Today we're exited to bring you a pre-opening preview from Kim, the woman behind the terrific Chewandreview instagram account. Kim checks out the new Black Walnut Cafe, located atop the Galaxy FBO facility at the Lone Star Executive airport in Conroe. Official opening to the public is today.
I was so excited to attend a preview service for the new Black Walnut location at the Lone Star Executive Airport in the new GalaxyFBO hangar. I know what most of y'all are thinking. You're full of preconceived notions about the Conroe Airport (and Conroe in general). I've heard things like, "That Black Walnut won't be as good," "The menu is going to be very limited…all they will have is sandwiches and they'll just focus on catering." Well, I'd like to proudly tell you that you all are wrong. Sure, you have to drive by the old dump that closed in 1996 to get to this little gem, but just pretend those big piles of grass covered trash are rolling hills. The location is on the 3rd floor of the new hangar. I was really impressed when I first walked in. There are a ton of windows, so there's a lot of natural lighting, but it still has that "Black Walnut" feel with the belt-driven fans and dark wood accents. It's much more roomy and open than The Woodlands location, and I really like that. They retained the traditional Black Walnut counter-service style, but thankfully, the layout is so much better. Oh, and the outdoor seating. I was so excited to see that. Once again, not many places in Conroe where you can sit outside and enjoy a meal (I don't go west to the lake very often). Anyway…
For this preview, we were each given menus, each of which had different choices. I decided on the Cordon Bleu Benedict, coffee, and fresh squeezed orange juice. We got our drinks and chose a table by one of the window. I loved the view. Aside from the lake, this place has the best view in Conroe. It faces one of the runways, so as you eat, you can watch planes take off and land. Pretty fun. And I don't care for planes. I can't tell a Cessna from spaceship.
My benedict was excellent. The egg was cooked perfectly and had a rich yellow yolk. The hollandaise had a hint of cayenne which I liked. The chicken was flavorful, a little greasy, but still very good. The asparagus was cooked nicely. Nothing needed salt (it seems everywhere I've gone lately the food has needed salt), and I enjoyed every bite. I had a bite of the hubs pancake, and it was good, too. It was thin and kind of eggy, so if you like the thick fluffy pancakes, you'll be disappointed. This one was perfect for me, and they serve it with real maple syrup.
I spoke with someone whom I assume was the manager and he told me they will have a full menu at the Conroe location (take that, doubters). They removed a couple of menu items and will use mahi mahi instead of tuna and will also use mahi in the fish tacos instead of tilapia. And to satisfy the country palate, they added fried chicken and chicken fried steak. Personally, I can't wait to try it and see how it stacks up to other places. Dollars to donuts the gravy will be homemade. Right now, Black Walnut will be open from 7am (or was it 7:30)-3pm starting on January 22 with intentions of opening in the evenings a little later. They will also be adding beer and wine, so I'm looking forward to sitting on the patio, enjoying a nice glass of wine, and watching planes take off.
Overall, the quality of the Conroe location was above what I have come to expect when I visit Black Walnut. I hope they maintain this standard. I can see myself dividing my time between there and The Red Brick Tavern. I'm so glad Conroe has another locally-owned place to have a nice meal. Should you drive from The Bubble to go there? Probably not since there's a Black Walnut IN the bubble, but it would be worth driving down to check it out at least once. If you live in Conroe or the immediate area, it should be added to your list of go-to places. You won't be disappointed.
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About The Author
Kim is a self-proclaimed foodie, and has lived in Montgomery County for the majority of her life. After a multi-year hiatus from writing restaurant reviews, she's recently begun combining her love of food photography with the written word. Right now, you can follow Chewandreview on Instagram, but look for her new blog to launch in February 2014.
We make no secret that we think Tesars is one of the best restaurants in the Houston area, and that it stands head and shoulders above its competitors in the Woodlands. But we have to confess a problem: We are so taken with Tesars fantastic burgers that it's tough for us to sample other offerings on the menu. But that changed last Sunday.
We'd heard that Tesars was serving brunch, and we were very curious to see what Executive Chefs Jeramie Robison and Austin Simmons would offer for this popular meal. So we made our reservations (always a good idea) and headed down.
We were seated, and relaxed enjoying the view and their wonderful iced tea. Shortly after, our appetizer appeared.
We're generally not big fans of cool soup, but Chef Robison has put a very interesting twist on the classic Spanish Gazpacho. Centered in the sea of moderately spicy tomato/onion/garlic soup was an island of tangy housemade ceviche - shrimp, fish, several different mild peppers, avocado, and onion. The flavors danced around each other, each being highlighted while still working together to become greater than the sum of their parts. This is a superb Gazpacho, and the one by which we'll be measuring others we sample.
After the refreshing soup, we were ready for more traditional brunch fare. We started south of the border, moving from the Catalan coast to the border towns of Mexico, and delved into the Tesars version of Huevos Rancheros, the staple of the Tex-Mex breakfast.
The presentation was one we'd not seen before. A base consisting of quadrants of of black beans, pico de gallo, roasted pepper salsa, and guacamole (all housemade) was covered by a crispy corn tortilla, and topped with two fried eggs. The combination was a study in balance; the rich, earthy flavor of the beans contrasted beautifully with the sharp, fresh taste of the pico, the slow, smoky heat of the salsa, and the smooth, creamy guacamole. The composition of the dish reflected the kind of care that we've become accustomed to at Tesars; clearly these two young chefs are sweating the details.
Next up was a traditional American breakfast - eggs, breakfast meats, grits, potatoes and toast. On paper, it sounded similar to the full American breakfast that you can get anywhere. But what showed up pretty much sums up what's so special about Tesars:
The artfully composed plate included smoked ham, two different types of smoked link sausage, applewood smoked bacon, perfectly prepared eggs, chopped breakfast potatoes cooked with a melange of peppers, coarse-ground cheese grits, and grainy whole-wheat bread. It was plenty of food for two people, and each component was considerably more interested than we dared expect.
It's as if the chefs at Tesars view every item on the plate as a composer views instruments in a symphony - they must stand alone and yet work together, playing off each other to create a piece that the audience will remember long after the performance. We've enjoyed many American breakfasts, but we can't recall when we've devoured one where we were singularly impressed by each component on the plate. We left very happy and very full, and can't wait to try the brunch here again.
Subway, the huge nationwide sandwich chain, is rolling out its first-ever breakfast offerings, started on April 5. Products were very well received in a limited test that included many Canadian outlets.
According to Subway:
The sandwiches will be made with omelets- regular eggs or egg whites and cheese -served on English muffins, flatbread or Subway's fresh-baked sub rolls. Options include Western egg and cheese, Black Forest ham and cheese, bacon and cheese and steak, egg and cheese. Customers can add any of Subway's regular lunchtime condiments or vegetables to their order. Prices range from $1.75 for an English muffin melt to $6 for a footlong sandwich.
Prices for breakfast offerings will range from $1.75 to $6.00. Apparently Subway has decided to pass on the hotly contested value segment for the product rollout.
Subway has also been touting its industry-leading animal welfare policies, including using eggs only from cage-free chickens.
We're always excited when a new restaurant opens out in the Woodlands, and were even more excited when a new breakfast spot appears. We gave them a couple of weeks to get the opening kinks out, and stopped by on a Sunday just before noon to try Rise & Dine.
We were greeted quickly, and put on the list. We were surprised to find out that the wait was only ten minutes; Sunday around noon it's typical to wait 30-45 minutes at a popular breakfast spot. We enjoyed our good fortune and were seated in about five minutes.
Our server stopped by and said she'd be with us in a minute. We waited, and she never returned. Another server picked up the slack, and came by with menus a few minutes later. We perused the menu, and found to be a bit odd -- there weren't many full breakfast offerings; just one with pancakes, eggs, breakfast meat, and hash browns or grits. A member of our party wanted something similar with French toast; we asked the server, and she said they could add these sides to make the platter any way we wanted.
I'm sure they could. French Toast is $5.50, a side of bacon is $2.90, hashbrowns are $2. A pair of eggs isn't on the menu, but it's no doubt at least $2, making this "deal" cost over $12.
We asked the waitress how much this would cost, and she flippantly replied, "I'm not sure -- the system adds it up for us, so I don't know what it costs." I then asked if we could get the "Hearty Breakfast", with French Toast substituted for the pancakes, and she said we could. Why didn't she suggest this to us, unless she was just trying to pad the check? The difference in cost was about $5.
After this ordering snafu had been resolved, we were looking forward to our meal. After about 15 minutes, some of it came out (one order was missing, but the server said she saw them "working on it" in the kitchen, and it would be right out). She left immediately, before we could point out to her that we hadn't received any silverware or napkins.
We flagged down another server who resolved this latest issue, and the two who had their food dug in (about 5 minutes had passed, and the waffle that was being worked on was no where in site.
Cut to the chase: The food was terrible.
The French toast was a gloppy mess; it had been soaked in egg for too long, then undercooked; the middle of the Texas toast was wet and raw. The bacon was very thinly sliced, greasy, and limp. Only the hash browns were serviceable, although they were no better than what we'd expect from IHOP or Denny's.
Finally the missing waffle appeared. It was cold and undercooked; a doughy mess in the middle, and nowhere near crisp.
As if on cue, our server dropped by to ask how things were; we told her about the most glaring problems with the french toast and the waffle. She scurried off to get the manager.
The manager arrived in short order. She was a perky woman, clearly surprised that we were unhappy. She asked if there was anything else we would like, but by this point our schedule was tight and we couldn't wait for another go-round in the kitchen. She removed the waffle from the bill, then curiously removed the upcharge for the French toast from the other item.
So we were left paying full price for the "Hearty Breakfast", but a major part of it, the pancakes, were never served.
At this point, we'd had enough, so we decided to just pay and leave. But even that wasn't easy; the way the manager had comped the bad food was with some sort of coupon in the system, and the checkout folks couldn't get it to be accepted. They tried to get the manager's attention, but she was busy being perky somewhere else in the restaurant, and the checkout clerk simply removed the item she couldn't ring up.
Other than the poorly prepared food and utterly inept service, we can't see much wrong with Rise & Dine. It's a nice enough room in a generic strip mall. But if our experience was typical, it is among the worst choices you could make for breakfast in the Woodlands area.
Rise & Dine: 3707 College Park Drive, The Woodlands, 77384, 936-273-5575
In celebration of Mardi Gras and Fat Tuesday, HOP is serving free short stacks of pancakes in exchange for a donation to the Children's Miracle Network. According to their site:
"All we ask is that you consider making a donation to support local children's hospitals through Children's Miracle Network, or other local charities."
The promotion runs from now until 10pm.
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
Rise & Dine Restaurant has opened its first restaurant in the Houston area, choosing the Woodlands as its location. The company is based out of Columbus, Ohio.
Rise & Dine is open from 6:30am to 2:30pm for breakfast and lunch, and specializes in fresh, wholesome food and friendly service.
The restaurant also offers catering for large or small events.
Jimmy's Egg, the landmark breakfast spot in Oklahoma City, has set their sights across the Red River and into Houston. They announced today they they'd signed an area development deal that includes all of Harris County.
Jimmy's Egg started as a 50-seat restaurant in 1980, and has expanded into a small chain in the Oklahoma City and Tulsa area.
The Houston location will be the first venture outside of Oklahoma.