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.

Some Places I've Been Eating Lately

When I'm not hung up by a major obsession (most recently Sichuan cuisine and soup dumplings) I like to keep trying new things. These are some of the places or dishes I've tried recently and really liked.

Fainmous BBQ
10400 S. Post Oak # E (back in the corner)

Not all that many places around here serve pulled pork and even fewer do it well. Jamie Fain is from Tennessee, where pork barbecue rules, and turns out some very good pulled pork. Lightly smoked over hickory, my sandwich was juicy and flavorful, about as good as any I've had in Houston. There are two Tennessee style sauces (not sure what that means) - a mild one and a surprisingly spicy one. I thought the spicy one overwhelmed the meat and preferred the mild one.

The link sandwich was good too, a mildly seasoned pork sausage with a nice snap from a natural casing and likewise very juicy. The pulled chicken turned out to be chunked and I thought the spicier sauce helped that one out, while the sliced brisket was a disappointment. If you're looking for the intensely smoky sort of brisket you'd get from a Central Texas style joint you're not going to find it here and I gotta have that when I have brisket.

Sides include a creamy slaw (you can get that added to a sandwich to create a Memphis style pulled pork sandwich for a little extra), baked beans and potato salad, plus smoked, stuffed spuds. There are also ribs and half chickens, which I haven't tried. Sandwiches come in regular (4" buns, pictured), large and jumbo.

I'm a native Texan but I think the pulled pork sandwich, done well, trumps a chopped barbecue beef sandwich any day and I'm glad to have this place on this side of town.

They're open Tuesday thru Saturday for lunch and early dinner and have been very busy on Saturday when I went in.


Don Cafe
9300 Bellaire

I've recently gotten interested in banh cuon (Vietnamese rice crepes) and remembered I'd read Don served a good one; I stopped in intending to get a banh mi to go but spied this on the menu and requested it instead. I'm sure this would have looked better plated up in the restaurant, but it was very good. This was with the more common pork filling instead of the shrimp I had recently at Banh Cuon Hoa II on Beechnut and I liked it better. I'll be trying this again in-house as well as several other places in Chinatown that specialize in banh cuon.


Thuan Kieu Com Tam
10792 Bellaire Blvd, Suite A

Another dish I've been interested in trying lately is com tam - Vietnamese broken rice dishes. I was headed to the eponymously named place in Hong Kong City Mall when I spotted this one, which hadn't been on my list, and decided on a lark to save myself the hassle of the hordes at HK Mall on a weekend and try it. It's a large and noisy room; the young host virtually ran to the front door to welcome me and I was seated less than 2 minutes when a server appeared to ask if I was ready to order. It's a large menu and normally I would have wanted more time but I knew what I wanted and went straight to the Com Tam section of the menu and went with the first choice - Com Tam Thuan Kieu Dac Biet Mon A - bi (shredded pork) - barely visible under the fried tofu skin, baked egg, lap zuong (sausage), charbroiled shrimp (tom nuong), tofu skin with shrimp (tom hu ky), and pork chop (suon), plus garlic chives, pickled and fresh vegetables. A completely lame imitation of a tomato came on the plate and my pork chop was overcooked and dry but otherwise I liked this dish, especially the baked egg and pickled veggies. As is the case about half the time when trying a new dish, I really didn't get the appeal of the broken rice but as is also the case a lot of the time when I try it several times, I grow to like it so I will be having it again. There are several places in Chinatown which specialize in these dishes with com tam in the name of the restaurant; there are an amazing 50 varieties of com tam on the menu here.


Quan Yin Vegetarian Restaurant
10804 E Bellaire

I had seen this place several times before but never remembered to put it down on a list of prospects; it's been around a long time. I spotted it again pulling away from Thuan Kieu and finally remembered to make a note to go back.

The interior is in more appealing shape than that rather shabby shopping center; service was quiet and very courteous. There are signs in the windows proclaiming it's a vegan restaurant but not all dishes on the menu are identified as vegan. There is a menu book but also a big picture menu which I found most helpful/tantalizing in picking a dish. The picture menu is available on the website, too, and I had an idea what I wanted before I went in.

The Hand Roll was delightful - peanuts, lettuce, shredded cabbage, mock cha lua and vegetarian cheese plus a veggie mayo, wrapped in seaweed. Move over spring rolls - I just may like this better.

I seldom order soup at a restaurant; soup is one thing I do pretty well at home and seldom feel like paying someone else to serve me something I can fix at home but the Quan Yin Special Soup (Sup Dac Biet) was calling out to me. Mushrooms, Chinese cabbage, carrots, bamboo shoots, cilantro, and mock chicken breast in a veggie broth, about 6 cups worth overall. Add a little acidity, a little heat or a little umami to your individual servings with the condiments on the table and have a feast. This was just what the doc ordered.

I left very contented, feeling extraordinarily virtuous for eating such healthy fare, thoroughly hydrated and looking forward to going back. Sometimes I think about becoming a vegetarian in Houston, not for ethical, religious or health reasons but just because the vegetarian food in this town is so damn good.

Quan Yin

San San Tofu

6445 Wilcrest, just south of Harwin


This is one of my favorite cheap eats places in Southwest Houston. I understand they've moved into a new, larger location in the last year or so but I've only been going about 9 months. It's not really very close to me or I'd probably go more often.

There's grab-and-go stuff at the cash register, a better selection earlier in the day, shelves of groceries and pharmaceuticals, etc., a small eating area that is frequently packed (mostly Asian customers) and a steam table offering plate lunches and a small selection of vegetarian diem sum.




You get a plate lunch for $5.50/$6.00 including a rice or noodle main dish and sides. It's enough for 2 meals for me and I'd never be able to finish it all so I've just gotten things to go. Everything is very tasty. I picked up a quart of the veggie soup one time, canh chua, which had mushroom pieces, greens, tomatoes and the most blazingly hot chillies I've ever put in my mouth.

I usually get a few pieces of the diem sum, too.


Prices and dishes may vary at the restaurant. Note the limited hours.

Quick Bites V - Sandwiches

For the last month or so I've really been eating against the norm - my norm, anyway. For a couple of years I've been focused on exploring little hole-in-the-wall, mom-and-pop ethnic restaurants and for the last 8 or 9 months, really into street foods. Here recently I've been hitting more sit-down-service type places, even white table cloth places. I just needed a change of pace. I'll probably get around to writing some reviews of the fancier digs I've visited and I haven't given up on the other types of eateries, at least I don't think I have, I'm just taking a hiatus and re-adjusting my aim. And it hasn't been a total abandonment of those pursuits. Here are a few places I've eaten at over the last several months but not reported on.

Tan Ba Le, Baguettes and Fast Food, 11169 Beechnut @ Boone  This restaurant has changed names and is now known as Bo Ne Houston after its most famous dish, Vietnamese Steak and Eggs.


I first saw this place several months ago but only recently got around to trying it. I thought it was new but maybe not. I ordered two banh mi; I saw the long baguettes on the counter and assumed they would be cut in half but it turned out they already had - each sandwich measured 11" in length. This place could up its American appeal by advertising them as foot longs. The bread was lightly toasted just before the sandwich was assembled; I got a pork bbq and a vegetarian one. Both had a very rich mayo, tons of shredded carrots with just a few shreds of daikon, cucumber, cilantro and jalapeno. The meat in the pork bbq was a bit overcooked and dried out; in fact as she was preparing it the server was picking out some pieces and discarding them in the trash. The meat was very flavorful, however. The bread was amazing, I think the lightest, least dense and chewy Vietnamese baguette I've ever had but the sandwich's size was too much for me, I got a meal, a late night snack and a breakfast snack out of these.

As they were putting the rubber band on my first sandwich and starting on the second one I saw their steak and eggs platter come out; the place was doing a good business but I hadn't had to pass by any occupied tables on the way to the counter so hadn't gotten a good look at anything but I immediately thought I'd have to come back and try one of those. When I had first spotted this place I had looked it up on line but found nothing. Now I find that it had been blogged about last fall, specifically the steak and egg dish, bo ne, the house specialty, and I had missed the report or I certainly wouldn't have taken so long to get around to trying this place.

The staff has been very friendly and helpful; the menu board is mostly Anglicized Vietnamese.

My pork bbq sandwich was $3; the vegetarian one was $2.


Parisian Bakery III + Cafe, 8300 W. Sam Houston Parkway South, @ Beechnut in the Viet Hoa Center


Ziggy Smogdust turned me on to these last year. There are two other locations, one on Beechnut @ Wilcrest and one on Gessner @ Harwin. I've been to the Wilcrest location and like this one better; it's a bit cheerier and more friendly and it's also closer to me.

The baguettes here are shorter than Tan Ba Le (8"), fatter though and a little denser and chewier. I got the bbq pork banh mi here, too (and I nearly always get a pate chaud when I go here). What really stood out on this was the huge amount of meat; it was tender, not overcooked, but didn't have as much of the marinade and wasn't quite as flavorful - but there was a lot. There were also a few larger strips of daikon in the toppings, visibly identifiable but not really noticeable taste-wise, which otherwise were identical to Tan Ba Le, the cilantro was pretty bland.

The sandwich was $3, the pate chaud $1.25.

Comparing these two, I'd give the edge to Tan Ba Le, though I'd have to admit it was my first visit. I preferred the bread and that it was toasted just a bit, and, though it was overcooked, the more flavorful meat. Meat lovers might prefer Parisian however I'm sure the sandwiches differ from visit to visit depending on whose making them. I wouldn't avoid either place and it'll be partially a matter of convenience for me which one I go to.

Both the above places sell their baguettes separately. At Parisian, the 8" baguettes are 3 for a $1; each weighs about 3 oz. At Tan Ba Le, a full 22" baguette is $1 and weighs 6 oz.


Saldivia's South American Grill, 10234 Westheimer, just inside BW 8
Saldivia's has moved to 10850 Westheimer


In my explorations of South American cuisine over the past couple of years I learned that some version of a steak sandwich is very popular in several South American countries, in some said to be as popular as hamburgers in the USA. In Uruguay it's called a Chivito but despite the name there is no goat in a Chivito. I saw some awesome pictures of the sandwich online and when I found out we had a Uruguayan restaurant that served one, I had to try it out. Saldivia's, which is very new but recreates an earlier restaurant by the same owner, serves the dishes of both Argentina and Uruguay.

I fell in love with the room and it's rich woodwork; it's the former space of Cafe Malay, I think. Despite the somewhat upscale setting, the restaurant has the feel of a neighborhood cafe for expats and the owner, Gus, is a very friendly guy who likely will welcome you at the door and treat you like a friend.

The sandwich includes a grilled steak, thin slice of deli ham, lettuce, tomato, mayo and a fried egg served on a slightly crunchy and chewy baguette and was very tasty. I think the egg may have been fried in butter; even the tomato stood out - as tasty as home grown. The roasted potatoes were a little tough and chewy. There is chimichurri on the table which I had tried with an empanada and the complimentary mini-baguette appetizer but I found it too vinegary and didn't try any on the sandwich.

I've had the Churrasco sandwich at Marini's and the Lomito, a virtually identical Argentinan steak sandwich at El Gaucho and this is the best example of a South American steak sandwich I've had by a wide margin.

There are some other interesting entries on the menu including grilled mollejas on the appetizer menu. Besides the menu shown online there is a daily lunch special, Monday thru Friday, for $8.95.

As of my visit a couple of weeks ago there was zero signage along Westheimer and the restaurant, hidden in the back row of a strip center behind the Brookwood Gift Shop, is easy to miss.

Saldivia's


City Eats, 4003 B Rustic Oaks Dr., Kingwood (faces West Houston Parkway) - CLOSED



My first taste of Sabrett's hot dogs and the typical condiments and I was underwhelmed. I bought a pound of the wieners to bring home so I could try them with some different condiments and decided I liked the Sabrett's wiener a little better than the Vienna Beef wieners used in Chicago Style Dogs because of the slight smokiness but it didn't have as much snap. I like a Nathan's Natural Casing dog over both Sabrett's and Vienna Beef, however, The Sabrett's onion sauce would take some getting used to - there really isn't that much onion in it, at least as far as bits and pieces. Besides selling the wieners (in strings, not pre-packed and cry-o-wrapped) they carry all the condiments - Sabrett's onion sauce, sauerkraut and mustard - and they also serve Italians. The website doesn't mention it nor did the in-store menu but signs in the window and on the counter said they are now serving Zweigle's White Hots from Rochester.

I went thinking I would be coming home with some of the mustard, onion sauce and kraut, but having tasted the first two, I just bought the wieners. I have to say, I saw a burger being served and it looked pretty good.

City Eats

Phamily Bites

Bo Luc Lac - 'Shaken Beef' - also nicknamed the Vindicator I think. Filet Mignon, marinated red onions, grilled jalapeno, watercress, Vietnamese mayonnaise on a baguette.

The Rolling Hunger

Korean - Vietnamese sandwich - Banh Mi.

Fusion Quesadilla. These three pics taken at the Haute Wheels Houston event in May, 2011.

Rolling Taco - Korean BBQ Pork, Korean slaw, pico de gallo, truffle fries, yum yum sauce.

Truffle Fries with Yum Yum Sauce

The Rolling Hunger

Quick Bites

Hoang Banh Mi, 3509 Elgin @ Scott

I was tooling down Elgin and spotted the sign and thought to myself ‘Wasn’t that the name of the great banh mi shop inside the decrepit Hoa Binh mall on Milam?’ (also known as the Original Givrals). I pulled in for a quick banh mi thinking I might have made a big discovery. The Thit Nuong ($2.35) was smaller than I remembered but with more of the tasty grilled pork, or maybe it was just a relative thing. The baguette was very well toasted, a little over-done, but very good. I was in a hurry and got it to go but wish I’d gotten a little sriracha. The sign says Hoang Banh Mi, the business card says University Café with ‘Hoang Sandwich’ stamped on the back. On b4-u-eat it’s listed as Givral’s Vietnamese Bistro. Aha! So it is the same place and it turns out they’ve been open there for a couple of years - I just never knew it. I’ve had some great banh mi and beef noodle soup at the old place in the past and I’m glad to know where they are.

The Nickel Sandwich Shop, 5601 Lyons, just east of Lockwood

I’ve been intrigued by the Nickel, the old nickname for 5th ward where Burt's Cajun Meat Market is located, one of my favorite eateries. The old neighborhood is long past it’s prime and has been passed by (mercifully) by the chains except for a few of the fast food places. I’ve wondered if there are some more gastronic finds to be made amongst all the small, locally owned eateries, so when I saw the signs for fried chicken in the parking lot of this sandwich shop, I pulled in. It turned out they only do wings and breast strips and I’m not interested in them in my ongoing Chicken Fried Odyssey so I opted for a catfish po’boy.


It was on a store-bought multi-grain roll that was unremarkable but the sandwich was pretty good otherwise, so hot out of the fryer it burned the roof of my mouth. The fries were over-cooked and grease-sodden. Another customer told me the Trout Sandwich is good, too, and they also have flounder, plus barbecue (smelled good but I didn’t see any) and the special of the day was a Cajun Smoked Burger which I just may have to go back to try.

El Penjamo, 6110 Lyons, near Kress

I’ve developed an interest in exploring the regional variations in Mexican cuisine and when I found out the name of this restaurant seems to refer to a municipality in Guanajato I thought I’d give it a try. I’ve noticed the crowded parking lot during the lunch hour before when I’ve been to Burt’s just down the street. The restaurant is quite small and I saw no regional specialities of Guanajato on the menu that I recognized so I decided to try the Carnitas al Penjamo (they also have Carnitas Rancheras). The chips were fresh and oily with a fiery salsa verde and a very creamy one. The dish was delivered looking like a pile of fajitas and so sizzling hot the refritos were still bubbling but it was nothing like any carnitas I’ve ever had before and would have been more appropriately named Smothered Pork Chops al Penjamo style. Maybe that’s the way they do carnitas in Guanajato? It was good, just not what I was looking for. The sides - refritos, rice, guacamole, pico - were all good but were very small portions compared to the entree.

I did see Machacado (al la Mexicana, con Huevo and a Burrito) on the breakfast menu and the waitress said breakfast was available all day so I may go back to try that. Machacado (dried beef) is originally from Nuevo Leon, I think. Both waitresses spoke Spanish as a first language but both were very fluent in English.

Taqueria Mi Lindo Huetamo, taco truck on Hillcroft, 2 blocks south of Bellaire

Robb Walsh wrote this up on his taco truck blog last year and I’ve stopped by a couple of times. They were open New Year’s Day and I got an al pastor torta with their unusual marinated radish and onion salad. It was very good; the bolillo was soft and a bit spongy and only minimally toasted, the meat was melt-in-your-mouth tender and tasty, and there was close to a cup of creamy avocado in there. I prefer the bread crustier but this place is a real winner.



Taqueria Oaxaca - taco trailer squeezed into an already cramped parking lot in front of Variedades Puebla at 1833 Richmond, near Woodhead

In line with my interest in regional Mexican fared I checked this out. On the first visit I had a taste for a burrito.


It was huge, with rice, pork (tough), refritos, lettuce, tomato, avocado, queso, crema and a very good salsa verde and a lime wedge. A whole meal for $4, but burritos are probably not a regional specialty of Oaxaca. The menu on the side of the trailer lists enchiladas, huaraches, gorditas - I couldn’t wait to go back and try an enchilada and visions of a choice of moles danced in my head but, alas, they don’t do enchiladas, or huaraches, so I settled for a gordita with beef. It was very good, the best gordita I’ve had in a long time, but, again, not a regional specialty. I think the name on the trailer must have been from a previous owner. Almost no English was spoken by the senorita. The food was okay both times (the beef on the gordito was better than the pork in the burrito) but parking is a real drawback.