Midtown Mexican Madness

Featured Blogger Jodie Eisenhardt: http://foodiehouston.blogspot.com

I seem to be on some kind of “chain binge” of late, which is (a) not like me and (b) helping me discover some great chow.

The most recent example of this would be at the new Ruby Tequila’s in Midtown (there’s another location in the Willowbrook area). This place is huge and it’s jumpin’ - especially for the “Wednesday Madness Menu” including $.99 draft beer, $1.99 margaritas and $11.99 fajitas along with plenty of other menu items discounted every Wednesday. It’s definitely a party with live music and lots of happy people (must be the drink specials!).

You’d almost worry that service would be slow or that your food might take forever but this is not the case. Speaking with the manager who stopped by to check on us, I learned that Ruby's prides itself on a super-quick turnaround even for large parties) which are all freshly prepared in the super-huge kitchen.

Everything is made on premise and this is a good thing, especially when it comes to the fab guacamole made tableside with your choice of ingredients AND your choice of “mash” (chunky, smooth or anywhere in between). That little amenity made me very happy and then I learned about the little squeeze o’ orange they offer up at the end which gives the guac a really nice bright shot of flavor. I was getting really happy! Another appetizer much enjoyed was the Queso Inferno with taco meat – cheesy, spicy, meaty with fresh, hot chips … mmmm.

So far, everything I’ve tried has been excellent (yes, I’ve been more than once now) including the beef fajitas which have big beefy flavor – not overly seasoned or “limey”. Just great quality fresh angus beef with a nice sear along with gorgeous house-made tortillas. I’ve also enjoyed some mains that are more “interior Mexican” style than Tex-Mex like the stellar Tacos de Res – soft corn tortillas stuffed with slow-cooked shredded brisket, served with a side rich, smoky bbq sauce. The Tacos de Comal have either “guajillo” beef tenderloin or chicken on the same soft corn tortillas. The guajillo pepper is rich, smoky and complex but not fiery hot and I appreciate that since sometimes heat can overrule everything else. This works especially well with the tender beef. Note the interesting side-dish option of “chile smashed potatoes” which are creamy, spicy and somehow work really well w/ the mains in spite of what you might think when you first read the words “smashed potatoes” on the menu.

In fact, the menu is huge with combination plates and things you’d expect plus a number of interesting-sounding items on the “grill section” including fish options and some pork chops with an ancho-chili glaze I look forward to trying. I have sampled the “St. Louis-style” pork ribs which were fall-off-the-bone tender and served w/ the spicy bbq sauce. Not exactly what you’d expect at a Mexican food place but why the hell not as long as they’re good and these certainly are delish.

I almost forgot to mention the vast margarita aspect of the menu. I am no connoisseur of margaritas because I really hate being hungover ...but I’m just sayin’ … there are LOTS of options including the “Dos Rita” which is a frozen margarita with an upside down bottle of Dos XX Amber in it. You’ll have to let me know how that one is. Oh and its only $4.99 on Wednesdays :)

I'm Never Full

That’s my moniker. I’ve been known to eat fried chicken at five restaurants and then go to a churrascaria for an AYCE-red-meat-on-a-stick dinner on the same day. I have plenty of witnesses if you don’t believe me.

My perfect date would start by having apps at one restaurant, entrees at another, and dessert/coffee at a third. To some, this kind of night might sound excruciating, but not to me. I have several reasons why: to prolong the dining experience - I love dining out and the initial excitement of walking into a restaurant is a kind of foreplay; to eat in different settings - every dining room has a different personality, vibe, and mood; and to eat with the right person can be an intimate, bonding experience leading into great conversation. If I don’t enjoy eating with someone, the relationship is doomed to fail before it ever really gets started.

Fact: I’m either a really cheap date or a really expensive one.

My food philosophy is the best meals in a city are found in the priciest/upscale digs and cheapest/modest hole-in-the-walls. High-end restos are usually sourcing local, artisanal, and seasonal ingredients from the best suppliers available and the tiny mom-and-pop’s are often hand-picking their groceries from the neighborhood Fiesta grocery or farmers market. I find the people behind these stoves are the most passionate. On one end, you find the classically-trained or professionally schooled chefs; and on the other, you find moms or pops fulfilling a lifelong dream of cooking the food they grew up eating and owning their own business. Mid-range restaurants – especially the highly detestable chains – use processed food from big food distribution companies, seem to be more concerned with volume and the bottom line than the art of cooking or the product itself, and are always the least interesting to visit and write about.

No worries. I’ll save the chi chi restaurant reviews for my blog or for write-ups I’m actually getting paid for. Here on Free Press Cuizine, I intend to share all my underground, off-the-beaten path discoveries and keep you clued into exciting foodie news and events. I’ve been promised that I can “blow off steam” and be brutally honest here. I can even cuss if I really want to for a glimpse into the really Jenny Wang. Let’s just see what happens.

I look forward to beginning this dialogue. Feel free to email me at imneverfull@gmail.com if you have questions, suggestions, restaurant news, or food-related events you’d like to share. And if you think I suck and want to diss my writing or my palate, send me hate mail! i’m a stress-eater!

In the meantime, between posts, follow me on Twitter and keep up with what I’m eating in real time. It’s fun. I promise.

Peas out…

-- Jenny Wang of imneverfull.com

The Girl Who Will Lead Us to the Promised Meal

We'd like to introduce you to a real foodie, a no-dish-barred, all-you-can-eat-and-then some devotee of the cuisine realm, Ms. Jenny "I'm Never Full" Wang. She has agreed to enlighten us with her savory wisdom and help let our readers know more about her main domain: Food.

I first found her through the web when searching for food events in town and quickly learned that she is EVERYWHERE! She writes about food because that is what she loves. She blogs about it at ImNeverFull.com, posts on twitter daily, and writes about the subject. I assume she dreams and talks about it too so it's easy to say that food is her life. She first wrote as a hobby and is now published by 002 Magazine and Citysearch. She is also the founder of the local foodie group Houston Chowhounds, HoustonChowhounds.com, and she has organized such events as the recent Miracle Berry Flavor Tripping parties, the 'BBQ smackdown' to judge local BBQ joints, a 'fried-chicken crawl,' and the upcoming Taco Truck Crawl. A very busy lady indeed, but I thought surely she could squeeze in a little amuse bouche for us. It is our luck and the benefit of the whole food scene in Houston that she agreed.

When I asked her what her earliest memory of food was she said it had been experiencing chocolate for the first time, a carnal delight that had been withheld by dietarily doting parents. It was Almond Roca:

"My parents hosted a dinner party one night and a guest brought a large can of Almond Roca to the house. I must have been 3 or 4 years old and that pink canister dazzled me. I kept asking what was in it. Our guest asked my mother if he could give me a piece. I think she obliged because she didn't have much choice. (i've always been a pretty stubborn and insistent little f*ck.) After my first bite, i kept making "mmm, mmm" noises over and over again and the dinner guest thought I was a bit "off" until he was informed that I had never had candy before, or chocolate for that matter."

Later in life she would find success as a data management consultant where her best perk was not the satisfaction of success but the expense account and salary that allowed her to eat at the most renowned restaurants in the country, refining her palate on the choicest ingredients by star chefs to the point that when asked what cuisine she would choose if she had to eat it for the rest of her life she says:

"French. Indeniably. I'm sure I would weigh 200 pounds too. I love classic French cooking techniques and my four favorite food groups are butter, foie gras, truffles, and duck. The french have figured out how to get all 4 on one plate. I even carry truffle salt in my purse (makes great poor man's truffle fries). If I could carry the other 3 around, believe me, I would."

If Jenny's rich tastes throw off some of our 'poor man' readers, fret not. Just remember: Taco Truck Crawl

Her appetite precedes her and you can trust that your bellies and tastebuds are in good hands. And now I pass the plate to Jenny...

--Andrea Afra
Andrea@FreePressHouston.com

photo credit: Aaron Werth