Eatyet’s Weblog

Empire Cafe, located off of Westheimer & Dunlavy (Houston, TX) is a quaint little spot that I’ve loved going to for years.  It’s a great place to go on any given day, but especially great on a beautiful day, as they have plenty of outdoor seating. I enjoy going with friends and having a glass of wine with one of their decadent desserts (mmmm Italian creme cake). I behaved and did not get one that night. I know…For shame! I like that it’s within walking distance of the many boutique, thrift, and antique shops down Westheimer.

So this past Friday, my brother, sister and I hit up Empire because my brother wanted the Friday special. Friday special? I ask. See that delicious glazed salmon pictured above with asparagus and other veggies served over rice? That is the Friday special. My brother was kind enough to let us taste a bit of it. Absolutely delicious. The salmon was cooked just right and didn’t have that fishy taste salmon sometimes has.

I started backwards with this post, but my brother also ordered a mojito and I thought it looked pretty interesting. Mojitos are mojitos, but this was darned good. It wasn’t as strong, which I appreciated. I think for most people, you’re not there to get drunk. You’re there to enjoy the atmosphere and have a good drink on a lovely day.  I think next time, I’ll grab a mimosa.

And a meal with my family wouldn’t be complete without an appetizer. That night we had *dips of the world*. An appetizer with baked pita bread and three different dipping sauces; a spinach & artichoke dip, black bean dip, and a marinara sauce. Personally, that spinach & artichoke dip was my favorite. I ate most of it. heh =)

–Chelle

Azuma is located in the heart of the Rice Village area ( 5600 Kirby Dr, Ste 5, Houston, TX 77005), right off Kirby. The decor is modern, with a hint of traditional Japanese flair. The wait staff, hostesses, and even the managers have been friendly and very helpful the past few times I’ve been. Azuma also has a nice wine & sake list, which I have yet to sample. I’ve been here 3 times in the past two weeks. I’m really loving this place.

Sushi. I’ve tried several times, and I must tell you, as much as I’ve tried to eat sushi, I can’t. Sushi and I just aren’t meant to be. So, I try everything else and this time around I tried their shrimp tempura, which is served with miso soup & rice. Their miso soup is delicious and I love the tenderness of the jumbo battered shrimp. They also have a variety of beef, seafood, pork, and chicken dishes. Another dish that you must absolutely try is the Azuma hot rock beef. You can choose from their standard beef or their kobe beef. Basically it’s about 6 oz. of beautifully sliced beef which comes with this extremely hot (so hot it’s red) rock that you in turn cook the beef on. They offer a side of their mango ginger sauce and their terriyaki sauce for dipping the meat in. It was inventive and the rock stayed hot until I cooked all my beef.

P.S. My friends who’ve had the sushi thought it was really good, so I’ll just have to take their word for it. And, when they say spicy tuna roll, they really mean spicy tuna.

Azuma also serves robata dishes. These are different meats, seafood, pork, chicken grilled on a hot plate. Now, the grilling is mainly done in the back and what comes out are these cute and tasty grilled appetizers. I’ve had a few of the items already and I would highly suggest the Japanese short ribs. Oh they’re my favorite. Also, my friend enjoyed the lightness & taste of the grilled calamari (pictured above).

I’m a little upset that I couldn’t get a better photo of Azuma’s friend banana tempura w/ice cream. It was good, but you can’t really go wrong with banana tempura, and ice cream makes everything taste better. I would have to say that the dessert menu could have more items on it, but what they do have, and I don’t have a photo of, is MOCHI ICE CREAM. For those who’ve never had mochi before, it’s a Japanese sticky rice dough with an ice cream filling (mochi wiki). At Azuma, they serve you with green tea, red bean, mango, and vanilla mochi. The green tea is my favorite. It’s light and cute and full of yum.

–Chelle

No, not a bar of chocolate, but a bar for chocolate. I first visited The Chocolate Bar ( 1835 W Alabama St., Houston, TX 7709 a few years ago when a friend of mine mentioned it to me. Since that one time, I have absolutely loved the place and take anyone who hasn’t been there yet. So, when an out of town friend told me she liked chocolate, I thought what better place to go than The Chocolate Bar.

This place has its own chocolate shop adjacent to the “bar” area where you can find an assortment of chocolates, from seasonal designs to your chocolate covered bon bons. But, I must say my favorite area is the bar area. The walls are a bold purple, adorned with candy inspired movie type posters and randomly placed disco balls hanging from the ceiling. There’s plenty of seating, although it doesn’t seem like plenty on a busy Friday night.

So since we were full from dinner, we decided to share a slice of cake. Do you see how gigantic that happy slice of heaven is? Do you see the bottle of milk behind it? You’ll surely need it to get through your decadent dessert. We decided on a slice of Uncle Darryll’s chocolate cake. This moist, 4 layer chocolate cake had the richest, yet lightest chocolate filling. It was covered with what seems like a chocolate ganache and then topped with toffee bits. It was fantastic. Between the two of us, we still couldn’t finish it.

Besides their different varieties of cakes, they also serve their own home made ice cream. I’ve had it in the past, and I think the one I’ve deemed my favorite is the one with white and dark chocolate bits in it. It was just all sorts of yum, and if it wasn’t so chilly, I probably would have had some tonight. I have yet to try everything on their menu, but one of these days I will. There is also fresh brewed coffee and a killer hot chocolate. The staff has always been friendly and helpful and my trips have always been pleasant. I believe the desserts are moderately and reasonably priced, anywhere from $6.95 and $9.95, for the portion of cake/pie you get. Others may disagree, but I have no problem throwing down for some good old chocolate cake.

The Chocolate Bar is a place “Where every hour is happy hour” (yups, that’s their motto). It truly is. Sitting there and enjoying good chocolatey desserts and good company makes a cold Friday night feel remarkably warm.

–Chelle

Té House of Tea (http://www.tehouseoftea.com/ 1927 Fairview St. Houston, TX 77019) is snuggled between Montrose & Shepherd, right on the corner of Woodhead & Fairview. The ambience is very mellow, and I noticed that the second we walked in today, with the soft reggae playing over the speakers. There’s a butterfly hanging from the ceiling, photos (for sale) hanging decoratively along the walls, and the cutest tea pots/sets/cups displayed throughout the cafe. The seats are comfy and the whole place gives off this cozy vibe.

It’s definitely a place I’d go to on a relaxing Saturday morning or afternoon for some tea. However, as I learned today, it’s not somewhere I’d go for my quick one hour lunch from work. This place is really just somewhere you go and meet friends, have a good talk, share a crepe (or get your own, because those things are DELICIOUS). I had eyed the menu before heading over there, and decided on the roasted chicken & brie panini, which comes with a salad, all for the lovely price of $5.95. I did not know there was going to be cranberry sauce on my panini. I’m not a cranberry sauce kind of girl, so my friend was kind enough to share her margherita panini with me (pictured above). It was divine. The fresh tomato, melted mozarella, and basil served on a perfectly herbed foccacia bread really hit the spot. OH!! The salad was great too. I’m not sure what type of vinaigrette they used, but I really liked it.

I should have gotten tea, but didn’t this time. I wanted to be able to enjoy it, and not be in a rush to finish it. My friend did get a small pot of their Strawberry Fields Green Tea. She’s not a tea drinker, so it really wasn’t her cup of tea. It did smell fabulous, though.

So I leave yall on a happy note. The highlight of my meal was the crepe with chocolate spread, topped with fresh strawberries, whip cream and powdered sugar (see below). It was like a taste bud orgasm. You can choose from a variety of spreads and fresh fruits. That crepe was certainly the best I’ve had. I’m definitely going back for more.

–Chelle

Honestly, the only frozen yogurt I’d ever known was TCBY, which I love, but I never really considered it a healthy alternative, because it tasted way too good to be healthy. ha! So tonight, I was driving to the Edwards Cinema off Weslayan & 59, and I saw a sign for berripop frozen yogurt (http://www.berripop.com/index.html). You’ll find it right off the corner of Richmond & Weslayan, in the little center between Chipotle & Collina’s Italian Cafe. Mind you, it’s about 37 degrees outside, and for Houston, that’s kind of chilly. Something frozen wasn’t going to warm me up, but this place looked interesting, so I asked my friend if we could check it out before the movie started. By the way, and so off topic, but 27 Dresses was a really cute movie.

Anyways, it’s a cute frozen yogurt shop with bright green walls, sunshine yellow tables and a variety of frozen yogurts that change daily. The menu seems pretty basic, choose the size you’d like, the type of frozen yogurt you want (pictured above is the original tart), and as many toppings as you’d like, for $.85 a topping. Hey, you even get a deal. Buy 2 toppings and get the third free. There are tons of toppings to choose from..from breakfast cereal like Cap n Crunch to fresh fruits to an assortment of nuts. I chose fresh strawberries and mangos for my first try.

The frozen yogurt tasted more like what frozen yogurt should taste like. The original tart was really light and, as the name states, just a little tart. I totally wanted to try the breakfast foods, but I opted for the fruits and it was fantastic. I enjoyed the fact that eating the tasty dessert didn’t make me feel fat afterwards. Nutritional info is even posted up in the store. 1 oz. frozen yogurt = 24.5 calories. How fantastic is that? They also serve what they call their “Berri Snow”, which is shaved ice topped with the frozen yogurt of choice and then toppings. Then they have a smoothie, too.

I’ll definitely have to take everyone else there. It’s so close to work, and I think this will satisfy my sweet tooth enough. Plus, it’s healthy. Well, healthier than my normal cheesecake ice cream w/oreos mixed in from Marble Slab. ha! Woo for healthy!!

-Chelle

There’s a place down S. Shepherd you’ve probably driven by a dozen times, but may not have realized it was there. Sure, you’ve seen the pink & black decor through their windows, but just thought “Oh. That place looks cute,” and then just kept on driving by. What you didn’t know is that inside, sweetness awaits you.

Sugarbabys (www.ilovesugarbabys.com) is a cupcake boutique off S. Shepherd near W. Alabama (3310 S. Shepherd, Houston, TX 77098). I only heard of it from my sister who said, “Everyone says it’s really good.” So, I did what most people would do. I googled the shop and found their website. They specialize in cupcakes, and offer a fairly wide variety from red velvet cupcakes topped with a cream cheese icing to their dippity doo-dahs, which are chocolate cupcakes filled and topped with vanilla buttercream and then dipped in dark chocolate. Their menu changes monthly, and different specialty flavors are offered on different days. I love how their website states they’re open from 9am-7pm or until they run out. They even have a private party room which can be used for birthday parties or any other small event.

After thinking about this place for the past 24 hours, I decided to swing by there tonight and try it out. By the time I got there, say 530pm, there were very few cupcakes left to choose from. So I purchased 2 white chocolate macadamia nut, a charming chocolate with vanilla icing and another with chocolate icing, and then a va-va-vanilla with chocolate icing. Can you tell I love chocolate? I spoke with one of the workers there and asked when do the specialty ones run out, because I was really looking forward to trying the toffee crunch cupcake. She said if I wanted the other types, I should try to make it in before 2pm. I was 3 hours late. Sadness.

So, I brought the cupcakes to a friends place for after dinner dessert. I only had the white chocolate macadamia nut and it was DELICIOUS. The white chocolate cream cheese icing was so perfect and even the moistness of the cupcake was just right. Plus, I really enjoyed the white chocolate pieces actually IN the cupcake and not just in the icing.

I will surely be making my way there again, and hopefully next time I’ll get a taste of that toffee crunch or that red velvet one.

-Chelle