Frenchy's open, Acacia closed, Lotus gets a rave - UPDATED 9/1/17

The Frenchy's Fried Chicken on the Beltway at West Bellfort is open for business.  Frenchy's has been adding locations all over town.  UPDATE:  THIS LOCATION HAS NOW BECOME WALLA-BEES - THE STING IS IN THE WINGS.

Acacia Food Market, the ambitious and impressive Turkish market on Wilcrest at the Southwest Freeway has closed. Correction:  Acacia just moved, just south of 59 at 11821 S. Wilcrest, back behind a Popeye's, in a big strip center with an Office Depot and Dollar General.

Another option for Turkish foods is Makkah Mart, 10560 Synott @ West Bellfort, Sugar Land, and, of course, Phoenicia on Westheimer. Makkah Mart is now known as Anatolia.

Lotus Seafood Market, 8550 S. Braeswood at Gessner got a rave review in Houstonia Magazine.  It's rare for any place in our part of town to even be noticed by the foodie media.  Dining in accommodations are very basic.  The tales of long lines are true and the parking lot is usually crammed; it's best to call in an order and get it to go.  Lotus Seafood Market on Facebook.  There are pictures of the menu.

Ruchi's Taqueria on Gessner between 59 and Beechnut has become Jabastian's.

Edit to add:

I drove by the former Sheba Cafe location, 6521 Bissonnet @ Hillcroft, and saw the 'Open' sign lighted in the window again.  I found a Facebook page.  It's now called Habesha Cafe, an Eritrean restaurant, and apparently it's been open all along.  The sign in the window says it's open 7 days a week.  They must neglect to turn on the Open sign many days! 

Panaderia y Pupuseria La Sultana has moved into the space formerly occupied by Panaderia Mexicana & Colombiana, 6039 Bissonnet.  La Sultana was for a long time located in the center at Beechnut and Bissonnet that has been razed for an Aldi.  It also housed a Central American grocery store at the former location but I don't know if that's the case here.

Mido, the Turkish/Middle Eastern sandwich shop at 6905 Bissonnet has closed.

Trudis gone, Aldi coming - UPDATED

The Robindell Shopping Center at the corner of Beechnut and Bissonnet is all fenced off and demolition equipment is on scene.  According to Swamplot, everything is going except the Baskin Robbins.  In it's place, a new Aldi has been announced.  Aldi is a German discount grocer related to Trader Joe's featuring mostly their own store brands.  If you're not familiar, see this story from Business Insider which I posted on the sidebar some time ago.

While I, and other readers of this blog, will miss Trudis, the best birria in town, the addition of an Aldi is at least some good news.  Hopefully Trudis will find another location near by.

Elsewhere I've also seen where Taqueria Arandas is not abandoning our part of town completely.  The former Taqueria Cancun on S. Gessner, south of Beechnut, will become a corporate-owned outlet for the Houston-based taqueria chain.

UPDATE:  THIS TAQUERIA ARANDAS IS NOW OPEN FOR BUSINESS.

My earlier report on Trudis.

Openings and Closings 2013 - 2014 (Edited 10/3/14)

So I don't go out for a year and a half and there are all these changes.  Who knew this was going to happen?

Around the intersection of Hillcroft and Bissonnet, which I once bragged about as one of the most diverse in Houston the kosher pizza place Aroma Pizza Cafe has closed.  It looked for a while like a pizza chain was moving in but the space is now vacant.  Tortilleria La Reyna and Birirria La Reyna, next door to each other, have merged into just the tortilleria.  Their Miercoles con Pollo Wednesday special is a cheap eats bargain - a whole rotisserie chicken, a cup of rice and half cup of a decent ranchero type salsa for just $6.  Fresh, warm, corn tortillas are extra but just $1 per pound.

Sheba Cafe has apparently become Habesha although the Sheba name remains on the building.  Sometimes it's closed when the sign says it's supposed to be open and other times a I see the Open sign lit in the window.  Next door, which long ago was Hoagies and More offering banh mi and pupusas, is now Ostioneria La Reyna.

South on Hillcroft, Istanbul Market has closed and Pollo Loco Charcoal Roasted Chicken has moved into the strip center with Pupusa Buffet.

On South Post Oak where Willow dead ends, Super Chicken offers Peruvian style charcoal roasted chicken with sides.  There's a dining room but I've never seen any one dining in the couple of times I've stopped in.    SUPER CHICKEN HAS CLOSED.
 
On Fondren at South Braeswood a shop offering cake pops, donuts, cupcakes and coffee according to signs in the windows has taken over the space formerly occupied by the Chili Bowl and before that Luke's.  There's still no sign on the building or streetside but a banner on the building now announces the Grand Opening of The Cake Fairy.  Maybe the third time will be the charm for that space.  ETA:  There is now a street-side sign, although it's mostly obscured by trees.

Shortly after I reviewed it, East Africa and Middle East Restaurant changed names to Mandi Halal and was identified online as serving Somali and Yemeni food.  Now Mandi Halal has closed but a new place has opened at 8403 Almeda at Holly Hall named House of Mandi.  Mandi is a Yemeni dish. 

Our second Afghan restaurant, Afghan Village, 6413 Hillcroft, has been open for about a year and I still haven't gotten around to going; now another Afghan place, Afghan Dastarkhwan, a word which I understand means something like smorgasbord, has opened at 6800 Southwest Freeway, back behind Lucy, which I've never been to either.  Edit to add:  a second location of Afghan Dastarkhwan has replaced Durrani's Tandoori Grill at 10581 S. Hwy 6 at West Bellfort, Sugar Land.

On Gessner between 59 and Beechnut, Taqueria Cancun has closed.  A block south of 59 Taqueria Arandas has become Don Rey Mexican Restaurant.  The huge streetside sign is new, as is the hand-painted plywood sign saying they're open.

I watched for months for the opening of Lahori Maza on Bissonnet next door to Afrikiko Ghanaian Restaurant, then I found out it was only open in the evenings or maybe only after dusk.  I still haven't checked it out.  Signs in the windows have advertised supari, bun kabob, keema paratha, samosas, tea, chess, and pool.  The other Desi game rooms I've been to, Salaam Namaste, Alpha Capri and Mehfil Grill, have more than just snacks on the menu.  The strip center parking lot up front is notorious for prostitution activities and raids

And probably the two best for last - AA Supermarket, 9896 Bellaire, is in the process of becoming an H Mart.  I read about it on Yelp and went to check it out.  There's no indication outside or in except that your receipt will show H Mart and you groceries will be in H Mart bags.  It's not a bad supermarket but it has a long way to go to match the H Mart on Blalock.  Still, I'm excited to have an H Mart much closer to home.

And Pho Binh, the acclaimed pho restaurant, has opened it's fifth location, Pho Binh Grill, in the shopping center at the corner of Gessner and the SW Fwy, between Maharaja Bhog and Peking Cuisine, making that strip center a great destination for dining.

Edit to add:  India Grocers, 6606 SW Freeway @ Hillcroft, has become Subhlaxmi Grocers.

Farm Stand - Plant It Forward Farms

Willowbend @ South Fondren

I've been watching this garden grow for a couple of years now whenever I drove over that way.  In the beginning it seemed to be just one man with a tractor.  It grew to cover what must be close to an acre but only occasionally did I see more than one man working it.  I assumed it was an Urban Harvest garden and have intended to stop and ask about it some time but never got around to it.  Recently they started selling produce from a little street side stand.

I got some great tomatoes on my first visit - it's cash only and I didn't have much with me.  The smaller ones were better than store-bought but not all that flavorful and even a little over-ripe but the bigger ones, when they finished ripening, were as good as any I've ever grown at home back when I had a garden.

I wasn't able to learn anything about the garden on my first visit because of a language impasse but I guessed it was being run by one of the African churches in this part of town.  On a second visit I learned this is one of the Plant It Forward Farms organization's sites, in conjunction with Urban Harvest.  According to their website they also have a garden at St. Thomas in Montrose and just off South Hillcroft, just inside South Main.  The purpose of the organization is to provide economic opportunities for refugee families and the produce is pesticide and chemical free.

I picked up some cucumbers and a flying saucer squash on my second visit (still had plenty of tomatoes).  That squash - 7" in diameter - was small compared to one on display my first time by.  The long, snaky cucumber was labeled Suyo Long but it doesn't look like the one's I've found online by that name.  It has a mild, very slightly sweet taste and is excellent.  I haven't managed to finish it off yet and start the other one (which weighs 1 lb, 7 oz).  There were also what I assume to be large pickling cucumbers, just one of which would be large enough to make a pint of pickles.

Produce from Plant It Forward is available at the Eastside Farmers Market on weekends, by CSA subscription, and from the farm stands when they're open.  The sign on my first visit said the hours were Tuesday thru Sunday, 2:30-6:30 but on the second visit, it read Tuesday thru Sunday, 11:30 to 2:30, so I guess those are new hours.

This is a very welcome addition to this part of town.

Plant it Forward Farms

Acacia Food Mart - MOVED!

11739 South Wilcrest @ US 59

Acacia moved in 2015 to 11821 S. Wilcrest, on the other side of US 59, back behind a Popeye's and in a large strip center that also houses an Office Depot and Dollar General.  The new store is more spacious.

Tis’ the season for new grocery stores in Houston, as any foodie who has been paying attention knows, but this one hasn’t gotten as much publicity as others.  Even though it’s very close to me I wouldn’t have known about it if I hadn’t received an email on my blog.  Despite the address (just down and across from Lopez Mexican restaurant), it does not face either Wilcrest or the SW Fwy Frontage road, you have to go into the strip center to see it.

It’s billed as Mediterranean/European but it’s mostly Turkish.  (The jar of ajvar I bought is a product of Croatia).  It is brightly lit and clean on the inside and very well stocked.  There’s a section devoted to frozen Halal meats including chicken and lamb pieces, plus sliced bastirma and pastrami.  A cooler offers multiple varieties of sujuk plus beef mortadella and bologna.  There’s also a very good selection of cheeses in the coolers, and of course Ayran and yogurt.  There are rows of Turkish cookies and pastries, multiple offerings of Turkish Delight (Lokum) and other candies plus Nutella and Nutella clones.  There is a small produce section and lots of pickles, olives and pickled vegetables. 

The mixed pickled vegetables were a bit off-putting at first because of the potent vinegar aroma and taste and the plastic mesh grill tightly wedged in to keep the vegetables submerged which looked like cabbage.  I had to resort to a pair of needle-nose pliers to get it out but when I did the contents quickly grew on me.  I’ve never had pickled vegetables that were so crisp; they must have been cold brined.  The label lists cabbage, cucumbers, carrots, yellow peppers, tomatoes, red peppers, wild cucumbers, green peaches, green plums, and okra.  I’m headed back to get another jar as soon as I finish this one to see if mine was an aberration. The Turkish Wedding Soup mix looked like and reminded me of the tripe soup I had at the Uzbek booth at the Silk Road Festival last year (kelle paça çorbasi) which was prepared by Turkish Kitchen of Sugar Land but I remembered the name wrong.  Actually all I remembered was çorbasi. I still haven’t figured out what’s in it - the label is completely in Turkish and I haven’t been able to find an English translation - but it’s good.  The Civizli Sucuk, so named because of its sausage shape, is a confection involving walnuts on a string, coated with (grape) molasses.  It took some time to develop an appreciation for its appeal.

This was my first time to try a mild version of the fermented soujouk.  Not bad, but I much prefer the hot versions.  In the photo the bottle of ayran just has water in it - I am a yogurt drink-aholic and I chug-a-lugged it as soon as I got home before remembering to take a picture.  It’s available also in half gallon and gallon jugs.

I’ve seen packages of yufka in the coolers, a Turkish markook, and Turkish lavash.  I’ve never had the Turkish versions of these Middle Eastern flatbreads before and don’t know if they differ from the Lebanese versions but they are some of my favorite Middle Eastern flatbreads.  There are both chilled and unchilled packages of kadaif, kunefe and baklava. 

A couple of caveats: many, perhaps most, of the product labels are only in Turkish except perhaps for the mandatory nutrition labels and packages tend to be large.  I didn’t see any jars of ajvar smaller than 24 oz.  Packages of dates (from California) and frozen sardines are at least a pound.

I didn’t hear about this in time to attend the grand opening and partake of the Turkish hors d'oeuvr/meze pictured on Facebook and unfortunately you are not confronted with an array like that when you walk in..   There’s no simit or bazlava but they do carry sandwich baguettes from Parisian Bakery on the Beltway and they are thinking of adding some sort of snack bar section that would offer more ready to eat Turkish goodies.  I hope they go forward with this.

Some of the pictures on Facebook show only partially filled shelves when they opened but they have been very fully stocked in the few weeks since they opened.  They’re open 7 days a week.

I was flabbergasted a couple of years ago when I first noticed street signs along 59 indicating I was in the Houston International District.  Just about the only international cuisine that's available around here is Mexican, Texan and Pakistani.  But there is the Arab-American Cultural Center on Stancliff, the Raindrop Cultural Center, Istanbul Conference Center and the still a-building Interfaith Peace Garden about a half mile west on W. Bellfort and past that  India House and a sign for a future Philippine Cultural Center.  It's good to see some 'international' merchants moving in to fill out the roster.

Acacia Food Mart

Notes on some Texas sausages

NOTE:  IF YOU'RE EXPECTING TO FIND A LIST OF THE BEST SAUSAGES FOR GRILLING, THAT'S NOT WHAT THIS ARTICLE IS ABOUT.  IT'S JUST ONE OF A SERIES OF ARTICLES I'VE POSTED ABOUT TEXAS-MADE SAUSAGES, SOME GOOD FOR GRILLING, SOME FOR SMOKING, SOME FOR EATING OUT OF HAND.

EJ’s Meat Company, Shiner

For several years I’ve been hearing about the fried chicken at Brookshire Brothers grocery stores and had a chance to check it out recently, twice, in fact, at the Katy and Columbus stores.  Whenever I visit a new grocery store I like to take a tour to see what they have I’ve never seen before and since Brookshire Brothers in based in Lufkin, I was hoping they’d carry some products from East Texas.  In the meat cases I found a good selection of Texas-made sausages, Holmes from Pleak, Eckermann from New Ulm and Prasek’s from Hillje, and one I’d never heard of before, EJ’s from Shiner.  So it seems there are three sausage makers in Shiner (Patek’s and Maeker’s are the others).

I’ve tried all three of the ones I found, a Smoked Pork with Garlic ring, Pork Smokies (with garlic), and Pork, Beef and Jalapeno links (with garlic).  EJ’s has a thing for garlic, it seems, and this is a good thing.  They use a natural sheep casing and the grind is a medium to fine grind, not the coarse grind usually used by Central Texas sausage makers.  My favorite has been the links, pictured above with the smokies.  The links were very juicy and flavorful with lots of both smoke and garlic.  There is only a modest heat level from the jalapeno, however.  Because of the grind they’re very tender, reminding me of the sausages from V & V in Cistern but without the TVP.  The Smokies were actually less smoky  than either the links or the pork/garlic ring.

I have no idea if EJ’s has a store-front in Shiner or makes other varieties as I can’t find much about them online; I’ve only seen them at the Brookshire Brothers in Katy and Columbus.

Oh, and about the fried chicken: I had very different experiences at the two stores I’ve visited.  At the Katy store, the coating on the chicken was incredibly thick and crunchy, to the point of being hard.  I’m sure that’s the only time I’ve ever been prompted to wonder if I was damaging the enamel on my teeth by eating fried chicken.  Unfortunately the thick batter picked up a lot of grease, too, and I found the leftover pieces from the refrigerator unpalatable without removing the skin.

 

 I think my sample may have been an aberration, however, because what I got from the Columbus store was much better, not anywhere near as thick a coating nor as hard.  This is very good fried chicken, very, very juicy and flavorful.  The white meat pieces are humongous; one breast from the Katy store must have been at least 7" from end to end.  The dark meat pieces (pictured are 2 thighs and a drumstick) are a more modest size.

Brookshire Brothers is located in small towns throughout East Texas.



Update on Pyburn’s Food Market.

I’m happy to report the Pyburn’s on South Fondren is flourishing.  Every time I go by or stop in they’re doing a good business.  I get their weekly flyer now and I find myself shopping there more often than I anticipated.  Even better news is  the product line has been filling out very interestingly with sausages from some Central Texas sausage makers I did not know had any distribution in Houston.  Near the checkout counters in the front is a rack of jerky from Janak's in Hallettsville, a Czech sausage maker.  In the packaged meat cases besides Holmes and Chappell Hill and Eddy’s from Yoakum there is a small selection of Janak products including summer sausage and dry sausage.  There are also some sausages from Big Easy Foods of Lafayette that I haven’t tried. 

In the fresh meat cases, in addition to all the varieties of sausages and boudin that Pyburn’s makes (my favorite so far is the Cajun variety, an unspicy version of the Creole sausage) there are a few selections of fresh sausages from City Market in Schulenburg; I’ve picked up some of the venison links.  Actually I had to ask to be sure since the hand-lettered sign appeared to read Schwenburg.  There are also some hot links that may or may not be a Pyburn’s product; I haven’t seen nor asked about the famous Schulenburg wieners so I don’t know if they carry those.

In the freezer cases are a few of the frozen entrees from Big Easy Foods, frozen crawfish tails marked as being a product of Louisiana, not China, and frozen rabbit, duck, and quail plus huge baking hens.

The hot foods deli at the front of the store is in operation.  It’s called Kim’s Deli.  I’ve seen fried chicken and fish, sausage on a stick, boudin balls, fried potato and sweet potato wedges, empanadas of some sort and what look like a couple of caldos.  I haven’t tried anything.

See my original report on Pyburn’s here.

Pyburn's Food Market

12675 Fondren (2 blocks north of S. Main)

My family's route into the big city when I was growing up in Brazoria Co. was right up the old 288 which became Almeda Rd. and would take you right downtown. We must have passed the original Pyburn's in Almeda hundreds if not thousands of times. I seem to remember it was usually busy but we never had any reason to stop. So it was news to me when I read in the Press a year ago that they were noted for their boudin and dirty rice and I made a note to stop in sometime. Perhaps I'd make a nostalgia trip down the old highway some day (now known as FM 521 which actually was the original designation going back to the 1930s, I think).

Now I don't have to. The grocery store has come to me, or, at least, my part of town. This new location of Pyburn's has only been open a short time. I seldom go down that far on Fondren but had seen some work underway recently on the building which previously was a short lived independent meat market. It's not close enough to me to be my regular neighborhood grocery but it's a heckuva lot closer than Almeda Rd.

It has quickly become popular and has been doing a good business when I've been by or stopped in, partly due to the lack of any viable competition for quite some distance no doubt, but it's a nice, clean and well lit facility, more like a small grocery store of decades ago or the Pantry stores that HEB built when it first came to town - there are somewhat narrower aisles and taller shelving. The staff I have encountered is very friendly and helpful. The meat department is a standout section with butchers at the ready and it has a complete line-up of the home store's noteworthy boudin, dirty rice and other sausages. The boudin is predominantly rice but also includes chicken liver and gizzards, yellow and green onion, pork, bell pepper, parsley, garlic and black and red pepper. The natural casing crisps up and has a nice snap to it when roasted or smoked. It's a firm boudin, not one that dissolves into a soup when cooked. I'll be tossing several links of the mild on the smoker in a while; I'm headed to a potluck get-together this evening and I'll be fishing for copious compliments.

There's an in-store hot-foods deli due to be operational in a few weeks. I don't know what kind of foods they'll be offering but I'm looking forward to finding out what else comes out of Pyburn's kitchen.

UPDATE:  See an update on Pyburn's as part of this post.

AL/Al's Quick Stop and Grill

2002 Waugh Drive



I’m sure this little corner grocery was in existence umpteen umpteen years ago when I lived near Cherryhurst Park but I never went in. The menu says only since 1991, probably meaning the popular eatery inside the store. I’ve been hearing about the latter for years and wanted to check it out but I seldom get back down to the ‘trose.

It was 8 months ago when I found myself close by and decided to try it out. Though I’d heard most about the gyro when I noted the spit was not turning nor glowing I opted for a falafel plate with tahini and relish.

My first thought on getting a good look at the finished product - uh oh. That’s not the color I like to see when I behold falafel and just as I expected the exterior was too crusty and overcooked, there was even a slight taste of charring. The interior, a beautiful forest green, was mush. I seldom throw food away but I tossed several pieces of this as just not worth eating. The pita bread was dry, too, but the rest of the plate was very good; I particularly liked the pickled vegetables and hummus and would go back to try other plates if I get those things; the bed of parsley and radish underneath the falafel patties was also a nice refreshing note.  (Edit to add:  I have since learned the falafel may have been revithkeftedes, the Greek version of falafel, which is made with cooked, mashed chickpeas instead of ground, dried chickpeas.  This would account for the mushy texture.  I plan to give them another try).

Though I had shied away from the gyro, I had noted there seemed to be some pink on the meat on the spit and I still wanted to give it a try but it was not until earlier this month that I was back in the neighborhood. Though again the spit was not turning I went for a gyro anyway. A large portion of meat was deftly sliced off and warmed up on a flattop. A modest portion of onions and tomatoes were added as well as a pita.

Okay, this one lives up to the hype. Though it’s not apparent in the picture there was a tinge of pink on some of the pieces of meat and this was by far the juiciest gyro meat I’d ever eaten. And probably the biggest gyro - I think the whole sandwich weighed in at 11 oz. Some reviews online have stated it’s only beef, not the typical beef and lamb mix, but I didn’t think so and the menu does say it’s both. The pita in this case was fresh and fluffy, almost like naan. I could have used more of the onions and tomatoes and sadly the quantity of tzatziki which I got (to go) was very inadequate. I must admit the sauce is half the reason I like gyros so I was disappointed but I’m sure if you ate in, you could ask for more, if necessary.

The menu is very varied with Tex-Mex, Mediterranean and American sections; given how infrequently I’m in the neighborhood, it’ll probably be a long time before I try any thing else and I’m probably going to want another gyro next time.

Now, under the heading of Unsolved Mysteries of the Montrose, I'm not sure what the name of this place is. The sign and the take-out menu both say AL Quick Stop. Capital A, capital L, no apostrophe, no s. (The take-out menu makes it even clearer- there are pictures of the menu on Yelp so I’m not going to post it here). But it’s known by everybody as Al’s, listed on every user review site that I know of as Al’s, and there are dishes on the menu such as ‘Al’s Diced Salad,’ and ‘Al’s Chicken Sub.’ Rogue sign maker and rogue printer perhaps? Or perhaps the chef at AL is named Al?

MexAfrican Foods

9817 Bissonnet # N

I'd seen this little store before but wasn't sure it was open; the shopping center has been home to a continuing parade of failed eateries and is mostly empty. Recently I saw a lighted 'Open' sign in the window and pulled in to check it out. I was hoping against hope it was an eatery offering a fusion of African and Mexican foods, maybe African inspired tamales and enchiladas?

Alas, it was just a small grocery. The narrow aisles carried the usual West African staples, some spices and herbs and flours, jars of ready-made 'African Stew' which mentioned jollof on the label. There were also some Goya products displayed, apparently the reason for the 'Mex' part of the name (the street side sign, easy to miss, says Mexican African Caribbean Food).

In the rear was a small meat case with oxtail, cows foot and some other typical cuts; in the freezer case were bags of stockfish pieces and whole stockfish, the unsalted, dried cod from Norway that is widely used in West Africa.

At the checkout counter I spied what I hoped to see - some ready made snacks. Communication was virtually impossible, however. All I could pick up was 'bread' and 'bean' referring to the items I picked up.


It turned out they were all 'bread' - fried breads, that is. The round one was very dense, slightly sweet and tasted faintly of banana or plantain. The flatter more irregularly shaped ones were still warm, very savory and surprisingly spicy; they were also still quite greasy.

The dubyadubyadubya wasn't much help on these but I finally formed the opinion the slightly sweet one was Puff Puff, a Nigerian donut, often served with powdered sugar, while the savory ones were Akara, essentially a black-eyed pea fritter. I like the Akara much better; they would go good with greens or in lots of situations where cornbread might be served.

There had been a couple of empty display cases and trays at the counter so I went back a few days later to check for some others snacks. This time the clerk spoke perfect English and confirmed my deductions about the Puff Puff and Akara (you can just call me Sherlock from now on). I found cone shaped items, wrapped in banana or plantain leaves, labeled jollof - an African tamale? - but I was more interested in the foil pockets which had moi moi, the Nigerian steamed black-eyed pea pudding. This is a popular breakfast and street food in Nigeria and I've seen it on menus before but never had it. As with the Akara, the peas are soaked until the hulls are easily removed, leaving them a pale yellow/cream color instead of brown, then mashed or ground into a paste or flour. Moi moi is made with red palm oil, onions and red pepper and has a reddish tinge and a little bit of heat depending on how much red pepper is used. Sometimes onions, bell pepper, corned beef or chicken are mixed in, too. Sometimes habanero is used but these were only mildly spicy and I don't think it was habanero.

I've never made anything with red palm oil but I have to go back and get some and try it plus the jollof tamales.

The store is open 7 days a week.

Istanbul Market

7912 Hillcroft

CLOSED

Bissonnet is one of our great food streets with a very wide diversity of eateries. As far as ethnic or national cuisines go it's probably most known for Mexican and Salvadoran but there is Greek, Italian, Cuban, Ethiopian, Nigerian, Vietnamese, Kosher, Korean, Caribbean, Filipino, Colombian, Ghanaian, Pakistani and probably several others I've forgotten. The intersection of Hillcroft and Bissonnet has quite a diverse collection itself. Within a block or so are Hoagie's and More (Vietnamese/Salvadoran - a banh mi/pho/pupusa shop), Sheba (Ethiopian), Aroma Pizza Cafe (Kosher), Pupusa Buffet, Taqueria La Fogata, the venerable Droubi's (which I have just re-discovered after not having been for several years), Myung Dong (Korean), La Roca (Salvadoran tamaleria), a Honduran mobile unit and this place - a Turkish grocery.

It's a small, very neat and clean, well-stocked store run by two friendly young guys. Despite the size, it would be easy to spend quite a while browsing all the offerings, many of which you likely will not find elsewhere in Houston. There is a large selection of Turkish sweets and snacks, jarred olives and ajvar, stuffed zucchini, eggplant and vine leaf goodies, dried Turkish peppers, utensils for making and serving Turkish coffee, and much more.

In a deli meat case are a half dozen varieties of sujuk plus beef mortadella. The sign indicates Hallal beef and chicken products are also available but they're not on display; there may have been pastirma but I don't remember it. In the coolers is a variety of cheeses from Turkey including Hellim, Peynir and Kasar as I recall, plus yogurt, aryan and other dairy products.

In still another deli case there is a small selection of Turkish olives.

I went in hoping that they would have a ready-to-eat section offering some hot foods as so many Houston ethnic grocery stores do. Of course the olives and cheeses, etc., are 'ready-to-eat' but I was hoping to have found a place right in my neighborhood where I could grab some doner or pide on the run instead of having to drive all the way in to the Village. Alas, no such luck. The only offerings of that sort are in a deli case right inside the door, two pastries, baklava and kadaif burma.

The clerk told me they had just started carrying the kadaif and he preferred it to the baklava. Just looking at it I thought I might agree with him (okay, I botched that piece up a bit getting it out of the tray). It's twisted, shredded wheat (call it vermicelli if you like) with honey and pistachios. However the baklava was just awesome and was my favorite of the two. These are sold by the pound and that was almost 4 dollars worth (that's a dessert plate, not a dinner plate).

They're open 7 days a week.

Al-Nile Restaurant and Bakery, Grocery and Halal Meat

6502 Bellaire @ Rookin


This is new signage identifying this place as a restaurant. I’ve driven by this place dozens of times, usually heading east on Bellaire on the far side of the street. I’ve noticed it before but never realized it was a restaurant until I was stopped at the light heading west a couple of months ago and could see the signs in the windows advertising Shawarma and Desayunos for $2.99. Hola and selam and welcome to the United Nations of Sharpstown. I could also see that there were tables and chairs in the windows facing the side street.

I wasn’t able to find out much about it online other than it had changed hands recently and was allowed to serve food on reusable plates and with reusable utensils. I hypothesized that a restaurant serving schawarma with Nile in the name might be Egyptian so I read up on Egyptian cuisine before stopping in only to be confounded when I first confronted the menu board. Though I recognized a couple of listings - I guessed Beans and Egg was a reference to Ful Medammes (confirmed a few minutes later) and Falafel - both of which are Egyptian in origin - none of the other dishes looked like the Egyptian dishes I’d read about online, nor did they look like Ethiopian dishes.

There was no schawarma or desayunos but there was a line at the bottom of the board that said Gracias Por Su Visitar. I think the change of ownership is probably a factor here.

It took about 10 minutes before anyone came out from the back. In the meantime I browsed the shelves of the small grocery store where I saw products from Syria, Spain and California, rows of Goya products, mulberry syrup, pickled turnips, and bagala, cumin chickpeas, from Lebanon, bags of masaseca and loaves of both the white and brown injera from nearby Maru Ethiopian Grocery. In the freezer were packages of okra and jute leaves and frozen pita and in the cooler, lassis, Karoun’s yogurt drinks, Bulgarian Feta Cheese and tubs of Abali yogurt, plus non-alcoholic malt drinks from Lebanon and Holland and Arizona Tea.

Two young men sat at a table drinking from glass mugs what I assumed to be coffee; the dishes on their table were devoid of food and piled on the side. At another table 3 people, soon joined by a fourth, talked but they had no food. I’ve since learned they don’t serve coffee here; the beverage was hot tea.

Finally a young man came out from the back and apologized he had not known there was a customer. I immediately began asking about the dishes but his explanations didn’t help much so I just decided to order the falafel and head for home to hit the internet to try to identify some of these dishes. But he said he couldn’t serve the falafel because he was all alone in the kitchen and didn’t have time to make it so I went for the Beans and Egg instead. He said he could have that ready in a few minutes and he would give me a salad, some pita and a hot sauce on the side. At this point I was going to consider my visit a success just to get out with something identifiable and edible but this was sounding pretty good.

He came back out in just a few minutes carrying a tray of food for the table of four. I saw something that looked very much like fufu in a bowl of a red sauce, a small salad and some pita bread - that was all I could get a glimpse of. The food all seemed to be for one man and he immediately started pinching some of the substance in the middle of the bowl off and popping it in his mouth. I thought fufu was a West African thing; does the Nile extend all the way to West Africa? Which of the dishes on the menu board was fufu?

As the man went back into the kitchen I spotted a display case in the corner I had not noticed before with some t-shirts for sale so I went over to take a look and at last got a clue - I saw t-shirts promoting a free and independent state of South Sudan and proclaiming ‘I am a Free Citizen of South Sudan.’ In the clutter on a counter nearby there were several business card holders including one with cards for Dar4 Auto Sales, a car lot in San Antonio, and one for this business itself: Al-Nile Grocery & Halal Meat was the name at that time, with a sub-heading for the restaurant - House of Delicious - Sudanese, African and Middle East.

Okay, so my knowledge of the geography of Africa is a little rusty. Sudan is the largest country in Africa and more of the Nile flows through Sudan that either Egypt or Ethiopia with the White and Blue Niles meeting at Khartoum, the capital. This was before the recent referendum on separating the south from the north had even gotten underway and I’ve never seen any of the t-shirts since.

It was about 10 minutes before my food came out. In the meantime I had selected a powdered sugar cookie from a table of baked goods on display (I’ve since learned the baked goods are produced elsewhere). The food smelled great on the way home. I only recently discovered the dish Ful Medammes but it has quickly become a favorite and I’ve taken to keeping canned fava beans at home because the dish is so easy to prepare and so satisfying; it’s no wonder it’s been around since the days of the Pharaohs. I’ve been experimenting with seasonings and condiments to add when I make it at home and I’ve only had it one time at a restaurant up until this place but now that I look for it I have encountered it on many menus of Middle Eastern and African Restaurants.

This was the best version I’ve had, pungent with cumin, with a nice kick from chile pepper plus lemon juice, piping hot, topped with chopped, ,hard boiled egg and a small amount of cheese that I couldn’t identify but might have been feta. My salad had suffered a bit from being closed up with the steaming hot beans and the greens had darked a bit, the pita bread, beautifully golden on both sides, was thinner than any I’ve ever had before and the hot sauce was a real plus - the color of wasabi paste but spreadable, grainy like a mustard, packing a wallop of garlic, chile pepper and lemon juice. The large powdered sugar cookie had a date filling. This turned out to be a very satisfying first visit after all.

I hit the internet and immediately began finidng the dishes I remembered from the menu - Molokhiya, Aseeda, Tagalia, Tamia (these are the internet spellings).

On another visit a couple of weeks later I hoped to find Tamaaya and Shorba on the menu, two dishes I had read about online that intrigued me the most, but neither were available (the former is ‘Sudanese Green Hamburger,’ the latter a lamb stew from Khartoum with vegetables and spices, seasoned with peanut butter and lime). The falafel was not available again nor was my second choice so I settled for the Mo Khia (the spelling on the menu board). This is actually another dish of Egyptian origin, some say created by the Jews during their stay in Egypt. Molokhiya or jute leaves or Jew’s Mallow is a plant in the same family with okra and it has the same properties as okra, adding a thick mucilaginous texture to dishes. The stew included chunks of lamb. The sliminess didn’t bother me at all but jute doesn’t have much taste, less than spinach, no where near as much as collards or mustard greens.

I was given a choice of accompaniments, injera, pita or rice and went with the injera. Kissra is the staple bread of Sudan, made of corn or wheat, typically, but I was told it’s the same thing as injera and they don’t make their own here, they just serve the injera from Maru. I got three pieces of the white injera and proved to be a bad choice - it didn’t hold up to the thick stew at all, dissolving almost immediately when I tried to use it to pick up the pieces of lamb. It is common in Sudan to eat with the bare fingers of the right hand and it was quite messy; fortunately plastic utensils are provided. The very fresh injera didn’t even hold up to the simple salad of lettuce, chopped tomato and cucumber, sans dressing of any sort, nor the hot sauce (Shata it’s called) which accompanies everything here.

The stew got a little boring. I’ve read one reason people don’t find African food very interesting is they use a lot less salt than we are used to in the West so I looked around for a salt shaker but saw none, nor was there a pepper shaker. Then I realized I probably was supposed to add the Shata to the stew but by that time the Shata was all gone - I had polished it off like it was a side dish (I’ve got to do something about my garlic addiction, I guess). I was subsequently to learn I was using the injera wrong, too.

Continue reading the report here.

Gulshan-e-Iqbal

6121 Hillcroft # T

I first saw this Pakistani grocery store when I checked out Dilpasand Mithai next door and have been meaning to get back over there but I've been avoiding Hillcroft because of all the construction. Traffic in the area is about back to normal but ironically I was stuck in a traffic jam along there recently so I decided it was time to check it out.

It's much smaller than Savoy, the Pakistani grocery on Wilcrest, about the size of a convenience store. The emphasis seems to be on ready-to-eat and convenience foods rather than staples. There is much less of the bulk rice and flour and lots of chaat. The freezer and cooler displays are much smaller and the Halal meat case is smaller, though well stocked.

I was fascinated by the vast array of products and picked up some of the same items I've seen at Savoy for slightly less, although I couldn't guarantee that advantage would hold across the whole product line.


I found the zeera cookies (cumin) that I liked so much, this brand unsalted, moister and flakier, fresher tasting, and even more addictive, tea rusks and mixes. I picked up a Bhel Puri mix that I thought was produced here in Houston but upon closer examination of the label realized it was just imported by a Houston company. The package included the puffed rice and crackers (papdi or papri?) plus peanuts, a packet of masala and a packet of sev, the small crisp noodles, plus instructions on how to add vegetables to produce the final dish.

The breads in the fresh bread rack felt warm to the touch but by the time I got home with a loaf it no longer was. I picked up some baladi from Sahara Bakery on Richmond. It turns out this is an Egyptian peasant flat bread, a little fluffier than pita, and it was quite good, better than the masala naan I picked up from the refrigerated cases at Savoy, and toasts up very nicely in a toaster.

In an alcove in the corner is a small sweets bar offering two kinds of falooda, kulfi, lassi and gola ganda, the Pakistani version of a snow cone, and a few other things.

I had seen Sahara Bakery (9542 Richmond) before and always meant to check it out. After trying the baladi, I looked it up on line. A new website is under construction; the shopping center has undergone renovation and apparently the business has been downsized and the picture on the website is not what the strip center looks like now. I went interested in trying the restaurant but it is no longer in operation. I browsed the aisles only briefly and picked up some pickled vegetables that included wild cucumbers and noted the loaves of bread were definitely still warm from the ovens so I'll be going back to pick up some bread (there are only 3 or 4 varieties I think) when I use up what I've got.

Savoy Restaurant and Grocery

11248 S. Wilcrest

We have a lot of Indian and Pakistani restaurants in Houston including some very excellent ones. I'm a little more familiar with the Pakistani places, of which there are probably fewer, owing in part to Chef Kaiser Lashkari's excellent Himalaya. My experiences there have spurred me to explore that cuisine further to the neglect of Indian places.

Besides the well known Little India area around Hillcroft and the Southwest Freeway, Indian and Pakistani restaurants are scattered all over the city with another concentration in the area around West Bellfort, Wilcrest and the Southwest Freeway, very close to my home.

Along a one block stretch of West Bellfort between 59 and Wilcrest are two Desi game rooms/snack bars, Salaam Namaste and Alfa Capri, plus a new sweets and chaat shop, Sweet n' Namkin. Around the corner on Wilcrest, in a shopping center next to the Bansuri Indian Food truck that I reported on 14 months ago, is Savoy, a Pakistani restaurant and grocery, and just south of 59 on Wilcrest/Murphy Rd. is Aga's, another Pakistani place. Just off 59 and Bissonnet is La Sani, a Pakistani buffet, and further out, just outside the Beltway on Bissonnet is Mehfil Grill, another Desi game room/snack bar.

I have now eaten at all of these at least once and this is the first of several reports.

Savoy is a counter-service restaurant and is larger and a little nicer than the average hole-in-the-wall Houston ethnic restaurant. There are large tables and over-sized booths in addition to four-seaters; food is served on disposable plates with disposable tableware. So far, I have always gotten my food to go. This works well for everything except the naan which doesn't fare well wrapped up in foil for even just the few minutes to get home, so I've only had the naan once here. Rice and naan are extra and they do prompt you to order some.



On my first visit I tried Chicken Chilli, some naan and a samosa. Chicken Chilli is one of my favorite dishes (much better than 'white' chili as served in US restaurants!) and this was very good with both white and dark meat though not as hot as some versions I've had, and quite oily. The naan was not bad, considering being wrapped up in foil but the real winner on this outing was the samosa, larger than most at about 6 oz versus 4 to 4.5 at most places, and stuffed with the most interestingly seasoned filling of potatoes, maybe a few peas and garlic, I think, plus green and red chilli powders and cilantro as best I could determine. This has become one of my go-to orders at Savoy and I get one every time I go in. Though I have yet to get one absolutely freshly made when ordered, they've always been good and warm, unlike some places where they've been sitting out for hours.

I was very enthused about the quality and taste of the food here and went back a few days later for another order, this time I went for the Qorma Goat, another favorite dish (I have several). Once again it was apparent the food here is quite oily and though it wasn't that noticeable in my first order, I realized the condiments - onions, julienned ginger and cilantro - are sometimes less than primo.

On yet another visit I went for the Beef Nihari.


Besides the Nihari in the picture is some Masala Naan (spicy) from the adjoining grocery store and a salted jeera biscuit, i.e., cumin cookie. I had Beef Nihari at Sabri Nihari on Hillcroft in my very first visit to a Pakistani restaurant and it blew me away. It's an awesome dish, something I have to try at every Pakistani restaurant sooner or later, although I haven't ever gotten around to ordering it at Himalaya, and I've never found a better version than Sabri's. It is sometimes described as the Pakistani version of pot roast, consisting mainly of beef shoulder or shank with the marrow bone included, cooked for hours with spices to produce a thick, hearty gravy and melt-in-your-mouth meat. I have suggested on message boards before, however, that it's really more like chili in that it is neither cooked nor served with vegetables but is just meat and spices; this is usually met with scorn but I persist. Savoy's version, in which the meat is cut up in cubes instead of served in large chunks, makes the comparison even more obvious, at least to me.

While okay the Savoy version was a little disappointing, not as good as other versions I've had.


One way to get around the oiliness of the food is to order from the grilled section of the menu and on another visit I ordered the Chicken Boti. I'd had this before on the very good Pakistani buffet at La Sani and liked it but Savoy's version kicks it up a couple of notches, to cop a phrase. Chunks of skinless and boneless chicken breast are seasoned with chillis, yogurt, garlic, ginger and other spices and then grilled or cooked in a tandoor. This was by far the spiciest thing I've had at Savoy and I loved it. My sinuses loosened up, my eyes watered just a bit: I have a new favorite dish. On this visit also I tried another snack, aloo vara, what would be called a batata wada in India. It consists of mashed potatoes, peas and onions, I think, mixed with spices, battered and deep fried. It's similar to a samosa except that the potatoes are mashed instead of being a chunk of boiled potato and the coating is a chickpea flour batter which results in a bread-like dough instead of the pie-dough like crust of a samosa. This was very good, with a good heat level itself, but I prefer the flaky crust and interior texture of the samosas. Either way, Savoy does Pakistani fried snacks very well. I still have not been able to try the egg rolls or patties on the menu.

Besides the restaurant Savoy is a Pakistani grocery store and I always take the time to browse the store while waiting for my order in the restaurant. They have a variety of fresh, refrigerated and frozen breads, the fresh selection as often as not depleted, the most well stocked meat cases of Halal meats I've seen, a long wall of freezer cases with scads of frozen entrees, sides and desserts, including ice cream and kulfi, a Pakistani frozen custard treat. There are large bags of basmati rice and atta, spice mixes for home preparation of complicated dishes, jellies, curries and sauces and syrups, even a small fresh produce section with a couple of vegetables I've not seen elsewhere, though I can't recall their names.

Besides the samosa from the restaurant, one item I regularly buy here are the salted jeera biscuits - cumin cookies. Think of a pecan sandie minus the pecans and with crushed cumin seeds for flavoring. I've also tried several of the frozen deserts, a Pista (pistachio) and Malai (clotted cream with a hint of cardamom) kulfis and Tutti Frutti ice cream. Both the kulfis were good, though not as good as the kulfi I got around the corner recently at Sweet n' Namkin on West Bellfort.

I've also enjoyed the Tea Rusks and Masala Khari, 'Crispy Tea Time Treats,' pastry puffs with a slight hint of cumin, also. I confess, I am a cumin junkie.

Savoy does a booming business. Besides the restaurant and grocery store, there is a banquet room seating as many as 700. On two occasions when I've been the restaurant menu has been limited somewhat by the fact the kitchen was overwhelmed with either a large take-out catering order or a banquet. I've known about the restaurant for a couple of years but put off going; on more than one occasion I've intended to go but the prospect of finding a parking space was daunting. One time recently, on a Sunday, cars were parked two deep on the end of rows, making navigating very difficult and making it impossible for cars parked perpendicular to the rows to get out of their spaces; on the day before there was literally no place to park, not one single space.

There is a large menu board over the counter where you order and copies of the menu you can pick up to peruse but neither have prices. Another copy of the menu, in a stand-up plastic frame, off to the right, is the only one that includes prices. A Halal food certificate is displayed behind the counter.