Mala Sichuan (Montrose)

I know...the food looks so good, doesn't it?!!  But, it's not!  Well...let me explain.  I went in there with no information, other than that it's new.  Nice looking place, I'm glad they finally got something good in this location.  In the former Mo Mong location.  We really came in with no knowledge of anything, so we asked our server about some of the pictures posted on Yelp and he recommended the Dry Pot Beef, Crispy Chicken, Dan Dan Noodles and I ordered the Water Spinach.  

He failed to mention that both the main dishes, Dry Pot Beef and Crispy Chicken had pepercorns in them and the more you ate the more it affected your tastebuds and after awhile, we couldn't eat anymore.  It affected our senses in a bad way and even the water tasted like sprite or something.  It really turned us off and when our server came back to us, we asked him what was in the dish that made our mouth go numbish and he looked at us puzzled.  Then he said...maybe it's the peppercorn.  I was amazed that he had no idea what we're talking about.  He even said no one has ever mentioned anything.  I checked the reviews on Yelp and come to find out it's not a strange thing, but common.  So watch out for those dishes with the peppercorn and definitely don't order more than one of those!  That was a really odd experience.

To be fair, the other dishes were good.  I liked the Dan Dan Noodles and the Water Spinach.  I don't feel great motivation to go back, but if someone wanted to, I would go back.  I did also read on Yelp that the restaurant prides itself for not altering the dishes to fit American taste, but a warning would be nice.  So go, but beware and eat at your own risk!

Max's Wine Dive (Montrose)

Did you know?  I didn't know there was a Max's Wine Dive over here on Fairview across from Boheme.  It's a much less crowded space which is really nice if you're just wanting that good old Southern Fried Chicken from Max's.  Our server was a young man, adorable, and fun...but my whole night was runined by a roaming cockroach...under our table.  They always find me!  

Fat Bao (Upper Kirby)

Oh Fat Bao...who's been on my to do list for quite some time.  I'm glad I finally got to check this one off my list, but honestly, I wasn't all that impressed with it.  It wasn't bad or great, just good, no fireworks or anything special.  I got the Pork Katsu Bao and the day's special Spicy Thai Chicken.  They were both good, but I wasn't overly impressed with either.  Matt got the Pork Belly and the Peking Duck, and said they were fine, the boy got the Big Byrd Bao, which is a fried chicken bao and he said his were ok.  The one thing we all liked were the Fat Fries, but other than that, I don't have much else to say...my curiosity has been officially cured.

Coltivare (Heights)

I've been pronouncing it wrong all along.  Coltivare is pronounced "colt-a-vhar-a".  Anyways, it's been awhile since I've been back, but despite that long 1.5 hour wait, it's a great local place to pop in for dinner.  They have a nice garden so at least it's a nice atmosphere.  Go with someone you like and it goes by like a breeze.  Today we went with David and Diana and we had a great time.  I was inspired by their veggie garden.  I'm still working on the placement of my garden...stay tuned...

Goode Company Taqueria

Had me some really good Pecan Waffles! Highly recommended by Jason and Karen B. and they were right, it was really good! I'm glad I got the ala carte else I would have eaten two waffles!  It was a great day to visit too as they had a big ol backyard space!  My clerk was kind of rude, but that's ok, it didn't ruin my waffles.

Bread Winners Cafe (Dallas)

Bread Winners is always one of my favorite places to stop off at while in Dallas.  Denyse and I both ordered the Farmhouse Breakfast.  We also ordered the banana nut loaf, mm, so good.

Ula's Mex+Tex (Washington Corridor)

Old Coppa spot on Washington.  Nice atmosphere.  Guacamole was great, chunky not super mashed up.  Beef fajitas were tasty. I like it when it's a little tangy.  The corn tortilla were thick, salsa a little spicy, margaritas were pretty good too, but we thought the service was lacking. Our server was friendly, but they forgot to bring our corn tortillas, didn't refill our salsa, chips or tortillas.  Overall, ok experience.

Brasil Cookies...

delicious, coffee ok and Internet sucked!

Hugs & Donuts

Small place.  Long line.  The wait is nothing in comparison to how long we've all been waiting for this place to open!  We came by yesterday just after lunch and they were sold out and closed.  Today we made sure to show up early, however it did cost us going to our class at church.  The things I do to bring you all information!  

I ordered 6 glaze donuts, 1 coconut lime, 1 lemon meringue, and a dozen of cake holes.  In the car, on the way home, I tried the cake holes and they were definitely different and they were tasty.  Not too thick, but definitely more cakey than I'm used to.  Not too glazed or sweet, but overall texture and taste was great.  So far so good.  The glazed donuts were actually a little disappointing.  I guess waiting all this time, I had done a lot of following of their progress on Facebook.  I thought they were going to be closer to Krispy Kreme quality and taste than any old donut shop.  Unfortunately, that was my take and Matt thought they weren't even as good as Shipleys.  On another note, I had these new doughnuts from Shipleys, they were the yeast one, and oh my gosh they were good.  I usually never go back for seconds, but I had 2 of them!  If we weren't out in public I might have even gotten a third!  

Ok so back to Hugs & Donuts doughnuts...I tried the coconut lime, it's ok.  The lemon meringue also ok, better than the coconut lime, but it's probably just because there was more umph to it because of the filling.  The coconut lime was just a little bland.  So overall, a bit disappointed, but not a bad place to go for just some regular old doughnuts.

Pizaro's Pizza (Montrose)

Finally, they're open!  I have been waiting for what seems like forever!  Owner says 2 years in the making.  I had discovered them by visiting their Energy Cooridor location.  I fell in love with the pizza, the crust is absolutely delicious!  It reminds me of that amazing pizza joint, with over 2000 reviews with 4.5 stars, in Georgia called Antico, mm.  What I love about the crust is its texture, its chewiness.  You know, I love me some good bread and I never pass up bread.  I think I might be a bread connoisseur!  It's my favorite part of a thin crust pizza.  But, I find most pizza places don't quite have the right texture.  Sometimes it's just thin and it's good, but it doesn't have that chewy texture.  Anyways, enough about the crust, we ordered the potato mushroom which was good and also the Calabrese, at the suggestion of the cashier.  But I really didn't like the pepperoni on the Calabrese, it was too gamey tasting.  Also, this location has a better atmosphere than the one out west.

On another note, I referred a client of mine who is and loves Italian cuisine and she did not like it.  She said the crust was under cooked and soggy.  So, today I'm going again and this time, I'll try something else! 

Danton's Gulf Seafood & Oyster Bar (Museum District)

I'm a newbie to oysters.  Less than a year ago I tried my first oyster and now I'm hooked!  I hadn't really known Gulf oysters, though I've heard how large they are.  This day, I experienced my first real Gulf oysters.  I've mostly tried east coast oysters and had tried some Gulf oysters before, but both times they were about the same size, small like east coast oysters.  I found Danton's for their affordable prices, $9/dozen.  When we got our first dozen, wow, do you see the size of these oysters?  I was scared!  They are double the size of what I'm used to!  I had to cut mine in half and honestly, after having a not so great experience with the oysters in New Orleans, I was feeling a bit hesitant still to jump back in.  So, this day I was still pretty hesitant and seeing the size of these oysters, I wasn't very excited about them and after one dozen, shared, I was done.  They weren't bad, it was just the size was off putting.  I think I'm definitely done with oysters, which is timely since it's warming.  Maybe next season, I'll be ready to chow again, for now, I've been officially satisfied with my oyster cravings.  

New Tastings at North Italia

Today I tried the Chef's Board, colorful, interesting, and so much variety!  The Crezenza cheese was delicious, I wrote that one down!  Only the most delicious ones get written down, I love cheese!  Those green olives were nice too.  The prosciutto was tasty as well, lots of it too.  I don't prefer butter on my bread on my cheese board, but it was fine. 

Jennifer the manager says they just got a barista and highly recommended we try something from the coffee bar, so we ordered a cappuccino.  We found that although it was good, there was a little too much milk in it.  All in all we enjoyed out visit with our cute and wacky server, Christine.

Brasil

I'm not really big on scones because they're mostly dry and tasteless, but I had this blueberry scone at Brasil and it wasn't dry or tasteless. It was actually pretty good. I was pretty surprised at how good it was. They've really vamped this place up over the last years. I really like how they dropped the ceiling to add central air, creative and pretty! It looks great against the wood ceiling too. Sharp!

Movie Night at Tiny Boxwood's

Movie night at Tiny Boxwood's every Saturday at dusk, about 8pm. I loved everything except the fact that you can't order food when you're on the lawn. And the movie, this week...Magnificent Seven, was a bit hard to stay awake through all 2 hours. Other than those two things it was great! I think a fabulous idea for a date!

Update on North Italia

I know what you're thinking...didn't you already do a write up on North Italia?  Well yes, I did.  I'm writing an update because I visited again with someone else that wanted to try it and this time I'm writing about things I didn't get to try because I chose not to listen to my server.  So this time, we had a different server, Yoo?  Not sure about the spelling but since she looked a little bit like me and I'm guessing her name isn't spelled the typical way, like mine, just a guess.  Anyways, she was adorable and I thought she was an excellent server like the last server I had.  Actually everyone there is excellent, even the manager came by and visited with us.

So my mission today was to order everything our server had suggested and I would like to report that everything she suggested was excellent.  The one thing that might not have been a good choice was the pasta.  I did change the protein from it's normal shrimp set up to chicken, so again, maybe my bad.  But, I loved everything...Crisp Calamari super tasty and tasted oddly light and tangy even though fried.  Seasonal Vegetables (Salad) had nice flavors and textures and the Spicy Shrimp (we substituted chicken), we liked the pasta, which was simple with a little tang, and I actually liked the sauce, even though it was overall a plain dish.  We also went with the Pig Pizza, which was yum yum yum, maybe one of the best pepperoni pizzas I have had, but a little greasy.  Ok so now, I'm feeling good about this decision to go with all of our server's recommendation but feeling a little full...but we decide to get a dessert and finish off with her recommendation for the Olive Oil Cake.  Again, nailed it on the head!  It was really nice, nutty, tangy, just really unexpectedly good.  An even better experience than the first...definitely try the items I've listed here...instead of the Spicy Shrimp pasta, go with the Bolognese.  Super super great meal today!

Oh and you might be wondering why I've taken photos of their bathroom...because it's super cute and I saw things I had never seen before in a restraunt  bathroom or any bathroom for that matter.  I loved this textered subway tile, I've never seen it before.  And who has a farm sink in their bathroom?  North Italia!  Super nice, I loved it!  And the bathrooms, well it's unisex, you know "Either/Or".  Cute bathroom.  I'll be back!

The El Cantina Superior (Heights)

Other than the story that the El sucked, hired Liberty Kitchen, and didn't suck anymore, I don't know much about the El Cantina Superior.  I'm hearing most people like it now and hiring Liberty Kitchen as consultants has been a really good decision and a huge success.  We liked our little server, she was super cute and super excited about the place, after the conversion.  We followed her suggestions and ordered the two margaritas she suggested.  She was super excited about them, but unfortunately we only thought they were ok.  One was a spicy concotion and the other was off the menu, not sure what its name was.  No point in mentioning because I'm not suggesting you try them.  We did follow her food suggestions and ordered the Quesadillas, which were super duper delicious and we also ordered the Poblano Chiles' with brisket which I thought was good, but liked the Quesadillas better, mm mm.  We really liked their chips and salsa too.  Atmosphere was nice, super festive, but kind of roomy, I think they could add a few more table settings...nice place, I likey.

Luna Pizzeria (Upper Kirby)

We're in the mood for pizza.  I do a Yelp search and find Luna Pizzeria, so that's where we're headed for Friday dinner.  Super central location, Upper Kirby next to Sushi King.  Plenty of parking.  On walking in, I'm a little impressed by the decor, I wasn't expecting that.  It's snazzy, clean, new...we like it so far.  We ask the guy which is the most popular, he says the Andouille pizza, so that's what we order on a thin crust.  We also order an Italian sub sandwhich for the boy and add a Caesar Salad.  The joint is 75% full, so though it feels pretty crowded, all small tables taken, there is still plenty of room.  We sit at the community table.  They have some games on the tables, we play some and get bored quickly, they're not that many and not that great of games.  But, it's thought of them to do that.   Our salad comes out, it's ok, but we devour it because that's the kind of people we are.  Our pizza comes out...YUM-EEE!  Love how the crust stays so crispy, I'm not used to that kind of craftsmanship.  We really loved the pizza!  The mix of veggies and the sausage, super tasty, it's really good y'all.  And it was only $17.  The sub was $7 or 8.  I think this is our official pizza place on family night!  Definitely a great experience.

Hungary's (Rice Village)

I had been once long ago and it's where we decided to go this Sunday.  We both thought our meal was ok, and surprisingly the coffee was pretty good.  The waffle was not very good at all.  Atmosphere was good, busy...and that's all I have to say about Hungary's.

Tiger's Den (Chinatown/Bellaire)

Well Matt and I determined we only hit Tiger's Den at Bellaire Chinatown once every 6 months and feel it's worth the drive for a bowl of really good Ramen.  Although, I don't mind store bought, packaged ramen, since I did grow up on that stuff.  While we're waiting outside for a table, which is normal, we run into some familiar faces and they highly recommended trying the Dipping Noodles.  I did try it and it was really good...super tasty, but really heavy.  It was nice to try it, but I think I prefer the Tonkatsu Garlic Black Bean Ramen because it tastes a little lighter.  We also always like to get a few appetizers, the Ribeye Skewers, Eggplant, and Brussel Sprouts.  I like the Mushroom Medley as well, but we didn't get it this time.  It's never a good feeling, at the end of your mea, when you feel like you can't roll out of your seat...hate that feeling.  

This time we did skip the one appetizer, but traded it for the 2 desserts they had!  We got the doughnuts and the tofu cheesecake.  They were both good, but the doughnuts were really good.  They were light, fluffy, simple, whereas the cheesecake was interesting, but I didn't love the slightly bitter end of it.  Next time, I think I would just order the doughnuts if in the mood for desserts.  They did tell me that people order just the doughuts for pick up, they're so popular.  It was all worth it, a super delicious, pig out meal as always...oink oink.

Ruggles Black (Upper Kirby)

I have been wanting to visit and finally, on this beautiful day, perfect for a visit to Ruggles Black.  I have to admit I thought it would be a little fancier, but I'm glad it's more casual than I thought.  I think it used to be Bennigans?  Handsome, ecclectic, fun place...we decide to sit outdoors on their patio under these beautiful oak trees, super cozy.  It's a tad chilly so this decorative fire pit is just perfect!  We order the Brussel Sprouts for appetizer and split the Kale Salad with Chicken.  They're both super tasty!  I love the atmosphere and can't wait for it to get a little warmer, but the interior is also a great spot to hang.