jscarbor

Agreed. I've been to Sabri Nihari just once - thought the beef nihari was great. I've been meaning to try Aga's on Wilcrest, just off 59 - one very good review on b4 and it's near me. Tortas Las Llardas, Hillcroft, just off 59. Cramped space; this is a chain with several locations. I had a chilanga w/ham, beef skirt, chorizo, melted cheese, avocado, tomato, hot sauce on a sesame seed telera - good, but a little skimpy on fillings. Many other choices. Mexico's Deli - on the recommendation of Kerr. Dairy Ashford, just north of Westheimer. Can't remember the name of the torta but it had sirloin (very thinly sliced), ham (ditto), queso, avocado, guajillo sauce on telera bread (sesame seed). A better sandwich; great salsas on the side, a cup of Mexican beef broth with fideo. Great place, wish it was closer to where I live. Also have hit The Russian General Store, Golden Grains, and Saba's recently, plus El Quetzal bakery on Gessner and Carrbbean Cuisine on Bissonnet - great jerk chicken. Will report on them when I get some more time. ← Aga's is good so is Heritage on 90 just off 1092.

I have been meaning to hit some different Indi/Paki places but its so hard to pass on Himalaya. One of the biggest things is that alot of the Indi/Paki places have lunch buffett which offer great value but typically at the expense of the food. Anyway, please give it a try and let us know. I have been to Sabri Nihari for buffet and it was good.

Recently went to Irmas for lunch with Morgan W after a long time of not going. The food was better than I remember but the prices are still crazy. We started with some better than avg chili con queso. I ordered the cheese enchiladas with carnita meat and an excellent red chili sauce. Seriously some of the best enchiladas I have had. So recap my part split order of Queso, enchiladas and an overly sweet but still good watermelon lemonade....$20($40 between the 2 of us). Was it worh it? Not on a regular basis but enchiladas that good are worth a splurge every now and then.

BB's on Montrose for some really good po boys! Roast beef my fav followed by the shrimp then the oyster. Let me just say that the oyster, even though it was my least favorite po boy HERE ,it is still on of the best sandwiches in the city. This is my current go to lunch spot. I love it.

My number one would be Tampico Seafood on Airline for the whole grilled red snapper. Ask to sit upstairs if that part is open, its a litlle more comfy. Himalaya is my next go to restaurant. A little nicer would be Catalan, especially if you like wine. This is hands down the best wine list with the best prices in Houston. Food is good to very good.

Stopped by the Grove on a sunny afternoon to check out the park (Still some work going on) and peek in The Grove. The park looks like it will be a really cool place to hang out at. I like that they will have some entertainmant periodically. It will be really cool to hang on the lawn listening to some tunes and eating something from the casual restaurant drinking a cold one. The Grove is a slick looking place. The first thing you notice is that it is huge! I don't know how they can make a restaurant this size work? You could have 100 people dining and it could look empty. Anyway I decided to have a house margarita. The rita was not that great really, more sugar than sour. And the price tag for this small house margarita? Try $11.50! Are you kidding? Don't know about the food but I will probably not find out. The menu looks a little boring to me. To many interesting places with way better wine lists and a whole lot of places with better margaritas to go to for a whole lot cheaper.

FYI, I just had a Lankfords Burger today and it was pretty avg. I have plenty of good ones but I would say this was not worth the calories and that is pretty much my burger litmus test.

I like Louie M's but it has been the least consistant of my favorite places over the years. I have had 2 GREAT experinces here and 3 not so great. I chalk one of the bad one's up to hitting it at about 10:30 am the sat after thanksgiving. Anyway, its good but not the best IMO because of that. City Market in Luling, Smitty's in Lockhart, and Burns in Houston are probably my favorite.

I think they are only similar to in and out in that they use fresh patties and they use fresh potatoes. The fries at In and out are very good and the burgers are as good as it gets fast food wise.

Roznofski's is decent but not in the top tier. Little Bitty, Christians Tailgate on Washington, Lankfords, Bubbas, Stantons are some of my favorites. For the record it blows away the Tornado burger in Stafford that has been raved about by Allisson Cook and Rob Walsh.

After checking out A. Cook's blog then the review in the Chron I thought I would give this place a shot. It wasn't that crowded but by the panicin the emloyees faces you would have thoughtit was. Don't get me wrong, there was not a table to be had but of course there are only 6-7 tables inside and a few bench seats outside. I stood in line about 5 minutes before low and behold having my order taken by Oprah! OK maybe not, but this lady resembled her like nobodies business. She was great too. Alot of times at these small places that get agood review you can get some attitude, usually from the stress but this lady was cool. Looking around you could tell things were running a little off, the unbused table, the unfilled self serve water pitcher...but for the most part it just looked busy. At one point someone came out of the kitchen sweating looking very dazed mumbling "mom momma told me to be careful for what I wished for". I laughed. When my order was ready the guy said, "you john?" I said yes. He siad, I made you a half pounder by accident. I told him sarcasticly to take it back and get me what I ordered dammit! We had a laugh and I took my burger and fries outside. From the start I could tell this was the real deal. This was an old time Roznovski's burger back when they were good. They use quarter pound patties. This was a nice greasy very flavorful burger. I think it easily catupults into the top 3 burgers in Houston. The fries while a little soggy were fresh and tasty. I applaud the fresh french fry but it really requires a lot of work to do it right. Tey never will probably but atleast they try. Give ema shot around Antoine and Pinemont

I'll go anytime but I like it for dinner because of the nice wine list.

I had the espresso yesterday and it is very good. Rich slightly acidic flavor with some herbal overtones and a thick rich crema on top.

Peter, that was a real treat. Next time you are in Houston give us a heads up and we can oint you in the direction of some other great places if you would like.

www.thegrovehouston.com menu's on there, not sure about wine list. From what I hear, the Lake House is supposed to be just nice burgers and fries. So I don't think any of the menu's supposed to transfer over. Could be wrong. Ryan Pera, formerly of 17 is heading the kitchen as executive chef. Having once worked for him, I can say the food should be anywhere from extremely solid to really good. The food is a lot calmer than 17's menu was though. ← Just found the menu. You have to acutally read the site, its not up there on a toolbar or anything like that. I'm sure they wont be transferring some of the menu over to Lakehouse but why in the world do they have chicken wings and queso on the Groove menu? Thats a little odd isn't it? Maybe its a bar area only item? I bet they are good though.

I recently made some Cassoulet that was really good but I have a leftover raw by product that I want to cook up. I bought a big slabof pork belly and cut the rind off to use in the cassoulet. Now I have a about a pount of rindlesspork belly. Is there anything really great I can do with it? is it technically pork belly still?

Sichuan was just legalized in the states a couple of years ago. I don't know if Hong Kong Mrkt out on Bellaire has them but I would they do. In the food court at the mall there you can try some boiled crawfish vietnamese style. That is you get the boiled crawfish and make up a spicey concoction with chili sauces and mayo at the condiment area.

Of the places you listed i would go to De Marco or Reef.

I wonder if some of the menu will switch over to the Boathouse(isn't that the name of the other place in Discovery Green)? Also, I don't know if they have put up a website in the last week but it looks like all they have is a blurb in the discovery green website? No menu, no wine list...

I saw that Tortas Angel got a write up in the chronicle today. I have been just once and want to reiterate that the bread is the best I have had for a torta. Its a good solid place for lunch in the heights. The guy up front said it was somehow connected to Maria Selmas ownership?

Thanks for sharing with us. I hope you have a good trip. Also, the mussells and frites at the belgian place rock.

Sugarbabies on shepherd for cupcakes. I went the other day for a cupcake. Store is very cute decked out on black, white and pink. Cupcakes are all about $3.25 each. I had the tofee one and it was very good. A little on the sweet side and there might be a little to much frosting but hey, who worries about too much frosting?

What about red oak and maple? Any thoughts on the wood choice?

I went to Beavers again recently and had a good time. I REALLY enjoy the bar and its bartenders. After my 2 visits I want to really like this place but I'm not sure I can completely. I don't know what happened to Kent on his visit but to say there isn't enough smoke in the bbq is crazy. This is the smokiest bbq I have ever had, so much so that I think it is too smokey. I could barely finish the brisket I ordered because of the what in my opinion is too much smoke. I remembered my ribs being really smokey as well on an earlier visit. Maybe it is the type of wood? I don't know red oak or maple as far as what they give but I think it may give a slightly bitter over smoked taste? Post oak seems to be my favorite followed by Pecan and Hickory. Maybe they are still testing, I don't know? I am going to give it another shot, possibly the pork. I did have a really tasty pepporicini stuffed with goat cheese that was pretty tasty. I'd like to order some sides but I can't afford to eat bbq, drink some really good cocktails and eat sides at this place. Anyway, it would be nice if a few more people could give this place a shot and see if I am off base here.

Been a long time since I went to Reggae Hut. Good place. I noticed that the bbq joint on W Grey near Post apartments and Front Porch has a sign that says Luling BBQ coming soon? I wonder if this is the Richmond Ave Luling?