tatiana

This should be a foolish question, but I'm almost stumped. Where can I buy in the Houston area "caperi sotto sale" or salted capers by weight not by jar? I've tried: Nundini's, Phoenicia, and Spec's and they don't have them at all (jar or weight). Central Market sells 200 gram amounts for $10 a jar, a far cry in price from what is available on-line including shipping. Anyone out there have an alternative, preferably selling by weight?

at the rice university farmer's market yesterday (tuesday) they had both hydroponic and on the vine tomatoes. last saturday at 3000 richmond i got heirlooms (one dingy box by 9.30am, for the entire market <sigh>, but at least they were there). these tomatoes have all been very good.

soft opening at beaver's sat. night. sign up for mailing list and get invite.

OOOOOH i forgot Burns BBQ. It's a little off the beaten track, but it is AWESOME! I got burned once at Thelmas and haven't been back. I should probably drop by that place again... ←

A new shrimp purveyor is at the Bayou city farmer's market on Saturdays in Houston. She sells frozen gulf shrimp in various sizes by the 2lb - 5lb frozen chunk (if you want heads on, you have to order in advance). I was surprised at the incredibly strong iodine taste of these red/brown shrimp, a taste I admit, I don't like and find overpowering. I googled shrimp and discovered a description of gulf shrimp as being: white, pink, or brown, with quality decreasing in that order. (http://splendidtable.publicradio.org/souptonuts/fish_shrimp.html) Where can you get white gulf shrimp locally in Houston? Is it really true that brown shrimp are inferior? Are they difficult to distinguish from pink shrimp as wiki claims? If you brine the shrimp does the iodine taste go away? A recent post on Houston Press describes brown shrimp as an acquired taste. I would like to buy locally but I'm not sure I want to splurge on iodine shrimp! http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/2007/..._a_perverse.php

Check out the newly opened wine bar - Sovino across from Dolce Vita on Westheimer Extensive wine list (you can also buy bottles at a discount), excellent food, upscale ambiance, good service. I had a fresh arugula and baby lettuce salad with tangy goat cheese, pistachios, and a bright vinaigrette. Excellent. The duck cognac pate was tasty, two spicy mustards , and crunchy cornichons. The beef tenderloin was TENDER, easily cut with a knife (almost no pressure applied), a high quality piece of meat. However, the bread is not great - stale french baguette. Maybe they'll improve on it. Second beware, potentially long food waits as Sovino is working out the kinks in their first month. The steak entree took more than an hour to exit the kitchen. But in the meantime we were treated to a glass of wine to compensate and multiple apologies. Ambience is glitzy wine bar: antique persian rugs on the walls, boughs of flowers, wood bar, and a private dining area. Wine is served in Riedel stemware. Unfortunately, with no sound paneling I'm not sure what the noise level will be when packed, but I'm going to go back and find out.

So I finally got my knives sharpened at the Bayou Farmers Market (2dull4you) with both excellent and poor results. Sharpening a cleaver, two 8-inch, and one 10-inch chef's knives cost $25, which in my experience is excellent value given how quickly they were sharpened. The knives were sharpened enough to cut paper smoothly, and cut very small shreds of paper. However, my once serrated knife is no longer serrated. It is sharp though (but not as much as the other knives). I should have known better.

i went last week again too. the truffle/pear pizza was fantastic. i tried the arancini (pretty good), and the pumpkin goat cheese suppli' had cinnamon in them which, although very lightly fried and thus good, reminded me of dessert. the baby octopus was tender although half of them were charred, not such a pleasant eating experience. the mojito push cocktail was excellent: Fresh mint leaves, Passion fruit puree, Bacardi big apple, Pyrat XO rum, Prosecco.

Dolce Vita's Mojito Push Davenport Lounge - Monday bartender makes a good side car The Volcano's Greyhound is made with fresh grapefruit juice The Alden's bar A+ - excellent cocktails but with a $12 pricetag FYI

I recently tried the green apple, cherry, and mandarin sorbets at 17 in the Alden Hotel (downtown). Completely evocative of the fruit. The green apple sorbet reminded me of the same at berthillon in paris (for those who have been). fantastic. in contrast, i was extremely disappointed with trentino gelati being incredibly sweet for my palate.

knives are sharpened at the market on most saturdays (but not this saturday the 22nd) with a minimum charge of $4.20 per knife, .75 c per blade inch. for further pricing see: http://www.2dull4you.com/10.html i'm going to try it out next week for my knives. The market sends out a newsletter each week with a list of vendors and when they'll be there--here's a link http://www.urbanharvest.org/programs/market/enewsletter.html I don't know what he charges for sharpening, sorry. Susan ←

I've read that Nippan Daido has sashimi quality fish for sale, but I personally haven't been there. Please report back if you go. 11146 Westheimer Rd Houston, TX 77042 (713) 785-0815

when is the knife sharpening guy there (wednesday AND saturdays?) and how much per knife? thanks, tatiana

i just went to the t'afia happy hour. i tried a fortified wine and israeli melon cocktail which i thought was tremendously refreshing in the evening humidity. the outdoor patio is pleasant. but just like the up and down food in the restaurant, the bar appetizers were abysmal. they are free, so i guess you get what you pay for, but it's a little embarrassing i think. tempura sashimi: soggy in a puddle of soy sauce, and you can't taste any of the fish mini burgers: dry. tuna mac & cheese: this wasn't too bad, for bowties in a cream sauce with undetectable tuna. but not a good example of mac n cheese. pulled pork app: this one was tasty, like a pork chili maybe. enh, i just don't get the food here. I was really underwhelmed by T'afia the one time I went for dinner. I do, however really like their happy hour. If you buy one drink, you get all the free appetizers you want. There's a large selection of them and they're nice and creative and quite tasty. ←

I also tried the tasting menu at T'afia on a Saturday night and found it to be abysmal (undersalted, sweet, no cohesion between the "peanut butter & pita" amuse bouche, soup, and chicken pot pie). the texan wine sampling was fun, and good however, i'll try going during the week. --- Just to note. Robert Gadsby left Noe, as did the chef de cuisine so the restaurant may be in a large flux. I'm not sure exactly who's in the kitchen right now or what the state of the restaurant is. I read in the chronicle that they're launching a nationwide search for a new concept chef. (Chef Gadsby left his position as exec at his LA position too, I believe) I was really underwhelmed by T'afia the one time I went for dinner. I do, however really like their happy hour. If you buy one drink, you get all the free appetizers you want. There's a large selection of them and they're nice and creative and quite tasty. ←