To New Orleans, From Houston: Good game.

When Spring Break rolled around this year, my grandparents surprised my husband and I by stealing our kids off to Disney World, leaving us a week to indulge in the quiet company of each other. Instead, I decided to bolt to New Orleans with three girlfriends. After all, it's not everyday that you find a classy hotel with a rooftop hot tub available just far enough away from Bourbon Street to get away from the noise and crowds, yet close enough to walk to Cafe Du Monde for beignets and café au lait at 3am and to Brother's Food Mart on the way back for a few paper boat of fried chicken and french fries. (Ridiculous, I know; and I couldn't care less!)

The two requests that we had of our hotel was that it should be located where four rather young ladies would be safe walking back from our evening adventures and that it had to have a hot tub. I went a little crazy searching for the perfect location on Trip Advisor...I looked at e.v.e.r.y listing in NOLA including the B&Bs and guest houses. I even used Google's aerial view to seek out visible pools and spas. I'm a very thorough researcher! I hovered over a promising blue square near Canal Street and zoomed in. Location was the ultimate deciding factor and the Omni Royal Crescent on Gravier Street couldn't be beat, for it held a rooftop hot tub.

Being from Houston, I had some really high expectations of New Orleans cuisine. I thought I would be stumbling over boudain and po-boys all day and night. I will cut to the chase and say that from my experience, which was only three days long and very centralized in the Quarter and nearby areas, Houston still wins. For variety, cost, and convenience, H-town has it on the lock down, IMHO. Both cities lack in the late night eats department. But we did get ahold of some very tasty grub in some unexpected places that definitely granted NOLA bonus points.

The Grocery- 2854 Saint Charles Ave, New Orleans

We decided to ride the trolley just for kicks and go take a picture of our friend's home, though she lives in California and sublets the place to someone we don't know. After that we walked over to the Lafayette Cemetery. It was beautiful and majestic in an old world kind of way that you don't see often in newer cities like Houston that do little to preserve such sites. We were already hungry but wanted to see this hallowed ground first. It was a quick visit as our stomachs soon rushed us back out the gates.

We went looking for somewhere to eat and stumbled upon a corner deli called The Grocery. There were a couple of little tables and chairs out front and it was a beautiful day so we went in to order a patio lunch. I got to talking to the owner, Marcy, a young woman in her late twenties and it took a moment to notice she was working hard to speak clearly, and when she shook my hand, it was with her left. She turned her right hand over to show me it wasn't quite ready to work the way it used to.

"I had a stroke. From alcohol. Four years ago." She spoke slow and clear to be sure that I heard her. "Tell them that." Her message was clear- she had faced death at a very young age and wants her story to be told as a warning to others.

She struggled through rehabilitation therapy and it seems that she focused so hard on her goals that they had no choice but to materialize. And her food- excellent. While I toot my horn about Houston's food scene, we are direly lacking in the sandwich department. The chicken salad po-boy I ordered was perfect- not sweet, not too creamy, dotted with pecans and the chicken was obviously made on site as it had that home-cooked texture and flavor. We tried the BLT and the BBQ po-boy too and both were awesome. They have a great selection of local beer too. The Grocery is just off the Trolley at 6th and St. Charles. It's a very happy place thanks to Marcy's spirit and the friendly staff.

Fiorella's Italian Cafe- 45 French Market Place, New Orleans

For some reason it was hard to find food in the Quarter after 9pm on a Tuesday night. I guess I had the impression that the Quarter never sleeps but what do I know? It took me 30 years to get to NOLA so I really didn't know what to expect. We walked all over looking for somewhere to eat that didn't require reservations, wasn't strictly bar food, and was within a decent price range. I refused to eat at the seedy little Chinese restaurant that we kept passing- I was in New Orleans dammit! I was going to eat good!

We had walked past a little spot called Fiorella's, an Italian cafe and bar, and decided that would be our best bet. I wasn't quite in the mood for pasta but we were all starting to picture each other on a skewer with a side of drawn butter and I'm the worst about getting snarly when I'm hungry. So we grabbed a table and looked over the menu. I checked Yelp to see what people said to try at Fiorella's and for some odd reason every review was of someone proclaiming the greatness of this Italian bar's fried chicken. I'm not kidding. Check it out yourself.

I hesitated and then ordered the fried chicken, from the Irish bartender who challenged that I couldn't finish it all. Fried chicken. Irish bartender. At an Italian bar. In Creole country. It was sounding more like Houston by the minute. No one ordered pasta- everyone got fried chicken. It was the most ridiculous thing I've ever put into my face. I had to use both hand to lift a single breast and the juicy flavor explosion nearly knocked my hungry ass out. It was amazing. Needless to say a few primary colored drinks and an hour later we were stuck with four heavy leftover pieces that I nibbled on later and brought home the next day as a souvenir for a friend. I owed him one. Sorry for the bad photo- I just took one and dug in. But you can see how one piece towers over the salt shaker, dwarfing the bowl of mashed potatoes (I don't even remember how they were, poor things.) It turns out the cooks were a bunch of college boys. They are going to make some women fat and happy someday.

Johnny's Po-Boys- 511 St. Louis Street, New Orleans

I don't think I've ever stood in a line as long as the one that snaked out and across the street from Johnny's Po-Boys on St. Louis St. I had been told I had to try it. It wasn't Johnny's fault that I wasn't as impressed as I had hoped. It took close to two hours to get the first bite in my mouth and by then snarlies were upon me. The people were nice and the food was good, but not two hour good. We had shrimp po-boys and gumbo. The shrimp was good, but a thick blanket of shredded lettuce hindered the encounter.

We walked with our food to sit by the river so I fed the grass the lettuce, doused the sandwich with our travel Cholula, and chowed down. It was good. I will say that. An hour an a half before that it would have been damn good. The gumbo was bland and had cooled down too much so that it was overly gelatinous. My Lebanese husband makes a mean, painful gumbo that I favor, with every sea creature imaginable so it's hard to contend with that. Oh well. That's what I get for falling into a tourist trap.

3am eats in NOLA

Of course we had to go to Cafe du Monde but the line during the day is laughably long. Who the hell waits that long in a line for some fried dough? When we found out it was open 24 hours a day, we planned a late night return instead.

It turned out that at 3am, there is no line, but the cafe au lait is still hot and the beignets are still made to order. And it's cash only, at that hour at least. Maybe it was because we went the Sunday after Mardi Gras, but New Orleans was sleeping and we were drinking coffee, ready for fun. A few bars were open and we made one last stop before running, yes running, back to the hotel. But just as we crossed Canal Street, a delicious aroma beckoned us into a massive all night corner store called Brother's, where we found ourselves ordering a paper basket of fried chicken and steak fries. Houston. We have a problem. Where is my 4am fried chicken option ?

Bars to check out:

The first night we skipped the whole yard-long drink from cheesy-Nola-Bar-X and headed for where the locals hang out on Frenchman's Street. It was a Sunday night so not a lot was happening though there were a few bars with food and live music. It was chill, which was what we were after.

Don't miss:

Lafitte's Blacksmith Shop- the oldest bar in New Orleans. It's dark and mellow and the clientele is a hazy flux of tourist with a few friendly locals mixed in. On occasion a tour comes through, as the bar is reputed to be haunted. Great whiskey selection- don't order a Long Island or anything colored in this refuge. Please.

Pravda Bar- Another chill bar on Decatur with a great dusky atmosphere and a cute little turtle in a pond out back that likes to terrorize the goldfish.

Fiorella's fried chicken. It's ridiculous.

Haute Grub and Hot Tubs at La Torretta Resort and Chez Roux

When Houston thinks of a November weekend getaway or a fine French meal, Conroe isn't the first place that comes to mind. Lakeside activities don't quite go hand-in-hand with 40 degree temperatures, but we also know that the weather is apt to change from hour to hour, the sun might come out, and it might very well be lakeside weather the next day if not sooner.

However there is one thing that will always be welcomed in any weather: A hot tub.

Last weekend, my friend Maria and I escaped for the night to La Torretta Lake Resort and Spa in Conroe, Texas. We dined at the resort’s own Chez Roux, a French restaurant founded by Chef Albert Roux, the man behind La Gavroche, which earned Britain’s very first Michelin rating, and three stars, at that. I was excited to try a meal fashioned by one of the world’s most renowned chefs, who happened to be in town tending the restaurant. Many people wonder why on earth he would choose Conroe as his first American venture, and the answer is as simple as it should be. His friend is the main investor of resort and that’s what friends are for, right?

I really hoped to meet Chef Roux, but even more so, I was hoping that he would serve his signature Soufflé Suissesse. And as invariably there would be plenty of wine flowing and we are responsible drinkers, we decided to stay overnight. After all, the website boasted of a hot tub and we had big plans for that hot tub as soon as dinner was a wrap.

Chez Roux’s exterior is unassuming, but inside it hosts an intimate dining room with cozy booths, linen clothed tables, and a glassed-in wine room filled floor to ceiling with bottles from around the world. A panoramic window overlooking the head chef Michael Gray’s kitchen allowed us to observe the various cooks working tenaciously at their stations on our prix-fixe dinners. Gray is the only Michelin rated chef in Texas and we were anxious to see and taste his fare. Suddenly Chef Roux walked out of the kitchen. Wearing his chef whites, he greeted each table, leaning a little on a cane for support. As he approached our table, I tried to think of something clever or adoring to say, but he spoke first.

“I suggest you try the soufflé. It’s a bowl of cholesterol.”

I laughed and joked that it would drink all of the wine, as rich foods tend to dampen the effects of alcohol. I was happy to have met him and I knew then that I would have my soufflé.

But first, champagne, a glass of Chef Roux’s own Blanc-de-Blanc, or blankity-blank bubbly as I find my inner punstress calling it, and along with it a beautiful amuse bouche of a fish terrine with a quail egg. I have to mention that the bread basket contained the freshest mini-baguette, a perfect junior version of a full sized loaf of French bread. I ate two. Or three. The soufflé was served next and to my amusement, it was ‘Texa-fied” with Texas Gold Cheddar and corn kernel cream. The original version is even simpler, and it’s basically a soufflé floating in a bowl of hot cream, topped with Gruyere before being given one final heating in the oven. I don’t count calories when I’m eating French food and you shouldn’t either.

The Coquille Saint-Jacques et Salade de Couscous followed the soufflé. The French call scallops ‘shellfish of Saint James’ because the apostle was to have rescued a knight covered in their shells. At Chez Roux, the scallops are perfectly seared and served over a ‘salad’ of diced carrots and zucchini tossed with pearl couscous with accents of chorizo. Garret, the sommelier, poured us a glass of Duet Viogner-Chardonnay from Burgundy, which was light and refreshing and cut through the saltiness of the chorizo.

Next up we were served a veal loin and my first sweetbreads, along with a glass of Belle Valle Pinot Noir, the best wine of the evening, only because it was a red, and I’m a red girl. While I don’t usually eat veal because it comes from poor baby cows, I did so to honor the chef. It was flavorful but tough for something so innocent. The sweetbreads, if you like them, were cooked to where there was a bit of resistance at first and then the follow through was as soft as the scallops. I will try anything once in the name of food and knowing that Chef Roux knows just how organ meats should be prepared to maximize their flavor and highlight their textures, I can say with near certainty that I won’t be trying them again if I can avoid it. I just don’t like sweetbreads.

As if to whisk away any unpleasant memory of the previous course, dessert arrived- five diminutive desserts to be exact. They ranged from brulee to gelato and each was as good and adorable as the last.

After our meal, we walked across the property to check into our room. The lobby of La Torreta is regal with white marble and minimalistic furnishings. The concierge wasn’t just professional, but friendly, and she found us a room with a balcony overlooking the lake and waterpark. Yes, the resort has a kid friendly waterpark complete with slides, their own pool, a lazy river, and a splash area. For us big kids, La Torretta saves the best. A huge swimming pool topped by what seemed to be a heated infinity pool and, drum roll please, a massive hot tub that we had all to ourselves until nearly 3 in the morning. We plucked whiskey from the mini-bar and sipped it while watching the fog roll in over the pool area and then back out again where the moon and stars were visible once again.

When we finally tumbled into bed, the mattress and pillows were so incredibly comfortable that I made a note to myself to find out exactly what kind they were so I could go out and buy them when it’s time for a new bed. After a long hard meal and a rigorous evening of drinking and hot-tubbing, it was the best sleep I’ve had in a long time. The great part is that it was all only an hour away and in the end it really felt like a true getaway.

600 La Torretta Boulevard
Montgomery, TX 77356-5309
(936) 448-4400

Two men and a brisket- Yelapa

I am typically reluctant to jump on the popular restaurant band wagon so it took me a while to make it to Yelapa, which is definitely 'scene' cuisine. Yet, after driving by it several times I thought, damn, something smells really good and I need it in my face stat. So I said, why not give the place a shot. Just because white people are raving about it doesn't mean I should write it off.

The restaurant was supposedly on a wait when we arrived, but there were a few tables open in the bar area as well as on the patio. We sat inside first and ordered drinks, not knowing yet of the patio seating. I decided to try the michelada, but they never compare to my own, for I am a michelitist. My husband had a really great mojito and I wished I did too. I watched a large man in a white cabana shirt with a neatly trimmed goatee, also white, shift around a floor fan a few times and smile at us as he took a stool at the bar, where a large shot of tequila and what looked like a whiskey and coke awaited him, but he didn't strike me as a whiskey man. Later on when we moved outside, he was there, shifting fans around again and walking around the perimeter of the patio spraying something that caused the diners at the table next to us to cough. He nodded appreciatively and mumbled, "This will get those mosquitoes, for sure."

I had heard that Yelapa was known for their ceviches so we ordered two. There are several different styles, plus your choice of having it prepared 'Peruvian' style, which is 'flash marinated' in lime juice for 5 minutes or fully cooked in the juice 'Texas' style (code for white people.) I ribbed my husband for ordering it well done and he said he wanted to check the quality first, which is understandable considering BP's generous dose of oily marinade it had infused into the Gulf. The first ceviche brought out was the Campechana, which is a spicy tomato based version with crab, shrimp, and avocado, and the second was the more traditional Sevichey Tejano. Both were excellent in taste, quality and presentation. We knew we were in for a treat with our entrees.

I was going to get the maiz con pollo because it had fun little things like blue polenta and huitlacoche, better known as 'corn smut', but I really wanted beef, so I opted for the smoked brisket barbacoa tacos, and at the waiter's suggestion, I switched to sopes instead of tortillas. When the dish came out, there were three wee sopes topped with refried beans, pickled red onions, 'ghost pepper mayo', fresh cilantro, chilies, and that succulent slow smoked beef that had lured me in from Richmond Avenue. I had one bite and had to put it down for a minute. When the right flavor powers combine, an incredible thing happens in your mouth. Each bite is a full on meal. The heat and the tang and the char all on an innocent little corn flour pillow stunned my taste buds but when they gained consciousness they couldn't get enough.

In the other corner, my husband had the 'Whole Enchilada' with chicken instead of beef brisket, which is ridiculous, I think, but the damn thing was in overdrive with about a pound of cheese, red mole sauce and a side of sour cream, cilantro and fresh jalapenos. My fork gained ten pounds just from touching it.

It turns out, that the man on fan and fly patrol was Chuck Bulnes, one of the owners, and his partner chef LJ Wiley was the guy running in and out of the kitchen, greeting tables and hustling plates. I understand and respect the challenge faced in balancing a menu with items ranging from familiar for the feint at heart, like tacos and enchiladas, to dishes like the cantaloupe gazpacho and a ceviche featuring violet and octopus. Always the skeptic, I was impressed by the thing that matters most in a meal, which is how good it tastes. I look forward to getting to know Yelapa better as it reminds me of some of my favorite people: Adventurous and drunk.

2303 Richmond Avenue
Houston, TX 77098
(281) 501-0391

Malaysian Persuasion- Dinner at Banana Leaf

Spoiled rotten, that’s what we are. Despite our sublingual climate, living in Houston has its perks when it comes to the culinary department. Tired of Thai? How about Vietnamese? No? Chinese, Japanese, Korean? No? Let’s do Malaysian!

The Banana Leaf is located in a strip center on Bellaire Boulevard, just east of the Beltway. On entry, the interior almost looks too nice to offer anything authentic, with wall mounted digital frames flashing pictures of various dishes and fancy wooden chopsticks, but on the other side of the kitchen’s glass window, things are looking rather serious. Flames shoot up from a hula hoop sized wok and a loud hiss fills the small restaurant that sounds ominously delicious. The menu is huge and daunting. It’s advisable to study it online and extensively research the unknown dishes before attempting to order. Or you could ask the waiters for their suggestions and entrust they won’t let you down, which rarely happens. Being that Malaysian cuisine has been influenced by so many other cultures, the flavors of India, China, Indonesia and Thailand contribute to the Malay recipes.

The appetizer was a good foreshadowing of things to come. We quickly devoured the beautiful stack of taro coated fried shrimp with a lacy thin outer crust. Our entrees followed soon after and the two stars dishes were my shrimp curry, with big fat shrimp and a sauce similar to a Thai yellow curry, but with less heat and more shrimp paste funkiness, and the littlest son’s magnum opus of a dish, the Sarang Burong, which translates to ‘Bird’s Nest’. Similar to mashed potatoes, the cook had shaped a bowl from taro and flash fried it so that it held its form. It was filled with an assortment of shrimp and vegetables like baby corn, Shitake mushrooms and cashews and we all helped him kill the four pound presentation. Our eldest ordered the flat noodles with beef and scallions, which turned out to use a surprisingly good cut of meat unlike most other places of the Leaf’s caliber. The only disappointed diner at our table was the patriarch who had ordered the barbecued flounder, which turned out to be fried, a no no for his attempt at a healthy diet. But it was a great example of fish, moist and flaky from it’s banana leaf wrap and filleted table-side which is always cool to watch. The kids wanted to keep the bones but we declined.

The next time your stubborn palate wants for something new, check out this little Malay joint on the Westside. Bring skinny friends or small children so you can help yourself to a bit of everything on the table without much resistance.

Banana Leaf
9889 Bellaire Blvd.
Houston, TX 77036
713.771.8118

www.bananaleafhouston.com

A Super Indo-Pak Attak: Sheikh Chilli's

This review epitomizes the tagline of this food blog- Why Houston is Awesome, Mouth First. Houston's awesomeness lies not in the glory of its history or architecture or progressiveness or much of anything that would get us noticed for a positive reason, but it's what the people who live here contribute that makes our city special in spite of its shortcomings.

Yes, our public transportation is a joke, our 'green' ratings are among the lowest in the country, and our solution to just about any problem is to add another lane. But you know what? We have something a lot of other places don't. Food. Glorious food. I would say that, yes, Jeffe, we do have a plethora of places and cuisines to choose from and that is what makes Houston awesome.

Let's say it's nearing midnight and you're feeling the hungerbird pecking* and you're really not in the mood for drive thru or taqueria food. You want something spicy, different, goaty perhaps, and you're willing to drive ten minutes away to get it. Here's the awesome part: There is a place that has been open until at least 2am for the last 26 years and yes, they have goat.Sheikh Chilli's, an Indian-Pakistani restaurant just north of 59 S. on Hillcroft, is tucked into a strip center along with several other interesting restaurants ranging from Salvadorian and Honduran food to a halal meat market and an intriguingly seedy looking game room.

Inside, Sheikh Chilli's is large but rather simply laid out with several booths and tables and a row of tall potted plants dividing the room. A few framed Arabic calligraphy pieces hang on the wall above the counter. There is coin operated Accurate Weight machine at the door along with a rack for Indian publications and entertainment flyers. Like most Indo-Pak restaurants I've been to, there is a television playing popular Indian music videos that are highly entertaining to say the least.

Majid is the owner and Babu is the chef. I didn't see Babu, who is from India, but Majid, who is from Pakistan, has always been there when we've gone to eat. He is soft spoken and kind with tan skin and eyes the color of a shallow lagoon. He took over when Azhar, the original owner, passed away a few years ago.

Ordering at Sheikh Chilli's can be a little confusing at first if you don't know your 'murgh' from your 'gosht' (chicken and goat) but that's what I'm here for.

At lunch time you get to choose from a meat and several sides and it's all served on an old school cafeteria tray. And by school, I mean public school, as in plastic, divided, institutional yellow trays. I love it.

There are several specials each day to choose from ranging from Saturday's fish masala to Thursday's gosht curry. (Friday night is Brain Masala...I dare you!)

This here is drinking food. Most of the curries are heavy and thick and the spice infused oils rise to the surface. The goat here is excellent, especially the tender roasted bone in cuts used in the curries; I ordered the Wednesday special, bhona gosht, a thick cumin-forward goat (gosht) curry (bhona).

The chicken tikka was spicier than most other places and offered on the bone which is a rarity. We also ordered the bengan, eggplant, which was the vegetable of the day. It's spicy and tangy, sauteed with tomatoes and garlic until it's almost a puree.

Try the sag paneer if they have it- it's super rich. There are a lot of menu items they don't have at some times but that's to be expected at any down home no-frills eatery, right?

If they're out of samosas, skip the pasties- a deceptively flaky looking savory pastry that turned out to be bland and dry.

I have to admit, I was a little afraid of Sheikh Chillies the first time I went for lunch, scared in the sense that I didn't know what I was getting my stomach into, but my fears were baseless, everything was delicious, and I polished off the whole tray plus an extra piece of naan.

The next time someone says they're in the mood for Indian, surprise them with a real taste adventure for their mouth and head for Sheikh Chillies. Then thank me in the comments for enlightening you with this old school find.

Sheikh Chilli's Restaurant

- maps.google.com
6121 Hillcroft Street, Houston - (713) 995-6768

A Suburban Saturday breakfast at Fountain View Cafe

Looking around the dining room at Fountain View Cafe, I said to my husband, "Notice anything about this place?"

"You mean how homogenized it is?"

"Yep."

Sometimes, when dining in particular regions of Houston, such as Tanglewood, one finds that the majority of the patrons, if not all, are Caucasians (like me, but I'm 1/16th Cherokee Indian so...I kid). After being married to an Arab for nearly ten years, you start noticing these things when you realize, "That's funny, my spouse is the only customer in here that would get extra scrutiny at the airport." It's true. If you've ever tried flying with an Arab partner, you'll know that you should arrive at the airport even earlier than usual because it is guaranteed there will be 'delays'.

Our food finally started coming out of the kitchen so I had a distraction from my overly observant imagination. True to the area's demands, there was none of that hippie shit turkey or veggie breakfast meat options, and since we don't eat pork, I had to do without. Disappointment turned to delight when my potato and Swiss omelet with a short stack of pancakes arrived.

My husband ordered an egg white omelet and a bowl of oatmeal, aiming for healthy options. While his omelet looked as good as mine tasted, the oatmeal was sitting under a puddle of butter. Who would order that stuff if they weren't looking for a diet friendly breakfast?

I love all cuisines, but when it comes to breakfast, nothing beats a home-style Southern spread. Eggs, hashbrowns, biscuits, pancakes- no regrets. The hashbrowns were great in that they lacked that reconstituted potato flavor you find at a lot of diner style breakfasts. The biscuits were those fluffy buttermilk kind that resemble the pull apart dinner rolls, definitely good but not as good as the pancakes. The 'short' stack was two large, thin pancakes topped with fresh blackberries. I smooshed the berries up a bit with my fork and took a bite with the pancake and proceeded to push all of the other food away and focus solely on those flapjacks. I think I might have growled a little when the kids went to take a bite. In the end, there was plenty left to take home and I just polished them off around 2am this morning after remembering I had leftovers in the fridge while writing this, and they were still pretty delicious.

The fact that they serve a great breakfast all day, every day has deterred me from trying their lunch or dinner menu. Sorry, you're on your own there. It's just not the kind of place I'd go out of my way for at dinner, though I do love how the daily specials are printed out a la 80s public school style.

If you're looking for a great Sunday breakfast spot, don't come here. The place is white ass to elbow for most of the morning and into the afternoon. We went on a Saturday and didn't have to wait in line.

So the next time you're headed to Doneraki on a Saturday like we were, not knowing that their bad ass Mexican brunch buffet is now open only on Sundays, just head over to nearby Fountain View Cafe and bulk up on some desayunos de gringos instead.

Backroad Desi- Mezban Curry and Grill

By Andrea Afra

Hiding in plain site, Mezban is located in a big shopping center in the Mahatma Gandhi District (did you know the area was recently renamed?) off of Harwin between Hillcroft and the 59 feeder road. The first time we went, there was a party going on in the parking lot complete with a DJ who would spin some records then plug the insurance company that had obviously paid the guy to come out.

Mezban started as a catering company that opened as a restaurant on the side. The main feature is its lunch and dinner buffet of a random variety of Indian and Pakistani dishes as well as a few standards, like the raita, biryani, and fresh baked naan, as well as the standard Texas coleslaw. Yes, coleslaw, and it's quite good.

Most of the dishes were on the milder side of spicy, but they didn't lack in flavor- it only meant less complaining from the kids.

While Mezban doesn't rank at the top of my Indian or Pakistani restaurants, mainly because of the lack of heat, it has a buffet which means you walk in and don't even have to sit down before you get your food. And I like that a lot.

The Buffet at Mezban, an array of meat, rice, and vegetable dishes. There is everything from kofta- meatballs in curry sauce, balti gosht- a mutton dish not unlike pot roast, Frontier chicken, saag paneer, a great cold chickpea salad, and desserts as well.



Hot Naan! Some of the best in town- even without butter, brought fresh to your table when you are seated.



There were no lentils on the buffet one day when we went and when my husband mentioned this to the owner, he quickly offered to bring him some. This is what they brought out, his very own little pan of lentils. Nice!

Cheeseburger Delivery = Greatness: Lucky Burger

It was one of those nights when cooking a meal didn't sound very appealing, so I picked up the phone and called 713.522.5650 (I have it memorized) and ordered up a few cheeseburgers, some fries and a chocolate Oreo milkshake to be delivered to my doorstep. Without warning, a few moments later the skies opened up and within minutes our street began to flood. Lucky Burger is really close to my house, and after twenty minutes the driver still hadn't arrived so I figured they had seen the water rising over the sidewalk and nixed my delivery, which would have been perfectly understandable. I even called them back to tell them that the road was flooded and to not worry about my order, but Peggy, the woman who answers the phones, said they were already on their way.

Now I was worried about the delivery person. Surely they wouldn't come down our street, but what if they did? Their car would be ruined and I didn't want my dinner to be the cause. I ran outside into the rain which was pouring down relentlessly. The water was rushing down the street, already well over the curb and shin high on the sidewalks. Sure enough, I saw a car creeping down the street. The water was too high to walk through so I ran back inside and grabbed my bike, then pedaled down the sidewalk with my feet hitting the water with each downward push. I saw the car stop across the street, just a few houses down from mine. The door opened and an older Chinese guy stepped out with a brown paper bag in his hand.

I yelled, "Hey, wait there!", and rode out into the rapids to grab the food and hand him all the money I had for a tip, a fiver, wishing I had more to give.

"Thank you. You're crazy!" I told him and he smiled and nodded, "Okay", before getting back into the car. I rode back home to enjoy a delicious burger feeling a little bit guilty and very soaked.

So what's so great about Lucky Burger, besides the fact that they deliver in monsoon-like weather conditions? Deep inside the barrel fortress at the southeastern corner of Richmond and Mandell, they are cranking out some great diner style fast food. The burgers are simple yet hearty, served made to order on a fluffy bun with terrific pickles (the 'good' kind), American cheese, and a paper sleeve brimming with hot crinkle cut fries.

If you're not feeling the burger, try the jumbo shrimp. They aren't what you'd think. Instead of just a large fried shrimp, they have taken one decent sized shrimp with the tail still on and straightened it out, then another straightened out tail-less shrimp is laid on top of it before battering it and frying it. It's like a long shrimp baton, and they are super crunchy and tasty.

A friend of mine used to get a Lucky cheeseburger with a fried egg on top, so if that's your thing just ask. If you are totally not feeling the cheeseburger thing, try the fried rice. The order is huge and done as well as any respectable Chinese restaurant.

The patty melt is served on awesome buttery toast with those super crisp pickle slices. While I have had the chili-cheese fries, I have yet to try the chili-cheeseburger which seems rather intense, but I bet it's crazy good. Imagine that with an egg on it. Kill me now.

So the next time you're feeling lazy, dial up Lucky Burger, then hum a few bars from Proud to Be an American, and remember why life is good.

Lucky Burger

www.luckyburger.com

1601 Richmond Avenue
Houston, TX 77006-5213
(713) 522-5650

Two-Timing Thai at Nidda

A brief review of my history with Nidda...a long time ago I went to my first Thai restaurant, Patu's in the Village, and loved it. Later on down the road, one of Patu's original owner's, Marty Chuenpreecha, opened Bangkok Place in the spot near Erotic Cabaret on Westheimer near Waugh. It wasn't the best place for a restaurant but he did his best. The food was amazing but for some reason the customer base wasn't strong enough to stay open. In comes an interested partner who takes over the place and reopens it as Nidda.

Our family became very close with Marty and his small staff before he moved to California to be with his wife and children who had been living there for a while though he continued to work in Houston. He was so kind and sweet and the chef he had in the kitchen came with him from Patu's, a tiny little Thai lady name Nao. So I was spoiled with their love and delicious authentic meals-- she'd even let me in the kitchen where she prepared the food in a wok large enough for her to take a bath in. So spoiled that after Marty left, I shunned Thai food for several months. When I would finally try it, I was extra critical and couldn't enjoy the meal. Where was the love?

I haven't fully gotten over my first true Thai love but under Nao's tutelage (she stayed on for a while to help the transition) the kitchen at Nidda has started to grow on me. I've been going there for a while now, but usually stuck with my usual, the gang panang with chicken, green beans and carrots. I finally took a leap of faith and ordered the Chu Chee Snapper.
One of my favorite meals with Marty was the Chu Chee Shrimp- a perfectly sweet and pungent 'curry' with lightly battered shrimp and snow peas. The snapper is still prepared the same way and I have to admit that I enjoyed every bite. But I still miss my friend Marty and hold everything Thai to the standards he taught me by.


The kids finally tried something besides Pad Thai. These are the Drunken Noodles and they were good, though I'm not a huge flat noodle fan.


This is the Basil Seafood, my husband's healthy standby.

Tom Yum Soup- It's no tom kha kai but it's tasty nonetheless

Thai Spice Express- The fairest of them all

You know you're in the vicinity of authenticity when you see something like this: a hearty meal conveniently wrapped for someone who doesn't have time to stay and eat. Think fast food. This is basically a #4 with fries, Thai-style.



Thai Spice Express is located at 8282 Bellaire near Fondren. There are eight other Thai Spice restaurants in the family, cousins if you will, like Thai Spice in the Village, which is good but a little pricey due to the location and definitely doesn't offer the pre-packaged meals pictured above., Thai Spice Asian Cuisine in the Heights and Thai Spice Buffet at Voss and Westheimer.

Thai Spice Express may sound far off for some folks in my neck of the woods (Montrose) but if you jump on 59 S. you can be ordering in 15 minutes. The "Express" factor means that the food is on the table so fast, that even in the midst of some of my grumpiest hunger bouts, I have made the drive there for dinner knowing I would be feeding the monster sooner than I would be at a restaurant in my area.

We go here quite often and about 93% of the time I order the Tom Kha Kai- the spicy lime and coconut milk chicken soup elixir, which comes in a big bowl and every bite is the perfect love child of all of the best taste sensations. If a place gets this right then you can bet on most of their dishes being A OK.

On our last visit, for the sake of this blog, I would forgo the soup and order something different. Yum Nur is a salad of charbroiled sliced beef, cucumbers, tomatoes, carrots, mint and cilantro tossed in a spicy fish sauce and lime based dressing. It's a simple dish with complex flavors and being that it's a salad, it's pretty healthy, but the tender meat makes it filling and worth ordering for dinner. I was surprised and pleased that Express' version included the mint. It really makes the dish and I've seen other places omit it, not doubt due to not selling it and having it go to waste.

My husband always has to order something 'special' like this dish of mixed 'whatever you've got' greens, and squid. They usually have all kinds of greens but the selection was limited this time to mostly vegetables. Boring.

There will be more on Thai Spice in the upcoming posts so stay tuned, or better yet, just go there.

Menu- See for yourself.
http://www.thaispice.com/expressmenu.htm

Thai Spice Express 8282 Bellaire Boulevard, Houston (713) 777-4888

http://teethpicks.blogspot.com

No Domo Arigato, Kata Robata

Okay, horrible play on the name aside, Kata Robata is missing something elemental to a good meal, but what could it be?
Color changing bar lights: Check.
Interesting menus with obscure and intriguing dishes: Check.
Chef Manabu "Hori" Horiuchi of Kubo's at the helm: Check.
Informative servers to guide you through the obscure dishes...meh.

I am not one to complain about service as long as I get my food in a timely manner, but I expected our server to at least be able to fake their knowledge of the food they were serving. After all, Chef Hori wouldn't allow his cuisine to be presented by someone who didn't know what it was, right?

Me: How is the lobster bisque?
Server: Um. A little boy ordered it earlier and sent it back half full so...I don't know I haven't tried it yet.

Okay, an honest answer but being that I am a 20-something woman, I didn't see how a child's impression on the bisque would be helpful to me, so I tried it. However, he must have had good taste because it tasted like something from a can with too much Maggi and MSG and the few pieces of lobster lurking at the bottom of the bowl were a letdown.
Now, don't come at me with the whole "Why would you order bisque from a Japanese restaurant?" It was chosen to be put on the menu, so it should have been decent, right?
Plus I needed something rich in my stomach if I was going to be drinking later and it seemed to be the fattiest thing on the menu.

We ordered the miso-marinated black cod collar which was crisp on the outside and incredibly moist inside, but its only accompaniment was a mysterious little red berry, and for $12, I at least wanted to know what the damned fruit was. Yet upon asking the server who delivered the dish what the fruit was he shook his head and smiled apologetically that he didn't know. 'Okay, at least go ask, find out, aren't you curious?' I wanted to say. Nah. I'd just Google it later...

I stopped asking questions and tried to enjoy the rest of the meal which consisted of a tuna carpaccio drowned in a yuzu infused olive oil and a really crazy roll filled with Japanese 'ice fish'- little whole fish resembling translucent bean sprouts with tiny little black eyes. Salty, crunchy, fishy. All of the dishes were interesting, yet I just don't have the urge to return unless we were to sit at the sushi bar and have our inquisitive needs fulfilled. And after some research I found out that the little fruit is called "yamamomo."

Bismillah

We recently visited Bismillah for the first time and while we were glad to have tried it, we weren't too impressed. The chicken tawa (not pictured) my husband ordered was supposed to be enough for two, but upon first glance of the drumsticks in oily sauce I wound up ordering the goat biryani (not pictured) to supplement the dish. We also tried a couple of lukewarm samosas which were mediocre, and the aloo palak,(pic 2) potatoes and spinach, which was spicy and earthy and good, but again, not wow good. My biryani was about 10 parts rice to 1 part goat but it was tasty, though minimalistic in appearance. I still can't believe I like goat.

The kids split the beef paratha kebab roll (pic 1), a minced version of kabab pressed into flat bread and rolled up. It was tasty but the bread itself must have been better earlier in its life. I let them order a Pakola, (pic 3) which is a Desi cream soda with rose water and I promise that you will never drink anything greener than this in your life. I had it out of the can before but when we poured it into a cup I saw just how green it really was. Feeling bad about letting my kids drink such artificialness, I had most of it. It's really good!
While our food was somewhat below par with other area Pakistani restaurants, Bismillah is very mom & pop and tends to cook to the demands of the customers and when food runs out, it runs out.

Bismillah Restaurant 5702 Hillcroft

Greek Out- Niko Niko's

By Andrea Afra


If you are from Houston, then you have heard of Niko Niko’s. You’ve probably been there a few times and you could be one of hundreds of regular customers that flock to this fixture of a Greek restaurant. As of May 1st, Niko Niko’s will be celebrating its 29th birthday.
There is a key reason for its lasting so long- the food is consistently good. People know that there may be new restaurants popping up every day and it’s always fun to try new things. Yet it’s nice to know that, without fail, Niko Niko’s will always be there to provide a quick, healthy meal. Then again, there are plenty of ways a meal can start out healthy and end up guilt-inducing.
After twenty something years of building notoriety one problem became more than evident. If the restaurant was to remain a success, they had to do expand. Opting for renovating the building instead of opening another location, blueprints were drawn up to build out and still keep the place open for business. Loyal customers ignored the construction and cheered the company on as they added more tables, enclosed the old patio and gave the place a much needed makeover.  What once was a very ‘mom and pop’ style building was revamped into a well polished diner. You still order your food from the cashier and receive it on paper plates with plasticware. The same faces greet you each time you come back because the staff is happy and well taken care of. It’s just a little nicer now.
                I remember my first time at Niko Niko’s, over ten years ago. I was a vegetarian and ordered a hummus plate but what I remember was my first impression of the bread. I had never had pita bread before. The pita wedges served with the dip were lightly toasted and chewy. It’s good to know that some things will never change. Their bread is still divine, one of life’s little pleasures. I will fight dirty for the last slice so I’ve learned to save face and order an extra side.
It would take all day for me to tell you about all of the different foods I’ve had here but needless to say there hasn’t been one dish that I didn’t like. The salads are good but the dressing makes them great. The beef souvlaki is tender and perfectly marinated. The lemon-infused baked potatoes are heart-achingly good while the hand cut fries will forever be my weakness.
For those of you who either haven’t discovered Niko Niko’s or have gotten stuck on one favorite dish, you’ll find a lot of great food on the menu if you’ll just give it a try. They even have a new fried calamari recipe that will really impress you. In no particular order here are a few of my top picks:

Kreato Soupa- a hearty comfort food, several notches above an everyday vegetable beef stew

Greek Salad- a large slab of Feta cheese and the killer Greek dressing make for a stinky yet excellent starter

Hummus- Blended with fresh parsley for color and a hint of flavor, an extra kick of lemon really ‘Greekifies’ this version of hummus

Souvlaki Sandwich- lovely chunks of juicy beef with tomatoes, onions and tzatziki, a cucumber-yogurt sauce
Fried Fish Kid’s Meal- Awesomely battered white fish filets atop a pile of home fries, big enough for you take a few bites from your kiddo.

Souzoukakia- Big Greek meatballs in tomato sauce and Feta cheese make this home-style dish a garlicky favorite of mine.

Galaktoboureko- For dessert you can try to conquer a huge brick of custard and flaky fillo dough topped with cinnamon and a honey sauce. Oh my lands, this is the man of my dreams in dessert form. Big, sweet and rich!

Greek coffee- Anywhere, anytime, this mainstay is a dark little devil that will give you a great pick me up, especially after trying to tackle such a mighty meal.
                Niko Niko’s has stamina, a steely yet flexible backbone that is the product of the matriarch that established the place firmly in its foundation. Dimitri, son of the original owners, Chrisanthio and Eleni Fetokakis, has the business firmly by the reins but his mother still has him by his. She comes in regularly to cook and greet the customers. I’ve lost track of how many times I’ve seen her, silver bowl in hand, drizzling honey syrup over her famous sticky sweet Loukoumades, or Greek Honey Balls.
                The history of Niko Niko’s runs deep. It started as a walk-up gyro stand built on the grounds of an old gas station. After immigrating toCanada, Eleni began singing in Greek nightclubs around the States. You can easily still see the young Grecian beauty from the black and white photos in the eyes and smile of Eleni today. Her second marriage to a restaurateur in the US sealed her fate behind the stove when she and her husband opened the little Greek food hut. She was literally born into the restaurant business when her mother went into labor at her father’s restaurant in Greece. As she grew up she learned most of the recipes found on the menu at Niko Niko’s. Eventually her son Dimitri bought the restaurant and after a few years renovated it to hold more hungry people, where they ate happily ever after.
                Happy birthday Niko Niko’s. You’ve come a long way.

520 Montrose Blvd, Houston, 77006 - (713) 528-1308