brucesw

Dittos on Istanbul, Frenchy's and Guy's. Might also try Ruggles Bakery in the Village. If you're going as far as Cleburne might also try Harry's on Tuam (breakfast and lunch only). Also Turquoise Grill on Kirby. I'm wondering when Kahn's is ever going to re-open (and if the new owners/partners fixed what wasn't broken). Haven't been to Buon Appetito in decades; in fact, I don't think it was called that when I was there. Will have to try that one myself. Here's some interesting resources I came across: Rice Village Restaurants This is out of date, the Dimassi's I know has moved out on Kirby across from Reliant Stadium. Texas Medical Center food court (I haven't eaten at any of these).

Stressful times like these evoke a yearning for comfort food. Clearing the landscaping is about half done, the freezer is empty, grocery store meat and frozen food cases mostly so... I want a good hearty beef stew or something similar - carne guisada, caldo de res, etc., maybe something with meat, chicken and sausage the way I like to make it. I hardly ever order these out since I like to make my own. Any recs?

Finally found these today at FoodTown ($2.88). I have been looking everywhere and concluded we weren't going to see them here in Houston. I'm still not sure if I've ever had these before. My Mother loved to bake and we ate almost exclusively home-made pies, cakes and cookies growing up. I remember the first time I ever had an Oreo in college wondering what the big deal was - I wasn't impressed. These are definitely better. It's a shame they're not on the market any longer. I'll be going back to get some more packages to supplant my usual guilty pleasure, cheap Mexican baras de coco.

Many Texas barbecue fans will be saddened to hear that Bobby Mueller of Louie Mueller's in Taylor passed away over the weekend, unexpectedly. Here's a news link which also includes a link to The Austin American-Statesman story and a link to a video interview with Mueller recently.

I've been to Tortas El Angel just once, wasn't that impressed, but Mexico's Deli is great. BTW, Jay Francis posted recently on Eating our Words about his search for the Torta Ahogada and Robb Walsh replied that they have it at Mexico's Deli. I've been to MD since Jay told me about the quest and looked for it but didn't see it - maybe it's time for a visit to the eye doc. Yeah, Jazzie really went down hill. I think the owner thought I was the one (Walsh) who had published a pretty negative review, she dogged me everytime I was there. That and the declining quality of food was why I stopped going.. ← I was going through my stuff and came across a business card for Mexico's Deli and discovered they have a website. I don't see a torta ahogada on there. I think I've had the #s 12 and 15.

How about the Italian Fried Chicken - have you tried that? ← Is Rizzi's a take out place or dine in? I spent a week in the summer 20 years ago in Jersey/Philly area and the pizza and calzones were to die for. Italian fried chicken at Rizzi's? ← http://www.houstonpress.com/2008-08-14/res...zzi-s-pizzeria/

Great - another Pakistani place. I'll have to try them both. Beef Nihari is an incredible dish.

How about the Italian Fried Chicken - have you tried that?

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 saw Cook's review and couldn't believe it; glad I didn't follow up on the urge to try it. Mexico's Deli is a neat place, much nicer than your typical Houston hole-in-the-wall place and Dairy Ashford at Westheimer is a very safe area - it's just half a block north in a strip center. Another one I could have listed was Taqueria Mi Lindo Huetamo mentioned by the Taco Truck Gourmet in the Press recently. I went to the one on Hillcroft just below Bellaire. The al pastor taco was as good as any I've had in Houston, the lengua and barbacoa I wasn't that impressed with. Really like the different 'salad' - chopped radishes onions and serranos with lime. There are 2 other trucks with the same name ususally parked outside the Beltway on Bissonnet but I'm not sure from the newspaper listing if they're still operated by the same owner. I guess my best 'find' of recent months is Huarache Azteca Express in Stafford; went Friday and may go again today for the lamb barbacoa. Really a shame this is so far out of the way for most people; I keep thinking there'll be a line out the door but it hasn't ever been busy. Really nice owner, too, and great aguasfrescas. Actually, the only one I've tried is the cantaloupe - can't pass it up. Had about half a cup of pulp in the bottom of mine last time - real fruit.

Don't know what to say -- you saw the picture on my blog (I'm trying to get better as a photographer). I think it's a little more down-home and messier sandwich than at BBs but it's been a couple of months since I've been to BBs and will need to go back. Original owners were Vietnamese I think; new owners seem to be Chinese - there are lots of Chinese dishes on the menu. One new item was the Angus Beef Po'Boy which sounds like it might be an upscale version of a NO hamburger po'boy which is kind of a minor obsession for me (like the sliders at LBBB). I asked and he said it's chopped angus, patty shaped to the sandwich roll as it should be. Everybody in town that does a NO hamburger po'boy just cooks a regular patty then cuts it in half and puts the two halves side-by-side lengthwise on the roll - that's not the way it's supposed to be done. I wouldn't hesitate to have the roast beef po'boy at either Jazzie or BBs but really can't rate which one is best right now. BTW, congrats on your 'food exploring.' Sometimes I hit a disappointing stretch and get discouraged but sometimes I hit a real winner and that's great. I'm planning on checking out what looks like an old fashioned neighborhood chicken shack on the North side maybe this weekend - I think I've got my hopes up too high for some killer FC.

I've been to Tortas El Angel just once, wasn't that impressed, but Mexico's Deli is great. BTW, Jay Francis posted recently on Eating our Words about his search for the Torta Ahogada and Robb Walsh replied that they have it at Mexico's Deli. I've been to MD since Jay told me about the quest and looked for it but didn't see it - maybe it's time for a visit to the eye doc. Yeah, Jazzie really went down hill. I think the owner thought I was the one (Walsh) who had published a pretty negative review, she dogged me everytime I was there. That and the declining quality of food was why I stopped going..

Polonia - I went to the Polish grocery next door a couple of years ago but just got around to going to the restaurant recently. I’ve been a couple of times and find the food more to my liking than I expected. I’m becoming a big fan of kielbasa and the draft Pilsner Urquell is a fine beer. Restaurante Guatemala - a Guatemalan diner, essentially, next to Jerusalem Halal Deli on Hillcroft. Competent food but nothing to rave about; nicer on the inside than any other Guatemalan place I’ve been to. Jazzie Café on 19th - I’d heard there’d been a change of ownership and it was a good thing. Great NO style roast beef po’boy. Expanded menu, improved accommodations. Troy’s Dawg House Grill, on Live Oak @ Southmore - 3rd ward dive offering Chicago specialties. He uses Vienna Beef wieners but HEB buns, I think. Authentic rolls from Gonella Baking Co. but he makes his Italian Beef from scratch rather than using the Vienna Beef provisions; it comes out something like deshebrada on a Gonella roll and is a damn fine sandwich. Be sure to get it wet. I’‘ve been eating very light lately and either my tastes have improved or I’ve hit a string of mediocre new places.

I have nearly a dozen Salvadoran restaurants within a few miles of me including a couple of panaderias so I've been sampling lots of them. One panaderia offers a bewildering array of pastries, etc., which unfortunately are not labeled and they don't seem to like being asked for information. Both serve a layer cake like the one in the upper left in this picture and have identified it as a Marialuisa (that's the way it's spelled on the flyer). The lady from the second place, who's offering is not quite as luscious looking but is better tasting, identifies the filling as 'milk cream' in her best English. I've also seen this at both places with a jam filling of some sort like the item at the bottom of the picture but I'm not sure if that's also called a Marialuisa. Some of the other items listed on a flyer from the larger place include budines, enmieladas, quesadillas magdalenas, margaritas, marquezate, monjos, semitas, and picudas. The only other Salvadoran pastries I've identified for sure are buneulos and semitas.

Here's one link that I have. I've only made the curtido. I like it coarsely grated/chopped and fresh rather than slightly fermented. Re: the tamales - they vary greatly at different pupuserias I've visited. The best to me are the very creamy ones, like very creamy mashed potatoes but tasting of corn. I understand that necessitates some straining involved in the process which is not reflected in this recipe. A tamal de elote should be served with crema Salvadorena. Tamales de puerco o pollo are served with salsa rojo, at least around here. Re: the empanadas - in El Salvador as I understand it that refers to plantain stuffed with milk cream and deep fried; a small meat pie is a pastelito (sp?).

Huarache Azteca Express, 109 Ave F, Stafford, parallel to and a couple of blocks east of FM 1092, between the east and west bound routes of 90-A. These people are being very generous with the free samples, like Pierson’s. I”ve gotten a free taco on each visit (bistec, ribs) and on my second visit free samples of chicharron and 2 different aguas frescas. Spic and span, stainless steel and glass, very friendly crew. Free condiments bar offers 2 salsas, pico, onions, refritos, curtido (they do pupusas) and some other items plus free coffee. This is the first time I’ve had a huarache when I got the connection to the sandal - the tlacoyo looks like the sole of a sandal. Basically a thick, torpedo shaped tortilla with refried black bean filling, warmed on a griddle for a second time then topped with more refritos, salsa of your choice, queso fresco and topping of your choice. I had the al pastor on my first visit. On the second visit the man was trying to interest me in the one described in the Press review with 2 eggs but when I wanted something else he offered any other 2 toppings and I went with carnitas and chorizo con nopalitos. I like both better than the al pastor and all 3 better than the bistec taco (gristly) and ribs (rib tips, including cartilage). They’re very filling so I wasn’t hungry enough on my first visit to try the lamb barbacoa available on weekends but I plan to be back this weekend. Not a particularly good pic since the toppings obscure the ‘sole’ of the huarache - on the left, chorizo y nopalitos, on the right, carnitas. In the right lower corner, a couple of pieces of chicharron.

I’ve been searching for a good source for pollo asado on the SW side without satisfaction so I headed up to Long Point today to El Norteno, pollo asado en estilo Monterrey. There are usually 3 of these units out in about a mile and a half stretch of Long Point but only 2 today; I like the one about a half mile east of Gessner because the parking lot is not as cramped as the one at the corner of Gessner and Long Point. Medio pollo asado - $6 - 4 pieces plus frijoles charros, cebolla, peppers (toreados?), incendiary salsa verde, lime and 8 corn tortillas. The white meat portions were dry but the dark meat nice and juicy. I also got a fajita taco - a generous portion of meat - $1.25. They also have salchica (sausage) and cotilla (ribs) although apparently only on platillos, which run as high as $16. Entero pollo asado is $11. That salsa may be hotter than the ones at Jarro. I wish they’d park one of these things down on my side of town. I hit Taqueria El Alteno, al estilo Jalisco, on Harrisburg @ Sgt. Macario Garcia the other day, bypassing one close to me on Bissonnet thinking I’d get better Mexican food on the east side. I had carne adobado; the adobado was great, the carne was tough and chewy. Refritos (peruanos/canarios instead of pintos I think) were good; I couldn’t figure out the seasoning but it wasn’t bacon. Arroz was also good, moist instead of dry, with some vegetales mixed in. Salsa was mediocre, chips not fresh, corn tortillas like wet paper towels came apart in little pieces. This company operates 4 of these and 6 places called Taqueria El Sol de Mexico and my experience has been they vary greatly from location to location. I probably won’t give this one another try. Alteno is a nickname for people from the mountains of Jalisco. Also hit Coozan’s on Kirby across from the north end of Reliant, on the end of the big center with the Fiesta. I had a couple of boudin balls which were good and a Cajun fried pie which was only so-so compared to the boudin balls, although a generous portion. Very limited menu, wings and a few Cajun items; other baskets I saw being served looked pretty good. Tried the Best Burger recommended by JimH in Stafford - good burger and very convenient to me. Maybe a better charbroiled burger than Bellaire Broiler Burger. I’ve skipped the french fries and gone for chips.

Aren't those big fans on the roof some sort of scrubbers? I noted the first time I drove up I didn't smell any smoke and it bothered me until I tasted the meats.

Thank you for the information on the salsa. If she mentioned that in response to my query I didn't catch it but I did think there was broth in the salsa and it was served warm.

I found one description online of a Tlaquepaque style salsa as possibly containing 4 or 5 chiles and being very hot. The lady running the taco truck advertising tacos en estilo Tlaquepaque spoke English about as well as I Spanish but she mentioned both barbacoa and lengua. When I ordered dos tacos she did not ask if I wanted either/or and possibly the meat was finely chopped barbacoa and diced lengua?, it was hard to tell. The tacos did not include cebolla y cilantro (didn't realize that until I had left) and I wasn't asked. The salsa was a dark greenish brown but not particularly hot. Any ideas? The same truck served a gringa, a flour tortilla with al pastor, avocado and queso and possibly some refritos, folded over and grilled like a quesadilla - very tasty. The same thing with fajita meat was called a pirata. Yes I know Tlaquepaque is in Guadalajara, just wondering about the 'style.'

Revisit: Pierson & Co. BBQ, 5110 W. T.C. Jester @ Mansfield (go up West T.C. Jester from North Loop 610) - see post #143, p. 5, for an earlier report and more pics. I got free samples of the brisket, links and peach cobbler which is made from a recipe of Clarence Pierson’s 90 year old mother in Crockett. It was my first taste of the beef link and I was impressed. It’s a combo of East Texas style (medium grind ground beef w/red pepper) but had a good natural casing like the CTx styles; it has a good crisp bite to it and some heat Perhaps the best of this genre I’ve had. I asked him about his pork and he offered a small sample though he said it really was not ready to serve. I thought it was very good and asked him to go ahead and slice some for me to take home. He uses Boston Butt; he said it was about an hour in the smoker and one final step from being ready so it was a little tough but had excellent bark and smokiness. As he described the steps to me I thought it sounded like there were 3 steps left. He has been selling it sliced but has had so many requests for pulled pork that he is going to be offering that. I have only had pulled pork at Lyndon’s, Brookstreet and a defunct place called Memphis BBQ, and I think this will be the best, certainly the smokiest. I had too small a sample of the bread pudding to really render a judgment. The boudin is not up to the other offerings. I thought it had good texture (the rice was still detectable as rice for instance) but was a little bland. They don’t produce either the beef link or boudin themselves; the links come from a local supplier while the boudin is from Louisiana. Clarence Pierson learned bbq from a man in New Iberia as a teen and has been bbq-ing ever since. He uses mesquite exclusively. I was surprised to learn he had a short-lived place just a couple of miles from me on the SW side that I never knew about but he was only leasing that space and bought this one a couple of years ago and opened 6 months ago. The good news he has plans to have a couple of locations around town eventually. Plans are to enclose the drive through areas and add some picnic tables in that space plus put a paved parking lot out back. These pictures were taken at home about an hour and a half after the meat was sliced so it looks a little drier than it should. On the left, beef brisket - note some smoke ring approaching ½ “; in the middle, sliced pork; and on the right, beef links. If you’re not going to be eating it right away I’d ask for the links whole rather than sliced so they’ll retain their juices. Got the sauce on the side this time. Each order was for a half pound but each weighed close to 12 oz at home.

I had one of my very occasional yens for Tex-Mex today and went to try this out - had never been to Loma Linda. Wow, what a time trip. Reminded me most of the lone Tex-Mex restaurant in my small hometown growing up, the old Monterrey House chain, although I think Monterrey House was spicier than this! I haven't been to Lopez in a couple of years but I thought they did the puffy chile con queso too, though not the taco. I don't think I've ever seen a chili gravy that pale a shade of brown; nothing was greasy at all but except for the salsa which was ok, everything was too bland for my taste, even for retro Tex-Mex. The place was almost deserted for Sunday lunch. I won't be a regular but it was worth a try. Thanks for the tip.

How's this for dredging up an old thread? Spec's carries tasso but their inventory system is not too swift it seems. May need to ask but they apparently sometimes run out. I'm sure CM has it too. I've purchased it before at the Kroger Signature store on Westpark at Buffalo Speedway; several of the K-Sig stores started stocking more Louisiana products after the Katrina influx but this was before that. Then there's Hebert's, with several locations and Veron's up in the Atascocita area. You might also try Burt's Cajun Meat Market on Lyons between Lockwood and Kress, just north of I-10 on the east side; they don't have a website that I know of and I've never specifically looked for it there but I'd be surprised if they don't have it. BTW, what is this doing on the Louisiana board?

Are you talking about the imported Italian varieties (with basil)? Never tried that but have used canned toms. I prefer home-canned as they seem to develop a little wineyness (?) but I haven't been successful enough at gardening for several years to have enough to can. ←

Revisit: Nyonya Grill Crispy Golden Fried Squids The young waitress’ eyes lit up when I ordered it and she said ‘It’s very good.’ And it was good though it was quite salty, some pieces more than others it seemed, and not quite as crispy as I would have liked. The menu indicates it’s hot and spicy but it wasn’t either by my standards. There were some larger pieces of squid in the pile, some about the size of a chicken wing perhaps. I wondered if there would be some difference in taste or texture between the body of the squid and the tentacles but I didn’t detect any at least on this tasting. Since it was listed as 'squids' on the menu I thought it was going to be whole, baby squids; I'm sure I've had some pieces of squid like this in some seafood stews but didn't know what it was. I also had Teh Tarik, a hot Malaysian milk tea that looked like horchata and was good. I looked this up and mine didn’t have any froth on top - maybe they don’t have anyone on staff who’s developed the special skill? The owner/manager was very friendly. I took a longer look at the ‘buffet’ and it looked better that at first glance. The lunch special price (11-3) is $7.99, at night it’s $10.99. Meats and veggies only during the day, seafood added to the possible ingredients at night. The restaurant ticket read Bohot Mongolian Grill and Bakery, the former name of the place.

Are you talking about the imported Italian varieties (with basil)? Never tried that but have used canned toms. I prefer home-canned as they seem to develop a little wineyness (?) but I haven't been successful enough at gardening for several years to have enough to can.