Melange Creperie

RELOCATED TO THE CONSERVATORY, 1010 PRAIRIE
 
December 1, 2011: Congratulations to Buffalo Sean - Melange Creperie has been awarded three stars by the Chronicle as one of the best restaurants in the city.

I've had this one listed under the Specialty Fare vendors on my sidebar for some time but just got around to trying it. The idea of a sidewalk creperie in Houston seems so out-in-left-field, it was hard to imagine.

The menu has both savory and sweet items and changes every week. The first time I went, the featured item on the savory crepes was andouille from B&W on North Shepherd. I've had quite a few of the B&W sausages but didn't realize they did an andouille and I have to say I was impressed. On my first visit, I got it with the grilled onions and peppers.


Watching Buffalo Sean work his magic is fascinating; he clearly is answering a calling in running his sidewalk stand. When I first got there on a Saturday I was the only customer but by the time I finished my crepe a traffic cop was needed to handle the traffic flowing into and out of the small parking lot of Mango's. I was so pleased with the crepe I went back just a few days later, before the menu had changed, and went with a different combination: the andouille, an egg (cooked along with the crepe) and fresh spinach.


There is a problem getting a good picture of these things, showing off the filling and the beautiful crepe itself, and I haven't really captured either of them here. I liked the one with the grilled onions better and I'm looking forward to more visits and will have to try some of the sweet crepes.

I remember when crepes were all the rage, um, a few decades ago? I still fancied myself a cook and bought one of those domed crepe pans which I'm sure I still have around here somewhere. After just a few failures, I gave up on crepes and I can't recall that I'd had one anywhere since but these things are damned addictive.

I had OD'd on tacos late last year and have been avoiding taco trucks for several months now and I'm really glad to have discovered a street food alternative to the ubiquitous al pastor, barbacoa, lengua, etc., fare. I wonder - could sidewalk creperies ever become as common on the streets of Houston as taco trucks? Now that'd be the day. With the engaging and enthusiastic Buffalo Sean leading the charge, we're off to a good start.

Melange Creperie on Facebook and on Twitter and the 2nd location in the Heights.

Boogie's Hit by Fire

I had a taste for barbecue today but all I got was the smoke.....


There's nothing left of the little trailer but the frame and the firebox and smoker itself.

This is really bad news for many of us on the Southwest side who've come to feel Boogie's is the best in town. I was hoping to be able to convene a panel soon to judge Boogie's and Pierson's side-by-side but that will have to wait a while longer.

Boogie said it was just negligence and he will be back in a couple of weeks. The city was due out this week to inspect his new pit, anyway, and it looks to me like the old smoker would be usable if the new one still isn't up to snuff.

Nazareth Cafe

6711 Chimney Rock

EDITED TO ADD THE NAMES OF SOME OF THE DISHES (IN PARENTHESES) AS GLEANED FROM STUDYING THE MENU ON ANOTHER VISIT AND OTHER SOURCES.


I have been meaning to try Ethiopian cuisine for some time and decided it was time to hit this place. It's a small cafe with linen table cloths and napkins although, of course, no dining utensils (they are available on request). The menu is not very large but there are chicken, beef, lamb and vegetable dishes. I tried the vegetable platter ($12) to get a sample of as many dishes as possible.

I liked the beets - keey sir - (12 o'clock) perhaps best and the preparation made with injera next to that, listed as Sufe Fitit and described as sesame juice mixed with injera, it was served well-chilled and would make a good vegetarian/grain substitute for a chicken salad or similar meat dish. I also liked the salad in the center of the plate, Timatim salad, fasolia (green beans and carrots at 7 o'clock) and the carrot/cabbage dish at 6, listed as Atkilt Wot. I liked the red lentil preparation at 9 o'clock, Mesir Wat, better than the brown lentil preparation at 3 o'clock (Azifa?) while the greens (Gomen - collards), at 2 o'clock, were the bitterest greens I have ever had and I was not too fond of them, and I like greens.

The most intriguing and readily appealing dish was the item at 5 o'clock which I initially thought was something made with balls of yam but finally decided the texture was too dry; this is Shimbra asa, dumplings made of chickpea flour.

The items at 10 and 11 o'clock, respectively, are Kit Alicha (split yellow peas) and Shiro Wat (pureed split peas). I wasn't too fond of either of those.

Although it's readily apparent in the picture, the slit in the pepper wound up facing down after I took one bite off the end and I didn't realize until the end it was stuffed, Almost all the seeds had been removed, except right at the stem end, and it was as sweet and crisp and juicy as a bell pepper, with a filling that included I'm sure minced onion and tomato and more.

A new cuisine, many new tastes to explore and learn about. I'm looking forward to more visits.

As I have learned at other venues, vegetarian fare can be very filling. I left absolutely stuffed and I didn't finish off but one of the two pieces of injeera.

The restaurant serves breakfasts, has beer, wine and alcohol, including the Ethiopian honey wine Tej, plus coffee and tea.

Pandarepa

13655 Bissonnet @ Eldridge, # 103

THIS RESTAURANT HAS CLOSED. THAT INTERSECTION HAS BEEN TOUGH ON RESTAURANTS; IT'S TOO ISOLATED FROM RESIDENCES AND BUSINESSES. I HOPE PANDERAPA POPS UP SOMEWHERE ELSE.


There used to be a restaurant by this name much closer in to the Beltway in a very old and past-its-prime strip center. I only discovered that one on b4 after it had closed so I don't know if this the same people but if so they have certainly moved on up. While not new the center where it's now located is much more recent.

I've nearly always had good meals at Colombian restaurants, though never anything spectacular, but one thing I've never really taken to are the arepas, the corn-meal based bread that usually accompanies a Colombian meal. They frequently seem underdone, a little pasty on the inside even. This place specializes in arepas so I thought it would be a good place to try.

The menu offered more variety than I had ever seen - arepas with chorizo, morcilla, camaron, cerdo, queso, lengua, beef and chicken and maybe a few more and some of the standard Colombian dishes like Bandeja Paisa and empanadas. On the first visit I ordered two arepas, con queso and con hogao.


Venezuelan arepas are served like sandwiches, filled, like Mexican gorditas, but Colombian arepas are usually served with the 'filling' on the side or on top. One exception is the arepa con queso which has the cheese as a filling. This one arrived first and was a beauty to behold, nicely golden-toasted on both sides. I thought I was in for a real treat and since it didn't make much of a picture on the plate by itself I dug in, picking it up like a grilled cheese sandwich and I was not disappointed. I think the menu said the cheese was mozzarella. Alas the second arepa (and a subsequent one on another visit) were not as visually enticing, thinner, pancake-like affairs not as beautifully toasted. The hogao, however, saved the day for the second arepa and I actually woke up the next day thinking 'I want to go back and get some more.'


On another visit I went for an arepa con chorizo and an empanada. I've been very impressed with Colombian chorizos and this one was another fine example. The picture does not do it justice; those dark spots are not charring, they are pieces of green onion tops, visible through the translucent casing. The sausage itself was a little dry but otherwise excellent with chunks of meat rather than coarsely ground, like a good andouille, mild but not bland and the seasoning was very reminiscent of a bowl of chili made with Gebhardt's Chili Powder. The casing had a little snap to it. I was given a choice of a larger diameter arepa or a smaller one and chose the larger one, thinking this was going to be something like a Colombian pizza. Next time I'd choose the smaller and, I presume, thicker variety.

The empanada also was impressive, crisply fried, not greasy, with a pureed filling (meat, potato, maybe some beans and peas). This was one of the best Colombian empanadas I've ever had. It came with a very mild salsa.

Every Colombian place I've had chorizo I've inquired if they made their own and every time the answer has been yes (I want to know where to buy some and I have yet to find a Colombian grocery store). The very friendly and helpful waitress here couldn't find the words to explain but made a kneading motion with her hands and pointed in the direction of a woman in the corner eating a bowl of soup, the 'boss' I understood her to mean (and perhaps the owner). She is a very good sausage maker and I definitely intend to try the morcilla here.


That was my plan anyway when I stopped off to get some food to go but I decided instead to opt for the special of the day, Lomo de Cerdo a la plancha, con arroz, maduros, ensalata and sope de lentejas. The aroma of this was killing me on the drive home but I was a bit disappointed when I opened up the box. It was no where near as appealing visually as it was aromatically. Lomo means tenderloin and cerdo is pork so this was a flattened piece of pork tenderloin, pan grilled, a little on the dry side. The maduros weren't as nicely caramelized as they usually are and there was nothing special about the rice or salad. The best part of this meal actually was the lentil soup, a pint's worth, with potatoes, which I didn't include in the picture since you couldn't see anything but the broth. On the regular menu this is $9 (the cerdo may not be a la plancha but stewed in that dish) while this was only $4.99, a bargain for all that food.

The arepas I had on my first visit were $2 and $2.50, the arepa with chorizo $4 or $4.50, I forget which. Most entrees are under $10 but I think there are a few that range up to the low double digits (there's no menu to go, not even a business card for that matter, and I've not been able to remember a lot of details). The empanada was $1. You can buy frozen arepas, empandas, chorizo and morcilla and a few other items in small quantities to take home.

The restaurant is painted in bright colors, greens, mango, pumpkin; there are religious pictures on one wall and a few travel posters while one wall is plastered with what I presume to be folksy sayings. They're open every day except Sunday until 8pm.

Well, I still don't 'get' Colombian arepas; they just don't appeal to me. That's okay, though, there are other things here that do - I definitely intend to try the morcilla and maybe the shrimp arepa. Lengua en sudada (stewed beef tongue I think) is a dish I've seen on several Colombian menus but I've never tried it; maybe I will here. I also saw the Bandeja Paisa being served with some of that great chorizo and a very nice sized piece of meaty chicharron and that's something I'll be back to try.