Bhutani's Profile
coming to houston and need recs!!
I would recommend both Reef and T'afia as mentioned above. Reef has amazing seafood and an oustanding/well-priced wine list. T'afia has amazing cocktails. I like both Da Marco and Dolce Vita but you can eat as well if not better at Vetri's/Osteria in Philly. Indika is unique contemporary Indian restaurant that may be worth checking out. If you are into wine at all, I would recommend Ibiza in midtown.
I would also suggest having some Vietnamese while in town. Houston's midtown (while maybe not the best Vietnamese in the city) is still unlike most any other city in the US. For bahn mi, check out Cali sandwiches or even Givral's. Pho is pretty good at Van Loc.
[DFW] Nonna: I surrender
I totally agree. If pasta with red sauce is what you are after, this isn't going to fulfill that desire. I too am in the pro-Nonna camp and if Dallas doesn't care for that sort of restaurant, we would gladly welcome them moving to Houston.
Tasting menus in Houston?
As much as I love t'afia for what it is - chef-driven, local produce focused - I don't think that it is, nor is it trying to be, in the caliber of the restaurants the OP mentioned from Chicago. This is an area where Houston does not have a wealth of options. The first place that comes to mind is Voice in the Hotel Icon downtown. It will fulfill the high-end tasting menu quota but isn't all that forward thinking (aside from cooking one dish sous vide). If you happen to be in town on a night when Randy Rucker does one of his Tenacity dinners (unfortunately few of them are on weekends), that would be the most forward-thinking cuisine you will find in Houston.
one great dinner in dallas please
If you are coming from NYC area, I presume you would want to try something that you might not find in NY. I would definately skip Steel. There is far better sushi at Tei Tei, Yutaka. I would second Dallas Alice and recommend Local. I wouldn't do Lola (though I do like the restaurant) unless you are really into wine (wine prices are hard to beat). Stephen Pyles is certainly unique. I haven't been there recently but have heard the issues with over salting dishes has been rectified. I am also a big fan of Hattie's in Bishop Arts-not necessarily fine dining but pretty excellent upscale southern.
[HOU] Gourmet India report
In terms of your question regarding the papads, there are many different styles of papads. In India, you get both toasted and fried papads depending on the region with the toasted being more prevelent in the North. Sindhi papads which are typically smaller and have less spice are usually fried.
Inventive Tasting Menu or Chef's Table for my 22nd Bday in Dallas/FW??
I don't think that you can do a private chef's table but I would check out Nana. I think the food is far more inventive than what you find at Lola. The tasting menu plus the view from the dining room will provide you with a great experience.
Is it okay to plot the demise of my smooth top range?
I haven't done this in a while since I now cook with a gas stove, but whenever I would get stains on the smooth top electric burners, I would try and burn it off. It works surprisingly well. Turn the stovetop on high and allow the caked on material to disolve. The residual would usually wipe clean with a damp rag afterwards.
Pierogi? [DFW]
I recently bought some at the Dallas Farmers Market. I believe the lady selling them is in shed 1 (the shed that is being remodeled). She sells a number of varieties along with sauce.
FRESH pasta in DFW?
I know of 2 places that sell fresh pasta (mainly ravioli):
1) Holy Ravioli - http://www.holyravioli.com/
2) Civello's Raviolismo: http://civellosraviolismo.com/
25+ wines from Merry Edwards, Martinelli, Siduri/Novy, Carol Shelton, Rosenblum
thanks for the report. I really loved last year's SB from Merry Edwards. I really like her pinot's as well but they aren't exactly cheap. Other pinots I enjoyed on my trip out threre last year were Freeman's (esp Akiko's cuvee) and a number of pinots from Pappapietro-Perry.
[DFW] Best Place in Dallas to get a Michelada [DFW]
Here are some of my faves (might not exactly qualify as inexpensive, but they make them without having to explain what's in them):
- Urban Taco
- Cafe San Miguel
- Mi Cocina (I know what you are thinking, but their Michelada is pretty good actually)
Seafood Paella in Dallas?
I haven't found a good one. I haven't tried Chic from Barcelona's paella though (they have a shrimp one). Most versions are really bastardized with fish mixed with rice. I like Flavor restaurant a lot but their version is no where near authentic. The problem with most places is that they don't get the socarrat that you get from cooking it properly in a proper paella pan.
Anyone been to Pulcinella on Henderson yet?
Mediocre review in today's guidelive. I would have to agree with what the reviewer experienced. Really nothing too standout with this place.
http://www.guidelive.com/portal/page?_pageid=33,97400&_dad=portal&_schema=PORTAL&item_id=65486
"I am from [insert city], so I know good food"
Thanks for getting this back on topic, moh, and reiterating what I was driving at in my original post. To mrbozo, there usually aren't qualifiers in the statement. I wouldn't be as critical of a poster stating that they knew certain foods or dishes because they hailed from a certain city. For example, "I am from SF, so I know good cioppino (or sourdough bread)". It is the blanket statement, I am from ______, so I know good food, that kinda irks me.
chinese restaurants with a banquet hall in the dfw area
It is actually Vietnamese but still a good restaurant nonetheless.
rehersal supper in Houston
Maybe Churassco's which has a restaurant out at Westeimer and Gessner. I don't how large a room that they can provide but the food at the Cordua's restaurants is always good. Also, depending on where your guests are from, the cuisine is not something you find everywhere.
http://www.cordua.com/
Is Sandra Lee influencing restaurant chefs?
I ask the question as the idea came to me after a recent dining experience. While I know there is no way in hell that any respectable restaurant would be stealing tips from her, one dish made me think she might have had a hand in its creation. I was out to dinner at a respectable sushi restaurant. After the waiter told us that many customers dine at the restaurant soley for this appetizer, we decided to go ahead and order the tuna and crab nachos. What we were served was sliced sushi grade tuna, crab meat with a ponzu vinaigrette on a TOSTITOS SCOOP chip! While the presentation and flavor weren't horrible, all I could think about while eating the dish was seeing it on an episode of Semihome Made paired along side a sake fruit punch, hot dog tempura, and a Pier One latern inspired tablescape. Couldn't the restaurant fry up a wonton wrapper or do something a little more innovative than taking quality ingredients and putting them on a store bought corn chip?
food allergies.....ask or tell?
There is no doubt that having a gluten sensitivity (not a true allergy) is much more restrictive to one's diet than say a peanut or tree nut allergy. However, with celiac sprue though, suffers don't have the immediate life threatening reactions that peanut allergic patients do. So, an accidental exposure isn't as dire.
new to Houston
As for restaurant suggestions, here is a similar post from about a year ago that has a lot of good suggestions:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/422472
food allergies.....ask or tell?
The majority of peanut reactions are not to mold or anything else on the surface of the peanuts. The reactions are due to proteins within the peanuts. The major allergens have been identified (usually go by nomenclature ara h 1-7).
food allergies.....ask or tell?
Just because your blood work states you have allergic antibodies (IgE) does not mean that you are allergic. Immunocap (RAST) testing is notoriously imprecise at identifying food allergies. It is a much more useful test for ruling food allergies out. In cases of positive tests, patients are able to tolerate the food in about 50% of cases. For the most common food allergens (like peanut, cow's milk, soy, fish, etc.) there have been threshold values set that identify those with a greater likelihood of reacting. With rarer food allergens who knows what a the positive value means.
In your case, lisafaz, I would obviously avoid pineapple given your previous reaction. If you have eaten potatoes and corn before without problems, the test most likely mean nothing. Also, how high your IgE to a specific food means nothing in terms of how severe an allergic reaction may be.
food allergies.....ask or tell?
I just want to clarify this mention of iodine and shellfish allergy. That is complete bunk. People that have had previous reactions to contrast media do not have cross reactions with "iodine" in shellfish. This is an old belief that has been disproven. That is not to say that you can't have allergic reactions to both but it is different mechanisms involved. The major allergen in the majority of shellfish is tropomyosin. Despite disproving this long-held belief of the iodine reaction with shellfish, most radiology forms still ask patients about shellfish allergy. The allergy community has not done a good of educating the radiologists.
"I am from [insert city], so I know good food"
What boards to you read? Not going to see that lingo used on the NYC or Cali boards. I see it not too uncommonly on the Texas board for example.
"I am from [insert city], so I know good food"
Am I the only one that gets irked when I see a post prefaced by this phrase? I know I am probably being overly sensitive, but that statement just reeks of arrogance. I didn't put specific cities in the title but I usually see it from NY or SF, but I have seen others. I understand that these are great restaurant towns and there is a certain amount of envy on my part that I don't have ready access to such great restaurants. However, people that live outside these cities can "know food" as well. What does the above statement imply to those that aren't so lucky to live in those cities? Just because you come from specified city doesn't automatically imply that you know food. By posting on a site such as this, it is implied that you, and those that you are seeking assistance from, know food. Why then make mention of how much you know food just because you come from wherever?
I have no issue when a person is looking for suggestions when travelling to another city and mentions where they are from. That assists other CHs in offering suggestions that they might not find in their hometown. In this case, though, it goes beyond just mentioning where you are from.
Ordering @ Hattie's, Babe's & Twisted Root, Dallas
I don't think there is really anything light about the food at Twisted Root. It is great, don't get me wrong, but the burgers are pretty sizeable. It is also a little out of the way if you are heading towards Waco on Sunday.
Hattie's Sunday brunch is great but definately not light. I am a big fan of their shrimp and grits, the crab cakes, and the cheese tart with caramalized onions. Lately, they have a special chicken and waffles that is really great (you may be tired of fried chicken though after Babe's). Some of the lighter alternatives would be the fried green tomato sandwich, the cheddar cheese tart or their entree salad.
Alexandra Guarnaschelli’s Show
Thanks for the update. Sounds promising. Here is the link to the original post:
http://www.chowhound.com/topics/539193
Traveling to Houston from NY - need reco's
If price is not an issue, I would consider Cafe Annie or Bar Annie (in the same location). Robert Del Grande is one of the pioneers of Southwestern cuisine. It is very close to the Galleria
http://www.cafe-annie.com/
Traveling to Houston from NY - need reco's
Houston is a very expansive city so it will be difficult to give recs unless we have an idea of what part of town you will be in.
