Here's a fun exercise for the devoted foodie.
Here’s what you do:
1) Copy this list into your blog or journal, including these instructions.
2) Bold all the items you’ve eaten.
3) Cross out any items that you would never consider eating.
The VGT Omnivore’s Hundred:
1. Venison
2. Nettle tea
3. Huevos rancheros
4. Steak tartare
5. Crocodile
6. Black pudding
7. Cheese fondue
8. Carp
9. Borscht
10. Baba ghanoush
11. Calamari
12. Pho
13. PB&J sandwich
14. Aloo gobi
15. Hot dog from a street cart
16. Epoisses
17. Black truffle
18. Fruit wine made from something other than grapes
19. Steamed pork buns
20. Pistachio ice cream
21. Heirloom tomatoes
22. Fresh wild berries
23. Foie gras
24. Rice and beans
25. Brawn, or head cheese
26. Raw Scotch Bonnet pepper
27. Dulce de leche
28. Oysters
29. Baklava
30. Bagna cauda
31. Wasabi peas
32. Clam chowder in a sourdough bowl
33. Salted lassi
34. Sauerkraut
35. Root beer float
36. Cognac with a fat cigar
37. Clotted cream tea
38. Vodka jelly/Jell-O
39. Gumbo
40. Oxtail
41. Curried goat
42. Whole insects
43. Phaal
44. Goat’s milk
45. Malt whisky from a bottle worth £60/$120 or more
46. Fugu
47. Chicken tikka masala
48. Eel
49. Krispy Kreme original glazed doughnut
50. Sea urchin
51. Prickly pear
52. Umeboshi
53. Abalone
54. Paneer
55. McDonald’s Big Mac Meal
56. Spaetzle
57. Dirty gin martini
58. Beer above 8% alcohol
59. Poutine
60. Carob chips
61. S’mores
62. Sweetbreads
63. Kaolin
64. Currywurst
65. Durian
66. Frogs’ legs
67. Beignets, churros, elephant ears or funnel cake
68. Haggis
69. Fried plantain
70. Chitterlings, or andouillette
71. Gazpacho
72. Caviar and blini
73. Louche absinthe
74. Gjetost, or brunost
75. Roadkill
76. Baijiu
77. Hostess Fruit Pie
78. Snail
79. Lapsang souchong
80. Bellini
81. Tom yum
82. Eggs Benedict
83. Pocky
84. Tasting menu at a three-Michelin-star restaurant.
85. Kobe beef
86. Hare
87. Goulash
88. Flowers
89. Horse
90. Criollo chocolate
91. Spam
92. Soft shell crab
93. Rose harissa
94. Catfish
95. Mole poblano
96. Bagel and lox
97. Lobster Thermidor
98. Polenta
99. Jamaican Blue Mountain coffee
100. Snake
(Thank you to MyTable Magazine for passing along this great list, originally from English blogger, Andrew Wheeler, at Very Good Taste.
Houston is a great city for Mexican food. From the humble taco truck to elegant fine dining establishments, Houston has the entire spectrum of Mexican food experiences covered. And everyone has their favorites.
We've been hearing buzz about a little place way out Westheimer, Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen. So we made the trek out to see what all the fuss is about.
Sylvia's has an unassuming strip center location, in an older strip center well beyond the Beltway. But don't be fooled by the modest exterior; open the door and you're transported to the border, where the nights are hot and the food is hotter.
Sylvia Casares is the name behind Sylvia's, and she was recognized as one of the top Latino chefs working in the United States by the Spanish-language magazine Siempre Mujer. She's brought the food from her native Lower Rio Grande Valley to Houston, and created dishes that span Anglo and Mexican culture. Those who view Tex-Mex cuisine as some sort of inferior stepchild to other Mexican cuisines need only to sample Sylvia's cooking to have the attitudes adjusted.
As with most Mexican establishments, you start with chips and salsa. Sylvia's chips are fresh and warm, and the salsa is a thin, housemade and savory. We had to remind ourselves to save room for the enchiladas.
As one would guess from the name, Sylvia's specialty is enchiladas, and there is a wide range to choose from -- no less than 18 different styles.
Sylvia helpfully offers two different sampler platters, each with four different petite enchiladas. For this first visit, we selected her North of the Border sampler.
First we sampled the Refugio - a basic cheese enchilada made with blended cheddar cheeses and topped with chili gravy. It was a good enchilada; smooth and spicy with a moderate amount of heat from the gravy.
Next came the Lubbock - a ground beef enchilada with Sylvia's Signature Gravy, a meatier take on regular chili gravy. Carnivores will love this enchilada; there is plenty of beef both inside and out, and the seasonings are masterfully balanced to provide heat that does not overpower.
Cheese enchiladas and beef enchiladas are Tex-Mex staples. After this things get creative.
We dove into the Laguna Madre - fresh crab enchiladas topped with a creamy seafood sauce. This delicious enchilada was stuffed with plenty of juicy lump crab meat, and the creamy sauce had a bit of a kick to it. If you're a seafood lover, this enchilada is one you can't miss.
Finally came the most unusual enchilada - the Sarita. A vegetarian enchilada filled with a combination of calabacita (summer squash) corn, and mild cheese, topped with a light cream sauce. The fresh flavor of the vegetables combined with the rich, savory cream sauce and the result was one of the best enchiladas we can remember tasting.
Sylvia's was busy on the night we visited, but service was professional, prompt and friendly. Prices are a touch higher than one might expect for Tex-Mex dishes, but we feel that the quality more than makes up for the extra $2-3 per plate.
All in all, we think that Sylvia's is one of Houston's best Mexican restaurants, and if you've not visited, you're missing out on a meal that any lover of Mexican food will enjoy.
Sylvia's Enchilada Kitchen: 12637 Westheimer Road, Houston, 77077, 281-679-8300
Cue's Burgers & More is another blast-from-the-past restaurant located on S. Post Oak, the Street That Time Forgot.
Walk into the strip center location, and the feel is more of a small town cafe than a restaurant in a major metropolitan area. Cue's is the place where local social clubs meet, and where the police grab a bite during their shift.
Their burgers are pretty good, but not amazing. Thin machine-formed beef patty, griddled flat, and served on a generic bun with the usual topics. We had no luck getting them less than well done, so the ooze factor was factored out. But still a step or three ahead of what you'll find at a typical fast food chain.
Cue's offers a full breakfast menu, and a variety of other dishes. Best thing we've found there are the excellent pork chops - they're not huge, but they're nicely seasoned and flavorful.
If you're looking for a reasonably-priced meal in a very relaxed setting, you can do a lot worse than Cue's if you're on S. Post Oak.
Cue's Burgers & More: 10423 S Post Oak Rd, Houston, 77035, 713-726-0313
Eating Our Words, the Houston Press Food Blog, is a source that we read religiously, both for the solid information and the entertaining prose.
We were surprised and honored to be mentioned in this post, a listing of interesting Twitter feeds for foodies. And we were in some very impressive company.
Thank you.
Houston was not ignored when the list of James Beard Award semifinalists was announced by the James Beard Foundation.
Local honorees:
Outstanding Restaurateur - Jim Goode and Levi Goode - Goode Company Restaurants
Best New Restaurant - Feast
Best Chef (Southwest) - Brian Caswell, Reef
Congratulations to all the nominees. The award ceremony is May 4 in New York City.
Spicy Pickle, the fast casual sandwich spot from Denver, announced that its new Houston franchisee has signed a lease for their first site and is actively pursuing additional locations. The first site is scheduled to open in the spring of this year.
From their web site:
"Spicy Pickle restaurants serve high quality meats and fine Italian Artisan breads along with a wide choice of 10 different cheeses, 21 different toppings, and 15 proprietary spreads to create healthy and delicious panini and sub sandwiches with flavors from around the world. There are over 150,000 delicious sandwich combinations for you to create, along with 8 specialty panini sandwiches that have become favorites of our customers."
Nationwide, the company notes that development has slowed considerably for the Spicy Pickle chain in the United States, but some expansion possibilities continue to exist. Bank financing for new franchise opportunities is simply not available in the current climate, and expansion will continue to be limited until capital becomes more readily available.
When money is tight, what cool things can you find to do in Houston? The Tribune (the local paper in Atascocita, Humble, and Kingwood) posted a great story on its web site with some wonderfully inexpensive ideas.
Examples:
"It’s hard to beat Saturday afternoon tours at the Saint Arnold Brewery. For $5, fans receive a beer tasting glass from which they can enjoy Saint Arnold’s 10 different beers—our money is on the Lawn Mower—and a tour of the facility. Stay tuned for the biz to move to a bigger location later this year."
"Visit the hippest cinema in H-Town. With screenings everywhere from rooftops to junkyards, Aurora Picture Show is Ground Zero for new media artists. Expect irreverent indie-films like the recent Obama music video Change You Can Dance To and Toy Punks—a documentary on Japanese toys, fashion and punk rock. Admission for regular screenings is $6. Visit www.aurorapictureshow.org to view the event calendar."
"Set sail on a free, 90-minute tour of the Port of Houston. While on board the 90-passenger boat, you’ll learn about the history of the seaport and be able to watch ocean freighters and barges navigate the 50-mile channel. The tour is free, but reservations are required."
Many more ideas are discussed in the article.
Attention to all fans of 70's funk, attractive women, and man food: Brick House Tavern & Tap has opened a location on Highway 290 in northwest Houston.
Following in the footsteps of Hooters, Brick House is a new example of the "brestaurant" concept that is gaining in popularity. Combining guy-friendly comfort food, a "man cave" atmosphere, and an attractive, all-female waitstaff, Brick House is positioned as a guy's home-away-from-home, a place where he can relax with his buddies and behave in an un-politically-correct manner.
Beer selection includes tableside micro-kegs, 40 ounce bottled beers, 100 oz beer bongs, and hand-pulled cask beer.
Brick House Tavern & Tap, 12910 Hwy 290, Houston, 77040, 713-462-0576, brickhousetavernandtap.com
I maintain that the best BBQ is found in little ramshackle shacks located in small towns off the beaten path in Nowhere County, Texas. So why do I like the County Line?
They do a good job at pretty much everything. Inviting, faux-camp decor. Friendly, professional waitstaff. And BBQ that's plenty good, and better than pretty much any other chain that I can name.
I started at County Line when I lived in Austin, and frequented both locations. The concept has made the trip down Hwy 290 with its goodness intact.
What to order? My favorite here are the baby back pork ribs. A full rack is large; a half rack is plenty for most folks. In either case you get some tender (but not falling-off-the-bone) meaty pork ribs, nicely prepared and doused with a sweet-but-not-too-sweet sauce. Beef lovers will be thrilled with their gigantic beef ribs, served with a sauce that's not quite as sweet, and the brisket is very good too.
Bread is another high point here. Why pay for bread in a BBQ joint? Because it's homemade and superb, fluffy and sweet and when topped with the provided honey butter it's a decadent addition to the carnivorous offerings on the table.
What's not to like? It's a bit more expensive than some places, but the prices aren't out of line for a sit-down meal; this one just happens to consist of very good BBQ.
County Line is a great choice for those who love great BBQ, especially if our town's more elemental BBQ joints are a bit too edgy for them.
The County Line: 13850 Cutten Rd, Houston, 77069, 281-537-2454
Luby's, the Houston-based cafeteria chain, is celebrating its birthday by offering a present to its customers.
On Fridays and Saturdays in February, Luby's famous LuAnn platter will be half price, making it a legitimate bargain, and less expensive than the combo meal at your local McBurger place.