Empire Cafe II

I have to hold up my end of the blog I spose. I had never eaten at Empire Cafe except for 1/2 price cakes and it
is the only place where you can really get Boston Creme Pie, my uncles favorite cake. Why it is called pie, I will never know. Empire has the best coffee. 1) it is unlimited 2)it comes with a cookie 3)the mugs are the perfect size to keep the coffee the correct drinkable temperature. I always come for coffee and love sitting on the porch out front to watch cars go by on Westhiemer. It is not as special as Cafe Du Monde in New Orleans but what do we really have here that is close to comparable?

For the Hurricane, I got to venture out and eat at Rucci's again. And finally, I have paid for breakfast at Empire. The quantity is large and the quality is great. It is a full, complete meal. But then again, I did not have a chance to make a moronic mistake of eating french toast, as I always do for fear of not eating a substantial meal during hurricane power outages.

The first day, I ate Hunter's Eggs. Sunny side up eggs on top of bread, with sauteed mushrooms and tomatoes. I think the bread under the eggs made the meal complete. So the next day I ordered Foccacia Eggs, which had two scrambled eggs on top of foccacia bread. The side was a cheddar hash brown, just crispy enough. Both of these meals came with fruit. Yum!

Eat a meal here! I recommend eggs.

Empire Cafe

Special Edition: I have no power for 5 days 

and eat at Empire for every meal 

since restaurants are still limited by the 

mother-of-a that left a trail of No-Power 

all over the Can-Do Capital of the World

Empire Cafe has great breakfast, and I should know since I ate it today and twice yesterday.  I was just so happy to have hot hot coffee that I couldn't leave.  Someone clever might say "Ike 'ant get enough."  

There are a million reasons to go here: foccacia eggs, gingerbread waffles, generous fruit plates, half-price cake on Wednesdays, but the train whistle that keeps blowing in my ear is the free cookies you get with your cup of joe.  There was a sign today that listed everything they didn't have (basil, liquor, bacon, pinot grigio, portabellas, etc) but the only thing on that list that was accompanied by a frowny face was cookies.  So yeah, I was sad that there were no cookies, but I ordered my coffee with a shot of espresso and let all my worries slip away.

Parts of this city are scary dark. I am grateful for the coffee each morning brings.

Ruchi's

Special Edition: Hurricane Ike 

Ruchi's was the first restaurant we went to after that son-of-a blew through town, and it was great.  We waited outside the restaurant -- velvet rope style -- to be let in.  Then we snatched up a table for seven and ordered a round of eight drinks.  My dad said this was all very New Orleans, which I believed and relished. 

One of our dining companions claims Ruchi's green sauce is the BEST salsa in town.  For my part, I'll claim that Ruchi's has the best bang for your barbacoa buck.  I had a barbacoa torta and I ate the whole thing.  Sure, afterwards I felt pregnant with regret, but I'd do it all again.

Bottom line on Ruchi's: Cheap, delicious, and you can drink there when you're under 21

Baba Yega

David hadn't been here since the fall of 1998 when he awkwardly ran into his Calculus teacher the day he dropped Calculus for being the second worst student in the class.  So to celebrate this 10 year anniversary, we stopped in for some meat-free dinner.

Not everything at Baba Yega is meat-free, but we felt inspired by vegetarians tonight.  The thing about vegetarians is that you cannot put them in a box; vegetarians run the gamut from meanies to weenies.  

I was starving so we started off with chips and queso which were pretty average.  Then I had a grilled portabella sandwich.  What a delight!  It's like a big juicy mushroom topped with a healthy green salad surrounded by a soft (not mushy) wheat bun.  David had a black bean burger, half of which he is saving for lunch tomorrow.  He told me he is going to give it to Mr. Trout as an apology for giving up all those years ago.

El Rey

I do not love pictures of myself. Peggy simply had the camera out while I was driving, texting, drinking coffee and eating El Rey tacos at the same time. There were no deaths, but an accident did occur. Black beans spilt all over my crotch and Peggy said, I am not cleaning that mess up. So what if I went to dinner and art openings in Austin looking like I defecated all over myself. No biggie. I thought the hat which I purchased for a dollar at an estate sale, would draw attention to my face. Well, I forgot my hat and it was all about bean crotch.

It was worth it. El Rey Tacos- people are chilling at the barstools, there is plenty of light and windows... it is like Taqueria meets Diner. The tacos- I got carnitas and then the Cubano- which is plantains, sour cream, black beans, and choice of meat. Peggys, chicken; Mine,beef. (I do not know if Peggy ate chicken but I wanted to use a semi colon). Kelly recommended this place to me the last time she and I drove to Austin. I recommend this place to anyone who needs a great weekend snack. While there is a long drive through line, I suggest going inside and sitting down.

I say yes to this place.

Nidda (Westheimer)

That's right, this was my third meal out today.  The fullness factor was intense, you guys, but I pushed through it and enjoyed the shit out of this restaurant.

(Confession time: I'm writing this 48 hours after eating there so I can't remember what the names of the food was that we ordered.  Ignore that and keep reading with your belly open.)

We started with fresh spring rolls which I usually avoid because I think they're often too rice-y, like who wants a bunch of rice vermicelli wrapped in rice paper?  But these were GREAT.  They were loaded with veggies (ok carrots) and fried tofu.  They also came sliced open (great for sharing) and with a delightful peanut sauce.  Who doesn't love a good peanut sauce? No one, that's who.  Even people with nut allergies can eat peanut sauce because peanuts are legumes.

Then the 3 of us ordered two main dishes: (1) a curry with sweet potatoes and other vegetables and chicken and (2) a garlic pepper beef w/ broccoli.  Both were good, but the curry really stood out.  As I recall, the sweet potatoes were carved in flower shapes and thickly sliced so they had a nice texture all coated in that sweet/spicy curry.  Yum!

The ambience is the only detraction, but that might be an idiosyncratic complaint.  According to me, thai food should be consumed on a shady front porch on a hot night.  But that's because I grew up on Thai Noodle House in the weird capital of Texas.  

Pico's

Chiles en nogada translated literally means fucking delicious.  It is a poblano pepper stuffed with pork (or rice if you are a vegetarian aka carb freak) in a creamy walnut sauce with almonds and raisins, topped with dried cranberries.  What else can I say?

Cost was $9 on the lunch menu and it came with a random salad with iceberg lettuce and a cilantro dressing which I ignored.  But, speaking of cilantro! the red salsa at this place is loaded with cilantro: thumbs up! 

Also, I was tempted by but did not partake in $2.75 margaritas at lunch.  The reasons for this abstention are both frivolous and serious.  My dining partner was achin' from a bachelor party last night so he was no fun, but more importantly, these margaritas are potent and this restaurant is out in Bellaire.  And I don't know anyone who lives there anymore, so if I had gotten hammered (see El Pueblito), I would have had no one's house to walk to.  Jaime said that's why I should go on dates: so that my date can drive my ass around drunk.  Sounds like a recipe for date rape, I say.  

All in all: great Mex-Mex.  Some say the BEST in town.  Well well, let the games begin.

This is David now. I hacked in.... let me just show you.... this is a human head next to an out-of-this-world gianormous 'medium' margarita.

Bibas (One's A Meal) (West Gray)

Martin and I went running at Memorial, and then we treated ourselves to some yummy breakfast food at Bibas.  We tried to go to the one on Memorial, but it wasn't open.  Which makes me think it's closed for good, which would be a shame, but really, we all knew there was only one location ever worth going to anyways.

Waffle: A great blend of fluffy and crunchy, it was loaded up with buttery goodness.  They did not bring me any maple syrup (aka corn syrup) which didn't bother me in the least.  Let me just take a moment to say that the ubiquity of fake maple syrup is on my top 10 list of What Is Wrong with America.

Eggs: fine.

Martin got a bunch of shit; he said the grits were good.  I don't eat grits because I don't know what they are. Corn? Please, I didn't just fall off the turnip truck.

Demeris on Shepherd

I said No no no

This woman with feathery hair and a textured shirt could not take her eyes off of Peggy's necklace. She said "Is that one
necklace?" The answer was yes. It was only one necklace, not. And then she kept staring at it while she was waiting for the credit card transaction.

Years ago, I said Demeris is not good.  I still think it is not worth going to.  Go to Goode Company.

Peggy's turkey plate had green beans from a can, $10. Overpriced. The onion rings are good, but what onion ring is bad. The sandwich was fine, but why not have a better sandwich at a place with ambience.

Berryhill nachos

Nacho regular nachos!

I had a craving for nachos and it was a pleasant surprise when I ordered nachos from Berryhill since tamale is in their name
and they are known for delicious fish tacos. The nachos were large and in charge.

Large portions, tasty fajita beef and chicken, good guacamole, tomatoes, onions, cheese, beans, and jalepenos. Yum yum! Even though it is under apps it could be a meal.

I approve.

DaMarco

DaMarco: the best lunch special in town!

$25 for a three course lunch.  It was fabulous.

Course 1: I had a grilled eggplant salad which was served with warm creamy goat cheese that integrated the salad.  It was the special salad of the day.  Dining companions had a creamy corn soup which was also very good, light.  Another ordered the frisee salad with pears, which was a mound of frisee, so pretty!

Course 2: All but one of us went with the highly recommended parpadelle with rabbit.  It was really good.  I said "what does rabbit taste like?" and everyone predictably said "chicken" but that really wasn't true.  Since I've never had it before, this could be in the preparation, but the rabbit was very moist and tender and it had more flavor than chicken.  It's a flavor I don't feel confident in describing right now (I must admit that although the time stamp says otherwise, this is not live blogging from the restaurant.  Live blogging makes me want to vomit, which wouldn't be good in a restaurant.)

Course 3: The best course, as always.  2 people went with the flourless chocolate cake with coffee ice cream, a safe choice.  I tried it and it was good, the cake wasn't overwhelmingly chocolate, although it would have been too dry without the ice cream.  I had the panna cotta, what a dream.  So light and delicate, and as the waiter served it to me, he poured about half a tablespoon of aged balsamic vinegar on it.  Sounds bad, right?  It's not!  The tartness of the vinegar  cuts the sweetness of the dessert and the sweet cream highlights the sweet flavor of the vinegar (it was very very mild).  

Four stars, what a deal.  Although you might want to dress up a little, we got looks when we all went in there lookin' unemployed, which we all were (all but one of us, but she had already changed into jeans).  I am loving Houston.

Pho Sai Gon at Milam

Thumbs down! This place sucks.

But we were trying to be adventurous after going to Spec's.
Spec's First Tuesday of the Month has a wine tasting, which I give
several thumbs up, although we did not partake on this night. I was
too tired and too hungry to feel that drunk and have to fight a mob to
'taste' wine. But you pay ten dollars for a wine glass and get to taste
20 different wines. There is a report card that you get to evaluate each
wine with and you leave with all of your information and opinions, in case
you want to purchase any of these beverages.

Why Pho Sai Gon Sucks
-the lemon beef vermicelli had gristle and bones
-it just was not tasty

The Upside
-an interesting Salty Lemon Water- a little bit sweet and a lot of salt, it was tasty
-the Thai Coffee was like every coffee, yum!

People We Love
-the man in the seer sucker-white and blue stripes-suit...
he was wearing a republican elephant tie and had band aids
all over his face

---$ (minus minus minus $ = cheap!)
not worth the cheap price we paid....
you can always go to Nit Noi, even though they have upped their prices,
at least their food is good

Aka Sushi House

Aka Sushi House is great.  I went with a friend from out of town and we spent $47 for one beer, four rolls and some edamame.  Pricey, sure, but (1) if you want cheap sushi, you might as well just order food poisoning and (2) some of those rolls were really good. The highlight, I think, was the red moon roll, a reverse roll of pepper tuna, avocado and spicy salmon with wasabi tobiko. We also had a dragon roll which was delicious (grilled eel, shrimp tempura and crabmeat) but even I couldn't fit that whole thing in my mouth so it was kinda a disaster to eat.

Location: W. Alabama between Shepherd and Kirby

Something to keep in mind: Happy Hour all day Sunday!