H/G Weekend: Day 1: Dinner 2

Cafe 101
9889 Bellaire Blvd # 101
Houston, TX 77036
(713) 272-8828
www.cafe101houston.com
Price: $

So...we're crazy....since time is limited in Houston, we wanted to hit all the spots we wanted to go to. After dinner, we went to Cafe 101 on Bellaire Blvd. for MORE food....dinner #2...haha....

My bf and I really like this place. Since there's not really any place in Dallas to get Taiwanese style food, we always try to make time when we are in Houston. It's also open late.

It was packed when we arrived around 11pm, we had to wait a bit to get a table!

We were still pretty full but decided to get something to share. I didn't want anything sweet so I picked Pork Intestine in Fire Hot Pot (pork intestine, pork blood, and vegetable in hot pot) $7.95~
I LOVE pork intestines, one of my favorite things of all time. I've had better at home and in Taiwan of course, but this was pretty good. The flavor was all there but it could've been spicier. Also, the menu said "pork" blood, but it was duck blood...which is much better in my opinion. Pork blood is drier and grainier. Duck is nice and smooth. If you're not very adventurous in food, then this is probably not the choice for you...but they have plenty of other dishes and snacks that also sound really tasty. There was soo much food...it came with white rice, potato salad, and eggroll. If I didn't have dinner beforehand, I think this would've been even better.

I wish we had a place like this in Dallas...I would be there A LOT. I will go back next time I'm in Houston.

Quality of Food:

Service:

Cleanliness:

Value:

Overall Experience:


~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Houston/Galveston Weekend: Day 1: Dinner 1

We were driving down to Galveston one weekend for a wedding. We decided to stay in Houston because there was more to do...and eat!

Two Saints Restaurant
12460 Memorial Drive
Houston, TX 77024-6100
(713) 465-8967
www.twosaintsrestaurant.com
Price: $$$

Friday night dinner was at Two Saints Restaurant on Memorial Dr. It's back in the corner of a strip mall....very small place...only like 8 or 9 tables. My bf's co-worker HIGHLY recommended it! So naturally we have to go! hehe. It's BYOB... $5 per bottle corking fee. So we brought 2 bottles of wine. The host and waiter were very friendly. They put one of our dessert wines in the back to chill while we had dinner.

For appetizer we got the Truffled Onion Rings (with black truffle aioli) $12~

This was yum! And huge! Nice and crispy on the outside, sweet onion on the inside. The aioli was also really good. You can taste the truffle but wasn't overwhelming.

I got an appetizer and a salad for my dinner. Crispy Pressed Pork (Collards & Braising Reduction) $12~
How can I say no to pork belly....I love it so! The meat was tender and fatty...just the way I like it. The flavor was bold and paired well with the collard greens. It was slightly salty after a while though, but that was balanced out by my salad.

Arugula Salad (Rosenburg Bleu, Marcona Almonds, oil & vinegar) $9~ It was a pretty normal arugula salad. The dressing was very simple and light. The almonds added an extra crunch and taste to the dish. Nice and simple, a good pairing to the rich Crispy Pork!

My bf got the Grilled Hanger Steak (oven dried tomato, greens, potato crispies) $20~ (since we got a red wine, it paired well with the red meat). The steak was cooked nicely with good flavor. I liked the potato crispies on top. One thing I noticed was that they used snow pea leaves as the greens. That was very surprising... Snow pea leaves are generally an Asian vegetable. I have never seen it used anywhere other than Chinese restaurants up til now. It was pretty awesome...I would have to say snow pea leaves are one of my favorite vegetables of all time. If not in season or cooked wrong...it can get really tough...but they did it well! :) Bonus points!!

My friend got the Special of the Day: Scallops (tomato polenta, pancetta, turnips, and pea tendrils) $24?? Same thing here...they used snow pea leaves! Awesome! The scallops were cooked perfectly...nice and tender. Altho one of the scallops wasn't cleaned thoroughly and my friend had to spit out the muscle that is normally removed from the scallop. It's edible...just super chewy... :/

I was pretty stuffed but of course gotta try dessert! We got the Chocolate Bread Pudding (with nuts and caramel sauce) $8?? The flavor was pretty good and the texture was also what I expect in a bread pudding. i wished there was more chocolate in it though. I felt like the caramel sauce was more prominent. It was good, not great...maybe because I was already so full.

It was a great night. Despite the time it took to get our food. The kitchen was quite slow...I think it was over an hour before we got our entrees. But everyone was super nice, the waiters were friendly, not at all snooty, and very accommodating.

Thanks to my bf's coworker for the suggestion! :D If you are in the Houston area, I would totally recommend this place...good for date night. And remember to byob! :)

Quality of Food:

Service:

Cleanliness:

Value:

Overall Experience:


~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~

Urban Taco @ Mockingbird Station

Ahhh...I have soooo much backlog for my blog. XP
This post is long over due....when I have more time I have a lot more restaurants to do...

Last month I met with one of my Quarterly Eating groups. I suggested Urban Taco in Mockingbird Station. From the website it sounded pretty interesting and yummy!

Urban Taco
5331 East Mockingbird Ln # 125
Dallas, TX 75206
(214) 823-4723
www.urban-taco.com
Price: $

It's a really small place...very cute...with some outdoor seating.

So here's what I got to try:

Pick 3 Tacos (choice of 2 sides) $9.59~ (Price as a meal...the other prices are if you order the tacos on its own):
- Chicken Tinga (adobo-spiked braised chicken & potato, queso fresco & avocado lime crema) $2.75~
- Pollo con Mole (chicken, homemade mole sauce, crema, pickled red onions and queso fresco) $2.75~
- Potato, Zucchini & Poblano (poblano-spiked vegetables, rajas & queso fresco) $2.25~
For the sides we got Cebollitas (grilled green onions) & Roasted Corn con Lime Crema.
Also there's choices of Fresh Masa Corn Tortillas, Lettuce Wrap, or Flour Tortillas (additional 15 cents).



We decided to get 1 with the flour tortilla and 2 with the lettuce wrap. The tacos were pretty good, but truthfully I couldn't really tell them apart. I did think the mole was too sweet and overpowered the entire taco. The lettuce wrap idea is awesome...really good for people who are cutting back on carbs. The roasted corn side was probably my favorite of this dish. It was creamy and cheesy and full of flavor. YUM! The portion was quite filling too.

We also got a Torta (prepared on adobo grilled Mexican bread, served with yucca fries & mango jicama slaw). Or skip the bread and have any of the torta options over a bowl of poblano green rice. We had the Dos Equis Amber Barbacoa Torta (beer and chile braised tender beef, black bean & roasted corn pico, and pickled red onions) $9.99~ We decided to forgo the bread and get it on the rice and substituted mango jicama slaw for roasted corn con lime crema (since I'm allergic to mango :( ). I really liked this dish. The poblano green rice rocked....lots of flavor and was great with all the meat and corn and onions on top. I even scooped some of the roasted corn in there and mixed it all up. The yucca fries had good flavor with the cheese but some of it was kinda hard...the mayonnaise-y dip was pretty fantastic tho.

Some additional food pics:
Trio of Tacos on corn tortilla, with side of poblano green rice and roasted corn crema $9.59~ Arrachera Steak Torta with yucca fries and mango jicama slaw $10.25~

I very much enjoyed this place...I'm not a fan of Tex-Mex, but I like real Mexican food. :) It's a cool little spot to chill with friends. I would like to go back sometime for their happy hour specials....and their dessert churros!!

Quality of Food:

Service:

Cleanliness:

Value:

Overall Experience:


~~ CHOMP CHOMP ~~