Kerr.
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Posts posted by Kerr.
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After a recent visit to Suya Hut where I tried the Pepper Fish soup I wanted to try making it at home so I started looking into African grocery stores and came across this list.
I noted they seem to be clustered in the southwestern corner of town where I live and that a couple were real close to me so I checked one of them out. Makola Imports on S. Gessner at the Westbrae Parkway is a Ghanian place, clean, well lit, though not friendly. There were many basics including fufu, ground nut and egusi powders, dried herbs, ground nut paste (peanut butter), rice, frozen vegetables including okra, beans, including some black-eyed peas that were smaller than what you typically find, frozen smoked fish, cooking oils, loaves of various kinds of breads, beverages including Guiness and Heineken and palm wines, and some English and Goya brand products.
I got some Pepper soup spices and powdered egusi (melon similar to pumpkin I understand) to try some soups; also some red wesa - African red peppers smaller than pequins, smaller even than peppercorns - and a little bag of felsimo chin-chin, a fried snack of flour, butter, water, sugar, salt, nutmeg, yeast, vegetable oil, baking powder and egg that is meant to be consumed like salted nuts I gather.
CKC on the list is just a couple of blocks away so I plan to visit that. I've also been to Maru Grocery on Bissonnet that is not listed here; it is Ethiopian.
The only one on the list with a website seems to be Akunna over on Telephone which I haven't been to.
that stretch of Bissonnet between 59 & Beltway 8 seems to have many of the West African restaurants & many grocers. Just look in that area & you'll find a lot.
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I would really miss this establishment if Hurricane Ike flattens the structure. 24 hours out, it appears to be in the danger zome.
....along with Stingaree in Bolivar....
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comments on the above....
Mexico Deli on Dairy Ashford > Tortas El Angel. Mexico Deli has creative options for tortas & home-made aguas every day. Good joint.
BB's on Montrose > Jazzie's. I've had bad food at Jazzie's & won't go back, though it's been about a year since I last went (maybe improved?). BB's has very good roast beef po-boys.
Vieng Thai > Thai Lanna. I continue to be impressed with Vieng Thai after many, many visits. Always enjoy their salad options.
Carnitas at Teotihuacan (the Irvington location!) are always good - never had them at Los Cucos.
Kerr,
I ordered the Sambroso (?) plate, because of this Alison review
http://www.chron.com/disp/story.mpl/dining/cook/5556306.html
All I got were 2 lousy chunks of dry pork, not what I would consider carnitas to be.
I haven't been to Vieng Thai yet, but in all fairness you should at least try Thai Lanna, and I will try Vieng!
Yeah, Dairy Ashford is out of my comfort zone. I need to go with someone who is more familiar with that area. But now BB's is much closer, not as close as jazzie's. I'll have to try both.
I have tried Thai Lanna a couple of times - it is good, but just not as good as Vieng Thai (at least that's my opinion).
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comments on the above....
Mexico Deli on Dairy Ashford > Tortas El Angel. Mexico Deli has creative options for tortas & home-made aguas every day. Good joint.
BB's on Montrose > Jazzie's. I've had bad food at Jazzie's & won't go back, though it's been about a year since I last went (maybe improved?). BB's has very good roast beef po-boys.
Vieng Thai > Thai Lanna. I continue to be impressed with Vieng Thai after many, many visits. Always enjoy their salad options.
Carnitas at Teotihuacan (the Irvington location!) are always good - never had them at Los Cucos.
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Bobby & Kevin are incredible bartenders. Supposedly, they've attracted a venture capitalist who is funding a new bar for them to be located on lower Westheimer.
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bruce - try Houston's BBQ on Eldridge. It's been decent when I've been and they don't have the icky sticky sweet sauce (thank goodness).
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I've been to both places & sad to say that I was disappointed in both. I tried Asia Mkt 3-4 times, hoping like heck it would be good, but I was disappointed each time. I always seem to head back to Vieng Thai as it's much better food.
Gerardo's I only tried once. I've gotten better at most La Michoacana's around town (or Laredo's is also quite good).
ps. You can eat in most grocery stores, Kroger's have salad bars, Fiesta's all have lunch counters, all Mex Meat Mkt's (e.g. La Michoacana) have lunch counters, Sandy's has a big lunch spread, etc.
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Cricket's on 19th St in the Heights often has it. I'd call ahead first.
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I may get crucified - but I actually enjoyed the brisket at Houston BBQ on Eldridge the last few times there
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scar - yes, I've been to Guadalajara Bakery & Tacos many times. (as an aside, I'm always amused by the tiny '&' on their sign) I like their tacos, but honestly the place kinda gives me the creeps. You walk in & you're probably the only customer. The guy behind the counter might say 2 words. After you order, he slinks off to the back without saying anything & you're wondering what's going on (actually, he's getting you some fresh tortillas, but you wouldn't know your 1st time there).
However I do give them bonus points for always having some sort of filling that you might not find elsewhere around town - some mixture of ingredients that's unique.
I tried BB's the other day. Top notch roast beef po-boy & gumbo as well. And....I do like the vibe in that joint.
Lunch today was at Zydeco on Pease. Man....they never disappoint. Smothered pork chops dipped in a thin roux and served over rice, corn & okra & cornbread on the side. All very tasty.
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bruce - suya looks pretty cool. Maybe they could squirt some lime on that cilantro salad to give it the liquid you want. Unfortunately, I'm NEVER around that side of town, but I'd like to try it.
Lunch today for me was at Laredo Taqueria on Washington. As usual, I had 3 tacos all of different fillings since you never know what will be any good. The puerco asado was pretty bad. However, the nopalitos with chile arbol was fantastic & the carne (the one on the biggest steam tray) was also outstanding. Washed it down with a tasty tamarindo. I had forgotten that their flour tortillas were homemade & almost made the mistake of getting the tacos on corn!
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bruce & scar - you guys get me to posting some new stuff, though I don't get out near as much as you both do!
Here's some places I've been hitting up lately:
Burt's on Lyons - I can never stop going! Great soul & cajun to go; might be my favorite joint in this city
Mardi Gras on Shepherd - tasty boiled shrimp, raw oysters, crawfish
Taco Taco in the downtown tunnels - only "authentic" Mexican I've found downtown, tasty & unique choices for lunch tacos. not as good as Mexico Deli though
Tampico on Airline - continues to be pretty darn good
Vietnam on 19th - addictive Bo Luc Lac
the crepe place in midtown (forget the name or the street) is pretty interesting in a Euro sorta way. One can look very cool sitting by their outside tables.
JJ's on Pin Oak in Katy - home-made Mex ice cream & fresh fruit
Zydeco's on Jefferson - gut bomb when you need it.
Bombay Sweets on Hillcroft - vegetarian buffet, spicy food, tasty shakes, incomprehensible dessert counter
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We didn't get there til about 3:00 and they were wrapping up. They packed up 9-10 pieces of chicken into a brown paper bag, stuffed some yummy mashed potatos in a cleaned-up ice tea container, put some green bean / cream of mushroom soup casserole into another ice tea container & charged us only $10. Grabbed some plastic forks, then we went outside to a picnic table to eat up. Excellent chicken & the potatoes were really nice (not completely mashed, not completely solid).
Fun place, old wooden floor, outside benches & tables, bbq pits outside. Inside, they were having an auction, selling just about anything. I saw them get rid of a trash can for $7.50!! Up next was a Houston Texans baseball cap (not sure what it went for). The auctioneer was one of those rapid-fire, fast-talking cattle auction types.
Apparently they have a really big event in September with a live Czech band.
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Jay - do you have an address for this place? Google doesn't show a K of C in Moulton.
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I'm actually more excited about a sign that I passed on White Oak just before Studewood. It said "Opening Soon. Fried Chicken and Soul Food." Wow, real fried chicken would be awesome.
Whatever happened to this place? Name? I'm salivating for some fried chicken and don't think I can wait until Easter.
Bruce,
The story I heard is that sign was put up by the owner of Onion Creek (who happens to be African-American). Apparently, he was receiving too much perceived criticism from somebody across the street. So he put up that sign as a slap in the face back at his nemesis. There is no fried chicken & soul food joint opening up there (as much as I would like there to be one!).
However he is opening up a new restaurant somewhere Yale & 25th?? Due to open in a few months. I don't know the name or exact location.
For fried chicken, I remain a Frenchy's fan.
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or in Richmond? I'm stuck in the middle in Sugar Land and I haven't seen it around here. It's beens years since I've been to SA and I need a barbacoa fix!
find any carniceria (meat market) in a Mex grocery store. They'll have it cooked, ready to serve at their steam table in the back.
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Kent - that was me next to you at the bar last night....having the over-cooked ribs and the whatever beer you recommended. I also had the ground lamb with dried fruit & it was quite nice.
Great review. I too believe in Pope's ability to make a 1st class joint. She's done it at the bar (both beer & cocktails). I'm sure she'll also get it right for the bbq. Interesting that the bartender told us that they need more help in the kitchen and they don't get started in the kitchen until 8:00am (very late for bbq I would think).
hope you enjoyed the show & come back to Houston any time.
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tell us about this place.
A little research shows it at Bellaire & Fondren. Care to give a quick review of it?
I can't find out much about it by googling.
Thanks.
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It's called Beaver's because it's going to be in a re-furbished Ice House that used to be called Beaver's. She's keeping the name (tho I wouldn't).
It's one block south of Washington, on Taylor St.
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Jay - are you looking for tamales that are maybe more Salvadoran style? There's a place way out west on Loch Katrine, 1/2 block west of Hwy-6 called Los Guanacos (Salvadoran place) that makes tamales as you describe. Very light, moist, with chicken, poblano (I think) and a green olive in the masa wrapped up in a banana leaf. I've had other, similar Salvadoran-style tamales around town, but somehow theirs seem better to me.
Pico's on Bellaire is my fav Tex-Mex. Mentioned earlier was Teotihuacan. Try the original Irvington location; it's better than the new one on Airline. I also saw a mention for breakfast tacos - try going to Villa Arcos on Navigation and get a super with bacon.
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Thanks for the reminder - I've been meaning to try Himalaya.
On another (unrelated) note - please try Petatlan Taqueria & Nieveria, located at 16503 Clay Rd, just west of Hwy-6. They've just opened and I've eaten there twice. Absolutely fantastic Mex food prepared as it should. Everything hand-made from fresh ingredients. Even the ice cream is hand made by a recent transplant from Michoacan (who made some corn ice cream). But the enchiladas (Mex-style folded over once, not rolled) and chile relleno were incredible.
Kerr.
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Spec's on Smith claims to have over 10,000 different wines (unique wines, not individual bottles!) in stock at any given time. They claim to be the largest in the US. Yes, it helps to ask around for different wine guys - Bill & Joe have been good to me. They've been having wine tastings in store 1st Tuesday of each month, about 40 wines each night.
The deli is lots of fun as well.
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in Houston....
Best: Vieng Thai on Long Point. Go with a large group & order lots of stuff to share. Great flavors, lots of interesting stuff on the menu. (thanks Scar for continuing to push this place....it got me to go as I had been a Kanomwan mainstay)
Worst: Teotihuacan on Airline seems to be going downhill. Luckily their location on Irvington remains a reliable Tex-Mex comfort zone.
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I couldn't get past the first few sentences of that review. Then I checked - not written by Walsh!! Wow, he better be on vacation and back next week.
Anvil Bar & Refuge
in Texas: Dining
Posted
I'm now a regular here. The place is incredible & their knowledge of history & cocktails is unsurpassed.
big, big thumbs up on the place.