neverfull

restaurant was slow except for 2 large parties on a friday night at 9 pm. we sat on the patio which had a nice ambiance. the food menu was presented on 2 stapled sheets of zeroxed white paper. the wine list, in a leather bounded binder, is impressive and the prices are even more amazing. we had 2 bottles of champagne, a moet white star for $50 and veuve cliquot for $57. we only had appetizers, 2 of them were wonderfully executed. the lamb lollipops app is small (2 pieces) but cooked to a perfect medium rare and tasty. the lobster ravioli special of the day was better than the ravioli special at da marco’s where we dined for lunch that same day. the pasta was homemade and it was apparent in the taste and texture. it was rich, decadent, and amazing. the soup of the day, a chicken poblano chowder was dull and uninteresting. the vibe inside the main dining room is awkward. the decor is lacking and the huge refrigerator case, which contained bottles of wine and gelato, casts a harsh glare of fluorescent lighting.

this is my favorite french restaurant in houston, my only complaint is that it is so far away! who knew there were restaurants of this caliber in west houston? escargot, lobster bisque, fois gras terrine are all good as expected. the ribeye and seared chilean sea bass is delicious bite after bite. but the star of the menu is the beef wellington served in a morel sauce. the morels are definitely present. the puff pastry and duxelle perfectly buttery. the beef is tender and cooked to perfection. prices are reasonable. service was lacking and a bit slow, but we were a table of 7 and 20% gratuity was included on the bill which may explain the lack of the servers’ attention.

the strip and bone-in prime rib (when they have it) are both awesome! pay attention to specials which can be amazing. fois gras torchon is delicious and the portion is over the top. the black truffle creamed spinach is rich and decadent, skip the goose fat potatoes which are bland. desserts are a disappointment.

the restaurant is dimly lit and set in a boudoir-like atmosphere. the wine cellar, red velvet walls, custom frette dinner napkins make this place one of my favorite restaurants to dine in. it is romantic for a date or sexy for a group of friends. they stay open until midnight on weekends too.

the only carrabba’s you can consider going to is the one on kirby that i still run by tony carrabba. the rest are just a few steps up from olive garden. even the original on kirby has been hit or miss in the last year.

this is monica pope (from tafia) & co.’s new restaurant concept. i wanted to love it, but it just missed the mark too many times. the inner loop needed a BBQ joint with table service — a place to dine-out and drink with friends, b/c you know we love our meat in TX. the restaurant is in a great location just a block from the closed-down “pig stand” on the other side of washington. although this place is billed as an ice house, they have a full service bar. i wanted to be impressed, as i could see having many dinners with friends here before heading down washington to the drake for drinks afterwards.

the restaurant itself is sparse. the walls are barren, although they just opened and i’m sure it will be taken care of in time. the seating is arranged with banquettes along the walls and chairs or benches on the other side of the table. there is a great deal of space that is wasted, in my opinion.

i dined there with my companion on a saturday night, 8:30-ish. it was a week after it’s opening. the restaurant was full, but we did not have to wait for a table. we started with the corn “puppies” and chickpea two fry. the corn puppies were a hushpuppy/corn fritter hybrid. it was interesting, but the kitchen chose to serve it with a tartar sauce, which i found strange. the sauce was too overpowering and not complementary to the flavors at all. the chickpea two fry had broccoli florets in it, which again was a bit strange, but the seasoning and crispy texture of the chickpeas was surprisingly delicious.

for dinner, i ordered the texas cross quail which was served on wax paper in a red plastic basket, like the kind your food comes in at dairy queen. the quail was skewered to keep the bacon in place, but it was definitely a knife and fork effort. this was not easily performed on top of the wax paper inside the frail basket. the quail was stuffed with jalapeno cream cheese, wrapped in bacon, and grilled. this would have been much better as an appetizer. it was too rich and there was way too much cheese oozing out to enjoy the taste of the quail. but at a $10 price tag for 2 quail, it was an excellent value. my friend had the pork ribs, again served in a wax paper lined plastic basket. i understand the kitsch of the basket, with the ribs, it worked better. the “berkshire country pork ribs” were prepared north carolina style in a dry rub and were barely sweet. i enjoyed them this way, although my friend prefers them in a more sweet, wet sauce. the house-made BBQ sauce sit on each table with the salt and pepper shakers. they were bottled in glass hot sauce bottles adorned with handwritten labels. it was more vinegary than i am accustomed, but the sauce went very well with the dry rub on the ribs.

the two sides we ordered were the most disappointing part of the meal. i ordered the “old school” potato salad, which the menu said had eggs, red pepper, and cornichons. well, i wish the menu would have mentioned mustard, b/c i would have passed it up. well, it was very mustardy. also, i found lots of celery in the salad, but not enough egg and no sign of red pepper or cornichons. overall, the side was very bland and boring. the second side we ordered was the “killer coleslaw,” which was described as containing “colorful cabbage, jicama, and 3 seed dressing.” this slaw had no mayonnaise in it. i am a bit of a traditionalist, but open-minded as well. the slaw just didn’t work. we couldn’t find any jicama in it, or maybe because the slaw dressing was so acidic we couldn’t taste the jicama either. in either case, it is definitely not anything i will be ordering again.

so, i may give the restaurant a few more months to work out the kinks. the service was excellent — no complaints there. the prices are very reasonable, especially entree prices. and there are a few other enticing menu items such as the brisket, veggie burger, philly style mac and cheese, and beaver burger (which contains beef and pork in their secret recipe). after all, this is monica pope’s place (which is why i had such high expectations) and she definitely deserves one more chance.

i tried the restaurant for the first time last month. it was a saturday night and i was with 2 other friends. at their price point, i was disappointed that they did not have any toro or uni that night. the maki roll menu consisted mostly of items with cooked fillings. the seaweed salad was bland. the sashimi was better than average for houston. the ambiance was nice and the service was excellent. however, i don’t think i will be returning. our dinner for 3 with sake was $130 (not including tip). i can go to s*ge 400 at these prices which is much better.

“this is it soul food” is in the large shack next door to front porch pub in midtown. it is a cafeteria style restaurant w/ huge portions. choose 1 entree and 3 sides for about $11 — a little pricey in my opinion, especially for a dive joint like this, but leftovers will be enough for another meal.

the oxtails and chicken and dumplings are both excellent choices. they also have chicken fried steak, smothered fried chicken, fried catfish, blackened catfish, apricot glazed chicken, chitterlings, pork chops and much more on their menu which changes each day. daily specials are listed here: http://www.thisisithouston.com/html/dailyspecials.htm. some of the sides could be a lot better. the brown gravy on the mashed potatoes still can’t mask the taste of instant potatoes. the green beans still taste canned even though they are joined by bits of bacon and onions. the mac and cheese could use a sharper cheese. the dirty rice is too dirty for me (not complaining).

the neighborhood used to be known as freedman’s town or the fourth ward, which was houston’s “harlem.” the restaurant has not only survived the gentrification of the area, but must be quite successful since they are building a new restaurant next door that they will be moving into. i think they will be able to attract more midtowners after the new place opens. the existing place is a dump, although i think it has a lot of character and is charming in it’s own way.

yum yum yum yum yum! there is a reason why this is consistently the top rated restaurant in houston. chef mark cox is brilliant creates one of the most unique menus in houston. this will always be one of my favorite special occasion restaurants.

pay close attention to the specials. the soft shell crab and FRESH alaskan king crab legs are always amazing when available. i also hear they are serving real kobe beef as an appetizer right now. as far as favorite menu items, i love the quail and fois gras appetizer, and the roasted maple leaf duck.

i was excited about trying out this casual french bistro in the upper kirby area. french food is my favorite cuisine and my friend just moved into the neighborhood and said she loved the place. i did some research on their website, the prices looked reasonable, the menu interesting, and the restaurant itself very charming and quiant. i wasn’t expecting an awful experience.

first of all, it took 10-15 mins to be greeted at the table. when we asked if we could order a half portion of the sweetbreads entree as an appetizer, the waiter assured us it would be no problem. 30 mins later when the appetizer should have been hitting our plate, he came back to tell us the kitchen would make us a half order but would charge us full price. so we asked to see the menu again. he disappeared and it took 10-15 mins for him to come by the table again. since they were out of escargot which he told us the first time we ordered, i opted for the french onion soup and my guest ordered the coconut shrimp w/ peanut sauce, which was on the daily specials menu. both of these dishes were terrible. the gruyere on top of the soup was excellent — perfectly broiled into warm and chewy goodness, with the sharp and nutty flavor of a good gruyere, but the broth was remarkably sour. i was shocked b/c even the french onion soup at bennigan’s (which i recall eating 10 years ago) was better than this version. my guest’s coconut shrimp ended up being 4 battered and deep fried shrimp with coconut sprinkled on top. the peanut sauce was thick and sweet. the dish was confusing and heavy.

for entrees, my rack of lamb which was supposed to be served in a mint sauce arrived in a pool of brown acid. at this point, i started wondering if my taste buds were off, but my guest, who teaches food operations at the UH HRM college, confirmed that i was right. it was the first time i had rack of lamb that was almost inedible. when i mentioned it to our server, he seemed annoyed and said he would take it off our bill and walked off very rudely. my guest had the roasted duck breast which came out chewy. it was still pink in the middle, so i was confused how it could be chewy. it was obviously cooked perfectly at some point, then sliced and sat under a salamander or in an oven too long waiting come to the table.

although the waiter was surly and generally annoyed with us, he comped our wine and the lamb off our bill. we tipped him well, so we didn’t have to feel bad about never coming here again. we should have gone to cafe r*abalais or brasserie m*ax and julie.

damn good pho. one of the best cheap meals in houston for under $5. spring rolls are sometimes rubbery, meaning they aren’t made fresh to order. pork chop rice plates look delish, but i haven’t been in the mood to pass on pho. service is rude, unattentive, but expediant.