Welcome to Fall (or somehing like it)

    

We've just crossed that threshold from Indian Summer to Fall. However, Houston in typical fashion still fees like summer. My desire to wear boots, sweaters, and long skirts is thwarted with 90 degree temperatures and rainforest humidity. That's just Gulf Coast living. My allergies are flared up and the indecisive weather Texas is famous for is not helping. Aside from that, I do really enjoy this time of year for many reasons.

Starting in October, the weather here is usually amazing. It's been unusually hot even by Texas standards, but the mornings are nice and cool. We just have to savor those mornings because by afternoon we are in the 90s. It doesn't help that they keep it Arctic cold inside the building at work. All I can say is layers.

Baking season begins with several trial runs of pumpkin pie and butter pecan fudge. I have to perfect both by Thanksgiving. The family does not complain about the excess batches of cookies, fudge, and pies. There's a night food stalker in the house as evidenced by crumbs on the counter. I have a good idea of who it is, but I'm not at liberty to say.

I was blessed with an October baby, so we get to prepare for the big 14 this year. The idea of having a kid who is 4 years away from leaving home just astonishes me. It's a big cliché to say, but it really feels like he just came home from the hospital. He's very involved in the party planning. This year's theme is Jurassic World. He's been obsessed with Jurassic Park since he was old enough to watch movies and the new movie is his favorite of the moment.

That about sums up what makes me giddy for Fall. I'm sure I'll think of something else as soon as I post this. That's the beauty of blogging. You can always go back and add to it.

Oyster Quest: Galveston

Oysters always struck me as odd. Slimy shots of briny substance just never looked appealing, at least until a trip to New Orleans. I made the decision to try something new and that new thing was going to be raw oysters. So, we ate dinner in the French Quarter and ordered up a plate of raw oysters. I made sure to load up the obligatory cracker and douse it with enough Tabasco sauce to drown out the unpleasant flavor that was bound to wreak havoc on my tastebuds. The result: Not bad at all, actually quite tasty. An order of Oysters Rockefeller destroyed any remaining notion that oysters were nasty.


Fast forward to October 3, 2015. A trip to help a friend clean up his Galveston vacation home yielded an opportunity to eat oysters again. So my family and I spent most of Saturday cleaning up the mess left by a previous renter (that subject is worthy of a separate post). The house had no electricity, so we checked into our hotel and cleaned up for dinner.


I decided on the Black Pearl Oyster Bar. The reviews were positive and it was just ten minutes from the hotel.

My husband ordered the fried seafood platter. The side salad that came with it was donated to me. He's a meat and potatoes man with no use for "lawn clippings", so I happily took it off his hands.
It was one of the freshest salads I've ever had. Paired with bleu cheese dressing, it was perfection.

The Oysters Rockefeller arrived on a very hot plate. The waitress was nice enough to point out how hot the plate was. I wondered how many mishaps had occurred when someone touched the plate and discovered a whole new meaning for the word pain and some choice 4-letter words to go with it.

The oysters themselves were delicious and melted in my mouth. Whoever thought to combine spinach, bacon, and oysters needs to have a statue erected in their honor or a building named after them. They were unquestionably delectable in a way that cannot be described. They must be experienced.

Our meal concluded with my husband almost cracking a tooth on what appeared to be a pearl. Some of those 4-letter words followed. I was skeptical at first, but I don't know what else it could be. 

It's adorable. I just need to find a use for it. The cupholder in my Outback is probably not the best home for it.

To sum it all up, the Black Pearl Oyster Bar in Galveston is worthy of a visit. You may even leave with a pearl of your own.

Why Houston is Awesome Part 2: The Foodie Edition

The dining options in Houston are as endless as the variety of rush hour expletives. The world is your oyster when you decide to eat in Houston. The cultural makeup of the city provides infinite possibilities and even the most discriminating of food snobs will find something to satisfy their palette in H-town.

This is brunch at Union Kitchen on Bellaire. We arrived at 10 A.M.  sharp and found a patio table. Swirling fans created enough of a breeze
to make sitting outside pleasant. It was still early, so the sweat hadn't yet started to pool in the armpits.

A quick glance of the menu told me that this wasn't going to be a cheap excursion. But most is forgiven when you take into account that you're essentially eating the first two meals of the day and probably won't eat again until the evening.

Brunch does not exist without a good Bloody Mary. My eyes widened when I saw the words Bloody Mary Bar on the menu. I read that to mean that it was all you could drink and you just doctored up your drinks to your liking on each trip. I was disappointed to find out that there was no bottomless Bloody Mary. Mimosas, yes. Bloody Marys...not so much.

By the time my Eggs Benedict arrived, my
stomach was in full Wookie-growl mode. The
portion size did not disappoint. For me, the litmus test is how well the egg is poached. My recent experiences have ranged from nearly hard boiled to egg soup. No one seems to know how to get it right. I was pleased to discover that the egg was poached perfectly. The tomato, bacon, and avocado sent my taste buds into a tizzy. My normal breakfast is either plain Greek yogurt and some Cheerios or a basic banana. Needless to say, the taste buds are demanding a return trip to Union Kitchen for Sunday brunch.

That's about all I have time for now. My next post will address Tex-Mex, which may be deserving of its own blog altogether.

Update:

I never intended to disappear.  My full-time job chews up all my brain cells and spits them out on the floor. Anyway, in Houston, one cannot go more than half a mile without seeing a Mexican restaurant in some capacity. Taco Cabana is favored by many. It's fast, cheap, and, tasty with soul soothing margaritas.

A little higher on the spectrum is Cafe Adobe. The Montrose location on Westheimer used to be one of my favorite haunts. Unfortunately, it appears to be no more. There are two other locations that I know of. We recently went to the one by Edwards Theatre near 610 and 10.

It did not dissapoint. The beef fajita salad with creamy avocados and fresh tomatoes was the perfect dish.

Margaritas were spot on. Flavorful and not overly strong. Just the right amount of tequila.

I will continue to update this post with more of Houston's Tex-Mex offerings.

Why Houston is the best city in Texas - Part One

I'm finally getting back into the blogosphere because my job is not as all-consuming as it once was. It's still pretty stressful, but I can't let it dictate whether I choose to write or not. It's a paycheck, but it's not my world.



I might have gotten carried away
with my filters

Having said that, I have long wanted to post a series of articles about Houston. Why Houston? I can already see the scratching of heads and blank expressions. Mostly because it's one of the most misunderstood cities in the country. The ones who are so quick to write it off as a cesspool have probably never been here and have no idea what they're missing. Most people aren't aware that Houston offers up as much culture and food as New York City does and you could even bump into a celebrity if your timing is right.

If you've seen the movies Boyhood or Tree of Life, then you are at least aware of the Houston Museum of Natural Science. The Butterfly Pavilion is fantastic and if you stay very still, you may have once of its residents land on you. Don't even think about taking one home as a pet. The volunteers will do everything short of a body cavity search and direct you to the gift shop for souvenirs.



It boasts a massive fossil display that begins with the origins of life on Earth and ends with the first humans. No genetically mutated Jurassic World dinosaurs here. The dioramas of the Texas wildlife hall are a must see as well. Everything is so lifelike that you can't help but wonder if these creatures go MMA on each other after-hours. I need to wrap this up for now. I have to get on the road to go to Dallas (ugh) for the 4th of July holiday.



Alligator from Hell



 

Just you wait...once they lock that door your ass is mine