Second Edition: Glutton's Tour of Houston--Unexpected Surprises

I love coming across unexpected surprises when I travel—even to very familiar places like Houston. On the one hand, I enjoyed (most of) the restaurants we visited, but situations I didn’t anticipate led to some of the best moments. Here are a few from our recent Glutton’s Tour:

• “Dinner and a show” at El Real Tex-Mex @ElRealTexMex : No, I’m not talking about the silent Western movie or football game inside. Sit outside, close to the front rail along Westheimer, and enjoy watching the parade of humanity. A not-particularly-fit woman runs for the bus at the curb up the street (and makes it!), the cyclist jumps out of his skin when he hears the squealing car tires (he avoids catastrophe), a couple of drug addicts cautiously step off the bus just in front of the restaurant (there’s a fence and they move along). Make a game of counting the car honks (we heard four) and screeching tires.
  
  
  
  
  
• Meeting the chef @thefrenchcowboy: After a marvelous meal (see future post) with a very knowledgeable server at Philippe Restaurant, Chef Philippe Schmit left the kitchen and stopped by our table to chat. He is quite personable (with that charming French accent) and was truly pleased that we enjoyed the meal.
  
  
  
• Finally breaking my hex on sports: Regular readers know of my love for the Tour de France. I even play along a own fantasy team. This year, I expected the Cyclists Union to ring my doorbell and ask me to quit choosing riders for my team. By the time they reached Paris, only five riders on my team of ten remained upright on the bike. Complete carnage. Then along comes the American League Championship series. I turned off a couple of games when the Texas Rangers went south upon my tuning in. My friend Shauna enjoined me to switch off and offered to text me the score. Upon returning to my hotel on Saturday night (a week ago), I hesitantly tuned in….and happily watched the Rangers decimate the Tigers 15-5 to win the pennant. Finally I am no longer the bane of professional sports.
  
  
  
  
  
• Watching and learning from the crepe chef at Melange Creperie @melangecreperie: You can't often see the chef prepare your food in most restaurants; even “open kitchens” provide only a partial view. But we enjoyed watching our crepes (and the orders ahead of us) come together—from bubbling dough on the griddle to slicing the bananas to folding the finished product into perfect thirds.

Next up: Failing to meet expectations

Second Edition: Glutton's Tour of Houston--The Sweet Stuff

My sister Robyn and I recently embarked upon another Glutton’s Tour in Houston. (She also posted about the trip on her blog The Burbanist.) We grew up there and enjoy visiting every once in a while. Neither one of us miss the traffic, which snarls worse on every visit. I wonder when they’ll pave over the entirety of west Houston to make IH-10 25 lanes wide….and it would still jam up. We generally confine our visits to the fun and funky areas inside Loop 610, though, so we avoid the worst of it. Over the next several posts, I’ll share the highlights of the trip.

I usually eschew desserts at the end of a meal. But on this trip, the sweet stuff provided the culinary high points.

Banana Nutella Crepes from Melange Creperie @melangecreperie : We patiently stood in front of the small cart on the corner of Westheimer and Taft with ten other people (and one enormous but laid-back dog) while noisy traffic whizzed by behind us. Our chef took individual orders and prepared the crepes fresh, two at a time. Given the serving size (and our plans to visit several other places that day), we decided to split one. We watched in awe as our chef ladled out the batter and spread it thin over the griddle. He expertly flipped it after a few seconds (my attempt to do so would resemble a wadded-up piece of paper), then added the fillings. Our crepe was perfectly thin, with crispy edges, a tender center, and pleasantly warm to the touch. The sweetness of the slightly overripe bananas paired well with the Nutella. Get there early. His small cart doesn’t hold much, and once his ingredients are gone, you’re out of luck. ht

French Cowboy Churros at Philippe Restaurant @thefrenchcowboy : Churros? At a French restaurant?? Why, yes. After a marvelous meal of monkfish, foie gras, and soup in this elegant restaurant on Post Oak, we split an order of cinnamon churros, salted caramel ice cream, and spicy chocolate sauce. The churros were airy and light, and not oversweet. We alternated dipping the churros into the luscious ice cream, then the sauce, which had just the right “kick.” We left not a crumb.

Petit Fours from Moeller’s : I’ve posted about Moeller’s previously. This small shop was my Frannie’s “go-to” spot when she didn’t feel like fixing dessert on her own or needed a girly birthday cake for one of her three granddaughters. Based on past experience, we arrived early on Saturday morning so we could snag the coveted white petits fours and a tray of cheese straws. Over twenty boxes on the table at the rear held pre-ordered cakes ready for pick up. When I asked my husband if I should bring back vanilla or chocolate, he replied “yes.” They didn’t last two days.

Next up…. unexpected surprises.