ArtPal: Buy Art & Sell Artwork Online | Buy Paintings Prints Photography

ArtPal: Buy Art & Sell Artwork Online | Buy Paintings Prints Photography: Visitor statistics for your art.

Evo Taco Tuesday

To be in Houston is to love tacos.  It's a requirement. Besides the erratic weather, there are two guarantees in Houston: traffic and tacos. The constant gridlock may inspire new variations of swear words, but we sure do love our Taco Tuesdays. Sometimes even Taco Wednesdays, Thursdays, and Fridays.

Evo Taco is a recent addition to West Houston. Its late Summer debut took a backseat to Hurricane Harvey. We discovered Evo after subsisting on spaghetti, mac & cheese, and more clean out the fridge casseroles than I ever knew were possible.

It's hard to not get overwhelmed by a taco menu that contains everything from a New Orleans BBQ Shrimp to Tandoori Chicken. A good plan of attack is to try at least two different tacos on each trip. Take advantage of the full bar and wash everything down with a pineapple mojito.

My first love was the Mediterranean, but I cheated on it with the Brit (pictured above) and I don't think I can go back. My taste buds won't allow it.

The Brit consists of beer battered Atlantic cod, malted pickle slaw and tartar aioli. It's supposed to have red onion, but I detest onions of any color. They kindly leave them off for me. It's phenomenal.

Evo Taco should be required dining for anyone who considers themselves a foodie. The mash-up of flavors is a palate party and I only scratched the surface of their collection.

The open patio is much more inviting now that the temperatures are dropping to a tolerable level. Kick back with a margarita on the rocks and take in as many tacos as you can.

Happy Belated Birthday Houston

Now that Harvey has left the building for good, I feel compelled to write of something that passed us by with very little notice given the events of last week. It was in the plan to post something on August 30th, which was the 181st year of Houston's existence. Unfortunately, Harvey seemed hell bent on wiping Houston out of existence. My plans got postponed and Harvey's plans were met with resilience and grit. Houston wasn't having it.

Yes, the human toll and the damage estimates are hard to accept. Devastation was everywhere. What happened next, and what the world witnessed was Houston not lying down and taking it. Neighbors helping neighbors, even reporters getting into the trenches and helping with rescues, the tremendous display of compassion was what the county needed to see. That's Houston.

My original thought was to highlight Houston Restaurant Weeks. Every August, a collection of the best dining in town offers a special reduced price menu. It's the best way to sample the more iconic establishments in Houston and at least half price. The proceeds benefit the Houston Food Bank. It normally closes out as August ends, but given the timing of Harvey HRW has been extended through the end of September.

Brennan's was always one of my bucket list restaurants, ever since I saw Terms of Endearment. So, we went for HRW and got seated in the Terms Room.



All I can say is the food was some of the best I've ever had. It began with turtle soup. I was hesitant at first, but decided to eat like it would be my one and only chance. Turtle soup is phenomenal. There aren't any words that can do it justice. It has to be experienced.  It was followed by the Eggs Benedict, my favorite brunch dish. Best Eggs Benedict I've Ever Had. Dessert was a must. You don't go to a place like Brennan's and not get dessert. My husband had the bread pudding and I ordered bananas foster, which was prepared table-side with flames. Again, something that must be experienced by all.

Harvey will be remembered as one of the most destructive storms in history. It did not break Houston. It's hard to describe how I feel about Houston. I have been here almost twenty years and I fell in love with it. The selfless acts of kindness and heroism seen during this crisis demonstrate what I love the most about Houston. It's always been charitable. People look out for one another here. I'm sure that other places feel that way as well, but as of now I haven't seen it on the scale it is here. It's always been like that. Even before Harvey. It will continue now that Harvey is heading for the history books.

Houston will always be strong. Happy Birthday to the city I love and foodies everywhere cannot resist.

Blogging Harvey

I am holed up in my house for at least the next few days. Hurricane Harvey isn't going anywhere anytime soon. Even in Tropical Storm form, it is going to be brutal. My neighborhood is not in a flood prone area. Tropical Storm Allison had no impact on it. Hurricane Ike only managed to rip away a few shingles. This monster may be different. The full impact won't be known for several days. Evacuation would have made no sense because we are not in a coastal area that floods easily. We'd be in gridlock, running out of gas, and fending off road rage.

Found out today that there is no work on Monday. The building will be shut down. I work for a large insurance company as a claims adjuster and we cannot even make it in to work. That's when you know shit has truly gone sideways. It could even be Tuesday too. There's a lot of unknowns right now. Hurricanes are oxymoronic. Their arrival can be predicted but their path can be all over the place.

Since I am going to have some down time, I need to commit to doing some work that I haven't had time to do because of my day job. This blog post is a good start. Any other writing that falls into place is a bonus. Reading along with writing are two loves that get little attention. It's seven o'clock before I get home most evenings and by the time dinner is finished, there's a tiny slice of time for family before I shove off to bed and start all over.

Harvey sucks, but I am going to try to make the most of the situation. Hunkering down with the dogs, family, and a good book with a side of writing sounds nearly therapeutic. I appreciate what I have and  hope that others are able to stay safe during this catastrophic event. Houston and its residents have  weathered many terrible storms over the years and emerged stronger. This one will be no different. We will persevere.

Does Amarillo Ever Cross Your Mind?

Probably not until you're passing through it to get somewhere else. The Texas Panhandle probably doesn't rank high on the list of Spring Break destinations. And that's exactly why I picked it for our family Spring Break trip. Other than the quintessential tourist trap The Big Texan, there were no annoying crowds to speak of.

Amarillo is underrated for a multitude of reasons. It's flat and dusty. It doesn't boast an iconic skyline like Dallas.  No one ever thinks of it until they are driving through it to leave Texas. The Panhandle is not known its offerings to travelers. I've never heard of anyone just going there for the hell of it.

Ironically, some of the images most closely associated with Texas are in Amarillo and the surrounding area. Longhorns, Quarter Horses, and those Cadillacs sticking out of the ground are just a few of the sights to behold.

We went to the Cadillacs not knowing what to expect. It was packed with people, but not so many that it wasn't enjoyable. Empty to half-empty cans of spray paint littered the ground. Some people handed us their cans as they left the site.  We made our marks on the cars, and from the looks of the  layers of paint our initials would probably be covered up by morning.

The mission was to see Palo Duro Canyon. Something about it has existed in the far recesses of my mind over the years. I wanted to see it. Saw the Grand Canyon last August, so I wanted to see the Lone Star state version, the second largest canyon in the United States. It didn't disappoint. Mission Accomplished.

Steak Night in Houston: Episode 2

It has been a great long while since I have posted anything. To make a long story short, my MacBook Pro died a little over a year ago and I have been without reliable technology since then. Santa decided I had been good enough this year for a replacement, so my smile has returned and my data has been recovered. Although much of 2016 has sucked incredibly, at least it ended with a mostly new MacBook Air. Lighter, stronger, and ready to work for 2017 and beyond.

Anyway, I had intended to do a series of posts on steak nights in Houston. I only managed to do one. We drove to DFW to visit family for Christmas and after dealing with horrible traffic and rain the whole drive back to Houston, something serendipitous happened. We intended to go to the downtown Spec's to grab a sandwich at their deletable deli. A quick passing glance revealed no cars in the parking lot, which meant they were closed. I've never been there when the parking lot wasn't full and Spec's is never empty. 

Then I saw something. It was an icehouse looking bar with a sign out front that said steak night $10. That was enough to grab the attention of everyone in the car. We pulled into the parking lot. It was not even 5PM yet, so it wasn't packed. It was Saint Dane's Bar & Grille. We edged up to the bar and were greeted by a friendly staff. The kind of staff with a sense of humor. My husband and I ordered steaks and my son ordered the wings. No red wine, but they were nice enough to mix up a lovely margarita. 

The steaks were delectable. No steak sauce needed. My sides were green beans and creamed corn. Both were excellent. I'd requested medium well because I don't care for bloody steak. It was perfectly executed and well-flavored. Needless to say, we left fully satisfied and confident we'd found a new Houston gem. We will definitely return sooner rather than later. 

Steak Night in Houston - Episode I

Money is tight and not wanting to drop triple digits on for our Anniversary dinner, I suggested trying one of the many well-reviewed steak night offerings Houston has become renowned for.

We've done Ruth's Chris before and it leaves the bank card traumatized and cursing (ok, us not the card) afterwards.

After much contemplation, we decided on MKT Bar downtown near the theatre district. Hidden away inside Phoenicia Market, it would be easy to overlook as an option for something such as a 20th Anniversary dinner. Having been there before for everything but steak night, it seemed like a competent choice. The food there had never been a let down. Our anniversary was on a Tuesday and the advertised special was two ribeye steaks with two sides and a salad for $12.99 per person.

We found a tiny candlelit table that wasn't already reserved and ordered some drinks and an artisan meat and cheese plate as a appetizer. Consisting of prosciutto, salami, string mozzarella cheese, and drunken goat cheese, it could have been a meal by itself. The salads arrived not even 3/4 of the way into the delectable meat and cheese experience. They were fresh, crisp, and everything you would expect from a pre-steak salad.

The steaks arrived and met our expectations just in appearance, but would they be worthy of an anniversary dinner? The plates were huge and the steaks took up most of the white space. The rest of it was taken up by the sides. One bite vaporized any misgivings I might have had. The meat was perfectly cooked medium well and melted in my mouth along with the chimichurri sauce. My twice-baked potato was on point as were the Za'-atar fries.

It was so enjoyable that we've decided to embark on a once a month steak night experience. Next time, we'll see what Wednesday has to offer.

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