vergilius's Profile
Sour Pickles
Spec's Warehouse in Midtown carries Ba-Tampte pickles. Love the garlic dill and half sour pickles.
Croissants
I spent a week in Paris this past August and have been trying ever since to find a croissant in Houston that is even remotely close to what I ate daily while there. I have tried several bakeries and, dare I admit it, grocery stores, in Houston, but everything I have had here tastes like a listless, boring, lump of bread. I am looking for a slightly crispy on the outside (with a shiny glaze) and nice and airy on the inside croissant that will transport my tastebuds some 5,000 miles eastward when I bite into it. Any suggestions?
Barritt's Ginger Beer?
I'll second Cock and Bull. If you really want something different try Goya Jamaican Style Ginger Beer. It has a lot of heat to it. You can find it at Kroger's in the "ethnic foods" aisle and probably at most other grocery stores.
Nino's Italian Restaurant
The other really good dining option in the Nino's/Vincent's compound is Grappino di Nino. It is located behind the two restaurants and is just off the parking area. It has a great outdoor seating area, live music (a little schlocky but still nice) and many of the same dishes as Nino's and Vincent's but in smaller "tapas-size" portions. The food and ambiance are really first-rate.
Berripop (Houston)
I tried Berripop for the first time this weekend and highly recommend it. It is an upscale frozen yogurt place in the shopping center at Richmond and Weslayan. It was quite good, with great tasting flavors (blueberry, peach) and toppings (pomegranate seeds and other fresh fruits, as well as old kid-friendly stand-bys like gummi bears). The workers were friendly and the atmosphere was relaxing and low-key. I like that the frozen yogurt is not overly sweet and has some tartness to it. Definitely a winner!
HOU - Need Chow b/w TMC and Hobby
The route between the Med Center and Hobby is pretty much a wasteland, food and otherwise, so you are probably best off heading to the Rice Village area which is just a few minutes in the other direction.
Some spots to consider are benjy's (http://www.benjys.com/) for hipster comfort food (i.e., New American), any of the Goode Company (http://www.goodecompany.com/) restaurants (barbecue, Tex-Mex or seafood), Cova (http://www.covawines.com/) for wine bar and food and El Meson (http://www.elmeson.com/) for Cuban/Mexican food.
SW Houston Chow - Lo Nuestro - Guatemalan
Great review, brucesw. I have eaten there a couple of times and enjoyed it as well. It is about as basic (and authentic) as it gets, and it is interesting to see the similarities and differences between the food they serve and the usual Tex-mex fare.
Best Jewish style deli in Houston?
It is in a very nondescript strip shopping center located on Hillcroft at South Braeswood - 9724 Hillcroft St.
If you do go, make sure to go to the Russian General Store in the shopping center on the other side of Hillcroft - 9629 Hillcroft St. Lot's of interesting imported items from Russia and Eastern Europe. I love the pickles that they make themselves, as well as the breads, jams, dried fruits and Lithuanian beer (Svyturys), among other things.
Best Jewish style deli in Houston?
I tried New York Bagel & Coffee Shop for the first time this past weekend. What an experience! (and I mean that in a positive way). It is like entering both a time warp and a geographic warp at the same time. It feels like what I would imagine a Queens deli/diner from the '70's to be like.
The food was very good, as was the service (even though it was packed and the waitresses were running around). It seemed much more authentic than Kenny & Ziggy's. We were there for breakfast, and I definitely plan to go back again soon for lunch. It had all your basic breakfast foods - eggs, bagels (with lox of course, if desired), pancakes and similar items, as well as things like whitefish salad, pickled herring, salami omelet (which I ordered for the heck of it, and enjoyed), etc. Prices are very modest. And of course, the bagels were delcious.
[HOU] Daily Review Cafe?
Daily Review has been around for a long time, and I believe it has had changes in ownership over the years, but it has always been a good choice for upscale "New American"/comfort food. When weather permits, it has a very nice outdoor dining area as well. The chicken pot pie is one of the old standbys, but there are plenty of other good things on the menu. It is convenient to downtown, so it can be a good choice for a business lunch.
Mongolian barbecue in Houston area
The only place I can think of is Gold Ribbon Bake Shop on Holcombe near the Medical Center. It is a Filipino restaurant that has a Mongolian barbecue sideline, but...everytime I have gone there they were not serving the Mongolian barbecue, so I can't say if it is any good (or if it even exists for that matter). Hopefully other Chowhounds have some suggestions.
Good Lebanese in Houston?
Cafe Lili is a great Lebanese restaurant. It is counter service and not fine dining, so it will not have the upscale ambiance that you are looking for, but it is nicer than similar establishments. It is family owned, and they are always there taking orders, working in the kitchen and doling out the very strong, Cardamom? flavored complimentary after-dinner coffee.
http://www.cafelili.com/
It may exist, but I cannot think of any high-end Middle Eastern restaurants in Houston.
Cajun / Creole / Po Boys in Houston
I agree with brucesw on Brennan's for Creole, it is really outstanding. For Cajun, Treebeard's is my favorite. And for po'boys, the shrimp and/or oyster po'boys at Goode Company Seafood and Tony Mandola's are great.
Persian in Houston - Kasra and ???
Cafe Caspian is quite good. Another one to try is Bijan Persian Grill on Hillcroft (it has counter service rather than sit down ordering).
Mole in Houston
I have always enjoyed the mole and other "Mex-Mex" dishes (like the pollo or cochinita pibil and the chiles en nogada) at Pico's Mex-Mex on Bellaire Blvd. The atmosphere is great too (no doubt aided by the birdbath size margaritas).
http://www.picos.net/
Best Texas Wine
I also vote for Becker wines and Tito's vodka. All of the Becker wines are very good, from the inexpensive Iconoclast Cabernet, to the upper-end Cabernet-Syrah and Reserve Cabernet.
Visiting U of Houston
As another poster suggested, Kanomwan is a great place for Thai. Doneraki at Gulfgate is not too far away and is a good choice for Mexican.
[Hou] Saturday business brunch?
The places you list are all pretty casual, so this suggestion may be coming from left field, but Brennan's is a classic, upscale spot for brunch. In general, brunch seems to be associated with fun, and fun is almost always associated with loud, so that is the situation you typically end up with.
New to Houston- does what we're looking for exist here? Good Thai, Indian, unpretentious American?
You bring up a good point about the restaurant scene in Houston. Just by reading the posts on this board you can see that the restaurants basically fall into 3 categories: (1) inexpensive hole-in-the-walls and ethnic restaurants with great food, (2) mid-priced restaurants (often chains) with mediocre food, and (3) expensive trendy restaurants with great food. Since this board is essentially about people seeking great food, there ends up being a lot of discussion about restaurants in categories (1) and (3), and Houston has plenty of them. It may be a principle of restaurant economics 101, but you do not come across many restaurants of the type you describe - upscale food in a relaxed setting (which I will add the qualifiers of mid-priced and good atmosphere).
Soooooo........when you want something nicer than Thelma's, Ninfa's or Kanomwan but don't want the wallet whipping of Da Marco, Reef or Strip House, where do you go? I'm not sure (Raven Grill is one place that comes to mind though, http://www.theravengrill.com/), but hopefully there are fellow chowhounds who can give suggestions!
[HOU] Mockingbird Bistro
I ate there earlier this year and really enjoyed it. It has very good food and ambience and an extensive wine list (with reasonable mark-ups). I had the mussels appetizer and the steak frites, both of which were great (and the pommes frites, aka french fries, were highly addictive). It has a romantic atmosphere which is ideal for a date night dinner. I would definitely go back again.
Best Texas Wine Under $10
Becker Iconoclast fits the bill. It is a Cabernet that can be found for under $10 (by a hair - it is usually $9.99, although I have seen it as low as $7.99). It is quite good while still being very drinkable. You really can't go wrong with any of their wines. Just tell yourself that $15 is the new $10 (which unfortunately leads to $20 is the new $15, which leads to...you get the idea).
Lay it on us. You mention that you have certain wines in mind yourself. Which ones?
Persian in Houston - Kasra and ???
The spice you enjoyed is called sumac. http://www.thespicehouse.com/spices/powdered-sumac Don't worry, it has nothing to do with the other sumac, aka poison oak. It is a very popular spice that is added to Persian food, especially kebabs.
It is great that you are trying something new, and you are on the right path of trying different dishes and diferent restaurants. I don't know how useful it is to do a side-by-side comparison between items of Persian food and similar Indian or Middle Eastern dishes, though. The flavors are going to be different and the "new" dishes are probably going to suffer in comparison to the "old" dishes you have had many times.
Other restaurants to try are Kolbeh, Garson and Cafe Caspian. As for different dishes, try the various types of kebabs, stews and rice dishes. You should be able to find something that you really like. Good luck!
weekend eats in Houston
Help us help you by narrowing it down a bit. Any particular type of food or place you are looking for? As you can see from the rest of the board, there are plenty of great options, especially in the area that you will be, so focus the Houston chowhounds and the suggestions will roll in ;-)
Houston-Try something new
Polonia Restaurant is quite good. I had dinner there a couple of months ago and really enjoyed it. They have a sampler plate for two that covers everything on the menu that looks interesting. The food is delicious, the service is good, and the prices are a real bargain. And where else can you watch a Polish soccer game on tv while you eat?
Good upscale restaurants near Texas Medical Center?
You have gotten some good suggestions, such as Trevisio, Brennan's and Hotel Zaza. Other possibilities in the Midtown area (which is not too far away and is between the Med Center and Downtown) are t'afia (http://www.tafia.com/), REEF (http://www.reefhouston.com/), and Ibiza (http://www.ibizafoodandwinebar.com/ibiza.html). They all have excellent food and atmosphere, and might at least briefly help your friends take a break from a very difficult time. If I had to pick just one place, it would be Brennan's - an old reliable that is in a class of its own.
Houston Pre-Prom Restaurant?
Kim Son may be a good choice (the one on Jefferson just east of 59 and downtown). The food is good and reasonably priced and the setting is more upscale than most of the similar restaurants in the area. There always seem to be large special events taking place there (birthdays, anniverary parties, etc.), so your daughter and here friends would fit right in.
Best Jewish style deli in Houston?
There really are not too many choices in Houston, but Kenny and Ziggy's is probably your best bet. Food is quite good, service is a bit gruff (which is very authentic) and the free pickles are delicious. I am not a big fan of Khan's It is really more of a funky sandwich shop than a real deli. And I absolutely agree with you about Katz's - it is nothing special.
Oyster PoBoys in Houston
Try Tony Mandola's Gulf Coast Kitchen on West Gray. They have very good oyster and shrimp poboys. It's up-scale and with nice ambience, but not too pricey.
Gelato in Houston
You could try Paciugo's as others have suggested. It is good, but not great. It is probably impossible to find gelato as good as what you had in Rome (both because it is that much better there and because your memory has made it even better). You may have to adjust your expectations a bit. :-)
Corpus Christi wedding rehearsal dinner
We had our rehearsal dinner 7 years ago at the Republic of Texas. It is a high-end steakhouse on the top floor of the Omni Hotel overlooking the Bay. It was a wonderful meal in a wonderful setting. It went off without a hitch (although we did get hitched the next day), and was truly memorable in every way.
http://www.omnihotels.com/republic/
