new blog in town

a lot of you may know me from posting on chowhound or eGullet. i've been known to post on a couple other sites too. my handle is neverfull. i can't believe how much time i spend posting restaurant reviews or comments and answering questions about all things food-related in houston. THAT is how food obsessed i really am. as a fun project i decided to scour the net looking for all the more extensive restaurant reviews i've written and find a common home for them. so that is how my blog was born.

all the reviews before this post are cut-paste-and-reformats from other sites. some of them have been supplemented with additional fuzzy photos. some stuff may be rereads to you, but everything from here out will be new material.

after aggregating all my foodie spew, i realize that i haven't written reviews on some of my favorite houston dining spots -- catalan, dolce vita, da marco, reef, tampico, himalaya, vic & anthony's all come to mind. i've eaten at these places on multiple occasions and look forward to writing something up for you guys. AND NOW i have legitimate reasons for going back to all these fine places in the near future.

please enjoy!

shabu shabby

shabu house
9889 bellaire blvd #31
dun huang shopping center

i went to shabu house friday night with 3 friends. it's a small restaurant that has a giant horseshoe shaped bar custom made to hold an individual hot pot and burner for each seat. the bar was full when we arrived and we were sat in one of the few tables in the restaurant. the tables seemed have been put there as an afterthought to the original design of the restaurant. the restaurant was packed at 8:30.

i was looking forward to my first shabu shabu experience. shabu shabu or japanese hot pot literally means "swish, swish" in japanese which refers to the swishing sound chopsticks make when dipping and moving raw items around in hot broth . first of all, i was disappointed to find that the restaurant is run by chinese people, but i should have known. somehow i was expecting an authentic japanese experience.

here, everyone gets their own individual hot pot and burner. everyone is required to order 1 shabu setup (no splitting). the choices were beef, more beef, seafood, beef & seafood (double food), veggie, and veggie deluxe. the cost was $11.99 to $18.99 per plate/person although veggie might be a little cheaper. the beef looked like thinly sliced ribeye, a heavily marbled meat. each person also got a plate of assorted veggies, bean thread noodles, and other goodies such as fish balls, rice cake, tofu, taro root, and bean curd skin, as well as 2 dipping sauces which were quite good: sesame & soy sauce/ponzu.

i decided i won't be back based on the following reasons:

1. i prefer family style hot pot. the communal effort is fun.
2. you are required to order too much food. i couldn't finish half my plate of beef.
3. the broth is almost tasteless when it comes to the table.
4. the seafood was almost all frozen. i didn't need to know with certainty that the seafood i was about to eat wasn't fresh.
5. there is a lack of meat variety. a pork, chicken, and lamb option would be nice.
6. value. the hot pots at tan tan are $22.95 - 25.95 and feed 3 to 4 easily.

i think i'm on a bit of a hot pot tangent right now. i look forward to trying sinh sinh's version soon. i also know that lucky pot, sichuan cuisine, and fu fu cafe serve it as well.

beaver's got nuts

beaver's
2310 decatur st. near washington ave

11/30/07 review

i made it to beaver's for lunch today. it's been a really long time since my first visit. i'm attempting to eat healthy this week (detoxing from last weekend's binge) so i came to try beaver's nut burger. i doubt it was lo-cal, but it was delicious. the menu describes it as "a protein bomb with Texas brown rice, cashews, walnuts, herbs, cheddar cheese & spices." it was a tad greasy and the patty fell apart quite easily. it was served with a miso-mustard on the side, which i had to remind them to bring. the sauce was wonderfully flavorful and creamy. i wondered if there was mayo in it, but the kitchen confirmed the absence of any. i asked for a side salad instead of the chips it came with. the chips came to the table anyway (annoying b/c then i had to restrain myself from eating them) and the side salad came in a little dish that the sides normally come in. the simple salad was dressed with vinaigrette. they charged me a $2 substitution charge, which normally i wouldn't mind, but i didn't even touch it b/c it was tasteless and boring.

the three guys with me all ordered the sloppy pork sandwich. the guys all enjoyed their sandwiches which came with a side of coleslaw. the slaw brought back some unpleasant memories of my previous visit and i noticed it went untouched for the most part. 2 of them also got sides of mac and cheese. one of my friends claimed it was the best mac & cheese in town, so i had to try it. it is very strange looking. orrechiette pasta in cheese sauce topped with chunky cooked tomatoes and croutons. it was pretty good.


one of my friends also ordered the sweet potato fries to start with. they came to the table glistening with grease. they looked soggy. it was easy to pass on them. they were served with the same miso-mustard that my nut burger was served with. guy friend looked like he enjoyed it anyway.

service was pretty terrible even though the restaurant was slow and our server was very chatty. but the food was much better than my first visit. btw, i confirmed that they only serve ribs at lunch on thursdays. i'll be back again soon with some houston chowhounds next week. i'll try to bring back some photos of actual bar-be-que.

chowhound feast at feast

feast
219 westheimer rd b/w taft and bagby

(copy of write-up from CH board, photos courtesy of anonymouseater)

On Sunday, 6/1/2008, 16 members of Houston Chowhounds (HoustonCH) attended an 9+ course dinner at Feast, a new restaurant in the Montrose area which serves "rustic european fare." This was our first official HoustonCH event. I contacted the restaurant in advance and they agreed to serve us the 8 course tasting menu that they offer every Wednesday night for $40pp. I made plans directly with one of Feast's two chefs, Richard Knight, and also told him that we were a group of foodies so he had carte blanche to go 'crazy' with the menu which he was very excited about.

Chef Knight greeted our huge table which was setup in their back room. He explained each course in great detail including preparation techniques and set the stage for the impressive dishes that followed.

On our menu:

1. salmon bisque w/ fennel pollen & fennel blossoms
2. cured pork liver with mandarin orange sections and blackberries (off-menu)
3. date and fresh peach salad with roasted carrots and walnuts
4. pork cheeks over dandelion salad w/ toasted bread & caperberries
5. housemade sweetbreads, fois gras, and pork confit terrine (off-menu)
6. ruby trout stuffed with saffron rice over buttered leeks
7. roasted pork leg w/crispy skin served w/applesauce and bubble squeak (off-menu)
8. lemon sorbet
9. chocolate mousse cake
10. spotted dick

we were a happy and stuffed group leaving the restaurant. kudos to the chef and staff! the chef came back around for a Q&A with the table. it's just priceless being able to have open dialogue with the chef. the hospitality was warm and friendly, the service was smooth and efficient which is a hard thing to accomplish with a group this large.

i know a few people took photos. anonymouseater's photos are already up on his blog. i'm hoping misha's will pop up on his blog soon.

here are some of my comments:

"the terrine was served with some sort of chutney. i thought it was tomato and onion based (i didn't taste fruit) but i'm not sure. i would have preferred something sweeter (like a quince jam) or something with bite (like a french country mustard) to balance all the fat in the terrine. that dish disappointed me the most as it sounded so fabulous. i am a big fan of all the components (sweetbreads, fois gras, & pork confit), but i didn't like what happened when it was all put together. it was just too fatty (words that rarely come out of my mouth) and the fois gras tasted like liver, which in my experience, never does unless you overcook it. "

"i thought [the ruby trout] it was executed perfectly! the saffron rice and the leeks sauteed in butter danced beautifully with the fish."

"the cured pork liver, although not my favorite course of the meal, was actually one that i appreciated the most. as the chef described how the liver was cured, it was apparent that a whole lot of love and time that went into getting that dish onto our plates. i was genuinely impressed with what he did with 'carte blanche' and i loved being able to try something new. i agree that addition of fruit made the gummy textured liver more palatable. i did notice that 4 or 5 of us finished the whole plate."

"the pork cheek salad croutons looked deceivingly like chunks of pork cheek. unfortunately, my plate arrived with only had one small piece of pork and 10 croutons. i was one of the last people served at my table, i think i got the end of the salad too, b/c my greens were overly dressed in balsamic vinegar.i agree. the terrine tasting was huge. i also understand that the terrine dish he used was traditional size (wide). a normal portion of terrine off the menu would have been sliced slightly thicker and easily serves 2-3 people. he sliced the terrine very thin for us, but in order of us to get a good cross-section of all the elements, we need a complete piece. btw, there was a lot of fois gras in my piece of terrine. very generous!"

asia market

asia market
1010 w. cavalcade st #D (b/w airline & main)

My wonderful Super H-mart experience prompted a luncheon food excursion to 2 other ethnic grocery stores with much lauded food. yes, i had 2 lunches today! they don't call me neverfull for nothin!

My first stop was Asia Market in the Heights. i first read about this place in the Fearless Critic Houston Restaurant Guide. But after seeing the photos that anonymouseater posted on his blog this week and rereading his previous review, i suddenly felt the need to get out there ASAP. (i actually attempted to go last night, but they close at 7 pm).

The website (i was surprised to find one) lists 10 menu items, however the menu i found in-store boasts 6 salads, 4 soups, 5 noodle dishes, 5 rice dishes, 5 curries, 2 vegetable dishes, and 10 specialty items. the menu also says 'let us know if you would like to try something that's not on the menu.' there were a couple thai women behind the register where you place your order and pay for groceries and a congenial african-american gentleman who took our order. he seemed very helpful and knowledgeable about the menu. we ordered the tom kha soup w/shrimp, pad kee mao noodles w/chicken (thai spicy), and the kang keaw wan w/ pork (green curry).

when we tried to order the green curry thai spicy, he looked at us like we were crazy and said it was already really spicy. we took his advice and ordered it "normal" or farang-style ('farang' means the same thing in thai as 'gringo' does in spanish).it took about 15-20 mins before our food started coming out which gave us ample time to explore the grocery store. there were lots of homemade desserts on a table near the dining area and some interesting savory snacks as well. since we knew we had 2 stops for lunch, we had to show some restraint and pass on them.

the dining area was larger than i expected and was on the front side of the store. there were 8 small tables with 2 chairs at each. another long table contained styrofoam plates, eating utensils, and various condiments such as sriracha, pickled chilis, and chili sauces. the kitchen is almost completely open and there was a cute older couple that seemed to be chef and sous chef. ventilation was good b/c there was no noticeable greasy stirfry smell about the place.the first dish that came out was the pad kee mao. it was delightfully spicy but we still added some srichacha. i could have taken a little more heat, i think the kitchen was being easy on us. this dish was amazing and had a wonderful fresh basil flavor. i also love anything with egg in it. i was literally dancing in my chair.

next up was the tom kha w/shrimp that arrived right before we were done with the pad kee mao. i have a photo of the soup innards below too. the baby shrimp, although plentiful, was obviously the cheap frozen stuff. my dining companion even remarked that he preferred a couple big shrimp to a bunch of little ones. i'll get the chicken next time, but the flavor of the soup was wonderful. it had a lot of coconut milk in it and the flavors just exploded in my mouth. i still can't decide if i like vieng thai's version better. VT's is more savory and delicate. AM's is loud and vibrant.

we closed the delicious meal with the green curry w/pork (see above photo). again the flavor profiles were amazing. the green tomatillo-esque objects are thai eggplant which comes in all their curry dishes. i've just recently fallen in love with eggplant in the past couple years, used to hate it as a kid, and after seeing anonymouseater's photos of it, it was my number one reason for coming out. the eggplant itself disappointed. it didn't taste like much and the outside of the vegetable was so hard that it was sometimes difficult to chew and swallow. the curry itself was glorious. we substituted sticky rice for white rice.

i was so excited about this meal that i had to tell my friend about this place. he was the person who introduced me to vieng thai for the first time. he was so excited about it that we went to asia market for dinner.

i have to say that round 2 of asia market was not as impressive. it was funny going back only 4 hours later and the employees were happy to see me again.

we ordered the som tum. i had previously read that the som tum was better at VT in the fearless critic houston restaurant guide. i've only had it thai style at VT; the funky laotian style with purple crunchy crabs was even offputting to robb walsh. i had hoped to try the laotian style here w/shrimp paste, but when i asked the thai woman behind the counter which was better she said "thai" w/o even a second thought. well, the fearless critic was right. VT's som tum blew AM's away although i did like the halved cherry tomatoes in this version. i have a feeling that i would have preferred the laotian style here.

my dining buddy ordered the tom yum soup w/tofu. i'm not a big fan of this kind of soup, it is a little too tart for my taste, but i did enjoy a small bowl. he loves the stuff and i've shared an order with him at VT too. he is the better judge on this subject and based on his decision, again VT's triumphed over AM's. my only critique was that the tofu was overcooked in the soup. i generally enjoy tofu in all its forms (dried, fresh, pressed into bean curd, fried) but i did not enjoy this one.

next up, pad thai. this is a dish that i generally order at americanized thai places and i enjoy it for the raw bean sprouts. i have never ordered it the many times i've been to VT, but the fearless critic said this version was the best in town. it was served with crushed peanuts, bean sprouts, a lime squeeze, and roasted chili flakes on the side. i forgot to take the photo before we mixed it all up. my expectations may have been too high after the pad mee kao noodle dish earlier, but this was the most disappointing dish yet. it was dull and bland compared to all the thai spice goodness from earlier. what a beautiful photo though, huh? my friend took all thephotos from this trip. i can't take credit for any of them.

lastly, i wanted to order a curry. the counter lady told me to get the panang. we ordered it with chicken. it was my second chance with the thai eggplant. again, they were too hard to eat. i found myself longing for the penang with green beans at VT. the curry itself was good however, but not that memorable.i know i didn't impress my dinner guest on this visit. i promised him we would come back again and experience the heavenly pad kee mao or try something really authentic like the Koa Nam Tod (fried rice w/ nam sausage) that a friend of mine who spoke thai recommended when we ran into her earlier that day. there's also an intriguing fried quail listed under their specialties that deserves a try.

gerardo's drive-in

gerardo's drive-in
609 patton nr. irvington

my second stop for lunch today was gerardo's drive-in. i have to admit i was a tad full leaving asia market. i couldn't stop eating because the food was so good, but my lunch companion was game to follow through with our plan. gerardo's was a short drive away on the other side of 45 near irvington. we didn't get there until about 3 pm. we arrived at a mexican convenience store. the "deli' was in the back of the store. their condiments bar was put up but they seemed happy to serve us. the menu was hung on the wall, but i knew exactly what i was ordering. click on the photo of the menu to enlarge.

i came for barbacoa. i had the lamb version at hugo's last week. it was too lamby and not quite unctuous and greasy enough. i was looking forward to this, but the barbacoa looked like it had been sitting out for awhile in the steam table. a huge tray of carnitas still boned filled me with more hope. mmm.... carnitas!

then we spied some huge hunks of chicharrones on another tray (why didn't i get a photo?). they looked like thick, huge slabs of deep fried bacon. the older man behind the counter told us to try some when he saw our eyes pop out at the sight of them. he instructed us to heat them up in the microwave in the dining area. hey, what's better than deep fried fat?

split the lunch plate w/ 2 meats and the obligatory rice and beans. we came for the barbacoa and carnitas based on robb walsh's review of the place last year. the older man behind the counter was happy to give us both corn and flour tortillas. we also asked for some fresh onion and cilantro and they gave us a boatload of it. we were given 3 salsas. the green one was fantastic!

all the food was about room temperature except for the warm tortillas. in hindsight, we probably should have nuked everything in the microwave sitting in the dining area. the carnitas did have a good crispy texture which was what i was looking for even if they were cold. my friend and i both decided we would come back again during prime lunch hours. btw, barbacoa is only served on friday, saturday, and sunday and i hear the place is crazy on weekends.

new korean supermarket

super h-mart
1302 Blalock, just north of 1-10 @ westview

i found myself at Super H-Mart the day after tetsujustin's recommendation. it's is an impressive supermarket, period. the fact that it is an asian/korean market, it doesn't stink at all, and it's super clean makes it even better. my mother tells me it opened on may 1st in a building which previously housed a randall's. a quick google search on the web revealed that it is part of a large chain of korean grocery stores nationwide. there are 26 locations currently in cities such as denver, seattle, and philadelphia with another 6 slated to open.

the food court is modern and impressive. flat screen tvs and professional marketing materials adorn most of the food stalls. the bakery was so popular that everything was almost sold out. next there is a counter that sells bubble tea. after that, a korean fried chicken franchise, then a chinese stall, a sushi stall, a place that sells korean snacks, a dumpling place that wasn't opened yet, and lastly a korean food stall.


the korean fried chicken franchise, toreore, only sells chicken right now (no sides), but i like their motto, "chicken and joy." you can buy 7 or 14 pieces only and the pieces are small as they cut the thighs and breasts in half so they are about the size of wings and legs. orders come with a side of pickled white radish. get the #6 which is the HOT sweet & spicy fried chicken. i was warned twice that the chicken was really spicy. her third warning in which she told me it would make me cry, didn't deter me either. it only made me anxious to get some in my mouth. the chicken was tender and delicious and i found myself breaking a small sweat on my second piece (no tears though).

from the korean food stall on the opposite end of the food court, we also ordered a bibimbap with beef which came in a heated stone bowl. it definitely beat the one i've had at komart. the sides (banchan) included sliced fish cake, julienned potatoes, and cucumber kim chee. it came with a bowl of miso soup. we also ordered the soft tofu soup with seafood. it was good but not as good as the tofu village version.


within the supermarket itself, the produce and seafood departments were impressive. i saw live abalone! also, the selection of chili sauces and vinegars was amazing.


my friend and i were giddy as we left H-mart. our bellys were full and happy and we were just delighted to discover this new gem in town. i can imagine komart is going to suffer with it's new neighbor down the street.