luling city market

luling city market
4726 richmond ave nr. 610

today a fellow chowhound and i went to luling city market for lunch to do "research" for the upcoming houston chowhound BBQ smackdown that we will be held later this month. my main objective was to see how much brisket and ribs would make up a pound of each. i needed to know how much we would need to feed the 27 (and counting) attendees for budgeting purposes.

what's a bbq smackdown you ask? we will bring 'cue in from more than a handful of bbq joints, the names of which will remain secret. now the fun part! the chowhounds will do blind tastings, fill out scorecards, and even try to guess where the 'cue is from. then while everyone finishes up their lunch, gets in heated debates over central vs. east texas bbq, and partakes in a cold beer or two, the bbq committee will be tallying up everyone's scorecards. the group's 1st, 2nd, and 3rd place winners will be announced including a reveal of which bbq joint each set of 'cue came from. some of the smackdown contenders will be texas monthly top 50 barbeque joints. it will be interesting to see if we pick those same places as our tops too. the smackdown will become an annual houstonCH pre-july 4th event. the plan is next year, we will bring back bbq from the 3 winners from this year and add 3 new bbq joints which will remain a secret and continue on the tradition.

back to my lunch, the top left photo is a 1/2 lb of brisket. there are 4 good sized slices plus lots of brisket detritus. we arrived right before 3 pm. by this time, the brisket was already a little dry but it did have a nice smokey flavor.

the highlight of the meal were the gorgeous pork ribs. we got 4 large ribs which made up just a tad under a pound. they had a healthy fat to meat ratio and just fell off the bone after one bite. just look at that grease on the butcher paper! ribs are only sold a la carte by weight here. the brisket came as a meat plate with 2 sides.

there were 3 sides to choose from and what i had was pretty good. neither the coleslaw nor the potato salad were too sweet which is how i prefer them. my friend certainly liked the coleslaw b/c he finished his and started working on mine too. i didn't try the beans.

oh yeah, and way to go tiger! i am told that that was one of the best US opens to date. michael says high drama and ribs go great together.

bar annie

1728 post oak blvd @ san felipe

stopped in for a quick bite to eat tonight between social engagements at bar annie, the bar at cafe annie. it was 8:30pm on a saturday night. the tables in the bar were all full, but we managed to find 3 seats next to each other at the bar itself. the service was friendly and expedient. we were given the main dining room and the bar menus to order from. this is what we ordered:
steak tartare - on both menus, $16. good quality beef. raw chicken egg yolk on top. little piles of chopped shallots, deseeded jalapeno, sea salt, capers, dijon mustard, and also something red (some kind of dried pepper) on the side. we mixed everything together and the result was oversalted. toasted french bread slices provided. it was decent, not great. we expected more flavor and heat. my friend and i agreed that the steak tartare is better at capital grille (no longer on the menu, but can still be special requested).

fried shrimp w/ lobster roe tartar sauce - bar menu, $14. this dish made the houston press best of 2007 list for best fried shrimp. served with coleslaw which was a little too vinegary for my taste. the tartar was nothing special. the fried shrimp was good, but to be perfectly frank, i like the ones at barbeque inn better. i would easily order it again but with fries next time.

roast suckling pig - dining room menu, $29. coconut pineapple broth, sliced roasted pineapple, yucca mash. amazing dish. the pork was very tender. i wish the pork skin was a bit more crispy, i will request this next time.

seared ahi tuna w/ chorizo & radishes - dining room menu, $34. i only had a bite of it and it tasted dull and bland to me. however, my other dinner companion enjoyed it.
onion rings, bar menu $6. yummy, although the "ketchup" they provided was too runny and sweet. very similar to a tempura batter.

great experience there tonight w/o breaking the bank. i definitely recommend sitting at the bar for a more casual experience. i look forward to trying the famous black bean terrine there on my next visit and it will be hard to convince me to order something other than the roast suckling pig which is now easily one of my favorite dishes in houston.