Mediterranean and Arabic Kitchen

5930 Bellaire @ Mullins

I had noticed this new truck several times, right across from Honduras Maya Grill, and today was the day to stop and try it out.  I thought I would go blind standing next to the gleaming white and silver truck, trying to read the menu card in the brilliant afternoon sun, but I squinted my way through and made the choice of a Saj Sharwarma.

A saj is a domed grill, like a large overturned wok, used to bake thin flatbreads like markook and a bread itself called saj, which is thicker than markook and thinner than a pita.  That is presumably why this is called a Saj Sharwarma and I don't know that it differs in any other way from the Chicken Shawarma on the menu.  I got it with a spicy sauce added and it was a very wonderfully aromatic sandwich.  Some pieces of the chicken sliced off the spit were well done to the point of having charred tips but most were not overdone and the addition of the thin sauce made for a very drippy and tasty sandwich.   There was also lettuce, tomato and mild Middle Eastern pickles as condiments and the sandwich was griddled very briefly in a press and heated through before being wrapped and sliced for presentation.

The menu includes dishes labeled as Saudi, Jordanian and Iraqi plus there is Kushari, which is Egyptian.  Not all dishes are available every day - they couldn't serve the Arabic Mixed Salad this day - and I was advised it's necessary to call in advance for some dishes.  It would truly be amazing if the kitchen on this truck could turn out all of these dishes everyday.

As much as I loathe having to get up and go out for breakfast, I'm very tempted to make my next visit on a weekend, to try some of the special breakfasts offered.

Halal Food Al-Arabi

Almeda @ Hepburn (between OST and 610), in the parking lot of a Texaco station

I'd seen this little truck several times when headed down Almeda, about a mile south of the intersection with OST where Gyro King and Abou Omar's halal stands hold forth, but it had never been open.  It turns out it's open only in the evening.  The sign on the side says Mediterranean Food, on the back one proclaims Halal Food, but shields on the hood and one of the cabinets on the rear give the Al-Arabi name.

I wanted to try the Koftah Halabi pictured but it's not available.  In fact, none of the dishes pictured on the side of the truck are served anymore, only sandwiches/wraps made with either chicken or lamb.  I think it's a very small menu.

I got what was called an Iraqi Kabob - lamb (gyro meat), freshly grilled, with grilled white onion and tomato, mixed salad greens including lettuce, red onion and more tomato I think, dressed with tahini sauce and a hot sauce that provided a pleasant heat, wrapped up in a 9" pita.  It was a good sandwich, really hit the spot.  I wish the truck was closer to me as I don't get over that way very often.

One of the other sauces visible in the window is just ketchup I understand; the fourth one I didn't inquire about.

Señor Juan

Currently, 10560 Westheimer

I've been eating a lot of fried food lately and I haven't even been to the Rodeo once.  To be specific, I've been eating fried pies - Uruguyan Empanadas, Trinidadian Patties, and these Puerto Rican Empanadillas de Carne from Señor Juan.

Pretty basic but tasty.  Ground beef and seasonings (recaito?) plus a thin, fiery green sauce.  A little on the greasy side but not too bad.  Empanadilla would seem to mean 'small empanada' but these were a hefty 5 oz. each.

The menu is small.  They were out of Alcapurrias and Pasteles the day I was there, so I got two of these but one would have been sufficient as I just wanted a snack.  Mofongo was listed on the reverse side of the menu card but I missed it when I briefly flipped the card over.   Cue Homer Simpson.

Señor Juan

Taqueria Vega

7755 W. Bellfort, in the parking lot of Joe V's

I encountered this unit several years ago on Fondren when it was Taqueria Tzul-Vega but tried it only once.  I remembered the taquera apparently spoke only about 5 syllables of English and she found my Spanish just as lacking, but I couldn't remember the food nor why I never returned.  According to my notes, it was not because of the food but because the menu was so limited.  The majority of the items listed on the unit were not available, there was a handwritten menu taped to the window with only a few dishes.

There has apparently been a change of ownership.  The menu card in the window, which identifies the business as Taqueria Vega, lists just about everything named on the side of the unit plus a few other items and I had no trouble communicating.

I tried a couple of tacos, pastor on the left and chorizo on the right.  They came on handmade corn tortillas, a big plus, with roasted onions and mass quantities of cilantro, plus a surprisingly fiery salsa.  According to my notes, the fiery salsa was a feature of the old cart, too.  The pastor wasn't bad, not dried out like it often is and I got a couple of tidbits of pinapple, but the chorizo was much better.  I have also tried a barbacoa taco and, on a whim, a chorizo gordita.  These were served with a very mild salsa verde.  The gordita was almost as big as a torta and would have been better as one; the barbacoa is another good choice for meat along with the chorizo.

Tacos are $2 and apparently there's no upcharge for requesting flour tortillas.  There is an upcharge for requesting lengua or tripa.  The gordita was $3.50.

Rico Sabor Cubano - Updated 9/2017

Hillcroft @ Bellaire, in the Fiesta parking lot

NOTE:  THIS UNIT HAS BEEN REPLACED BY A SIMILAR VENDOR CALLED CARRITO CUBANO.

Most Fiestas have FPF (freshly prepared foods) options, either indoors or out.  This huge store, which I think of as the Mother Ship even though it wasn't the first one, has 4 indoors and 2 semi-permanent stands just outside the front door.  Now, add this mobile unit out at the edge of the parking lot, along Hillcroft.

They were doing a good business during the lunch hour when I checked it out.  The Ropa Viejo was not ready yet, unfortunately, my first choice, so I went for Pechuga de Pollo ($8) which was described as 'fried'  - everyone on the truck was very friendly but none speaks very good English, a little problem for me as my Spanish has gotten rusty since I haven't been frequenting taco trucks and taquerias much for a couple of years..

The chicken breast was served on a bed (about 2 C) of Moros y Cristianos (black beans and white rice cooked together) with a salad of tomato and cucumber slices, shredded onion and cabbage on lettuce leaves, and with a side of stewed yuca topped with shredded, marinated red onions.  A very vinegary hot sauce was offered as a condiment.

What? No Cuban sandwich?  One will be added soon, I was told.  The proprietor has gotten numerous requests for one.  Belated note:  The Cubano sandwich is an American invention.  As these operators, and the new ones at this location, seem to be more recent immigrants, it's not surprising they don't have one on the menu.

And I will be back to try it out.

Pollos Y Tacos La Bala - revisited

S. Post Oak @ Willow

This blog has been pretty dormant for a while, eh?  As I mentioned before, I have been getting back into cooking again after several years of avoiding the kitchen as much as possible.  There have also been so many new grocery stores in Houston to explore (I miss Fiesta Market Place in Sugar Land, too bad that didn't catch on).

And after many years, several decades in fact, of living in Houston the sprawl and traffic has gotten to me.  Time and again when I've thought about going out to try some place that involves driving half-way across town, even before I get dressed I'm thinking I'll just rummage through the pantry, the fridge and the freezer and see what I can cook up at home and save that trip to that hyped new place until I have some other reason or two or three to be in that neighborhood.

But sometimes I get a craving for something I can't find a good version of in my part of town or can't prepare as well as a few favorites I've found over the years such as the Pollo Asado from the La Silla units on the southeast side or the El Norteno units mainly in the Spring Branch area.

I balked at making the trip just for a lunch and kept putting it off but eventually I caved to the craving and I set out, thinking I would let the flow of traffic on the major thoroughfare that runs by my neighborhood determine my direction.  There was no traffic in either direction - this doesn't happen often - so what to do now?  I avoided the difficult decision and the long drive to either Long Point or Telephone and ran over by the La Bala unit on South Post Oak, thinking I remembered they had pollo asado on the menu that I'd never tried.

Great decision-making there, Bruce!  This is the best Pollo Asado I've found on the southwest side and the frijoles charros (not in the picture) were better than any I've had from El Norteno or La Silla.  Pictured is the Medio Pollo @ $6.  Pollo Entero is $11.

My earlier report on Pollos Y Tacos La Bala

A Food Truck Park in Sugar Land, sorta...

on the southeast corner of Highway 6 and Bissonnet

Bansuri Indian Food Corner has set up shop in it's new location; it's parked along Bissonnet actually, barely visible from 6 behind a Conoco station.  It will be closed Sundays and Mondays.

About 75 to a hundred yards away, at the other end of the same parking lot, are four other mobile units including Big 6 Bar-B-Que, which I have visited and reported on before, BB's Beef and Hot Dogs, Yum Yum Sno Balls, and a new one, MJ Seafood.  Since they're outside the city of Houston they are parked practically bumper to bumper and can set up tables and chairs for customers.

I think BB's is the same operation that used to have a small shop on West Airport off of 59 serving Chicago style hot dogs and Italian Beef.

There's also a Mexican restaurant in the strip center and Vishala Grocery and Restaurant is just across Highway 6.

9431 Highway 6 South is the official address.

Bansuri Indian Food Corner

Big 6 Bar-B-Que

Openings and Closings on the Southwest Side

Bansuri Indian Food Corner is currently closed and will be re-opening in Sugar Land.  The way I read the announcement on the website, it seems they're going all brick and mortar on us eventually.

A new truck has been parked in Bansuri's long time spot on S. Wilcrest, Yashoda Chat Express, and has a menu posted that is very similar to what Bansuri offered.  I haven't caught it open yet.

The Chili Shak, Fondren at S. Braeswood has closed.  That is a location that has failed a couple of times now.

Yemeni Cafe, Beechnut at Wilcrest, has closed after only a few months.  The restaurant was a long way from where most of the Gulf States expats reside in Houston and drew little attention, I enjoyed a Fattah Lahm and some Yemeni tea there before it closed.

Mo's Knock-out Grill in the Medical Center area has closed.  I'm very sorry to see that one go.

Edit to add:  Pupusa Baleada Buffet has been open for several months at 7303 Bissonnett @ Lugary, apparently riffing on the success of the Pupusa Buffet restaurants on the SW side.  Actually a baleada buffet sounds like a good idea, I much prefer the Honduran over the Salvadoran specialty.  I haven't been.

Monster PBJ

The Monster PBJ truck had not been high on my list of food trucks that I wanted to check out but then I saw the truck parked at the CAM and I couldn't resist.

Well, seriously, who could possibly resist a custom-made peanut butter and jam sandwich from a big purple truck?  Kudos to the owners of the truck for the big picture windows so you can see what the crew is doing, not to mention how spic 'n span and orderly everything is.  Many's the time I've been standing around, waiting for my order from a food truck, and wished I could see what they were doing with my food in there.

I filled out the order blanks on a paper bag and turned it in, then stepped back to await my delights.  A young mother with a child who probably was not yet in kindergarten was also waiting,  When his name was called, the little boy ran to the window and stood on tippy-toes, reaching as high as he could to receive his bounty, then strutted back to his mom, looking like the happiest kid in the world.  Good job, Mommie, for introducing your child at at early age to the pleasures of the Houston food truck movement.

I chose cashew butter.  I was going to try to keep it healthy with sliced bananas but that purple color took hold of my mind again and I went for blueberry jam (blueberries are really purple).  I also added the  Nutella.  When I got my sandwich I hurried off to my car, smiling as grandly as that little boy.

The bright sunlight had made it impossible to get a picture of the truck without some glare and the bright sunlight and dark shadows filtering through the trees overhanging the street in the museum neighborhood made it impossible to get a picture of the sandwich that would be usable without holding it down near the floorboard of the car (my new camera doesn't handle big contrasts in lighting well).  It was rather a messy situation but I managed to avoid getting jam and Nutella all over the upholstery and dug right in, polishing off the sandwich very quickly.  Then I remembered I had intended to drive over to Cherryhurst park, around the corner from where I used to live, and have a little picnic under the trees.  I was so excited I just couldn't wait.

I could have used a little more toasting and I could barely taste the cashew butter for the richness of the jam and Nutella but the sandwich was great nonetheless.  I drove home in a state of bliss, sure of a simple and abiding truth:  the PB & J is one of the greatest culinary inventions of all time.

And Monster PBJ does it justice.

Monster PBJ

The Jeepney Truck

I think we have a pretty impressive array of food trucks serving various national cuisines, not even counting all the 'fusion' food trucks (how many Korean-Mexican trucks do we have now?).  My own list on this blog is woefully outdated and needs some editing but I'm happy to add the Jeepney Truck to the roll call.

I tried the Pancit - noodles, chicken, sweet Chinese sausage and vegetables - plus garlic rice and lumpia and a choice of sauces.  I chose the 'hot' sauce which I think was sriracha or something very similar.  I still don't know much about Filipino cuisine (I've had it a half dozen times at four different places now) but I thought this was very good except for the lumpia which were quite greasy.  The vegetables were not overcooked, the rice fluffy and very garlicky.

I caught up with them outside the Cultural Outreach Center of the Philippine Consulate on Highway 6 and they were very busy with families ordering multiple to-go items.  It took 35 minutes to get my food.

I was disappointed the Jeepney Truck was just a step-van instead of a re-purposed Jeepney and they haven't had many stops so far but I'm looking forward to catching up with them again and trying more of their offerings.

The Jeepney Truck

Bare Bowls Kitchen

Currently at the University of Houston, University Center

I really like Chef James Ashley’s philosophy on his truck: simple, local, farm fresh.  There’s more on the website but what caught my attention was the explanation of simple:  "Simple ingredients, simply prepared, enhanced by natural herbs and spices we make ourselves."  So much of what I encounter these days is overwrought, too much emphasis on the sizzle rather than the steak, for my taste, and I really looked forward to trying the fare on the Bare Bowls truck.

I caught up with them at the MFA,H, a great place to catch some of Houston’s finest food trucks every day for lunch.  I had my taste buds set on The Moroccan listed on the online menu but it wasn’t available that day so I opted for the Texan Vegan because I do love my veggies: mushrooms, heirloom tomatoes, spinach, summer squash and zucchini on a bed of plump, golden lentils.   I was not disappointed.  The bowl (biodegradable) was brimming with flavorful veggies, nicely seasoned, perfectly crisp/tender.  My only disappointment was that all the seasoning was toward the top and by the time I got down toward the bottom, it was pretty much unseasoned lentils and nothing else and rather boring.  I’ll have to remember to stir next time before digging in, I guess. 

I’ll be looking forward to more visits but that will be a problem for quite some time to come.  Bare Bowls has signed up to fill in at the University of Houston for lunch service while the University Center is undergoing remodeling.  Some very bright mind at UH arranged for several of Houston’s food trucks to make daily appearances on campus in the interim which is all well and fine for students, of course, but not such good news for the rest of us.  I’ll just have to bide my time I guess.

Bare Bowls Kitchen                  Twitter           Campus Dish @ UH

L'es-Car-Go

From the owners of Bistro Provence

 When I first moved to Houston I lived just a block and half from Ari’s Grenouille, a French sidewalk café at Westheimer and Mandell.  The aromas wafting out of that kitchen over the intersection and the whole neighborhood at times were irresistible and I became a regular.  Over the years I lived there I consumed mass quantities of snails, frog legs and wine but I eventually moved away (and Ari’s has long since shuttered).

In the years since I have made occasional visits to the French Riviera Bakery on Chimney Rock, French Gourmet Bakery on Westheimer, Le Madeleine, and, in recent years, Melange Creperie, but I have otherwise not ventured into a French restaurant and it was only with modest interest that I saw the news that we were getting a food truck that would serve French food.  An early menu posted online included gazpacho; that got my interest up a bit.  In the summertime, gazpacho is a major food group around my house and I thought that would be a good time to check them out.  Then they tweeted about adding a pulled pork Provencal sandwich to the menu and I decided the time had come.

Though I went just to try the pulled pork, once I saw the menu I wanted ‘one of each’  and this has been a common theme every time I catch up with them.  The smartly attired crew, which includes Bistro Provence owner Jean-Phillippe Guy doing the cooking,  in their green smocks and jaunty Alpine fedoras, worked quickly and turned out the sandwich in no time.  It was simply dressed on an incredible crusty and chewy Slow Dough baguette and was great.  I couldn’t possibly have handled any thing else on the menu that day and that’s a bit of a shame since the menu changes and some of those items have not made another appearance.  Regulars on the menu include the Escargot Poppers and frites; there is usually also a soup and a dessert and at least one sandwich..

I’ve enjoyed one of the Texas Goat Cheese quiches which was wonderfully creamy and savory.  The quiches have come with either salmon or maple smoked bacon.  I also tried Le Poulet a la Estragon, a chicken stew with carrots, rice, white wine and tarragon with a very generous portion of chicken and my only regret each time was that I couldn’t eat more off the menu that day. 

The poppers are dusted with almond flour, deep fried and served with a hot sauce so I understand.  I have a feeling they’re going to be rather addictive.

Initially they were tacking taxes onto the listed prices but they’ve since adopted the practice of all the other food trucks and include taxes in the price, which have crept up correspondingly.  The website lists their appearances for the week and also the updated menu but you also need to follow them on Twitter, of course, to keep up with the inevitable delays or cancellations because of the weather or equipment.  I’m very grateful they’re regularly scheduling stops outside the Loop.

Since I’m not much of a Francophile as I say, it is a bit odd that two of my favorite street food venders are French: this truck and Melange Creperie.


L'es-Car-Go         Twitter       Bistro Provence

Lunch at The Center

8313 Southwest Freeway

I don’t follow the food trucks as much as I did a year and a half ago.  It was brand new, cutting edge back then but the excitement and newness has worn off for me as it’s become a very trendy thing to do.  The repetitive drive into the Hallowed Heights or Montrose, coupled with the occasional disappointing offering, has made me cut back quite a bit.

Fortunately, someone at this complex of buildings between Beechnut and Gessner on 59 has been arranging to have some of the trucks put in lunch time appearances and I’ve caught up with a couple I’ve been wanting to try just a few blocks from home.  The address given isn’t even visible from the Freeway or frontage road but actually faces a side street called Tybor.  Once you find it there’s plenty of parking and even a few trees to provide some shade.

CoreanosHtx

This is a new Houston unit of a popular Austin truck offering ‘Mexican Cuisine with Korean in the Middle’ and they made some of their very first stops in Houston at The Center.  The Coreanos in Austin was recently named one of the best 10 food trucks in the nation by the Smithsonian.  What?  Really?  The Smithsonian actually sent out tasters to dozens of cities and sampled hundreds of trucks?  Yeah, right.  Okay, not to take anything away from these guys, because the food is good, but they got extra points just because they were in Austin, let’s face it.

 I went for a special on my first visit, Three Wise Fries.  This is pork belly (on the left), marinated chicken (in the center) and beef short rib (on the right), on a bed of fries with cheese, onions, cilantro and their El Scorcho sauce.  I managed to extract a couple of the fries sans any condiments and they were quite satisfactory; the pork belly was a bit overdone but otherwise this was quite a feast.

I went for something simpler the second time I caught up with them since I could do without the fries even though they were quite good - a couple of the regular tacos, one with the marinated beef short rib, which had been my choice for best of the Three Wise Fries combo, with a Korean slaw with a sweet sesame dressing, and a marinated chicken taco with cheese and El Scorcho sauce.  This time it was the short ribs turn to be a little overdone and the chicken really shone.  I remember the Asian Slaw on Fusion Taco’s tacos as better than this but that Houston food truck pioneer has apparently pulled off the road and parked it.  I do recommend the El Scorcho sauce on everything but it isn’t really all that hot.  Are Austininnies a little wimpy when it comes to hot sauces?  Guys, you can turn it up here in Houston.


KurbSide Eatz

This is another one of the very new trucks offering Asian fusion fare I was really happy to have a chance to sample.  I only managed to catch up to them once but will look forward to trying some of their other offerings in the future.

I went for their Philly Cheesesteak egg rolls - couldn’t help myself, had to check it out.  There aren’t any good Phillys on this side of town and it’s been a long time since I’ve had one so a craving instantaneously set in.  Beautiful to behold they were not as impressive taste-wise, unfortunately, and left me wanting to know what these guys could do with a more traditional egg roll and wondering if I’m ever going to find a good Philly on this side of town.

My disappointment over the egg rolls however was more than compensated for by the Braised Pork Belly Bun, served in a lightly fried bun with cilantro, green onions and fried onions.  The lightly fried bun was a very nice finishing touch to a very good slider sized sandwich

There have been other trucks make the harrowing trek outside the Loop without falling off the edge of the earth but I haven’t caught up with any of them yet.  There haven’t been any for a couple of weeks so I hope the program hasn’t ended.  I’ve seen on Twitter recently where some of the trucks have been putting in appearances way out on 290 and I think that’s a very positive development on the food truck scene, letting people outside of just a few neighborhoods experience how good the food can be. 

The crews on both these trucks were super nice and I appreciate not only their coming out but also whoever at The Center has been arranging these appearances.  I’m hoping more food trucks will make the trek out on the southwest side in the future, if not to the Center to some other venue, some of my favorites like Bernie’s, Good Dog, OMPP, HtownStreats?  I guess I’m already too late to get something from Htown before their endearing paint job is destroyed in the name of commercialism but I’d still like to see them.  Let me add to my wish list some of the new ones I’m really wanting to try - Happy Endings and one that only hits the streets this week, the Sirena Seafood Truck (a mermaid roams the streets of Houston). 

Ladies and Gentlemen, start your engines and come on down.

Pollos y Tacos La Bala

S. Post Oak @ Willow

Or is the name of this trailer Gorditas y Tacos La Bala? That's what it says on the sign on the fence.

I’d seen an older truck with the La Bala name on it at this location many times but never stopped. The very new looking wagon, a line of customers, and the fact my first choice for lunch one day was closed, persuaded me to give it a try. I’d wondered if the truck had any connection to Tacos La Bala (Bellaire, Beechnut, Dashwood) and I noted machacado on the breakfast menu and desebrada and cochinita pibil for tacos, gorditas, tortas, etc., items that are not very common on taqueria or lonchera menus, and there is the Torta de la Barda, too. I’ve had the machacado and desebrada at the La Bala taquerias and I was persuaded this must be a mobile unit by the same folks.

One of the phrases I have used repeatedly on the blog is something like ‘I burned out on such and such’ and it applies here. I burned out on loncheras over a year ago and I don’t think I’ve stopped at more than one or two since then. There seem to be a lot fewer of them around my part of town than there were a couple of years ago. This turned out to be an auspicious re-acquaintance opportunity - the food was very good, perhaps the best I’ve ever had from a lonchera on the Southwest side.

I went with desebrada, one of my favorite meats, and pastor. The desebrada was better than I’d had at the taqueria on Bellaire, the pastor better than what I had at the location on Beechnut. It was the juiciest and most flavorful pastor I’ve had since my last visit to Karanchoe’s over a year ago with tender meat and fatty pieces, not a dried up or overcooked morsel among them. I squeezed both of the impressive salsas on the tray rather than on the tacos so I could get a better picture of the taco meats then decided I didn’t need the sauces at all.

I got home and looked up the comments online about the taquerias and was reminded their cochinita pibil is highly acclaimed. Then I realized that for some reason I’d never gotten around to trying the cochinita pibil at the taquerias, a bit strange since I’m sure it’s what first persuaded me to put them on my list of places to try. So I went back the next day and tried that and the nopales. The pibil is fully worthy of all the praise and I’m kicking myself for never having tried it before. For many years, this was my favorite Mexican dish and there are only a couple of other versions around that I like. It's good to know there's a purveyor so close to home. I got this order to go and unfortunately the taco de nopales suffered from being wrapped up in foil for the trip home, the cactus becoming unappealingly limp verging on mushy.

It’s a bit of a sketchy neighborhood; the parking lot/driveway for the convenience store/gas station is frequently packed and parking can be a hassle. Tacos on maiz are $1.50, for flour, $1.75 - have prices at loncheras gone up? Is that the new standard price? If not, this place is a bit more expensive, but worth it. Lengua and tripa are a bit more expensive than the other meat choices but the pollo asado offerings, which I have not tried, are less pricy than other pollo asado wagons.

This Year's Hallacas Haul

Venezuelan holiday tamales

I got my first taste of hallacas last year with a sample from the El Punto Criollo cart on Beechnut at Highway 6. Of the various nacatamales I've had (Colombian, Guatemalan) I liked it best and went back to get a few more to tide me through the year. I've been hoarding my stash up until a couple of months ago when I finished off the last one, buoyed by the expectation that this year I'd be collecting specimens from the other Venezuelan places around the area.

This year I found three (in order below) - from El Punto Criollo, Tuttopane on Westheimer, and Deli's Cafe in Katy. I called Budare, also in Katy, and the Sabor Venolozano truck on Westheimer and learned they don't have them (or maybe just didn't have them the day I called? - we didn't speak each other's language so I wasn't entirely sure).



None of the samples so far this year were as impressive looking as what I had last year and I'd have to say they weren't quite as tasty, but they still were good. I like my tamales very moist and was a little disappointed in the texture of the masa in the Tuttopane and El Punto Criollo samples and decided to simmer the one from Deli's instead of steaming it. That gave it a little edge over the others, at least for me. All had diced meats (beef, pork, chicken) as opposed to the larger chunks of last year's sample. Besides the meats there are potatoes, onions, pimento, raisins and olives. The potatoes in Deli's were mashed instead of in chunks; I initially didn't think I'd like the mush-like filling but that one did end up my pick of these three while the meat-intensive sample from Tuttopane was my least favorite.

The were all about the same size; prices ranged from $7 to $7.75 with the one from Tuttopane the priciest one. They should be available until year's end or so. I'll probably be going back to get more of each.

(The h is silent in hallacas - ayacas).

Deli's and Tuttopane review on this blog.

The Deli's website is down but here is Tuttopane.

El Punto Criollo review

Big 6 Bar-B-Que

9431 Highway 6 South @ Bissonnet (and on the northeast side).

This trailer has been doing business along Highway 6 for several years but recently moved about a half mile south of it's long time location to a strip center on this corner and is parked right next to the Yum Yum Snow Ball trailer.

I'd been meaning to try it for a long time and had a taste for some barbecue so I wheeled in. The menu lists chicken, sausage and ribs before brisket and I wondered if that was a suggestion of what they think their best product is but I prefer to judge a barbecue place first by the brisket, in this case a sliced beef sandwich since I wasn't hungry enough for a plate.

It was about 8 oz of meat; they use oak and pecan and the smoke sure smelled good. The brisket on top was all from the lean part and was good and smoky and tender with a nice char but a bit dry. Fortunately there was some fatty meat in the middle of the sandwich which redeemed it. Sauce, minced onions, pickles and sliced jalapenos all came on the side, each in their own small containers. The onions were a little past prime and I decided not to use them but the real negative was the sauce, an unappealing smelling concoction to my nose. I'm anti-sauce anyway and this one did nothing to change my mind. I had to use a small amount to keep the sandwich from being too dry and fortunately the flavor of the meat itself wasn't overwhelmed by it. Sauce on the side and some fatty meat included without it being requested are all good signs at a barbecue place as far as I'm concerned.

I got a small sample of their home-made sausage, a typical East Texas fine-ground, synthetic casing product but made with pork instead of the usual beef. I thought it was very promising. They also have a home-made smoked boudin.

They've opened a brick and mortar place on the Northeast side, off of Lockwood, north of 610. It is open 7 days a week but the trailer is only open Friday-Saturday-Sunday.

Big 6 Bar-B-Que

Sazon

Kempwood @ Blalock


I have to thank commenter Rubiao for tipping me about this one. It's quite a ways outside of my regular roaming area but I took a little detour after a shopping trip to Super H Mart, cruising up Blalock past the best Polish grocery store and restaurant in Texas (and possibly the whole Southern US).

There are actually two units here; a short Sazon bus purveying hot dogs, hamburguesas, papas asados, papas fritas and tortas is parked at a right angle to the bigger unit. And the menu is not the same old-same old lonchera menu, either. One specialty is barbacoa de borrego available either as consomme or tacos.

I got a couple of tacos with everything, after ascertaining that meant onions and cilantro and not lettuce and tomato. Then I helped myself to the salsas on the side of the truck including a very spicy salsa fresca with marinated onions, habaneros and jalapenos, I think. That was the best of the three and really picked up the tacos which were already very good. There are not that many places offering borrego; I wish this wasn't so far away.

Also on the menu were pancitas, which I think is menudo made with sheep stomach, fajitas, cabeza de res, flautas de pollo and more.

Tacos la Joya

Southwest Freeway frontage road, outbound, @ Beechnut

I'm always on the lookout for something different and new, something I haven't tried before, and driving down this stretch of the 59 frontage road I seldom use I spotted this lonchera I'd never seen before advertising tortas y tacos al vapor.

It's in the parking lot of the Bonita Chica Bikini Bar for those interested (there's also a Wings spot, what else?, and Tau Bay and several other businesses - it's a big parking lot).

Tacos al vapor, i.e., steamed tacos, are a rarity around here. I can't name one place that serves them and I had to give them a try. According to some discussions and explanation online, they may be produced by layering tortillas and meat in a tamalera, covering with a towel and steaming for a hour or so. Sometimes the tortillas are folded over the fillings and the resulting tacos are somewhat like dumplings; some people prefer to eat them with a fork.

That's not the way mine were produced, however. I saw tortillas being put into the tamalera, just inside the window where you order, but the tortillas for my tacos came out of a plastic bag and were heated on a griddle, just like other tacos are done. But with the differences that they were heated in stacks of two and for a very long time, maybe close to five minutes, getting flipped at least a dozen times and tested (kudos to the taquerero for wearing a plastic glove as he is supposed to). The burner must have been on very low.

At last they were removed from the griddle and assembly took place very quickly. A pile of meat was retrieved from the tamalera with tongs and the cebolla y cilantro were added, they were wrapped up and handed to me along with a half lime and a small cup of dark green, thick salsa, in exchange for $3.75 for three and I was on my way. They're available only with this chopped beef filling.

It was apparent right away when I dug into them that the tortillas were very moist so I concluded they must have been steamed previously and held until needed. The quantity of salsa was completely inadequate but it was a squeeze of lime that most benefited these delicately flavored tacos. Obviously with steamed beef, you're not going to get the intense flavors of some other means of preparation, so if you're longing for the caramelized beef of tacos al carbon of the intense flavors of al pastor or barbacoa, you're not going to get it with these tacos. I really liked them however.

The first time I saw the wagon during the day it was closed; I caught it open around dusk. I didn't notice any posting of hours but since it's only about 20 yards from the door to the bikini bar, I'd hazard a guess they're only open in the evenings.

Now, does anybody know where to get tacos a la plancha in Houston? That's another method of preparation I'd like to try.

Edit to add: I was quite surprised to read in the Press that these tacos did not live up to my expectations. I hadn't realized that.

Taco Keto

1401 Cullen

I first heard of this taco truck a couple of years ago but never caught it open until recently. The owner is from Guerrero and there's a unique thing about their tacos. What they're known for is the enchiladaded tortillas used. Actually what I observed was dabbing some of the salsa roja on the tortillas on the griddle rather than dipping them, but the effect is pretty much the same and the tortillas fluff up some as they are grilled besides absorbing the flavors of the salsa. You get only one tortilla per taco here, at least with the corn (didn't try the flour if they even offer it), and fillings are perhaps a mite skimpy, but the extra step with the tortillas makes a big difference flavor-wise. I found myself craving more of these before I even got back home. As you can see, they also use grilled onions, and a generous amount, and the other unique ingredient is potatoes. I wasn't too sure about that last ingredient so asked for no potatoes on the al pastor (top) and potatoes on the fajita (bottom), but I wound up with no potatoes at all and all the onions on the al pastor. There was a breakdown in communications between the two workers on the truck, apparently.

Oh yes, another thing - parking is virtually non-existent: they're in the parking lot of a tire shop. I drove a block away to the parking lot of a rather infamous Kroger in a torrential downpour that lasted about 3 minutes to dig in.

I'll be going back to this truck again.

Open only Tuesday thru Saturday, 11a to 11p.

Cooper's Po-Boy Express

S. Gessner @ W. Airport - MOVED

The latest mobile unit to roll to a stop on the southwest side is a streetcar - a New Orleans po-boy cart. Clang, clang, ding ding, woot, woot -I have no idea what sound a New Orleans streetcar makes but what a great visual tip-off to the goodies that await at the window. When I first saw this I couldn't believe my eyes and was sure they must just be parked here because the owner lived nearby. But no, they're here to stay, although hours are somewhat limited. We have places to get tortas galore, banh mi shops too numerous to count, but when it comes to other types of sandwiches we've been severely lacking here on the southwest side for anything other than chains. Could it really be that now we have a purveyor of some of the best sandwiches on the planet, New Orleans po-boys, and just 5 minutes from my driveway?

I couldn't wait to try it out but I had to. There are no hours (or menu) posted on the cart and the website is not much help but at last I caught them open. They just got their permit the end of March and started operations around the middle of April but some equipment problems have arisen, notably that I know of an inadequate ventilation fan to handle the smoke generated by using the grill. Roy Cooper supervises the frying and grilling, an ever-beaming Patricia Harris greets the customers and keeps an eye on the whole operation. I think these people are as excited and happy to be offering their foods as I am to have them.

The menu is small, 8 types of po-boys, hot sausage or smoked sausage, hamburger, roast beef, turkey or ham ranging from $5.99 to $7.99 for a half sandwich and from $9.99 to $11.99 for a whole, a choice of toppings, fries, chips, beverages. The hot sausage is Danton's, the smoked sausage is D & D's, both products from Bogalusa now carried by Fiesta stores. I tried the Danton's hot sausage first, an all-beef pan sausage liberally laced with cayenne. The sandwich, a half is 8 inches, contained 3 patties, grilled, with shredded lettuce, tomato, pickle and gobs of mayonnaise, the latter an essential part of a New Orleans po-boy to me, and was really good. The bread is a really important factor, of course; many places here in Houston that claim to offer New Orleans po-boys get the bread all wrong but this one is pretty close, very similar to the bread used by Antone's, although it could benefit from a little more crustiness.

When I was called to the window to pick mine up I got a big face full of the exhaust fan problem - I was hit in the face with a blast of smoke that knocked me back; inside it was smokier than the pit room at City Market in Luling and I didn't see how they were going to cope with that for several hours. I think this problem has been taken care of; for the sake of the crew, hopefully so.

I wouldn't be surprised if most people name a catfish, shrimp or oyster po-boy as their favorite but my favorite New Orleans po-boys are the roast beef with gravy and debris and the hamburger po-boy and I went with the roast beef on my second visit although I had second thoughts while standing around smelling the fish frying. This wasn't quite as good as the hot sausage; as I suspected, there wasn't much gravy on this po-boy. Per city of Houston regulations, a mobile vendor cannot provide an eating area nearby so almost all business is grab and go and too much gravy would turn that bun into a soggy mess very quickly. I could accept that limitation but I was disappointed in the lack of any debris - the meat had not cooked enough to begin to fall apart. Still, the flavors were all there. Also there was a slice of cheese, a surprise to me since I didn't even realize that was available. I prefer no cheese on a roast beef po-boy with gravy and I'll have them leave that off next time.

I look forward to trying all the other varieties here. They're open only Thursday, Friday and Saturday from around 11am to 8pm.

Cooper's Po-Boy Express