Eating My Way Through Houston Part 2

Part 2 of my Houston food tour brings me to my second objective when visiting Houston, BBQ. Now in NY we have had a surge of BBQ spots open over the past few years, some of them bad, others quite good. However, I've always known there is more to BBQ than what I had here. This brings me to my quest for the best BBQ in Houston. I thank a number of people for chiming in, but most of all Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle (Cook's Tour Blog as well). Thanks to her I found myself driving about a dozen miles outside of the center of Houston, into a relative bare neighborhood with stray dogs and plenty of overgrown lawns. What I found here redefined BBQ as I know it.

Words really can't describe the experience at Burns BBQ. This in the middle of nowhere, joint in a rundown neighborhood and it resembles more of a house than a restaurant, but this sure is not simple home cooking. Burns has no seating inside, just a few picnic tables out front, but don't be afraid to eat in your car as many people do. There is minimal space inside, and it gets rather cramped. Order, get your number and stay alert. The menu is simple, brisket, ribs and two kinds of sausage. Sides are limited to beans and potato salad, but these are not your average sides. I ordered the meat platter for 2-3 planning to share with my hungry, Houstonian friend for a measly $23 (photo above, though it doesn't do it justice).

Unfortunately they forget to throw in the housemade sausage, but it was an afterthought once I tasted the delicious smokey meat in the Styrofoam container. Brisket piled high, it was the first thing we attacked. Tender, moist, with great flavor and deep smoke rings, it was a surprise it was so lean without being dry. By far the best brisket I have ever had, and I honestly don't expect to find better. Topped with a little house BBQ sauce it was heavenly. The ribs were also a work of art, slightly crispy on the outside, they were tender on the inside with a welcome porkiness. A bit fatty, they were quite greasy, but no complaints here. A side of the house beans, resembling a chili almost, was quite addictive and I understood why someone commented "you'll wish you ordered a bigger one" after we sat down with our food. If i wasn't convinced enough that this was good BBQ well, it was good as leftovers, case in point, that brisket was delicious 24 hours later heated in the microwave, achieving greatness that even some northeast BBQ spots cannot with a fresh piece of meat.

For some unexplainable reason, we found our BBQ stuffed selves driving back into the city with the goal of eating crawfish. Why? Well, I don't really know why since I probably could have forgone eating for the rest of the day, but eat crawfish we did. It may not have been the premier spot for these little morsels, but Porch Swing, a popular bar, was serving up crawfish across their front porch. We ordered a 6 lb bucket of crawfish, complete with corn, potatoes and a pitcher or two of beer and there went the afternoon. This batch was quite spicy and although there were many little rejects, it was great to just sit outside make a mess and enjoy myself.

Later in the evening a dinner wasn't even necessary, but I did find myself at a Jack in the Box drive through on the way home from a number of Houston area bars. Never before had I been to a Jack in the Box, but I have to say, late night I certainly could have been eating worse.

The following morning a Tex-Mex breakfast seemed to be the only thing I needed and my friends did not let me down. Maybe not the most authentic of spots, but Buffalo Grille was a great choice, perhaps due to the quantity of food, or maybe just the overall value, but it was a tasty brunch that held me over for the majority of the day. After waiting in a line which extended out into the sidewalk in front of the restaurant we made it to the counter, there was no lunch service, but as soon as I spotted the Huevos Rellenos I knew what I wanted. I ordered up and a few minutes later my name was called. Piled onto my tray were two anaheim chiles, stuffed with pork sausage and cheese, deep fried (of course), topped with two fried eggs, more cheese and a delectable green chile sauce. All of this served with fresh tortillas, refried beans and a vibrant pico de gallo. Now I know, this is not the most authentic of tex-mex brunch meals I could have had, and yes it reminds me of something you may hear about on This is Why Your Fat, but this was a mighty tasty dish. Every ingredient worked individually, but came together nicely, and those tortillas just sopped up all the remaining egg, cheese and green chile sauce. A freshly made dish, that surely sticks to the ribs and doesn't break the bank, that's what Buffalo Grille does best.

Some how later that day I made it to Feast where I gorged on more food, like pigskin, stuffed veal heart, blood pudding and more. How I did it, well I don't know, but pretty much every bite of food from the start of the trip to the end of the trip was worth it (with the exception of those fish tacos at Berryhill). I'll remember this trip well and look forward to my next stop there, which will likely include Burns BBQ and Feast to say the least.

Eating My Way Through Houston Part 1

It's been awhile since the last post so here is my effort to get caught up. I never finished my recap of Houston, a food-filled weekend a few weeks back. While my meal at Feast was remarkable, there were plenty other bites that are not to be forgotten. With Tex-Mex and BBQ on the mind I managed to score some delicious food. My Tex-Mex craving found me at hole-in-the-wall joint Los Dos Amigos. It was the setting I was looking for, no frills, super cheap, everything homemade. We scoured the menu and came up with a few platters to share as well as a couple of quesadillas to start. The Carnitas Platter, the house specialty, came with a pile of slow roasted tender pork alongside beans and rice. It was by far the best dish, perfectly seasoned and something I had to stop myself from eating. We also ordered the Carne Asada platter and the #1, or a combo platter with cheese enchiladas, a beef taco and a cheese tostada. Each platter came with a bowl of fresh guacamole, and fresh tortillas and chips. The carne asada was disappointing, and was just not a tender, flavorful piece of meat. The combo platter was good, not great, but I did thoroughly enjoy sopping up everything with the fresh tortillas. Overall a great value with a few standout dishes, but I am sure there are better places in Houston.

My next day in Houston resulted in a 6+ mile walk, sunburnt arms and plenty of good eating. Stopping by BB's Cajun Cafe, one of the relative newcomers to the Monstrose area dining scene, I was determined to get a po'boy. I know, I know, I'm in Houston, but I had to have the popular southern sandwich and this seemed to be the best spot. The Catfish Po'boy was good, tasty and served on the right type of bread. The fish was fresh, although I've had better numerous times. as a side I ordered some Boudin Balls, delicious little morsels of sausage and rice. I asked for a side of the restaurants famous gravy and I see exactly why people rave about it. The rich, dark, beef flavored gravy is quite addictive and extremely popular poured on the Roast Beef Po'boy. A recommended spot for a small bite of New Orleans.

While I was certainly not that hungry anymore I was still in the mood to try more food. I had done the Tex-Mex, but on this gorgeous day a fish taco and a margarita sounded excellent. I had read on numerous sites that Berryhill Baja Grill served some of the best in the area. While the restaurant has a few locations many of the Chowhounders of bloggers seemed to know what they were talking about. Well I have to firmly disagree with all the Berryhill advocates. This was perhaps the worst fish taco I have ever had, not just in Houston, but across the country. The fish is deepfried, generally a delicious idea, but it only tasted like old fryer oil. This greasy, unappealing tasting fried piece was topped with a bland "slaw" and lacked any realy flavor. Let's just say, at least I had a margarita.

For dinner that evening a trip to the Vietnamese neighborhood, something I eagerly anticipating after reading about the large Vietnamese population in Houston. The BYOB spot called conveniently Vietnam Restaurant, was a bit tacky, in a trying too hard to be flashy kind of way, but the food had promise upon first look. We ordered up a feast of course, complete with Spring Rolls, Charbroiled Beef with Vermicelli, Special Fried Rice and Black Pepper Shrimp. Of the dishes we had the Black Pepper Shrimp were by far the best. The combination of the large, plump fried shrimp combined with the stir fried onions and potent black pepper sauce was quite impressive. Overall a solid, well priced meal, especially when compared to NYC prices.

With day one in the books I realized this trip was only getting started. In a 24 span I had managed to visit 4 spots and only anticipated visiting more. Next stop, the best BBQ of my life, stay tuned.

Creative, forward thinking dining at Feast

For my recent trip to Houston there were just a few things I wanted to do, get some Tex-Mex and indulge in some real Texas BBQ. Never would I have expected that one of my more memorable meals to date would be in Houston, let alone "Rustic European Fare." Feast is a restaurant like no other in Houston, and for that matter I highly doubt there is a restaurant like it in all of Texas. The cuisine is simple, rustic and devoid of frills, highlighting the ingredients on the plate and nothing else. However, that ingredient may very well be veal heart, or beef tongue, but also braised lamb shank or crispy pork belly. Feast has a wide range, from the mostly social acceptable dish to the somewhat fear inducing and that is just one of the reasons this is a special place.

After asking around and reading review by the Robb Walsh of the Houston Press and Alison Cook of the Houston Chronicle I was completely sold. (More recently, Frank Bruni of the NYTimes stopped in and gave it a glowing review, hopefully boosting business, but likely making reservations harded to come by.) My friend and I arrived at the restaurant a few minutes before 7pm on Sunday for our reservation, the restaurant was mostly empty, a sad sight of course, so we had our choice of seats. We could have sat down anywhere, as the environment is quite comfortable, in an old wooden house type of way. Having already made up our mind to go with the tasting menu ($49!) we selected a glass of white and a bottle of red to share. The tasting menu is made up of 9 courses, an absolute steal for anyone, and coming from NY quite the bargain.

The courses started with delicious housemade bread and a warm Beet and Cumin Soup. The soup was topped with a dollop of yogurt and was a nice beginning to our meal, albeit tame. Following the soup was a course a bit more interesting, Stuffed Pigskin. Most people I've dined with over the years would scoff at this dish, it's a hard dish to get used to since it is served cold, but once you can get by the textural differences it is very tasty. The skin is about a quarter inch thick or less and is soft, not crispy, filled with sausage and herbs and complemented by an orange and radish salad, a very unique dish all around.

To this point our service had been wonderful, food delicious and the overall experience memorable, but the heart of the meal, in my opinion, was where the restaurant really shines. A dish of Black Pudding topped with a fried egg was comforting and a hefty serving of English peas and mint kept the richness in check. The Veal Heart, sliced into 4-5 pieces, is served with a refreshing and crisp carrot and coriander salad. The heart itself resembles a minute steak almost, but with much more interesting flavor, it was one of my friends favorite dishes, something remarkable seeing as how he has never ventured into offal or "lesser-known cuts" before.

Moving along to the heftier courses we were served Beef Tongue with bacon, spinach and lentils. I've had tongue before, but this was a new way for me to try it, almost delicate in its preparation, it was delicious and paired with addictive lentils. We both thoroughly enjoyed this dish and had to slow ourselves down realizing four courses still remained. For our sixth course we took a little departure from meat and offal with a Whole Roasted Rosebud, a small fish similar to Red Snapper. The fish had the head and tail on and was roasted to a wonderful golden brown on the outside, remaining tender and moist on the inside. It was a little challenging to get all the meat out of it, but well worth it, and was served with kale and mashed potatoes. I could have done without the mashed potatoes, and the kale was extremely salty, but the fish was a much needed "light" course.

Rounding out the savory courses was the Crispy Pork Belly atop a potato cake with red cabbage and apples. This was my favorite savory course of the day, and perhaps the best pork belly I have ever indulged in. A massive portion for a tasting menu, the pork belly appeared fried since it was so crispy, but in fact it was roasted, skin side down to achieve a bubbly, crispy texture. With a great meat to fat ratio it was easy enough to cut and chew, but had all the richness you would want in pork belly. The potato cake was a nice touch, although it was a little overcooked, and the cabbage and apples brought rounded the dish out, with a bit of acid helping to cut through the fat a little bit.

A small bowl of Lemon Sorbet served as our eighth course was a nice palate cleanser, and prepped us for the rich Sticky Toffee Pudding served last. The pudding was amazing, served warm, it roughly fell apart with barely any effort and after plenty of fatty, salty bites throughout the nearly 3 hour meal, it was a nice way to end everything. Through it all we drank a nice bottle of red (the name escapes me), chosen from the restaurant's well-rounded wine list. The food at Feast is definitely forward thinking, but not in the molecular way, but more aimed at educating diners on all the delicious animal parts which we as a culture generally shy away from. There are dishes fit for the less adventurous diner, like lamb shank, fish pie and variations on duck as well, making it easy to find something for every palate. The English background is clear in the cooking as well as several Eastern European influences, and to me this is certainly the type of restaurant that every major city should have and embrace. Being able to dine in a no frills atmosphere, with such a high standard of creative, thought provoking food is a joy and I will never forget it. Thank you Megan, James and Richard for my feast.
219 Westheimer Road, Houston, Texas, 713-529-7788, Reservations - Recommended, Price - Moderate (40-100/person depending on tasting menu)

Houston Here I Come

So I'm taking a little impromptu trip down to Houston, TX, it'll be my first time in Texas and I'm eager to check it out. With a full list of BBQ spots, Tex-Mex shacks and more I expect to come back a brighter, bigger person. I'll be tweeting throughout the trip and full reviews will be posted here.

Have a great week and weekend, see you on Tuesday.