Today's News and Forecasts - UPDATED 3X

This latest edition of restaurant news from greater southwest Houston indicates the Bellaire restaurant scene continues to evolve.


Saltillo Mexican Kitchen,  5427 Bissonnet @ Chimney Rock

I was watching carefully for this one to open and it's been open almost a month now.  I went in by the end of the first week and the place was already packed for evening service.

This is the new place by the owner of the short-lived but acclaimed Mexican steak house La Casa del Caballo in Montrose.  The menu is beef-centric and includes the 4 pound plus Tapa de Lomo rib-eye cap for $190 but the former eatery was famous for it's enchiladas, too, and that's what drew me in.

I had the Enchiladas Saltillo, 3 chicken enchiladas in a sauce made from 5 kinds of chiles, with chihuahua cheese and sesame seeds.  I also had the Hearts of Palm Ceviche with tomatoes, onions, cilantro, lime juice and olives, with hearts of palm substituting for any seafood and looking just like scallops.  Service was virtually flawless, remarkable for a new eatery.

This is not the type of Mexican restaurant where you get a huge basket of chips and salsa.  There are four salsas brought to the table to use as you wish and they are meant to be used more as garnishes or relishes than as dips, though you can get a small saucer of warm, thick chips by asking for it.  I passed on the chips but some were brought to my table anyway; I wasn't charged for them.  The salsas range from a mild tomatillo salsa verde to a tomato and red jalapeno based one with a little more heat, then a minced red onion and habanero with lime and orange juices and olive oil, and at the most intense end of the scale, one made with green papaya and habanero.  The servers were explaining the salsas to each table.

Judging by the crowd I experienced, I'd say Bellaire is ready for this kind of upscale Mexican place and it's certainly a very welcome addition to my grazing grounds.

Saltillo Mexican Kitchen


Tapester's Grill, 4520 Beechnut @ Newcastle

This is a new family-style neighborhood eatery across from the Southwest Houston Police Station on Beechnut.  It's a very welcoming modern space with a patio on the back side, away from the traffic on Beechnut.  When I went in there were lots of families with small children and a few tables with older couples.

I had the Bratwurst on a Housemade French Roll with housemade chips.  The online menu describes this as thin sliced turkey pastrami for some reason.

I didn't get a good look at any of the other menu items except the 1/3 pound burgers which were obviously a popular choice; they looked pretty good.

Tapester's Grill


Suzie's Grill, the kosher (meat) restaurant that has operated out of a tiny space in a Chevron station at Beechnut and Hillcroft for the past few years, has closed.  The website indicates the menu is available at the new kosher steakhouse Genesis on Bissonnet at Chimney Rock, in the same strip center with Saltillo.

Suzie's
Genesis


WHAT THE FUTURE HOLDS

Enoteca Rossa, 4566 Bissonnet @ Avenue B, just inside Loop 610

The former much-loved Daniel Wong's Kitchen, which has been closed for over a year now, is about to open as an Italian restaurant with wood-fired kitchen.  The building is hardly recognizable.  A banner announcing they're hiring staff has gone up so the opening must be soon.

EDIT TO ADD:  FACEBOOK

(The picture was taken through the windshield on a rainy day).


Salt 'n Pepper Indo-Pak and Mediterranean Restaurant and Banquet Hall, 9619 SW Freeway @ Bissonnet

The banner indicates it's opening soon.  A url given in a sign on the front door leads nowhere and I have not been able to find anything for this online except a white pages listing but will add a link when one becomes available.

EDIT TO ADD:  A "NOW OPEN" BANNER HAS GONE UP.  THERE IS ALSO A BANNER PROCLAIMING "#1 RATED BBQ IN TOWN."  

FACEBOOK

SALT' N PEPPER GRILL HAS COME AND GONE.  ALONG THE WAY, SNP HOOKAH LOUNGE WAS OPENED NEXT DOOR.  NOW THE BUSINESS IS NAMED GHUNGROO GRILL AND HOOKAH LOUNGE.  A GHUNGROO IS A MUSICAL ANKLET (BELLS) WORN BY TRADITIONAL INDIAN DANCERS.

Philippine Community Center, 9101 West Bellfort @ Riceville School Road

The exterior cladding is all but complete but the weeds have gotten so tall I couldn't get a decent picture from the front.  These pictures, from a blog on the northwest side, appear to me to be more pictures of this one.


Gujarati Samaj Center, W. Bellfort @ Beltway 8

There hasn't been anything going on at the future site of this sports complex, unfortunately, but someday no doubt.

Indo American News article from last February

And just what are these items about cultural centers doing on a blog that's supposed to be about food?  I keep hoping that all of these cultural institutions will spur some sort of restaurant activity in the immediate vicinity.  Of course the Raindrop Center, Istanbul Conference Center and India House, all along this same stretch of West Bellfort, haven't had any such consequences but I can still dream.  Maybe a food court with stalls from each -- or a couple of food trucks?????

More News of the World - UPDATED 9/29

King's Chicken, known for its Pakistani dishes, naan, and fried chicken, has abandoned it's longtime place on Beechut just west of Wilcrest and moved way out on Highway 6, just north of Westheimer.  It's now a sit-down restaurant.

King's Chicken review in the Press.

The new name at the Beechnut location is Scarlotti's Eatery and Catering but except for a sign in the window advertising a 2 piece chicken deal, there's no indication what kind of food is served.

Johnathan's Grill Pampanga's in the International Food Court at the Viet Hoa Center on the West Belt at Beechnut is now La Fernandina's Grill Pampanga's.  There are still just the two Filipino places side-by-side in the food court (the other is Pinoy Fast Food).

Haveli is a new Pakistani restaurant at 5901 Hillcroft.  It's a buffet 7 days a week in a former nightclub space.

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.

Frenchy's Gettin' Busy on the Southwest side...UPDATED 9/1/17

...opening new locations, that is.

A new store at 7903 Beechnut, just off 59, has been open for several weeks now.  It's larger than the existing store four miles away at 59 and Wilcrest in a Valero station, with room for a few tables for dine-in instead of just a shelf around the window.  It's very convenient to HBU and Memorial Hermann SW and all the associated clinics and doctor's offices.

THIS LOCATION HAS BECOME A CATFISH STATION, REPORTED ON ELSEWHERE ON THIS BLOG.

And then there's this, just one mile on my trusty odometer from the Wilcrest store, in a Shell station on the Beltway 8 frontage road at W. Bellfort.

THIS LOCATION HAS BECOME WALLA-BEES - THE STING IS IN THE WINGS.

Too soon to tell if there will be room for tables here but I'd guess so.

None of 'em, dang it, have drive-throughs for lazy bones like me.

I'm also keeping my eye on Arny's Bakery, 'Coming soon' to a strip center on S. Gessner at Bissonnet.  Hard to tell how much progress they're making since the windows are completely papered over but the business has gone up on the strip center signboard at the corner.

UPDATE:  Arny's is now open; it's a Filipino bakery offering pandesal, bibinka, mamon, ensaymada and more, not to mention kolaches.

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.

b4-u-eat.com - RIP

Houston's pioneering user restaurant review website has closed down.  Here's what you get when you click on the link.

Sad to see it go, but they hadn't posted any new user reviews since late November and even then they were a month behind posting what had been submitted.

I still used it regularly.  Its system of classifying restaurants by type of cuisine and part of town was much easier to use than Yelp! and its listing of new places and closures was worth checking on a regular basis.  Jay Francis' early guide to ethnic eats in Houston was a much consulted resource for me when I was just getting started exploring this city.

I submitted lots of new restaurant listings and closures over the years and always got a nice response from Harry or Jane, usually within hours, and sometimes a little chat would ensue as we shared our enthusiasm for Houston's dining scene.  Contrast that with Urbanspoon which took 6 weeks to list a new restaurant I submitted and got it wrong. 

I kind of wish they'd leave the data base up for a while at least (obviously it would get dated and useless over time).  But, on the other hand, there are some old reviews of mine that I'm glad to see gone.

I'm sure some of the other sites with actual paid reporters will be able to secure an interview and supply some details, but best wishes to Harry and Jane.

Happy eating, Bon Appetit, Buon Apetito, Smaklig Måltid you two.

Palm India Restaurant/Kerala Kitchen - Olive's Pizza

732 Murphy Rd., Stafford

There have been big changes here.  Vacant spaces on either side have been taken over and the dining area expanded to about four times the previous size.  Some paint has been applied along with a few touches of decor and while the place is not posh it is a lot more inviting for dine-in.  It is still counter service.

There is a menu board of the daily offerings of dishes from Kerala but there is also a permanent menu board for pizza on one end of the counter.  There are typical toppings plus some 'premier' toppings including Butter Chicken, Chicken Tikka and Paneer.

Here's my previous report on Kerala Kitchen from two years ago.

God Jul

& Gott Nytt år

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.

Silk Road Festival

Thursday, October 4, thru Sunday, October 7 @ Stafford Centre, on Cash Road off of FM 1092/Murphy Road.

Art, entertainment and food from Azerbaijan, Kazakhstan, Kyrgyzstan, Turkey, Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan.

Festival site

Update on Total Catch Market

The long dormant Total Catch Market at Louisiana Foods on Saturday mornings is no more.  P.J. Stoops has announced he's leaving to start a bycatch market of his own.  Alison Cook has more details on her blog on 29-95.

Hooray!  I can't wait.  Get to sleep in a little longer on Saturday?

Remembering PJ discuss how to fix the fish, seeing his discussions also in his posts each week about how to prepare and serve the fish, I'm hoping this is more than just a market.

(My original report on Total Catch).

New Restaurants on the (Southwest Houston) Horizon UPDATED AGAIN

There's a couple of new restaurants opening soon on the SW side that I'm looking forward to, especially since I like my veggies.

Maharaja Bhog, an Indian vegetarian buffet, is going into a space next to Peking Cuisine on the SW Fwy at Gessner.  It's a chain restaurant out of India with only three other locations in the world, two in Mumbai and one in Dubai...now, this one within walking distance of my home.  From my experience with Sankalp in Sugar Land last year, I have high hopes for it even though it's a chain.

UPDATE 7/29/12 - Maharaja Bhog is now open for business.

And Yelp, b-4, and Facebook all have listings for Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant and Bar opening soon at 6800 SW Fwy, just south of Hillcroft (although for some reason, currently, Yelp locates the SW Fwy on the SE side, by Gulfgate).  This will bring to five our number of full service Ethiopian restaurants and presumably won't be totally vegetarian.

UPDATE 8/5/12 - CORRECTION!!!!  Lucy is now open for business.  (The For Lease sign I saw is for another space in the building).

Chili Cook-off for Kids

There's a chili cook-off coming up on October 22 that promises to be interesting while also raising funds for a worthy cause. Young Professionals for Children, part of Child Advocates, Inc., is hosting a chili cook-off to raise funds for it's important activities. Several well known restaurants are participating and there should be some goooooood pots of chili simmering on that day. I was invited to be a judge but won't be able to attend.

There's more specific information on their website and there should be more as the day gets closer. There's also contact information on the website.

Haute Wheels

I haven't been following the Food Truck scene in Houston since the first of the year. It's just not swelteringly hot enough to be standing around in a parking lot, breathing the fumes, waiting for a taco or a pocket pie right now. But there's an event coming up that I'm looking forward to, Haute Wheels.

It's Houston's first ever Food Truck festival and it will bring together many of the most interesting mobile vendors for a two day event. Not only that, it's going to be on the Southwest side, on the HCC campus on the West Loop. This will be the closest most of these trucks have ever been to where I live and thus will be the best opportunity to sample many trucks, some of which would otherwise require a lengthy round trip to access.

Note it will cost $16 to get in and that doesn't get you any food. Still, I plan to be there at least one day and if I can't taste everything I want to then, the second day also.

The News that Fits plus Pfft!s

Good News about Sweet n Namkin - they're now open starting at 11am Tuesday through Saturday. Tuesday thru Friday they close at 10pm, 11pm on Saturday. Sunday hours are 10am to 9pm.

They've also been expanding the menu and there is a small lunch buffet plus specials every day. There are also more choices on the Gujarati Thali, available everyday and the daily special on Saturday.

And Pfft! - they were gone:

Bad news, though, about Huarache Azteca Express in Stafford, one of my two favorite taquerias. Apparently it changed hands some time back and the name was changed to Huarache Antojitos Mexicanos, then it closed. There has been a for lease sign in the window but it has been taken down so maybe there'll be a new tenant soon.

Also gone is El Caracol, a Honduran restaurant on Bissonnet in the same center with Caribbean Cuisine. Not many people ever heard of it and that's a shame because it was the best Honduran food I've encountered in Houston and had a friendly staff, a rarity at Honduran places. Must've been just a bad location - out of the way and a cuisine that not many people go out of their way to try.

Sign up to be a SOFTie

Jay Rascoe of Guns and Tacos, J.R. Cohen and Dan Joyce have launched Save Our Food Trucks, an organization that's going to work with mobile vendors and the City to hopefully make some changes in the city regulations regarding these business which are believed to be some of the most restrictive. It's a worthy effort; the food truck movement in Houston has been crawling along like traffic in the Galleria area at Christmas.

They're going to be talking to the operators themselves to determine what they think the issues are. Hopefully we'll also see some explanation from the City about why some of these restrictions exist and then of course, the dining elite, ahem, should be allowed to sound off.

You can keep up with developments on the website.

Way to go guys!

Beep-beep - it's a Bustaurant

The latest development on the scene in the mobile food genre is the Bustaurant, a restaurant on wheels, already roving the streets of LA and SF. The first one was said to be in London utilizing a double-decker bus.

I wonder if these would be legal in Houston? As I understand it, no seating for diners can be provided (for a mobile unit or brick and mortar restaurant) unless a restroom is also available. So, if one of these buses has a potty/lavatory on board, would it meet regulations?

I have seen a handful of units in Houston, trailers and buses, that have dining compartments but have never seen one in use. I was struck when I visited Austin last winter to see not only the hugely popular gourmet trucks on South Congress and South First had eating areas but even isolated, road-side taco trucks would have a table and chairs. Operators here can't provide that amenity nor even be parked close to seating such as a picnic table in a park.

At last, Red Velvet Fried Chicken....

So there's chicken and waffles (so old hat) and now Red Velvet Fried Chicken. And lest you think it's just fried chicken on top of a piece of Red Velvet cake, nooooooooo. Read about it here.

and some comments here.

But it's not here, it's in San Fran.

I don't foresee wanting to go home with a 10 piece bucket but this makes me curious and I'd like to try it.