Lone Star

I recently tried Zapp's new flavor - cracked black pepper and sea salt. My husband and I ate the entire bag. Delicious!

Fresh lemon juice finely diced onion tomatoes salt Cayenne to taste Garlic powder to taste (fresh is a little overpowering) small spoon of Hellmans mashed avocados It tastes better if left to sit and mingle for a while. Best restaurant guacamole: Cafe Adobe in Houston. Little Pappasitos makes it tableside, but it does not taste as good as Cafe Adobe.

oops

Are they worn to show a difference in region or of training? Or is it a matter of personal preference. Back in the day when we still wore caps, the nursing cap showed what school you went to. Each school had its own cap.

I did, and our server Chris told us that the supplier of the old style of fries (which were the best in town imo) had stopped producing them. pkenna - you are right, they are like shoestring potatoes and very greasy. Everything else is great at the Fairview location. I have never had anything there I did not like, except the Chinese chicken salad. It was a little too "peanutty" for me. I'll bet you can't get a better salad anywhere. I really mean that. The cobb and the chopped chef salad are my favorites. I also like the Mediterranean chicken salad, but I ask to have the cilantro left off. I have to give Niko Nikkos the best fry vote now!

Bilrus, that looks so good! I have printed the recipe and will by trying it soon. Cute suzy - did your daughter like them?

Houston: Niko Nikkos - greek salad, lemon-chicken soup/ Avgolemono (have to have it at least once a week!) 11th St. Cafe - salad, meatloaf, peas, scalloped potatoes 11th St. Cafe - cup of corn chowder & grilled turkey and swiss

I have heard that the other locations are not as good as the original. I have never been to any other than the Fairview. I know at the Fairview location they always cook the burgers medium, unless you tell them otherwise. My major disappointment has been with the fries latelty. They have changed them.

Emeril made nachos with Duck Confit on his program last night. Really.

Darn it, now I am hungry for Chinese.

1.) steamed rice 2.) rice on plate and topped with entree. (leftovers cold and straight out of the carton for breakfast ) 3.) fork and spoon 4.) Eat everything (watch out for the little peppers though) 5.) No - but I do understand that Chinese take out is to actual Chinese food as Tex-Mex is to Mexican cuisine. 6.) Same thing most of the time. We are a family of five and usually do the Chinese take-out about once a month. We usually order: Hunan Beef Pork Egg Foo Yung with oyster sauce Kung Pao Chicken Pork Fried Rice Egg Rolls 7.) Our usual take out is "Wok Delite" - it has a drive through but the old lady that works at the window always looks like she wants to kill you so it is kind of scary. We order from Imperial Palace once in a great while as they deliver, but we don't like the food as much. edited to add that I am in the Houston area.

The Ninfa's on Navigation is alive and well, though I have not been there in some time. I don't know about the other locations as the Spanish Village is my choice for Tex-Mex. "Watter" burger is also the same and the burgers unchanged. The only fast-food burger I will consider. I had one last week at a softball tournament. The burgers taste as close as you can get these days to an old-fashioned "drive-in" burger. I do have to say that my favorite of all Texas "fast-food" is still the Dairy Queen. Love those tacos. Being a native, I also love sweeping generalizations and inanity. Fifi, if we did not all weigh 600lbs. and were perhaps a little smarter we might be able to get out of our hummers and Suburbans.

I went to one of the parties years ago and bought the large "Batter bowl" which is made of a heavy glass, holds 2 quarts measurments in cups or oz. and has its own tight-fitting lid. I love it and use it frequently. I would rather get invited to one of those parties than the horrible jewelry ones my SIL gives. The horrible games, fashion tips etc... too much to bear.

Javelina. Ever again. Just typing the word brings back the most vile taste you can imagine. No brains, guts or gizzards. Or bugs, execpt for the occasional incidental.

Not fancy, but fine: London broil, fried cabbage, scalloped potatoes.

I second the strawberry shortcake and would also like to suggest homemade peach ice cream. edited to ask: How did you make your potato salad?

We just got back from lunch at Vincent Mandola’s brand new PRONTO CUCININO on Montrose, and I have to say I was very pleased. Vincent ( or Bubba) grew up with my boss’ husband and he came over to us to speak with her. He said he had been inspired by the “good food fast” concepts of Café Express and Pei Wei to provide the same type of place for his Italian food. The restaurant itself is lovely, done in rustic colors with wooden tables and chairs, lots of pottery platters on the wall and a chicken/rooster motif. The first thing that catches your eye is the wood burning oven over which the house specialty, wood roasted lemon chicken spins. The smell is amazing! You step up to one of two cashiers and place your order. It is a little confusing at first, but you get your bearings quickly. You can get a menu from the hostess by the door and peruse it out of the way if you wish before ordering. The appetizers are: Fritto Misto, Fried Mozzarella, Zuppa di Pollo, or Pizza squares - Margherita, roasted chicken, Americano or Primavera. (2.75 a sqaure). None of the appetizers are over $5.00. For Insalata: A chopped salad of mixed greens, marinated artichoke, pear, roasted peppers, garbanzo beans, gorgonzola, candied walnuts with basil balsamic vinaigrette. Tricolore, Cesare, Caprese, and Insalata Pollo are also offered. All are $7.00 or under. The entrees range from Chicken Parmigiano to Speidini and you chose one side with your entree from: roasted garlic mashed potatoes (which must be good - I heard several people commenting on them), green beans with Parmigiana and bread crumbs, sauteed spinach, Fettuccine Alfredo or penne pasta with Pomodoro sauce. The only entree over $10.00 was the Bistecca Pizzailoa for $11.95. After you place your order and pay, you are given a number and cups for your drinks. You self-serve your own drink and place your number on a table. You gather your own roll of silverware and napkins and sit down. The tables have a red and yellow chicken on a stand where you place your number and there is fresh salt and pepper grinders as well as a parmesan shaker. Our salad had no sooner arrived than our entrees were presented, so the service is very fast. We split the Caprese insalata which was very good. They make their mozzarella fresh everyday and the tomatoes were wonderfully ripe. The plate was beautiful in arrangement with the beautiful red and white with shreds of basil. For entree, we had the Chicken Vincent - sauteed chicken breast coated in parmigiana cheese and topped with artichoke hearts and lemon butter. The chicken was very thin, yet very moist with a delicate crunch and a wonderful parmy flavor. We had sides of the fettucine and green beans which were very good. The green beans were not too crisp, nor overdone. Each dish is served with a square of Ciabatta bread. The wait staff was very attentive and friendly and looked sharp in royal blue button-down shirts and khaki slacks. We were in and out, having had a delicious lunch in half an hour. It was only my first visit, and I did not really check out all of the dessert and wine options, but we were very impressed and pleased that such a great lunch option was now available to us. Great concept and good food at very reasonable prices. If Vincent’s other establishments are any indication of how PRONTO CUCINIO will do, I am sure it will be a success. sidebar - After reading so many of the beautifully worded and written posts on the forums, I feel my writing abilities are sorely lacking and are pallid in comparison. My work involves lots of medical and legal documents, and my writing seems to come across as stilted to me, just like the dry as dust documents I interpret. Please accept my apologies

Feral hogs (wild domesticated hogs/boar) are everywhere on our place down in South Texas and are considered a pest. My husband's uncle told him last week that he has been trapping them and sending them off somewhere to where they are sold in Europe. Sorry I am fuzzy on the details, but perhaps someone else has heard of this? We don't hunt them intentionally, but will shoot them incidentally if we come upon them during other hunting. Usually one or two a year. The meat is usually smoked with mesquite, but I would love to hear more about these Italian methods of cooking it. We had to anchor two deer feeders as the hogs were continually turning them over and disrupting the timing devices. They run in packs called "sounders" which usually consist of a couple of sows and their young. Mature boars are usually solitary, only joining a herd to breed. If you are ever down Texas way, please feel free to come on down and shoot your own!

Marlene, that is one of my favorite meals too! I do mine a little differently though - I layer the sauerkraut with very thinly sliced potatoes and carrots, brown pork ribs or chops and place them on top of the sauerkraut and then bake. Wonderful with the juices of the meat roasting into the vegetables.

There is a little town - Ellinger on Hwy. 71, and we have stopped at Kruska's Grocery Store for years for their Kolaches. They have the usual sweet kolaches as well as many savories. The one I liked the best was the pan sausage with cabbage. They carry several types of local sausages in their meat case, and even had some"dried" sausages. Last time I was in there a line of deer hunters were at the meat case buying wrapped slices of longhorn cheese, pickles, boiled eggs and sausages. They also had wonderful sandwiches made on thick slices of their homemade bread. Once I stopped there to buy some bread, and one of the ladies told me there was no bread as the bakers were "all in da hay", harvesting I suppose. If you are ever in the Fayettville, La Grange area, be sure to stop there. The little bakery in Llano is also good. They make a very dense fruit bar and wonderful lemon squares. It was one of my routine stops between Houston and San Angelo. In Houston, I cannot resist the Linzers at Paulie's on Westheimer. The Flying Saucer Pie Shop makes "out of this world pies". I especially like the peach cream. www.flyingsaucerpieshop.com

I was recently at a party and they served some sausage with artichoke and mozzarella. It was delicious.

How about "cocktail wieners" - made by simmering l'il Smokies in a jar of Welch's grape jelly and a jar of Heinz chili sauce. Serve with toothpicks.

Bennigan's (the chain) still serves one, a very good one in that. Although, it is the heaviest most dense sandwhich I think I have ever encountered.... I mean, a deep fried ham sandwich with sugar and jam, wow... ← My son waits tables part-time at Bennigans while going to school. He told me he has never seen anyone finish one of them.

Neilsen's Potato salad! I haven't had it in several years, but oh my! When I worked for a firm in the Galleria area, whenever we would have to have a working lunch, Neilsen's was called. They would send platters of an array of sanwiches which were all delicious, but the best part was the potato salad. It would arrive in medium sized paper souffle cups. A lot of arguing and bickering went on over any that was left for a 3:00 snack. I heard a rumor that it was going to close soon. Anyone hear that? I am going to have to get over there soon. I miss those lunches. I think using the Yukon Gold potatoes might have been the ingredient that made your salad unlike Neilsens. Looks delicious though. Neilsons used lots of eggs in their salad. Their potato salad is so unlike any Texas style or Southern style salad I have ever tasted.

I love roasted Brussel sprouts!