jscarbor

What is flatiron? I started seeing it a bunch recently but nver bought any. Also, where on earth do you get a hanger steak retail around here? I LOVE HANGER.

Its been awhile since I have eaten at Petes but decided to go today for some reason. I always get the steak cheese hoagie and its always been good but for some reason it was really good today. The sandwich is different than a philly cheesesteak in many ways so you really shouldn't compare them one thing is they dress it with lettuce and tomato. They also put swiss cheese and mayo. The difference in this sandwich and the previous ones here is that the bread was different. Bigger fresher roll IMO. I noticed some new things on the menu since I last hit the place like chili, cfs and fries. Maybe I'll give em a try soon? I also noticed they had some awesome looking american kobe beef. Next to the kobe was some great looking USDA Prime, the prime was out of the package but the butcher said the kobe looked even better. The prime was priced good at around $15 per pound and the kobe was priced at $33 per pound. Pricey, yes, but if it is as good as the old Harrel Ranch beef in Austin then its worth it IMO. Randy R, you serving any american kobe? If so, tell me about it.

I've always found that Airline has a huge selection. And I usually get whole fish when I ask for it. I also find it a lot easier then driving 40 miles to seabrook to save a dollar or 2 a pound. Now, when I am feeding a big crew and want to make a half day of it, seabrook is awesome. Yes the Hong Kong joint has live fish. They usually have whole fish and will filet to your specs. How would a coop work? How many people would be needed? And does the person driving to pick up get reimbursed for driving/time?

Have you hit Airline seafood on Richmond? I think they are just a notch below what they were 5 years ago but they are still good. Maybe not as good as the seabrook joints but certainly as good or better than CM or whole foods. I bought some killer red snapper at this vietnamese grocer in Sugar Land at hwy 6 and dulles. IIt was $3.5 per pound. The Hong Kong mall grocer has good fish selection.

If you are sauced its good que. I like the sausage and could almost drink their sauce. Plus, you can get mutton.

What about Sam's que at 3 am on a sat/sun morning?

You offer all that for $60!? Thats great! I have to come in soon and give yuo guys a try.

Does it bother or give you pause that there are already 2 locations for this place? Is it even a year old?

Shoot! The waitress wasn't a whole lot of help. I'll look next time. Im dying to try it.

I went back yesterday to Vieng Thai and wasn't able to find a pork belly dish? I did get the garlic pork dish which was tasty but not prok belly. IMO there isn't enough pork belly, we need more pork belly in all restaurants! I also gave the sar tor a try and have to say I'm not a fan of sar tor. Sar tor is a bean with big almost lima bean looking pods. They have a pretty bad odor that also translates in the taste. FWIW I can eat durian pretty easy so its not that I can't take it. Still, I think it is worth trying just so you can see if you had the same thoughts on the dish as i did. Massaman was excellent as was the laarb.

I can't wait to get back and try the pork belly basil dish. And IMO the massaman is the best around, its smooth as silk. Soups are also very good here. John Scarborough

Say it aint so...I really like Teotihuacan. Tough to get people to go even further to the Irvington location in addition to Gorditas Aguascaliente being in that area but will give it a shot. Worst: Teotihuacan on Airline seems to be going downhill. Luckily their location on Irvington remains a reliable Tex-Mex comfort zone. ←

The worse meal of the year is easy. Last night my wife ate at Kona Grill near are new house in the burbs. The food was aweful and 2 entrees an appetizer and 1 drink ran $55 after tax and tip! We had the signature macadamia nut crusted chicken which wasn't aweful except this nasty cream sauce concoction on the side. My wife had the peanut chicken noodle dish and it was just autrocious. Best meal in the expensive caqtegory in a close race goes to Aries over Noe. Reason being Aries had 3 or 4 very memorable dishes like the well executed white bean soup, the chicken perfectly poached in milk with buttered leaks, the duck dish (less memorable than the others) and the watermelon and mint tapioca drink. Best meal affordable goes to Vieng Thai on long point. I met up with about 12 friends one afternoon and sampled some great dishes at this place. Its my favorite thai in houston. Best meal affordable runner-up goes to Himalaya where me and a buddy dined on a good 6 dishes between us. It was a feast and ran $40 for a ton of food. Chapli, hunters beef, best chicken biriani in town, chicken masala and a couple others. It was great

Great ideas, even if I don't know half of what you are talking about. But what I have decided to do is make the space flexible like have a bar sink, electrical outlets, a flex space for wine chiller storage or a small refrigerator. These houses are smallish for houston with emphasis on interior amenities close to downtown. We sell them for $200-250K. We sell mainly to young males and I think the bar option will be a bigger draw but coffe bar would be nice for the non drinker.

I build small semi luxury townhomes near downtown Houston. I have a little plan that has a small room behind the kitchen. As an upgrade I was thinking about putting in either a wet bar area or a built in coffee bar area. Does anyone have any ideas for an area like this? Should the coffee maker be one of those built ins? Should I just include a good coffee machine? Thoughts...

Im pretty knew to coffee. I want the best tasting coffee for me. I am getting a french press soon. What is the best way to buy beans if you are using a press? In Houston I can go to Central Market and buy beans in bulk. Do I have them roast? Should I tell them a specific way to roast? Like I said, I am a novice.

I really don't have a traditional meal christmas day but this year I plan on doing something nice. As of now it looks like I will serve: Salmon rolls filled with mascarpone herb filling very simple arugula salad White Bean soup with pancetta confit potato stuffed with cheese and truffle oil. Porter braised short ribs with maple rosemary glaze (Braising with Molly I believe). Probably no dessert since we have christmas cookies thruought the holiday and cinnamon rolls on christmas morning. Maybe port wine to finish instead?

Please come back Robb!

One tradition my family has started that has made the holidays easier on everyone is that we don't exchange gifts between the adults. It really has taken out the stress of Christmas. The last few years we had done a drawing at thanksgiving where we got 1 person to buy something nice for but it kind of got to where everyone asked what the person wanted and went and bought it. i guess this year a few thought that was dumb since you could buy whatever the person buying for you was going to buy anyway. I don't like the change for a couple reasons but finally relented and let that faction of the family get what they want.

After getting inspiration from here to make it back to Simposio I talked a friend into meeting me here for lunch today. I had the agnoloti pasta stuffed with veal served with an au jus sauce scented with rosemary. It was awesome! The pasta cooked al dente and the stuffing was a great match with the extremely flavorful jus. I almost with lamb chops but decided I really wanted pasta. Maybe I'll give the strozapetti next time? Tomorrow I'll dine at Noe! Hopefully a great report will follow.

Simposio is certainly one of the most underrated restaurants in houston. If going for lunch and they have the risotto milanesa...get it. The chef knows risotto as good as anyone. He knows other things as well like pork cooked to med rare, great breaded grilled calamari...

Oasis is a tourist trap? Then you go on to rec La Parilla which is one of the top 2-3 tourist traps in Playa? The taco's at Oasis are good and the food at la Parilla is good. Both are excellent locations.

It was worth a shot? They look like Hot Links though? Yeah, I did. Close, but no cigar. A little bland and the casing didn't "snap" after a sojourn in the smoker. But then, my memory may be clouded by sentiment. ←

Fifi, did you ever make it to Guys Meat Mkt to see if the red hots are the same as you remember at Otto's?

I always thought the original "Bronco" was from the Donut Shop on Braodway? It has just about everything but the kitchen sink in it.