jscarbor

This may be the highest praise I have read from Robb Walsh on a restaurant. Can anyone remember higher praise than this from him? http://www.houstonpress.com/issues/2004-03...ml/1/index.html

Saltwater Grill is good sometimes very good. Rudy and Paco is also good and they have many non spicey dishes. In San Leon, I believe, there is a seafood place that is supposed to be very good. It is called Topwater grill.

Real quick: 1. Gllatoires 2. Bayonna 3. Peristyle 4. Upperline 5. Mr B's even if its only for the gumbo 6. Port o call for hamburger

There is a story in the HBJ this week about the purchase of fasion square by E Wulfe and the possibilities of CA moving or staying.

Robb, is it hard for you to have a favorite restaurant? Is there a place you like to dine at frequently, or are you not able to go to many places frequently because you have a job to do? What is a place you wished you could eat at more often? I was really thinking from a Houston standpoint of course. PS I always anticipate your reviews.

Ive always been on the fence with CA. I have never been blown away but have had good meals in the past. My guess is the old Saks 5th center was also sold, its been on the market for years now and Americas and Hunan could be moving as well. High density development is the only thing that works on this property. If I were to guess I could see these properties selling close to $100 per foot. Which would make the HISD 12 acre property a relative bargain at the $50-60 per foot I seem to have heard that it might be selling for.

Houston has plenty of options for the fine diner. If staying close to Downtown is important I would say that you should give Zula a try. Last time I was there I had a veal chop in a fois gras sauce and it was very good. The steak with a side order of oysters is a good option as well. The place has very cool decor and the service is also good. The owner of zula also owns two very nice bars (mercury room and bokka) not far from here, you should see if they will let you in for no cover. Someone mentioned the Icon hotel and I would add that the restaurant there is part of the jean George V. empire out of NY I believe. Why not give Ninfa's on Navigatiopn a try. Its the only Ninfa's you should go to. The margaritas are potent and the carnitas are first rate. Not downtown but close: Aldo's on Westheimer is sure to give a culinary experience that rivals just about anywhere else. The chef/owner really focuses on exotic cuts of meat but the fish dishes are also very good. This place is an all night type of journey, you will not be rushed at all. The owner will not only cook your meal but there is a good chance he will take your order and help with wine selections. Rouge on Westheimer is a french restaurant that has been recieving huge accolades from the local food writers. De Marco on Westheimer is a high end Italian place with exquisite food. You are sure to get braised short ribs at this time of year and the pasta with the truffled quail egg is the height of culinary artistry.

Just dined at LOS this past weekend and have to say that it was even better than my previous 2 visits. I had raved about this place with a group of people I don't know that well and put myself out on a line when demanding that we dine at this relative out of the way spot. I even told everyone what we would order. In addittion to what I ordered the group wanted pad thai. I was a little leary but in fact the pad thai ended up being as good as any other P T dish I have ordered. The crispy rice dish was exceptional as was salmon penang, issan pork stew, spicey chicken wings, and soft shell shrimp. The end of the meal was no less great with the sticky rice/mango/cocunut ice cream/ and fried banana.

"For Mexican Food (fun atmosphere, authentic Northern Mexico): El Hidalguense on Longpoint" Bingo! I would get the Taco dish that is ham, cheese, and avacado, this taco is really good. This place specializes in bbq goat and the weekends are the best time to sample this specialty. "Taqueria and antojitos: Gorditas Aguascaliente on Bissonnet" Bingo! Althuogh you might need a little guidence if you are not familiar with antijitos. On the other hand everything is good so it reall doesn't matter. I've seen a couple recs for Ragin Cajun and I can't dissagree more. I really don't see what the fuss is about? But many people do like it and it is very popular.

b4 u eat is a decent source when Jay and a couple others post. Most of the times the "reviews" are not very informative and very often just rest getting people to write reviews. For more in depth descriptions I would look past b4 u eat.

For BBQ I would say that Williams Smokehouse is the only place in Houston area that can at times come close to the Luling/Lockhart places. Williams can have excellent brisket most times and always good ribs. In addition to the other chef driven places I would add De marco for Italian, Marks (eclectic american), and Hugos (Topolabampo type Mexican). For standard tex mex you can give El Tiempo a try even if it is a little pricey for great fajitas or the ORIGINAL Ninfas on Navigation on the east side of town. Ninfas is the birthplace of fajita's insomuch as it being widely known. They also serve killer carnitas. For a little different mexican try Tampico for seafood. The grilled snapper is one of the towns best dishes ask for it and don't order anything else except appetizers if you want. Houston has a large asian population and tons of viet/chinese places. I would suggest a visit to Sinh Sinh and order the peking ducfk and seafood. Make sure you ask for the full menu. Don't let them give you the white man menu. Also look at the oyster, ginger and scallion dish, I haven't had it yet but some people I know love it and I trust them.

There is a little Diamond Shamrock in Brenham that has a damn good bbq rest basically inside. They have a very good hot link as well as good bbq. Its on 290 feeder across the freeway from the Sealy Mattress plant.

I really appreciate the response fom everyone. My wife and I had are first child 7 months ago and we are trying to come up with some special holiday traditions. My family, while close, did not have many "family traditions" and my wifes family did. Of course we will keep some of her traditions but I also want to participate and start new ones. My wife makes a whole slew of really tasty cookies for the holidays that we will keep doing. She will only make them during the holidays so its something i know I will look forward to and my guess is Jett (my son) will as well. Midnight mass is another little tradition we do, besides the obvious it keeps alot of us from getting too sauced on christmas eve. I really like the idea about the stockings appearing in the a.m. on the kids bedpost. And I may add the giving of 1 certain themed gift ( the same theme each year) on xmas eve. As far as food goes i would like to start soething but with so many family members around its hard to do something every year. Maybe I can make something a tradition for when we are at home? I'm thinking either s special breakfast or dinner. Happy holidays and keep the traditions comming.

I guess my families biggest holiday tradition was having homeade cinnamon rolls and a full on breakfast after opening gifts. Those cin rolls were butter heaven. My wife remembers her and her sister getting a pair of pajamas christmas eve. Any other good one's out there?

Pete's Fine Meats.

In Houston El Rey (3 locations I usually go to the one on Washington) comes to mind for great acupulco sandwich. Good tacos as well. Counter service or drive thru. Taqueria Laredo also on Washington has counter service and some awesome tacos. I prefer the plain fajita over the spices because of texture. The salsas they give you at the table are plenty spicey. El taconazo on Fulton for some of the best fajita tacos around. Royal Pakistani food on Bissonnet is a counter service place where they bring the order to you. I ask to make the chicken tikka masala as hot as possible and its great. Thiem Hung? on Pease for Banh Mi or beef noodle soup. Givrali on Milan and Bellaire for bbq pork Banh Mi.

If you want something special call ahead and ask if they have it or if they will get it for you.

Pete's also serves up bbq and sandwiches. The steak/cheese sandwich is good and so are the burgers.

The best Butcher I have found in Houston is at Pete's Fine Meats on Richmond just east of Chimney Rock. If there is something better than them I would like to know.

Is Churrascos a steakhouse? If so I would vote it my favorite. I haven't been in 2 years but I do enjoy eating there when possible. As for real steakhouses I really can't comment. I haven't been to a steakhouse in quite sometime. Personally I would rather gete some meat from Harrel ranch or the meat shop in Austin and cook up my own. I used to really like Morton's when they first got to town. Pappas was good from what I remember but not great and the palm isn't very good at all imo.

I am going to give this joint a call and pick some up next week. You really can't beat a good tamale during the holidays.

I would love to eat again at Lotus Of Siam in Vegas. The depth of the menu has ruined me from most Thai places. I have heard so many great things about Lola Tasting room in Dallas that I have to get there. It's $65 for 15 courses and the menu changes monthly. What a deal! And I think you can add wine tasting for a smallish fee. In Chicago I would like to hit Trio. I would also like to catch a dinner and Gennaro's for the old chitown ambiance, if you know what I mean. I also plan on eating more Indian/Pakistani food. I love the stuff but its hard to get people to hit these ghee indulgent pungent spice joints during lunch time.

How about some fried polenta with a mushroom ragu?

I posted this a few months ago and if you haven't read it then here it goes. You might need to bare with me because the names of some of the restaurants might have slipped a little but I will give it a try. First thing you need to know is that Cabo can get very exp when it comes to food. A moderatley priced restaurant in Cabo would be somewhere in the $25 for an entree range. For upper moderate Ediths (pronounced edeets) is just above "the office"(Bar/rest) near playa medano (the main beach. They serve mostly fish/lobster dishes and steaks. The atmosphere is wonderful and the food is very good. The have a huge grill right when you walk in outside that is a raoring blaze. The make ceasar's sald table side. When it is cold the wait staff will get you a blanket. For drink I recommend a shot of tequila with sangrita chaser. Lower moderate Mi Casa Micasa is a little further in town near the town square (that isn't its officail name but that's how I call it). This restaurant has a great outside dinning area that puts you in the mood for great food. I had what is one of my all time favorite steaks there one night. It is part of the Tampiquena plate which includes an incredibly tasty skirt steak and an enchilada. The carnitas are also very good. Other very good dishes are mole pollo, chiles en nogada, roasted pork in bannana leaves (I forget the real name). The tortilla's come in 2 different ways. First is a big thick corn tortilla that is more like a bread and then with your meal you get a nice fresh thin corn tortilla. Cheap Gardenia's is a taco place kind of behind the Mcdonalds that is on the eastern side the city. If you are driving from the corridor you would go towards town and take a left at the McDonald's. It will be just a little ways on the right side of the road. The fish tacos are out of this world. You get a tray of condiments to dress your taco any way you want. The tacos al pastor are also very good. I think a taco runs a buck or so. This place is not to be missed! Crazy lobster it is pretty close to mi casa. Its easy to find. Lobster and fish dishes are whats good to get here. They also have an absurdly cheap breakfast. Don't let the name full you the food is good. Cleanest cabo bathroom. El Michoacano...all they cook is the pork carnitas cooked in huge pots. You can specify what you want as far as shoulder, butt, crispy. It's brought on a big platter accompanied by different salsa, vegetables. Wrap in a fresh made tortilla..just awesome. Not sure how they price things but its cheap as hell for what you get. In San Jose there are two places I liked, one I think I remember the name and the other I forget. The one I remember is a fish taco joint called Rossi's? If you are comming form the corridor it is on the left side of the road at an intercection. If you are comming from the airport it is on the right hand side of the road in a little strip center. Their fish tacos were just as good as Gardenia's. They have a condiment bar which looks very good but it sits in the middle of the dinning room. It is chilled but I just hate community food in general, but I had to have the stuff that was in there. Try it with the cole slaw or the Mexican salso or with mayo. Very good. The other place was a small joint called ceaser's that was outside with a tent with dirt floors. They serve a good snapper at a good price. The bathroom was one of the cleanest in cabo. I also went to a restaurant on the beach just east of the Melia resort complex. The food was good but the prices were extraordinary for what you get. I would skip the food at most oceanside places and just have a drink instead. There is also an Italian rest that is on a hill on the ocean that offers a great sunset view. Go early grab a seat and order a drink and relax. Great place to watch a sunset. This place is on the western edge of the corridor. I liked Cabo and found some good inexpensive places. If you don't try then you can end up paying an arm and a leg at the more touristy places. Yes there are a ton of time share people. Also the beaches aren't the best, the water is very rough. But if you like food and nightlife than cabo is better than san jose. And for more quite Todos Santos is better than San Jose.

Its still there.