san francisco food tour day 2

Day 2. Japantown! The weekend we went was the last weekend of the annual Cherry Blossom Festival, so of course we had to go! There were so many people and vendors and food and did I mention people already? It was pretty crowded. We took a taxi in, and thank goodness we did. My friend Phu joined us that day and told us it took forever to find parking. There were live bands and taiko drum demonstrations among other things. The smell coming from all the fresh food being cooked, from red bean filled pancakes to the bar b q being grilled, was heavenly.

But before I begin on the food.  I was told I wouldn’t actually see sakura trees in Japantown, which I thought was boo, but my sister and I found out about the Japanese Tea Garden in Golden Gate Park had tons of sakura trees and other flowers. We of course checked it out and the blossoms were still in bloom!  The full size photos are on my flickr page. They also have a mini cafe serving tea while you enjoy the view.

After our visit to the tea garden, we headed to Japantown, and we started with the spam musubi. Spam is a sort of breakfast food staple among Filipino (and Hawaiian) households. We like it fried, with rice and a fried egg. Yum. Anyways, this one stand was selling spam musubi! It was sushi rice, topped with a slice of cooked spam, eel sauce, and wrapped with a thin strip of seaweed wrapper. It was sooooo yummy. My sister and I ended up buying a couple each to save for a midnight snack of sorts. Sorry I don’t have better pics, but it did not last long enough to take photos after opening.

Even the toy from kidrobot wanted a bite. heh.

Next were the pancakes filled with red bean paste. The line was forever long, but you couldn’t resist, because as you walked by, you could smell the sweetness of the pancake batter cooking. They were soft and light and filled with a sweet red bean paste.

The only line longer than the pancake line was the beef takoyaki line. Takoyaki is typically a fried dough ball containing octopus and other vegetables, but there are different variations. As you can see, this was of the ground beef variety. I’ve had takoyaki before in NYC, minus the octopus, and that was definitely better. However, for the price and considering they had to feed the masses, the beef takoyaki I had was worthy of the wait in line.

After that, we were pretty much full. We waited for Phu and co. to arrive and we just ventured out into all the shops and bought manga and cool pencils at Kinokuniya. It felt good to sit down. It was starting to get hot, but that cool bay breeze swept in once in a while making it a beautiful day to be outdoors. Once Phu showed up, it was time to eat again. They were hungry and who was I to say no to food? We decided on ramen at Sapporo-ya in the Kinokuniya center. We don’t have ramen in Houston, not that I know of anyways. And I’m not talking about the 10 for a $1 you find at the grocery store either.

My sis and I shared the bowl of soy sauce ramen with bbq. It was pretty good, in my opinion, but what do I know? The only other time I had ramen was in Hawaii and it was wayyyyy too salty. The noodles were a little smushy, but the broth and the bbq was yums. The boiled egg really added to the ramen. Maybe it was the texture or just the taste of it with the bbq and noodles, but I found every bite better when I had egg in it. Service was just okay and it’s a tiny spot, but overall, it was okay. There are probably better ramen spots in the area, and one that I’ll talk about again on day 3, but it was the closest one at the time.

This day was full of lines. Lines for pancakes, takoyaki, ramen, and then came the line for Sophie’s Crepes. It was out the restaurant and it was also worth the wait. The crepes are thin and crisp, yet soft and flaky. You can choose your own items or they have a variety of goodies to put in your crepe, from hot fudge and strawberries to ham and cheese. I stuck with the nutella, banana, and vanilla ice cream crepe. It was definitely tasty. It was a nice cool treat after a day in the sun.

It was food overdose by this time. We decided to walk it off by going to the Haight area and checking out the shops. There were tons of different boutiques and restaurants, and if you’re a shopper you might like this area. I just wanted to go to kidrobot. Bought a few toys. So cute! And after a long day of wandering the streets of San Francisco, we headed back to the hotel for some rest and relaxation before dinner. Oh yeah, we ate more. Hah.

Phu & I made a trade. Sprinkles cupcakes for Filipino banana chips. I think I’m the winner in this trade off. The cupcakes were rich and moist and Phu was kind enough to buy us all milk from the local convenient store.

And that was our 18th floor view at Hotel Nikko. Well, after getting some rest in, we headed to a sushi joint in Union Square. I am sorry to say that for the life of me, none of us remember the name. We went because a friend suggested it and she didn’t even know the name, only that it was good and we should go. The seafood was fresh, but as I stick to the cooked stuff, I ordered an ebi tempura roll and the spider roll. That was a well cooked soft shell crab.

And that my friends, was the end of day 2. It was exhausting, but it was definitely fun.  Thanks Phu, Hong & Megan for driving up from San Jose to hang out with us for the day!!

P.S. I miss it already.

– Chelle

san francisco food tour day 1

From April 17th-21st, I was in San Francisco for the very first time. My sister and I decided to take a sister trip and so we did. I call it a food tour, because honestly, we mostly ate. We saw the sights as well, but food played a large part of our trip. This will probably be a full 4 day series of all the yums we had. We arrived at 11am. Checked in by noon. Hopped on a cable car and started our “day”.

Our first stop for the day was Fisherman’s Wharf. We were complete tourists this time around, and we were okay with that. The weather was beautiful. Sunny, cool breeze, and not too hot. A friend of mine suggested we find Boudin Bakery (http://www.boudinbakery.com/) and get some clam chowder in a sourdough bread bowl. It was indeed a treat. I’ll probably say this over and over, but the seafood in SF tasted so fresh. The clam chowder was rich in flavor, and the ingredients were well cooked, and the bread was fabulous. It’s also fun to see the bakers making cute animal shaped sourdough breads.

And what meal would be complete without dessert? Lucky for us, Ghirardelli Square was close by. We made our way uphill to Ghirardelli Square (http://www.ghirardellisq.com/ghirardellisq/), which has been there since the late 1800’s.  My sister and I opted for hot fudge sundaes. She had the brownie hot fudge sundae with dark chocolate syrup, while I had the original hot fudge sundae with milk chocolate syrup. I promise it tasted as delicious as it looks. Three scoops of vanilla ice cream, with three pumps of hot fudge, topped with whipped cream and a brownie.

After our tasty treat and a tiring trip back to the hotel, we took a mini break. We stayed at Hotel Nikko (http://www.hotelnikkosf.com/) in Union Square, and let me tell everyone. What a wonderful place to stay. The staff was friendly and extremely helpful with directions and suggestions. The room was gigantic and the bathroom even more so. The beds were cozy and the pillows were fluffy. Nap time was an awesome time. I can’t even say I missed my bed because this was much nicer. Hah. The hotel sports a full service spa, indoor pool, a Japanese fusion restaurant called ANZU, which we didn’t get a chance to eat at, but it’s a pretty good spot according to yelp.

Luckily, Union Square has tons of restaurants. It’s a more touristy spot, with all sorts of shops and malls around the corner, but it was definitely a good place to stay. So after an hour of rest, we ventured out to the surrounding areas and tried to get some shopping in. Shops close early in SF. 8pm on a Friday? That’s just not normal to me. Anyways, we decided we needed to eat again. And, walking back to the hotel, we spotted a sushi joint called Hana Zen (http://www.hanazenrestaurant.com/) and decided to give it a try.

My sister is the sushi fanatic, and she got her usual salmon nigiri and hamachi roll, but that night they were serving otooro, which is fatty tuna belly. Apparently, it’s a delicacy to have and it’s seasonal so you can’t get it just anywhere or any time of year. Other places we went to didn’t have it available. Anyways, the waiter convinced her to try it, and she did. She was soooooo happy because it was so amazingly good that she paid for dinner that night. Hah. I, on the other hand, had the steak terriyaki. I’m somewhat of a steak terriyaki snob and only have 2, now 3, places where I love it. I like meat medium well to well done, and usually when it’s cooked that long, the meat is tough and hard to chew. Well, the meat here was grilled, tender and juicy and it was topped with an excellent terriyaki sauce that wasn’t too tangy or too sweet. Veggies on the side along with steamed rice. It was delicious.

That my friends, concludes day 1. It may not have seemed like much, but it was definitely plenty. We knew the next day was going to be an early day, so we basically called it a night and hopped into our comfy beds. Day 2 is going to be fun filled with pictures from the Cherry Blossom Festival.

– Chelle

Fried Goodness at the Texas State Fair

A belated posting…

If your eating sentiments lean towards Templeton the Rat then the Texas State Fair is for you. A fair, is a veritable smorgasbord orgasbord orgasbord…

But woe to you who counts calories and attempts in infiltrate this epicurean fantasy world. Woe, I say! You are not wanted here, nor do you belong. As I’ve grown older I, like Remy in Ratatouille, have become more conscious of what I’m cramming in my cramhole. But once a year I revert to 12-year-old form. Back when I could have reduced logging camp cooks to tears for want of hash and flapjacks. That occasion is the Texas State Fair.

Now I have heard it said that other state fairs, specifically the Minnesota edition, are the best when it comes to the audacity and creativity of their fry cooks. Lies. In Texas, a fried peanut butter, jelly, and banana sandwich is considered standard fare (pun intended). This is the Fair that invented (or at least perfected) the corn dog. (More on this later) In Texas, it takes something really crazy to generate interest. Two years ago, someone found a way to fry Coca-Cola.

So every year on the occasion of the annual Texas-Oklahoma football game I endeavor to nomnom as many unusual fried delicacies as I can find. The reason why this post is so late is it takes me awhile to recover. It’s a great time, and the pre-game tension and post-game glories are as important a part of the rarified dining experience as the bubbling cauldrons of oil and the oozing grease.

WARNING: What follows is not for the faint of stomach. Do not attempt this: you take your life into your hands.

The most exotic stuff can be found on the west side of the Cotton Bowl by agriculture exhibits (where you can view a pig with a nutsack the size of a deflated basketball, a sight to behold). As you might guess this is one of the highest traffic areas of the fair, but pleasantly also the area with the cheapest beer (another necessity). My first mission was the winner of the annual fried food contest: Chicken-Fried Bacon.

I was actually surprised this hadn’t happened earlier at the fair, it’s not exactly a new invention. The original iteration of the dish was created (like the Frankenstein monster) by Frank Sodolak, owner of Sodolak’s Orginal Country Inn in Snook, Texas, according the entertaining book Texas Curiosities by John Kelso. Solodok’s version is six double-breaded strips, deep-fried in oil, and served with a side of cream gravy. As Jayne Hurley, a senior nutritionist for the Center for Science in the Public Interest, is quoted in the book:

“I’ve never heard of anything worse. They’ve taken fat, they’ve double-coated it in fat, they’ve fried it in more fat, and they’ve served it with a side of fat.”

Yes’m, and God Bless Texas. As you can imagine, Sodolak’s has been a desired road-trip destination for some time for my friends and I, but I have never made it happen. By the by, for you confused Yankees, the term “chicken-fried” doesn’t mean there’s any chicken in the dish. Just like the famous chicken-fried steak -which was invented in Texas- it refers to the way it’s cooked: fried, like chicken. (Fun fact: CFS isn’t actually the state dish of Texas, chili is. It is the state dish of Oklahoma because they weren’t good enough to come up with anything good on their own. They had to borrow from us, just like when they’re searching for college football players. Yet another example how football explains America.)

So back to the CFB…someone either took the idea from Sodolak’s or came up with it on their own (a logical assumption in an environs given to pushing the fried envelope), and figured out a way to prepare it for mass consumption. Thus we have the Fried Food Fanatics’ Holiest of Holies.

Well I’ll be damned if after all that ballyhoo…it wasn’t good. It tasted like the flimsy, artificially enhanced bacon you would get in an elementary school cafeteria, coupled with fried-chicken skin from a third-rate chain. In other words, it tasted like grease, and not good grease. I blame quality of ingredients. CFB at the State Fair was definitely the Icarus of the trip. Hopefully when I finally do make it to Sodolak’s my faith will be rewarded.

So after that disappointment I needed a beer and some dessert. I needed….

FRIED COOKIE DOUGH!! Which was easily the winner of the day. The sharp chocolatiness of the hot fudge and the chocolate chips merged perfectly with the more robust flavor of the dough. In addition, the contrast between the crispiness of the fried shell and the still-creamy dough was a revelation. I will come back for more next year.

Then it was game time. Texas won 45-35, later finished with the same record as Oklahoma, yet got shutout of the Big 12 title game only to watch OU choke in a national championship game the Longhorns could have won. I digress, but this photograph of an artifact that I found under a bleacher gives a good indication of the kind of atmosphere one can expect.

Back to the fray, it was time for a break. And by break, I mean a huge turkey leg, which was probably the best one I’ve ever had. Oh, and another Shiner.

Incidentally, I’ve read that Shiner Bock, once popular in the Northeast, has suffered from a backlash due to the unpopularity of another well-known Texas export. This is unfortunate. My family has long been a Shiner fan and the brewery is only a 20-minute trip down Hwy 90 from our country house. If you don’t like the well-known bock, may I recommend Shiner Blonde (a pale lager which the Spoetzel Brewery has brewed continuously since 1909), Shiner Hefeweizen (an unpasteurized Bavarian wheat beer), or Shiner Black (a very dark brew due to its roasted malts). Besides, don’t hate on our beer. It’s not our fault, our beer laws are bass-ackwards.

Then it was time for Fried Smores, another winner in the annual contest.

As you can see from the picture, the smore (What’s a smore? A bar of chocolate and toasted marshmallow in a graham cracker sandwich so-called because you want “s’more”…you Philistine) is deep-fried and cut diagonally. It was interesting enough. The chewy, sticky and flavorful marshmallow paired curiously with the crispy crust. But the graham cracker flavor, so integral a part of the magical smore combination, was lost in the frying process. While the cookie dough was enhanced by the frying process, after eating the fried smore you couldn’t help but regret that it wasn’t just a regular smore.

While I was waiting in line for the fried smore, my cousin Grace came over with the most consistently great of fried deserts, fried Oreos.

How best to describe the goodness? Like the fried twinkie (which wasn’t sampled on this trip), fried oreos may seem exotic but they’re at pretty much every Tom, Dick, and Harry fair out there. So when I’m on a mission for exotics I tend to overlook them. But they’re a lot like that basketball player on your team that isn’t a star and no one ever talks about but all the sudden you look down and they have 12 points, 9 rebounds and 7 assists. Fried Oreos are a consistent triple-double threat. They’re like the Hakeem Olajuwon to the wow factor and raw power of the fried Twinkie’s Shaquille O’Neal.

I would pick Hakeem/fried Oreos every….single….time. The process of being coated in batter and fried has the same effect on the formerly crispy cookie as dunking it in milk. It’s soft but not soggy, and the chocolate has become almost gooey. I’ve always thought of powdered sugar as possessing a kind of ephemeral sweetness. On most fried desserts the sugar is a kind of unnecessary accoutrement, but on the fried Oreos it does its job perfectly, putting down a perfect base sugariness to the sweetness of the cookie and the batter. Good every time, and I managed to pick a few off of Grace.

My final dessert wasn’t part of the plan, but it hit me in the nostalgia so I had to try it. Fried Honey Bun.

When I was a kid I would eat Honey Buns for breakfast every time I went to my Nana’s house. It was a flavor of my childhood, so I just had to have it fried. Unfortunately the results were predictable. There’s really no point in coating fried dough in fried dough. That’s just redundant. This dish could never figure out what it was doing. Plus the frozen Honey Bun really didn’t take well to frying, parts of it weren’t completely defrosted. Also all the powdered sugar served to do was to collide headlong with the honey and make it too sweet. Ah well, had to be done.

It was about time to go and my body was about to shut down from all the conspicuous consumption, but not before once more sampling the best (and most phallic) food the Fair has to offer…

A Fletcher’s Corny Dog. That’s “corny,” not “corn.” That would be like calling St. Peter’s Basilica “a church.” It’s not just a corn dog, it’s THE corn dog. It demands the “-y.” After you eat a corny dog, you really can’t enjoy corn dogs. They are as shadows, crude pencil drawings of the most beautiful work of art; the most transcendent concerto rendered into Muzak.

Not all corny dogs at the Fair carry the proud name of Fletchers, so take heed. The Fletcher family introduced their corny dogs at the State Fair in the late 30s. If they weren’t the first to look at a hot dog and say, “Needs to be covered in cornmeal and deep-fried,” then they certainly proved to be the best at it. They’re fried creations have proved successful enough to get the heiress to the Fletcher corny dog fortune kidnapped in December! That’s right. Some states have land barons, cattle barons, oil barons, and timber barons. Texas has all that plus corny dog barons. If that ain’t nouveau riche then I don’t know what is.

I don’t think I can really do it justice. However, a word of caution: Yes, there is a ketchup dispenser, but if you put anything but mustard on your corny dog a native Texan has the legal right to sock you in the face. It was in the original list of grievances that the Texan delegates listed in our Declaration of Independence from Mexico signed on March 2, 1836, at Washington-on-the-Brazos.

As always at the State Fair, there is one that got away. I couldn’t find fried guacamole. “I’ll be back next year,” I groaned to myself on the ride home, popping Tums like they were Pez, “if I don’t die right now.”

by Alex (who’ll get an avatar eventually)

because 30 is the new 20

This post is long overdue. Back in August, I turned 30. My mom felt that was a milestone in my life and that I should have a party. YAY PARTIES! My parents cooked tons of food. I helped of course, but most of what you see is above is my dad and mom’s doing. There was tons more food, but for art’s sake, I couldn’t fit them all into that montage above. I’ll probably get unlazy and make another one for all the other food =D

Starting from the top left:

-Grilled eggplant salad – A dish from Dad. I’m not the fan of veggies, much less eggplant, so I didn’t try it. Everyone else did, as it was all gone.

-Calamari – Dad again. He just mixed a whole bunch of stuff and seasonings and ta da…super yum and crunchy calamari

-Beef w/Chinese broccolli – Dad’s is the best. The addition of the tomatoes made it that much tastier.

-Pork Ribs – Really, what more is there to say about that? They were in the smoker for hours and they fell off the bone and were just sooooo tender. 3 racks of ribs. None remained.

-Woo table decor

-Chocolate chip toffee crunch bars – *Raises hands* I made that. I’m actually going to post that recipe eventually. It was yummy and gooey and crunchy and definitely chocolatey.

-Bottom row. In the center is a Filipino dish with tons of different veggies and you can add either pork or shrimp. However, I was in charge of the veggie cutting, therefore my ode to squash and green beans.

I had the yummiest cake from The Acadian Bakery (http://www.acadianbakers.com). It was the brownie chocolate mousse cake with a chocolate gnache on top. Oh. Their choco covered strawberries are the greatest. When I order cakes, I always ask for more strawberries =) If you need a cake for any occassion, please give them a call if you haven’t been there before. They deliver and you can also pick up. I usually call a day in advance and they’ll have it ready by 9am the next morning. May I also suggest their Fresh Strawberries & Cream cake? Love it.

And so…I’ve reached a new decade. wee!

-Chelle

littlejohn’s toffees

It’s been almost a year since I went to L.A. for a cousin’s wedding. We had a few hours to kill before heading to the airport, so we went to the famed Farmer’s Market at The Grove that we had heard about so much. I loved the place as there were all these food stands with vendors selling fresh fruits, meats, etc. I also had some of the best Korean BBQ ever there.

One of the places I saw as I was randomly walking around was this candy shop called Littlejohn’s Candies (http://www.littlejohnscandies.com/) and it had chocolate covered toffees in its window. So, I bought 8 pieces of their toffee sticks. I honestly came back home and wished I had bought more. They were fantastic. The toffee had that perfect crunch. Not too hard and not too soft. Just right. It melted in my mouth and it was absolutely delicious.

I told one of my good friends about the place and for Xmas last year, she had ordered a box and had it delivered to me. Now, this year, for my big 30th birthday on Friday, she ordered me another box. This time, she got 3 lbs. of toffees for me. One pound for every decade. Ha. Thanks Jan! No worries. I won’t eat all that by myself. As much as I wish I could, this chubby girl doesn’t need to be eating 3 lbs. of toffees.

Seriously, I could have picked any chocolate shop in the world, but I love these chocolate/nut covered toffees. So if you’re in the L.A. area and you’ve never been to the Farmer’s Market, you really should. You just might discover a few new things. And, rather than an hour or two there, try setting aside most of your day for it. The whole “Grove” area looked like it had tons of stuff and I was sad I didn’t get to see it all.

–chelle

amy’s ice creams

On the corner of Shepherd and 59 lies Amy’s Ice Creams (http://www.amysicecreams.com/). You’ll see the cow sitting atop the shop with neon red lights. This lovely ice cream shop has been there for years and I can say I’ve only been a handful of times because, until recently, I lived too far. Based in Austin, the location off of Shepherd is the only location in Houston. Thanks to Miss Emmarose’s mention of it in a comment, I craved it and managed to convince a friend to come with and buy me some this Saturday night. Thanks Joseph ^__^ I am now a happy camper.

There’s a variety of flavors to choose from and the menu will often change as all ice creams are home made. Now, while you can pick and choose your ice cream flavors and toppings, they have some ice cream concoctions that are already pre-set. One such example would be the Cookie Monster. Your choice of ice cream with 3 different types of cookies mixed in.

Amy’s carries non-fat non-sugar yogurts, smoothies, fruit ices, etc. I have yet to venture from the ice cream, but I’ve been told the fruit ices are pretty delicious. Well, I’m sure the guy making the Cookie Monster was wondering why in the world I was taking photos of him smushing cookies into ice cream, and if he ever reads this he’ll stop and say, “Ahhh…that’s why…”. Tonight, I decided on sweet cream ice cream, with bananas and topped with hot fudge. Why not get a banana split you say? Because Amy’s says I don’t have to be like everyone else and get a banana split. I can get it mushed. And Marie had the rose ice cream. It actually tasted quite rosy.

Amy’s is fun and the decor is bright and even has a brick wall where people have left there mark at Amy’s with their permanent markers. It makes me wonder why so many people walk around with markers in their possession. Go. Get some ice cream. Go to Amy’s. They’re open late on weekends. =D

–chelle

Curry-ya

Japanese curry is another recent trend around town. I don’t have any strong feelings for or against Japanese curry. I’ve only really tried it once or twice at Jas-mart (haven’t tried Go Go Curry) but I’m reading the manga ‘Addicted to Curry’ (they have recipes too). Guess I just like Indian curries more.

One reason I wanted to try Curry-ya (214 East 10th St. New York, NY 10003) is because it was opened by one of the co-owners of Soba-ya (my favorite restaurant).

I knew it was going to be tiny place with only a counter and the kitchen right behind it, but it was really a squeeze. Be careful, you don’t want to sit right in front of the burners, you’ll be cooking too (maybe in winter it might not be an issue).

The menu has 9 curries, 6 salads, and 3 extra toppings (I just noticed the play on 3s).  The lunch special is a great deal. But after 4pm we went with curry ‘nice set’ that gives you the same things for $6 more; the ‘chef’s daily assortment’ three small dishes plus choice of dessert or (non alcoholic) drink. The desserts are the better value, we chose the lychee lassi (really good) which was listed as a dessert but is also a drink (of yogurt, sugar, lemon, lychee and ice from what I saw). The grapefruit jelly also looked good but we were surprisingly too stuffed for dessert.

Grilled seafood curry

To rewind; we started off with the 3 small dishes of squash, cabbage slaw, and seaweed salad (very tasty, I just inhaled it and forgot about photos). I got the grilled seafood curry, and the hubby had the seasonal vegetable curry. Though I don’t think my seafood qualifies as ‘grilled’, it was perfectly cooked despite my fears about how long it was cooking. It was partially cooked in the oven then simmered in mini pot of curry sauce. I didn’t specify hot or mild, but it had a nice small kick to it. It came with toppings of dehydrated onions flakes, pickled turnip, pickled shallots, and raisins. I put the onions on mine and ate the pickles but I wasn’t really interested in the raisins. The hubby wasn’t impressed with the vegetable curry, but did express interest in getting it plain with two orders of natto.

The pots of curry didn’t look that large and the mounds of rice didn’t seem overwhelming (but I knew it to be equivalent to two bowls). Afterwards we were really really full, maybe the lassi also pushed us a bit over our limit. I think we’d eat there again eventually, when we are in the area and really hungry.

Seasonal vegetable curry

We saw all the Japanese customers there eating curry with spoons only, while the non-Japanese customers used forks. For meat eaters, the New York Times recommends the Berkshire pork cutlet curry.

-L

16 Handles… of yogurt

Half eaten before I remembered the camera.

16 Handles (153 2nd Ave. New York, NY 10079) is different from the crop of fro-yo joints popping up all over. They have 16 flavors of yogurt (2 of which is non dairy sorbet) and a huge toppings bar. It is self serve; you pay by weight $0.46/oz (mine was $4.30, everyone else I saw filled up far more than me). I didn’t get to all the flavors this time, only the mango and raspberry sorbet, the green tea, plain and euro ‘tart’ yogurt. I found the sorbets a bit too sweet, the green tea was good and so were the plain ones. I skipped all the toppings (diced fresh fruits, candies/cereals, and they also had mini mochi which I always like). I can’t really tell the difference between the two yogurts (euro and plain), but I liked them as much or more than Pinkberry’s. They try to use eco-friendly materials; I love the wood spoons but I saw others with plastic ones too. I think it’s a bonus that you can control your serving size, unless you are not big on self control.

-L

spice up your life!

Thai Spice (http://www.thaispice.com) is a chain of Thai restaurants in the Houston area. I’ve been going for years and although some Thai aficionados may think differently, I still think Thai Spice has some of the best pad thai noodles. Ever. The good news is there’s now a Thai Spice in Katy, TX (1420 S. MASON RD.  SUITE# 170, KATY, TX.  77450). Yes, you’ve seen it driving down Mason Rd. wondering when it would finally open, and now it has.

My family and I went there tonight around 7pm and it was just packed. You walk in and you sense a very modern East Asian vibe. The walls are a dark, yet calming green, and my favorite part really is the ceiling.

It looked like a pinwheel that spanned the entire ceiling. Anyways, this Thais Spice is not buffet style like some of their other restaurants. It’s more like placing your order, having a seat, and some nice young person brings your food out to you. The staff was very helpful, and granted it was their first night, I commend them for doing a great job under stress. The owners were walking around all night trying to make sure everyone was happy.

On to the food. During lunch, you have the option of choosing from their standard menu, or going through the line kind of cafeteria style. They have an awesome lunch special for $5.50 which includes steamed rice, 3 entrees, and unlimited soup and tea. Tonight, my family and I ordered quite a bit. For appetizers, we had the Thai chicken wings and the tempura calamari. I can only vouch for the wings, and I can say they were fantastic. The wings had this sweet yet spicy sauce over them and it was just great.

For the main dishes, we ordered my favorite pad thai noodles (first picture). At our table we also had green curry with pork, garlic and black bean sauce with shrimp, calamari, and scallops, and we had an order of the crispy soft shell crab served over green curry sauce, broccoli, and eggplant.

If you are not a big curry fan or even a big Thai food fan, they had other dishes like chargrilled pork w/steamed rice and fried egg (it’s what i had and it was yum). There are plenty of appetizers, soups, and salads to choose from. Another plus is the service of beer and wine. And let us not forget the dessert. May I suggest Eva’s Chocolate Cake? It is a nicely sized multi-layered chocolate cake with a chocolate ganash icing. Yum.

So if you’re out in Katy and you’ve been wanting to give Thai food a chance or if you were just looking for a new place close by, here’s your chance!

–chelle

Turkish take-out

To deal with heat wave recently, I’ve been ordering out a bit more. My new favorite place for take-out; 86 Turkish Mediterranean Food Court 2180 86th St. Brooklyn, NY 11214.

We went to eat there once and it’s pretty bare bones looking, but the food was amazing. To get you hands on the pitas while hot, alone is worth a trip. When they are fresh, it’s ridiculously good. Perfectly crispy and crusty with sesame seeds outside, the mostly hollow inside is light and chewy. Even something mundane as fried calamari was excellent when we were there, delivery can’t preserve the freshness but is still very good. They have a huge menu, we don’t eat meat but the kebobs and gyros looked really great. We stick to the cold appetizers, we love the ‘shepherd’s salad’ (tomatoes, cucumbers, onions with sumac), the ‘eggplant salad’ beats the ‘babaghonush’ in flavor, and the ‘hummus’ is decent. ‘Piyaz’ was a nice surprise, it’s a salad of white and red beans that’s much better than the description implies. ‘Stuffed grape leaves’ are elevated by the addition of pine nuts and currants.

I tried the yogurt drink ‘ayran’ once. The bottle states it’s Kosher, made with hormone free milk and salt. I don’t hate it, I like strong tangy yogurt flavors and salty things (and it was quite salty), but combined I wasn’t sure how it went with the food. I would’ve finished it but it’s also really high in fat.

edit 7-28-08: I recommend the ‘lebne’, thick yogurt mixed with herbs and walnuts. But the shepherd’s salad (this time) wasn’t as good with the addition of olives and the lack of acidity. I’ll try it again later, hopefully they go back to the old recipe. I also had the mushroom salad, found it too heavy and greasy. The spicy salad wasn’t too exciting but I’m willing to eat the leftovers later. Surprisingly the hummus has gotten better.

-Lina