Myth Kafe - UPDATED

1730 Jefferson

RELOCATED TO THE CONSERVATORY, 1010 PRAIRIE
 
New owners took over the Greek Myth Cafe at this location at the end of August and changed the name, hours of operation and maybe some of the menu.  It was all news to me, literally, as I had never even heard of the previous restaurant.

Greek salad was first up for me, with bell peppers instead of pepperoncini (I missed them); the tomatoes, despite their color, were tasteless but the almost cream cheese-like feta and generous complement of kalamata olives made this a treat.   This was the small size but it was enough for me; I hadn't had much of a appetite and I proceeded straight to dessert. 

Actually, it was the picture online of home-made Greek yogurt with walnuts and honey that had drawn me here more than anything but the yogurt and honey wasn't available so I 'settled' for Ekmek or Ekmek Kantaife.  Similar to kunaife, this is vermicelli (shredded wheat) drenched with syrup, topped with a custard and crushed pistachios.  The unique flavoring comes from the resin of the mastic tree which grows only on the Greek island of Chios.

Gyros here are made with beef.  When they put lamb in a pita, as in this sandwich, they call it - ta-da - Lamb in a Pita.  Lamb is a specialty and it will be difficult to pass this up and try the gyro sometime.  There was a generous amount of juicy, oven roasted lamb and I had every intention of pausing to take a picture which would demonstrate how meaty the sandwich was but I plowed right through.  It's seems to be on the daily specials menu pretty often, along with 'Lamb in the Oven,' a plate of roast lamb with rice.

There seems to regularly be a cod dish on the daily menu, baked or fried, and I really wanted to try one but succumbed to the tempting description of Chicken Astragon on another visit - chunks of chicken in a wine sauce with mushrooms and penne.  This was second only by a little bit to the Lamb in a Pita as the best thing  I've had here.

I still haven't gotten to try the yogurt, honey and walnuts but I think the tzatzaki is made with the house-made Greek yogurt.  This is often served as a complementary starter with bread.

The menu is small and the hours short.  Although they don't have regular evening hours, I was told they will stay open with advance notice and a minimum party of six, plus they'll take walk-ins if they're open.  ETA: EVENING HOURS 5 DAYS A WEEK NOW BUT NOT OPEN STRAIGHT THROUGH FROM LUNCH TIME EXCEPT ON SATURDAY. It's a small staff and service can get slammed if they get a little crowded.  Unfortunately it's probably not a good option for a quick business lunch unless you call ahead for take-out.

One of the things the new owners intend to do is a better job of publicizing the restaurant.  Perhaps that will lead to expanded hours of operation.  The place isn't hard to find but can be easy to miss; it's actually on the back side of the building, facing the St. Joseph's Parkway and the Pierce elevated, not Jefferson.  For intrepid diners daring enough to venture inside the Loop in search of good food, Myth Kafe is worth a visit.

Myth Kafe,  (Note:  the link on the Yelp listing is to the former restaurant which is misleading about days and hours of operation and daily specials.  FWIW, any reviews or pictures posted before 8/30/14 are of the previous operation).

Oh My!, Pocket Pies

1005 St. Emanuel @ McKinney


I finally managed to catch these guys and it was well worth my trip down there.


They were having a very busy day. I got there about 1:30 and they were running out of some items, indicated by the black tape over some entries on the menu board. A couple more pieces of tape went up while I was waiting to order.


Fortunately they had an off-the-menu daily special of a Sloppy Joe (on top in the picture). I got the two pie plus side special. Both pies were great with a very satisfying not-too-thick, flaky crust. We never had Sloppy Joe's in my household when I was growing up and I don't remember ever having one outside of a school cafeteria so I really enjoyed this; the Salisbury steak was also very good, with a savory mushroom and onion gravy. I have been following a discussion on one of the national boards about meat pies and was tempted to weigh in with my opinion that none reach the greatness of an Argentine or Venezuelan empanada but OMPP gives me pause.

My wind-blown salad with vinaigrette (they also gave me the Ranch dressing as a dip for the pies) and the cole slaw were nothing special compared to the pies, unfortunately, but I did get a good look at one of the burgers and was looking forward to going back to try one. I planned to check to see if Wally World had a sunbonnet in my size first, however.




As I got closer to the window on another visit though my thoughts were turning more and more to that pie crust. As it turned out my choices were pretty much made for me - they were sold out of burgers and also the vegetable pot pie so I went with the Chicken Chile Relleno and Chicken Pot Pie.

As I was advised when I ordered, the Chicken Chile Relleno was a lot more flavorful, on a par with the Salisbury Steak and Sloppy Joe pies I'd had before. The veggies in the pot pie were generously sized and not over-cooked, happily still crisp-tender, but I found the gravy too thick and starchy. I had kind of been hoping for something like a Bolivian Saltena, a juicy, stew-like meat pie that I've heard about but never experienced.

OMPP! is another great addition to the street food scene in Houston and was well worth the trip all the way downtown, though I do wish they were closer. Check 'em out on the website and Twitter before driving a long distance as they frequently run out of some items early, it seems.

Oh My! Pocket Pies

The Cajun Stop

2130 Jefferson

FORMERLY KNOWN AS CALLIOPE'S PO-BOYS, OWNERSHIP UNCHANGED

There's a new po'boy shop in town and it's a good one. According to what they told reporters, the owners are from New Orleans; they settled in Hattiesburg after Katrina but decided they missed the big city and wound up here. We're fortunate to have them.


I've tried the lunch special, a generous cup of gumbo (close to 16 ozs worth) and a small sandwich for $10. The chicken and sausage gumbo is thin but very tasty and loaded with tender chunks of smoky sausage and white and dark meat chicken pieces; it's mildly spicy.


It was hard to pass up the assortment of seafood po'boys available (soft shelled crab, oyster, fried crawfish, shrimp, catfish - there are 13 po'boys on the menu in 4 sizes, including the 32" extra large plus buns) but I was drawn to the roast beef and I was not disappointed. A grievance of mine for a long time has been the bread used for po'boys by most places here and while BB's and Jazzie both have bread that is better than most I think Calliope outshines them both. There are hints that it's bread from the Leidenheimer Bakery in New Orleans, or at least a very near clone. It's nice and crusty but lighter than a baguette or bolillo, still much better than the usual sandwich roll served by many places, toasted or not.

Besides the roll, the beef, gravy and other condiments were all tasty and there was an appropriately generous amount of both the gravy and mayo (I believe the correct measurement of the latter is 'gobs'). This was the best New Orleans-style Roast Beef Po'Boy I've ever had in Houston.

The manager asked me, as I was finishing up, if it had been messy enough - the right question to be asked after a New Orleans Roast Beef Po'Boy. The pile of wadded up paper towels on my table told the tale.

I'm looking forward to many more visits.

The place was virtually deserted when I was there just after 1pm; perhaps the downtown lunch crowd has not discovered it yet. The staff was very friendly. Despite the Jefferson Street address of the shopping center the restaurant is hardly visible from Jefferson; it's actually closer to the intersection of Hutchins and the St. Joseph Parkway.

The Cajun Stop

Mobile Vendors with Specialty Fare

I am not following the food truck scene as closely as I did for a while in 2010. There have been many new trucks hitting the streets, many of them, unfortunately, aimed at the bar crowd. At one time I think I had the most complete list of these 'chef-driven trucks' and vendors offering ethnic cuisines other than Mexican, but no more. The Houston Food Trucks site is keeping track of the former, anyway, and EatDrinkHouston keeps track of the tweets of a few of the most popular ones.

And what to call this category? Gourmet?, Chef-driven?, Gastro-carts?, Luxe Loncheras? I'm at a loss but I like to create categories and these vendors are clearly different than the loncheras and other mobile vendors mostly aimed at the working classes - different, oh so trendy, but not necessarily better.Since I do not have much of a sweet tooth haven't visited any of that variety but I list them anyway.

Bare Bowls Truck,, report here.

Bernie's Burger Bus - a school bus serving grass-fed Black Angus beef burgers. Check their Twitter page for the schedule. Picture here. A second unit is in the works and apparently also a brick-and-mortar operation for downtown.

Chi'Lantro - another Korean-Mexican fusion truck and another truck from an Austin operator.  Kimchi fries are supposed to be good; I've had the 'burger' with pork (Korean pulled pork) and would definitely order again - nice balance of ingredients, great, fresh bun.

CM Roadie - a food truck from Central Market.

Cooper's Po-Boy Express - New Orleans style po-boys. Report here.

CoreanosHTx - a Houston based unit of a popular Austin truck, 'Mexican Cuisine with Korean in the Middle.' Reviewed here.

Frosted Betty, a bakery in Katy with a mobile unit (see the Contact page).

Fusion Taco, gourmet Asian fusion tacos. Website and Twitter.

Green Seed Vegan - picture here.

Gypsy Donuts

Htownstreats, a truck with a varied menu, on Twitter, reviewed here.

It's a Wrap! Truck

Kurbside Eatz - Comfort food with an Asian Twist.  Reviewed here. Melange Creperie - on Facebook and on Twitter, in the parking lot of Mango's, 403 Westheimer, reviewed here, not mobile but one of our best street food stops.

No Borders - a truck from Sylvia's Enchiladas. Keep up with the schedule on Twitter. Reviewed here.

PiPizza Truck - "Gourmet pizza without the attitude. It's pizza, it's supposed to be fun."

Oh My! Pocket Pies, reviewed here.

Roasted, a mobile bistro and catering service still in the construction phase.

StickItTruck

Sub-on-the-Way, Houston's first kosher taco truck?, spotted a long time ago but not seen in months.

The Cupcake Coach

The Lunch Bag, a truck with different ingredients for tacos, daily plate lunch specials, some Cajun specialties and breakfasts. Reviewed here.

The Rolling Hunger, Vietnamese-Mexican-Korean; fusion tacos, quesadillas, banh mi. Pictures here.

What's up Cupcake

Zilla Street Eats, 'big spicy street food like a fire breathing chicken' - on Facebook and Twitter.


See also the list of International Vendors and other taco truck reports on this blog.

Gimme them old-time burger stands - Sparkle's Hamburger Spot

Dowling @ Leeland, just East of 59.

A new contender for ‘best burger’ in Houston???? Well, not if you have to have fu-fu ingredients, white table cloth service (or service at all) and a see-and-be-seen clientele. Ever since I first saw this place I noticed it seemed to stay pretty busy and I had to check it out. I went expecting something like the burgers at Someburger on 11th street in the Heights or Jaime’s Dairy Treat in Richmond - thin, 50s style meat patties - but I was in for a big surprise.

The food took forever. I didn’t check the time when I ordered but I’m sure it was close to 30 minutes before I got my burger and I was getting quite frustrated. A few people had stopped in to pick up phone-in orders, on bicycle or on foot or by car, but only one of the other people in line in front of me had gotten their food in that time either. I wondered what in the world could be taking so long, and then I got the burger and beheld the patty and understood. The ‘patty’ was at least an inch thick and probably weighed 10 or 12 oz (I’ve since taken one home and weighed it at 10 oz). It was cooked too well done for my taste but was not too dry. There weren’t many condiments on the burger, a small amount of iceberg lettuce, onion strips, pickles, a slice of tomato, a generous amount (but not too much) of mayo and a small smear of mustard, about all that could be put on the burger and still leave it manageable. The bun was appropriately greasy and well toasted, probably necessary to keep this monster together until finished. The cheese was thoroughly melted across the top of the hand-formed patty. It was a sight to behold and it was very good.

The hand-cut, irregular fries weren’t very good, undercooked, a very pale golden color, but I didn’t care. This place is about the burger. I’ve tried the fries on another occasion and they were mediocre again. Unfortunately I’ve also gotten a burger to go one time that had been way overcooked and developed about a 1/4" crust on the bottom.

You can choose from bacon, cheese, chili, jalapenos, and hickory smoked barbecue sauce or various combinations of these as additional fixings but there is no bleu cheese or feta cheese, shitake mushrooms, alfalfa sprouts, raspberry vinaigrette, Brussel sprouts, radicchio or tender young salad greens or whatever it is they’re putting on burgers in trendy bistros these days.

There are turkey burgers and grilled or fried chicken burgers and a fried pork chop sandwich on the menu. The breakfast menu includes pork chops, ham, bacon, pan sausage or country links and eggs, tacos and grits. Cajun platters include chicken ‘n waffle or chicken ‘n pancake platters, available also with pork chops or catfish.

On my first visit I came to the conclusion Sparkle’s takes it’s name from the personality of the lady at the window, a delightfully pleasant young woman, but I’ve never seen her again on subsequent visits. It’s open 6a-6p on weekdays, 7a- 5pm on Sat and 8a-3pm on Sun, according to the signs.

Oh yes, the cheeseburger described above was only $3, the fries a buck extra. They also sell large, stuffed baked potatoes and chips and the fries also come w/chili and cheese, curly style, and as tater tots. None of these has proved to be as good as the burgers and the chili is ground meat with taco seasoning.

I picked up a copy of the to-go menu and always call in my orders in advance to avoid the wait. Obviously part of the reason it looks so busy is the long wait for the food. If it’s your first visit you might want to take a book!

Oh yes, on that fried pork chop sandwich. I’ve commented elsewhere on this blog on the pork tenderloin sandwich of the Midwest; the fried pork chop seems to be a soul food or Cajun counterpart and the one here is the best I’ve found. Though it’s just a cut of sirloin (boneless) its tender and very tasty, a real mess of a sandwich from the get-go, though, on plain white bread with just mayo, lettuce and tomato. I’ve thought pickles would be a nice addition but the tartness of the mayo is enough to balance the tastes for me.

Stanton's City Bites

1420 Edwards at Houston Ave., just north of Washington


I heard the buzz about Stanton’s a couple of years ago and had to make my way over there to try it. It’s great how people are always coming up with new finds and I try to do my part by trying lots of new places myself in hopes of striking gold.

Stanton’s has got probably the least street appeal of any eatery I’ve seen in Houston; you’d hardly know it’s a convenience store, much less serves food. Inside the faded lavender doors, the floors are worn, the lighting dim, the convenience store racks poorly stocked, boxes and crates, etc., blocking access to much of the space, a barren meat/deli case, but at least the food prep and serving area that can be seen is spic and span.

Like one of our newspaper reviewers recently wrote, I prefer to order a burger the way a place serves it on the first visit, to get a sense of what they think is a great burger. It reveals a lot to me and, sometimes, I pick up on something new I’d never thought of before.

Stanton’s serves a humongous burger; it barely fits in the Styrofoam box and that’s a problem since there’s no place to eat except in your car (I’ve since learned there’s a small, tree shaded city park about a mile north on Houston Ave.) But it’s a bit of a hassle trying to eat that burger in the car.

Despite looking awesome I was disappointed in the burger on two counts, first, the meat was quite flavorless. I thought they could have either used a better quality of meat or at least added a little seasoning mix to it. Secondly, and more importantly for me, the main flavor that hit my palate on my first bite was mayonnaise, the burger was swimming in it. An all-the-way cheeseburger was supposed to have both mustard and mayo but the mayo stood out over everything, even the bacon. Overdoing the condiments is a sure sign of a bad burger to me and as much as I wanted to like that gorgeous looking burger, I was unhappy.

On a second visit I told them to hold the mayo, thinking that might do the trick, but in it’s place they used a surfeit of mustard. Now there should never be more than a smear of mayo on a burger IMO but a mustard burger is fine - so long as it’s not overdone, as this one was.

Two strikes and yer out. Well, here’s the deal: within less than 10 minutes of Stanton’s are three of my favorite burgers in Houston, at Christian’s, Lankford’s and Someburger. If I have to drive that far, I’ll go to one of them. Now if Stanton’s was close to me - I live in a part of town devoid of good burger joints - I’d probably hit them regularly and learn how to cope with the way they fix the burger and order it so I got it the way I wanted it. (And I wish I had a gallon of gas for every time I’ve thought about a Houston eatery “if it was in my neighborhood I’d probably be a regular, but it’s not worth driving half-way across town for”).

Besides, though there was a time, only a year and half ago, when I longed for these over-sized burgers and thought it was a sign I was living the good life by polishing one off, I no longer like to stuff myself when I eat and I much prefer a burger only about 2/3s the size of Stanton’s at most. You know the Surgeon General has determined if you eat biggy-sized portions, you will become biggy-sized, and dang if it didn't happen to me. I'm working on it, diligently, though.

This is not just a burger joint, there are lots of other items on the City Bites menu but I’ve tried only one of them, the chili. I asked about it on several visits but they had none to serve. It’s listed as chili and rice and besides not having a pot of chili simmering on the stove, the owner told me she didn’t have any rice ready to serve either. Like many places that serve chili, they say they get too little demand for it in warm weather to keep it ready so I made a point of going in on a very blustery day and they did sell me a container of chili, although they still had no rice. It was quite a wait and what I got was perhaps the worst excuse for chili I’ve ever encountered in Houston. Unfortunately, Stanton’s has taken their cue from Wendy’s; the chili consisted of chopped up, cooked hamburger patties in a very, very tomato-y soup with almost no taste of chili powder or cumin. Strike one and yer out.