fifi

Last Sunday I induged in a return to childhood. My sister, a friend and I had late lunch at Felix on Westheimer. Felix is a Houston institution. Those that dis it don't understand it. I remember when I was a little kid, my grandfather would sometimes take me with him if he went to his office on Saturday morning. On the way home we would stop at Felix for lunch. Felix Tijerina and my grandfather were old friends. From Robb Walsh's book, The Tex-Mex Cookbook, A History in Recipes and Photos: Felix Tijerina went on to become an activist for education and president of LULAC. All of that being said, the restaurant still holds comforting memories for me and the food is comforting as well. And it is a good thing as our friend was having tummy problems so opted for the chicken tacos. The guacamole was also comforting. My sister ordered the stuffed chile, actually a rehydrated dried ancho. The stuffing was ground beef, raisins and pecans, I think. I ordered "Marge's Entomatados". This is an enchilada style dish that is named after my good friend Marge Crumbaker. Marge was for many years the Society Editor at the old Houston Post. Being well steeped in Houston history and tradition, she was a frequent patron of Felix and the entomatado sauce was named after her. The enchiladas can be had as beef, chicken or cheese. I asked our waiter, Carlos, which he would prefer. He said cheese. Now, Carlos has been there for 30 years so I wisely took his advice. I ordered the cheese with the spicy version of the entomatado. Underneath the obligatory shredded iceberg lettuce lurks the most tender of enchiladas bathed in sour cream. Those enchiladas are extraordinary. They must be made from some exceptionally thin tortillas. The entomatado sauce is exquisite. I am guessing that it is a toasty blend of tomato and chiles that has been fried. The heat level was just right for me. I really think that the addition of chicken or beef would have detracted from the dish. Carlos got a really nice tip. I have to confess that I am biased about Felix. There is just too much emotional baggage there. But, the food is good, the atmosphere is comforting, and that makes it my all time favorite Tex-Mex emporium.

Hmmm... I am sure that this has come up on other threads on this subject but I will ask it again anyway. Where do vegans stand on breast feeding? There is nothing illogical about vegans breastfeeding. If they cut off a body part to feed to their child, it wouldn't be vegan. Nothing is healthier for a growing baby than its mother's milk. And no animals are injured in the process, unless you count me. My baby grew two little white razors in her bottom gums when she was 14 weeks old. Talk about screaming. First me, then her. Ummm... I am not sure that is true. In the twisted logic, they should be eschewing breast feeding. After all eggs and milk are not allowable. It is the same wacky logic that has Greenpeace calling for outlawing all chlorine production while running around in Zodiac boats that are made of Hypalon... yep... chlorosulfonated polyethylene.

I just had an idea. Last Sunday, my sister and a friend of ours had lunch at Felix's on Westheimer. It is THE historic Tex-Mex place in Houston. There were lots of families there. The food is good and the atmosphere is friendly. Ask for one of Carlos's tables. He has been there for 30 years. It isn't "fine dining" but you will have a good time and it will be "special" because of the history. Felix's was included in Robb Walsh's book.

Oh my goodness. Elie, that baklava is a tribute to your cooking prowess. Thank you so much for your blog. What a journey.

Ummm... Help me out here. I don't have a copy of the current copy of Saveur. I am having a scary vision of a corndog emerging from the waves. Tell me that this is not true.

Yep... That is pretty strange. However, you did have the great good sense to not eat it. Tragically, such was not the case with my corndog episode.

Oh dear. It sounds like it is time to get out the tin hats.

When sweet onions are available, an onion sandwich. Spread some good tasting soft white bread with Hellman's. Slice the onion paper thin and pile it on. Sprinkle with s&p or Jane's Krazy Salt. Eat with an ice cold beer. Nap. When the avocados are particularly good... only buttery Haas need apply... spread a multi-grain bread with mayo, add avocado slices, a little thinly sliced sweet onion, add lentil sprouts, mayo, sprinkle with the Jane's. There is something about the Jane's that is particularly good with veggies. Lentil sprouts are my hands down favorite for sandwiches and salads. I sprout them myself from the bag from the grocery.

Hmmm... I am sure that this has come up on other threads on this subject but I will ask it again anyway. Where do vegans stand on breast feeding?

OMG! And it is in Dallas, too. Good, something for me to needle Richard Kilgore about. Now this is scary: And this is just deeply disturbing.

When I was very little, about 3, we would be down at the Oyster Creek (TX) family compound on the weekends. In the evenings, my grandfather would often crank up the "big boat" to take me for a little cruise. I was usually asleep within a half hour. Then my dad would carry me in to bed. I still remember the time I got a little seasick (first and only one of three times in my life). I remember my older sister saying "Dad, Deedle is getting kinda green." (stupid nickname at the time) That may be my first memory of saltines... laying on the bow bunk munching saltines.

Definitely. I poach chicken chunks in the soup. Peterson is certainly the definitive tome (and I do mean tome) on the subject. I have it and enjoy it. However, I am not sure I would recommend it to a beginner in the cuisine. It is pretty daunting. Come to think of it, I don't think I have cooked anything from it yet. I might recommend it for general reading, but start cooking from Sodsook. The recipes are much more approachable and there is even a section on "playing" with Thai elements in other recipes. There is another book that comes highly recommended and I intend to get it if I can remember the name of it. Sweet, sour, hot and salty or something like that. Help me out here, guys.

The tough one will be the 3 year old. I don't think experience makes much difference at that age. Even though I was a pretty tough mom when mine were young, especially behavior in public, I wouldn't have even tried to take a 3 year old to anything beyond Chuckee Cheese. (And I drew the line at that!) They just aren't old enough to reason with, especially when cranky, and they are old enough to really raise a ruckus. Even my daughter, who was a quiet but precocious child, was only good for about an hour and a half at a "real" restaurant. My son, on the other hand, should have been locked in a freezer until he got to about 8. The 9 year old will probably be fine if he isn't a hellion. At that age, your only cue is the kid's general sense of manners. Maybe get a sitter for the 3 year old. Rio Ranch sounds like a good option. Great atmosphere and the food is certainly ok. (Just don't order the CFS. Bleh.) Going for lunch on a weekend is certainly an idea. Perhaps they have a Sunday brunch. Those usually attract more families. It may even work with the 3 year old. You could call them and ask. Actually, any place you choose, calling for advice is always a good idea. But please preface your inquiry with something like "Please be candid. If this is not a good idea, I will certainly be back without the kids." so they don't feel that they have to lie to you or miss some business. It may take some doing but remember, a nice dinner in an appropriate place will trump a tense and/or embarrassing experience at a Cafe Annie any time. Rio Ranch

We got obsessive about beans here. If you plow through the thread, you will come across the "russ parsons method" of cooking beans. No soaking required. If you have good (not old) dried beans, it works every time and will only take a couple of hours. Basically, you do your seasoning thing in a heavy pot on the stove top. Then you add the water, put the lid on, bring to a simmer and move to a 250F oven for a couple of hours. The thread provides the details.

And a hearty welcome to you, msphoebe. That is a really cool site. It is now one of my favorites. I do keep coming back to tom kha gai. It could be a nostalgic thing because it is the first soup I had when introduced to Thai food many years ago. Now that the ingredients are accessible, I make my own. When the galangal is particularly fresh at my big Asian market, I will make up a big batch. What I usually do is freeze the "base" and add the chicken chunks or whatever when I reheat it. My go-to recipe is from Victor Sodsook's True Thai. That book is one of the early ones available here in the US and I cook from it often. The recipes are not as intimidating as some others. However, when I am coming down with some vile cold or flu, I am not above ordering a quart from my closest source. Thai penicillin, anyone?

Please do, Dignan. I will try that as well. What you should be looking for is a baguette sort of bread with a nice crust, soft insides and very good flavor. If we are fortunate, maybe they only use the lousy bread for the sandwiches they send to Randall's.

Welcome Shalmonese... You may be talking about the pointy curved thingy. Mine is cheap red plastic. They do work, but only on raw shrimp as far as I know. Brooks... Our methods seem to be about the same. The shrimp strategy at the May shindig worked just fine. A few smaller events have worked out also. If the shrimp were off-the-boat fresh but had firm shells, they were fairly easy to peel. IQF shrimp were easier, as in a one pinch operation. However, the May experieince had other issues.

I had to laugh at the reviews in MM's link. You don't go into the sandwich shops and expect much in traditional deli service. I would have to guess that most (90%?) of the business is the prewrapped po'boys and sides. They just don't handle custom made sandwiches well. Like I said, with good turnover like at lunch time, the premade sandwiches were just fine. And the bread held up quite well. I have even bought some to take home and eat later and they were ok. I don't know about this suspicious bread that I just got, though. I think the final split in ownership was the sandwich shops and the stores. I may be wrong about that, too. Perhaps we can shake Robb loose from his book tours long enough to enlighten us and look into this critical matter.

First a little history that I may get wrong but the gist will be right. Antone's started as a deli on Taft street near downtown a long time ago. Or, they may have started at a place before the Taft location even before that. Then they started making premade po'boy's, wrapped in butcher paper with a blue seal. That is the original "blue wrapper". They were a hit and made Antone's, and the sandwich, a Houston institution, not just a place to go and buy good olives and other goodies. Then, dad died and the kids and mother got into a huge fight and one faction split off to open the sandwich shops. (I know that I don't have the whole story here. When I have more time I will see if I can find my account number for the Chronicle to get into the archives. The bust up was quite a few years ago. The whole thing was the talk of Houston and the law suits and such were watched intently. Of course, the first fear of most Houstonians was, "What is going to happen to the po'boys?" While the theatre of the situation was fun to watch, we had to keep our priorities straight. If I can't find a quick and easy reference to tell the real story, maybe someone here knows it and can correct my errors. The whole thing was reminiscent of the Copeland's brouhaha over Popeye's.) The spec's are: A chunk of bread pretty much like the skinny baguette's you get in New Orleans, about 9 inches long. (I don't know where they come from but that is what they have always been.) That is split and thin sliced ham, provolone, salami, mayo, dill pickle slices and chow chow are the ingredients. The chow chow and the bread were what made them distinctive. Then they came out with other variations and other colors on the wrapper stickers. The one I got today is the red wrapper "Super" which are the original ingredients but 75% more meat and cheese. Actually, I don't like these very much. There is too much meat and cheese. The original was all about the bread and the fillings were like a condiment. It was the same principle as the Central Grocery muffalata. But, Randall's was out of the blue wrappers so I figured I would just have to suffer through. A classic Houston lunch is a blue wrapper, a bag of chips, and a Dr. Pepper or maybe one of those fancy schmancy Dr. Brown's sodas. Now, it appears that they have screwed around with the bread. This is a disaster.

Due to the evil influence of the "Must-Eats" Around Houston, that you just have to have, I just had to have a red wrapper for lunch. I don't have an Antone's in my area, so I depend on the sandwiches delivered to my local Randall's when one of these cravings strikes and I am out of range. Now, it has been a while since this happened and I have had to imbibe so maybe my memory is failing me. I also make allowances for the fact that it has been in the fridge for a while and is not going to be quite the same as one made minutes ago in a high turnover shop at lunch time. However... I think they have changed the bread. It seems all wrong to me. It used to be more akin to a French baguette style, similar to but not exactly like po'boy bread you might see in New Orleans. This one is like a heavier version of a hot dog bun with a similar flabby crust. I am in a state of profound disappointment. Is this my imagination or do we need to: Get a rope! While we are at it, what is your favorite version of the Antone's po'boy? Side goodies?

I just remembered a book that I picked up while in England several years ago: A Taste of History, 10,000 Years of Food in Britain. It is a compilation of five contributors and was published by the British Museum Press. Maggie Black, one of the contributors, is listed as author. It appears to be available from Amazon in paperback. If you want recipes, this one is stuffed with them. The best thing about the recipes is that the format is generally in the original language with a modern interpretation. If you plan to purchase, please click on the eGullet friendly Amazon logo below.

OK... That one "tipped over my bucket". I suppose one could counter with the fact that Faulkner and Williams, among others, were probably not mouth breathers. But, what the heck. Sterotypes can be quite useful. Being a multigeneration Texan, I have encountered that a lot in dealing with European colleagues. The funny thing is, SE Texas considers itself more Southern than stereotypically Texan. But, they don't have a clue as to what that means.

Tattoos don't bother me much but odd piercings really gross me out. Age = 57.

Uuuummm... goaty goat is probably not where I would want to go. I have had the goat in Monterrey at that famous restaurant and it was good, to me, because it was not "gamey". The same thing occurred at Arroyo restaurant in Mexico City with the lamb in maguey leaves. Lamb is ok for me, if it is not too "lamby". I was a guest and was horrified that I might have to choke it down. Luckily, it was very delicious. I draw the line at anything gamey. So, I guess that is an instance where the milder Americanized version is my preferred version. However, the Mexican version of corn-on-the-cob is vastly superior to what we get. As I have ranted on various forums here, that Mexican, chewy, starchy, corny corn is vastily superior to the insipid sweet corn we have here. And they will put mayonaise on it, and chile powder. Wowser.

Ummm... Yes you should. And I know what you are going to say next... And I did. recipe I like your idea of using the olive oil spray. That is a really good idea. Now if I could only find a sprayer that actually works.