Hot Dawg!

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

I love the idea of a place that specializes in hot dogs. I feel like Houston has lacked in hot dog finese when compared with other big cities like Chicago or New York. No longer the case with the addition of Ray's Franks to Houston.

While Ray's also serves burgers - and they may be awesome - I can't imagine going to Ray's and not getting a hot dog. There are numerous intriguing choices with clever names. I had an immediate delimna because I knew I couldn't eat two whole hot dogs but that didn't stop me from ordering two and eating half of each.

Of course I had to have the bacon optionn - "The Mummy" - an all beef Boar's Head weiner wrapped with bacon. The bacon was thick cut, crisp and tightly wound around the great-tasting beef on a really awesome toasted oversized toasted bun with plenty of tangy/spicy mustard. I couldn't figure out how they got the bacon to stay on so well but I was impressed and eager to try my other choice - a hand-battered corndog. It had a great crunch and a sweet-ish cornbread flavor, again with the beef frank ... right on.

My friend Jenny stepped up to the plate with the "Creature from the Black Lagoon" with chili, cheese and onions (she added jalapenos). Damn ... Jenny doesn't mess around. Her dog was big on flavor (and visual appeal) but the bun wasn't toasted and it didn't hold up to the filling. We vow to try "The Chupacabra" next time with chili, goat cheese, jalapenos and curry ketchup.

Located in the warehouse district, not far from the ballpark and just down the street from the Last Concert Cafe, parking isn't easy but it's worth it.

Mmm...Carnitas

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

I love a new obsession. It’s so fun to get excited about something as seemingly insignificant as a taco but hey, that’s “meaning of life” material for someone like me.

When Freebirds first came into the Houston market, I think I ate there just once soon after they opened. All I can remember is that I didn’t do the “huge burrito” thing and the tacos came in an order of three and maybe even only as a meal in addition to that (like w/ beans and rice) and this was just too much food for me. Maybe I didn’t work hard enough to understand or maybe things have changed but the bottom line is that I’ve been missing out on some truly fresh-tasting and delicious food.

I’m grateful for any quick, reasonably-priced delicious option – especially for lunch, since I work from home in the Heights. I used to frequent Mission Burrito on Durham for their tacos but frankly, things have deteriorated in recent years. Consistency has become an issue and I just can’t get as excited about going as I used to. Enter Freebirds as a new option. I had to go to Target anyway so I figured what the heck.

Can you say carnitas?! Have mercy. There is something potentially fabulous about even the notion of slow-roasted pork and Freebird’s carnitas do not disappoint. I decided to try the carnitas in the form of a burrito since they come in 4 sizes now including the petite “hybrid” version. After choosing my tortilla (I went with cayenne but it wasn’t overly spicy at all), I choose from the huge assortment of ingredients heading down the assembly line. Highlights included choices of cheese (including queso fresco), a gorgeous roasted corn salsa, fresh slices of avocado, especially yummy black beans and a bright “mild tomatillo” sauce (one of seven sauce choices). I couldn’t wait to dive in.

I enjoyed the burrito so much I returned for dinner the same day (yes, I’m weird like that when I take a liking to something). I brought the bf and we went for the taco special (3 tacos and a drink for $4.99). For tacos, the decisions begin with corn or flour tortilla or crispy shell. Tough decision but I went with the corn tortilla and while I really wanted to try the delicious-looking grass-fed beef, I had to have more of the carnitas. I was thrilled to discover the same toppings are available for the tacos as for the burritos … more of the grilled corn salsa and queso fresco, cilantro and the tomatillo sauce (I promise, I really will add variety as I move forward with this relationsihp). We also got a side order of chips and salsa as well as a side of queso. Wow. The tacos rocked but maybe even more impressive were the chips (fresh and hot) and the salsa … fresh, tomato-based … I suspect roasted tomatoes with plenty of cilantro and just enough heat. I appreciated the texture which is like a thick puree vs. too chunky or too thin. Good salsa is a thing of beauty. And then there’s the queso! Some of the best in town, the pale yellow queso (made from pepper jack cheese) is sublime with the hot chips.

I don’t know when we’ve been so happy for so little $$ and what I really love is that they source local ingredients whenever possible and that they actually prepare everything on premise. This means 5 hours before they open, those carnitas are in the works (after marinating for 24 hours) along with all of the prep that goes into everything they are actually cooking for the day. I really like the idea of that and I’m pretty sure that’s why things taste so fresh and good. It’s the little things that make a big difference, after all. And people seem genuinely happy to work there within the fun/funky atmosphere w/ the foil sculptures displayed along the wall. I can’t find a negative thing about the place with the possible exception of a Pepsi fountain instead of coke (but they do have Dr. Pepper AND Diet Dr. Pepper even).

While I regret not eating at Freebirds until now, I’m pretty sure I will make up for it moving forward. After all, I am now earning points via my “Freebirds Fanatic” card!

Himalaya or Bust (With a stop at a new spice shop)

Posted by Commandrea
http://teethpicks.blogspot.com

My family and I frequent the Hillcroft restaurant strip at least weekly and were on our way to London Sizzler, a modern Indian restaurant we've been to a couple of times and really enjoyed. It is in a shopping center at the northwest corner of 59 and Hillcroft and is host to a few restaurants and stores including a new spice shop we dropped into first. Chandrika Masala is family owned and has rows upon rows of preblended curries, whole and ground spices, flours, lentils, and many things I've never seen or heard of before. The owner was kind enough to walk me through the store and explain the uses for some of the items, like a merchant tour guide. He boasted that the curries are all blended freshly in their warehouse on Murphy Rd. Their rice is cleaned and hand packed with 'no powder to be found'. The store was packed with soap nuts and jaggery, dried pomegranate seeds, chutneys and myriad other ingredients to be explored. We bought a bag of chicken masala and fish masala with a promise to return.


Instead of heading back over to London Sizzler, we poked out heads into Himalaya, a North Indian-Pakistani restaurant a couple of doors down. We like what we saw and opted for a table there. The menu was written on three large dry-erase boards that hung on the walls, along with a large painting of a Mexican market and a map of Karachi. One board was for the meat dishes and desserts, one for the daily specials and the other was soley for vegetarian meals.

Five other tables were filled with families of all different cultures and we tried to sneak a look at their plates on the way to our table. The owner, a man named Kaiser, came over for our order and we accepted all of his suggestions as he took charge. The more mild chicken-boti for the boys, a fish curry for my husband, and for me the hara tikka masala, a chicken and green curry dish.We also ordered a side of daal, and two pieces of naan.

And as we were super hungry my husband asked about an appetizer but the owner shook his head.

"You won't need it."
We begged with famished eyes and he said, "Okay, I will send you something."
A few minutes later, two large vegetable samosas were sent out and we cracked them open and split them up between the four of us. They were gone before we got them.

While waiting for our food, I overheard a conversation from a table of about ten people sitting near us.
A woman was asking another older woman, "What do you call this, Mom?"
"Naan."
Near the Indian mother-in-law was another older woman who laughed and said, "We call it pan!"

A Chinese couple with two daughters walked in and sat down to eat, and an Indian man with his Caucasian wife sat behind us. The atmosphere was one of a family diner with a bustle of activity from the customers, the kitchen with it's order-up bell, two waiters running food and refilling waters to cool the happily burning tongues, and the owner keeping reign over the show.

Soon our food arrived- first the chicken boti and a big bowl of rice, then the bread and the fish and the masala and the daal. It was all so good with simple ingredients and complex flavors.

The chicken boti was juicy and mild enough for our four and eleven year old boys, but still jaunty with just a kick of spice.



The fish curry was awesome- two moist fillets of snapper (though we joked it was probably tilapia, the way every 'white' fish is in Houston, smothered in a curry of roasted tomatoes, sauteed onions and fresh chopped coriander.



My hara tikka masala was a creamy but not too rich dish with onions, mint and coriander leaves, green chilies, garlic, tomatoes and yogurt to name a few of the ingredients. It's one of those dishes that you keep eating just one more bite of until you regret it.


And the daal! How could something so homely be so good? Piping hot, creamy and rife with small chunks of garlic, which I love, and ginger, which I would normally avoid but didn't mind here. Toasted cumin seeds, fried onions and fresh coriander topped it off. It is by far my favorite daal in town.


The naan was large and soft and served without the unhealthy shmear of delicious ghee that I love and my husband avoids, but I didn't miss it one bit.


We did wind up with leftovers which I took care of last night and were just as good as the previous day.

Go to Himalaya- it's right off the freeway. Five minutes from the Galleria on 59 and it is well worth the 'trip'. Don't give me the "I don't leave the Loop line"- it's pathetic how much those chumps miss out on. Most of the good stuff, the really down-home-from-somewhere-far-away one star cuisine that trumps any Michelin ranked restaurant any day of the week, is outside the loop. The rest are just diluted versions to fit the Great White Palate.

Himalaya
6652 Southwest Fwy
Houston, TX 77074-2210
(713) 532-2837