolate croissant redeemed it somewhat, but it would be better if they called these things something else to manage expectations better. The Danish was all right, but again nothing special.

I didn't care of the almond croissant very much. It had the same disappointing non-flaky texture as the chocolate one. The filling consisted almost exclusively of sliced almonds. It was a case of 'too much of a good thing.' A whole mouth full of almonds is not my idea of an ideal breakfast experience.

Despite the disappointing almond croissant, there will definitely be a next time. Many of the things on the menu sounded good enough to try and we must have more cinnamon rolls. UCB is a friendly place to spend a leisurely morning. They even have decent coffee that is a little gentler than the usual Starbucks brew.

Salt Creek

2006-02-06T18:51:00.000-08:00

He: So we went skiing in Colorado last weekend. Unfortunately this is supposed to be about food, so I can't write about the delicious fluffy powder in which I took a good long tumble or the tart breeze that was chilling us on the lifts. I can, however, write about dinner at the Salt Creek (110 E Lincoln Ave, Breckenridge, CO). We selected this restaurant primarily because it didn't have a 1 to 2 hour wait on Friday night. Arguably this is not the best way to pick a restaurant, but if a person is hungry enough, priorities can shift.

The menu offered authentic Texas BBQ among many other less appealing choices. I went for it even though I had some misgivings about it. BBQ is hit and miss even here in TX. I got the three meat plate with beef brisket, sausages, and ribs. The brisket and the sausages were adequate to satisfy the bodily needs of hungry skiers, but I think anyone with a normal appetite would find them disappointing. The ribs offered a great variety of undesirable properties. To begin with, I needed a serrated knife to separate them. There wasn't very much meat on each rib. The bulk of the volume was taken up by fat, and what little meat there was turned out to be chewy and rather tasteless. Maybe after a full day of skiing I would have eaten them, but a half-day didn't provide enough motivation.

Learn from our mistake: If you want to eat in Breckenridge on a Friday night, MAKE A RESERVATION WELL IN ADVANCE!

She: Salt Creek is certainly no Salt Lick (Austinites will know what I'm talking about). I guess one can't expect much when one is promised "Texas style barbecue" in Colorado, but even with this caveat in mind, the Salt Creek did not meet expectations. Although portions were substantial, the chicken was fairly dry and the barbecue sauce nothing to write home about. In a pinch, a plate of the brisket and sausage would probably be best in terms of flavor and portion size. I wouldn't recommend trying the chicken or turkey.

Central Market

2006-01-30T18:57:00.000-08:00

He: If you are in the mood for a Central Market (3815 Westheimer, Houston, TX ) sandwich, pick a Signature or a Portabella Chicken Melt. Do not pick the Grilled Salmon. The ingredients harmonize so badly that it seems like a waste of perfectly good salmon. Both the onions and the capers are too intrusive and the mustard doesn't really help smooth out the edges. It might come out better without the capers, but I am in no rush to try it.

Sinh Sinh

2006-01-29T18:21:00.000-08:00

He: To round out a weekend of gluttony, we had dinner at Sinh Sinh (9788 Bellaire, Houston, TX) today. I am not sure exactly which flavor of Asian cuisine this was supposed to be, but it didn't really matter. Both the Seafood Claypot with XO Sauce and the Sizzling Beef were good. The seafood was fresh and the sauce was light enough not to overpower its flavors. The beef was tender and not overcooked as is frequently the case with sizzling anything plates. It also came with a sauce that complemented its flavor. Towards the end of the meal the sauce flavors had soaked into the meet to make the last few bites the best. Perhaps one of the few negatives was that the restaurant looked and sounded like a cafeteria. Still, at $30 for two including tip I consider this dinner a bargain.

Today is the Chinese New Year. We had dinner early, which turned out to be a lucky choice. The restaurant sponsored a Dragon Dance to greet the new year. Three or four dragons put on a great show accompanied by two drummers. Part of the dance was on dinner plate size platforms mounted on 6 foot stilts. The heads of the dragons had controls to flap the ears and close the eyes, which they used to good effect. It was a great show.

She: I also thought Sinh Sinh was good, although similarly I was not sure what type of Asian cuisine it was supposed to be. Both dishes were tasty and the slices of beef and seafood (like squid and scallops) were generously sized and (in my opinion) of very decent quality. I also liked the sauces which, as He says, were flavorful but not overwhelming. The rice was of fairly good quality--not the best rice, but also clearly not the cheapest that you'll get at some of the more budget Asian restaurants. I would like to go back and try more of their dishes.

My only personal caveat is that Sinh Sinh is a bit of a distance away and it's possible to get a similarly enjoyable meal closer and at a slightly less expensive price. Going out to Sinh Sinh will more likely than not be a special trip.

Breakfast Klub

2006-01-28T21:06:00.000-08:00

He: We first noticed this place because people line up outside the door waiting to get in on Saturday mornings. Today we stood in line for about 30 minutes to see what this is all about. We were rewarded with a very nice breakfast consiting of a waffle with strawberries, eggs and sausages. The sausages were a lot less greasy than normal and the coffee was pretty decent too. Amazingly the food appeared only a few minutes after we ordered. While I don't think it was worth standing in line for half an hour, I did enjoy the food. Weekdays are supposed to be less crazy and if you don't mind getting up early, the wait before 9 am is supposed to be short. I am planning to go back on a weekday and try some of their southern combinations. The waffle and wings looked good and so did the french toast. For coffee I'll stick with Cafe Artiste's Kenya blend, at least until I find something better.

She: We ended up standing in line to try out the Breakfast Klub (3711 Travis, Houston, TX) primarily because I had a hankering for waffles. Since we didn't know of any place off the top of our heads that served waffles, we looked up some places on B4-U-Eat. The reviews for BK were glowing, and the address reminded me that we'd driven past BK several times before and had seen a line of people wrapping around the building, waiting to get in. We decided to check it out.

Like He, I'm not sure that the quality of the food is worth standing in the line. One woman came out of the restaurant while we were still standing in line and said rapturously, "It's well worth the wait." I don't know if I would necessarily agree with her, but I did enjoy the breakfast very much. The waffle came out covered with strawberry slices and powdered sugar and was quite tasty (if a bit smaller than what I had been hoping for). The biscuit (which I got in lieu of meat (sausage, bacon, ham, or turkey)) was also very good, although I think the biscuits from Cafe Artiste (1601 W Main Street, Houston, TX) are still the best I've had in Houston so far.

The meal was good. Probably worth waking up a little early for to avoid standing in the line. Next on the to-try list are the French toast and pancakes.

Kraftsmen Baking

2006-01-28T20:51:00.000-08:00

She: Doesn't hold a candle to Croissant Brioche in the Rice Village. Whoever said Kraftsmen's chocolate croissants were the best in Houston and close to the French original has clearly never been to France. Or Croissant Brioche.

He: Following an anonymous lead, we tried the croissants from Kraftsmen Baking (4100 Montrose, Houston, TX). Our benchmark for croissants in Houston is Croissant Brioche (2435 Rice Blvd, Houston, TX). We tried a chocolate croissant and some kind of eastern European pastry. Neither compared favorably to the food at Croissant Brioche.