roflhouse

6516 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77057
(713) 789-4506

Today was sushi day as I went to Osaka for lunch and Teppay for dinner. Located next to a sketchers shoe outlet, you definitely wouldn’t expect much from this quaint place in a newly remodeled strip center. Walking inside changes your mind quickly. A couple friends and I decided to sit at the bar, the sushi man greeted us quickly and asked us what we wanted. My friend said, “whatever’s fresh” and off to work he went. Piece after piece came and as we progressed each piece increased in smoothness. Tuna, Salmon, Sea Bass, all sushi I’ve had at other places, but it was just *wow* here.

As with other sushi/japanese places I order the shrimp tempura, while it was definitely nothing special here, chances are i will be returning for the fish alone, but i will have to balance it with how much money I have in the bank account.

4/5: Food is great here, but the price is definitely indicative of the freshness of the food, the service albeit slow, was just attentive enough since I was in good company. Pricey. Fresh. Amazing. I’m now torn between Kata Robata and Teppay as my favorite sushi place.

2700 W Alabama
Houston, TX 77098

Kinda empty here and I hope it lasts since the Raspberry Pomegranate was tasty, add another option to your dessert checklist after dinner.

3/5

3017 Milam St.
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 523-1010

A few friends of mine and I headed here for a late lunch, I always pass by this place when wandering around midtown and today I got to try this great texmex place. After hitting up yelapa last week, I was quite convinced they were at the top of  my list for texmex, but coming to Habanero’s changed my mind again.

At 3pm, the dining area was quite empty but the service was still great, the  waitress came over quickly and took our appetizer and drink orders. We ended up ordering the Large Ceviche and Medium Guacamole. The ceviche was rather dissapointing and the shrimp seemed like it spent a little too long in the fridge, bottomline it just didnt taste fresh. The guacamole was pretty good and had some nice flavor to it.

For main entrees I went with the Polo’s Breast (Chicken breast, poblanos, veggies, bacon, mushrooms and mozzarella), the chicken was cooked perfectly, something i wasnt expecting in such a portion size, not a single area was overcooked or overly dry, completely juicy throughout. My friends rounded out the table ordering the Pechuga Napolitana (Grilled lemon pepper chicken breast, topped with mozzarella cheese and ranchero salsa), the Vallarta Combo (2 Beef or Chicken Fajita Enchiladas and 1 Crispy Taco) and the Hispanic Carne Asada (New York strip topped with mozzarella and veggie fajitas). All the dishes had some distinct flavors that made them stand out on their own.

If i had one complaint about the food, it would be the liberal use of cheese they used on every dish. the cheese nearly consumed the entire dish bordering on ruining it, luckily theres a small separation of cheese and accompanying ingredients so you can definitely pick out the cheese.

3/5:  Tasty food and awesome service make for another solid tex-mex option.

12848 Queensbury Lane
Houston, TX 77024
(832) 200-2380

I heard great things about Eddie V’s from friends and finally made my way over to try out the restaurant. Located in the vibrant citycentre we hopped on the escalator up to the restaurant and upon entry, the decor looked great. We were greeted by 3-4 people and sent off to a table in the rear of the restaurant, actually entering the restaurant had me a bit disappointed,  it was just plain dark in there.

A quick look at the menu and it seemed like the emphasis was on the seafood selection with little to no attention on the steaks. The waiter brought up some waygu beef options for near $100, however i opted to pass just to try out what they could regularly offer us. We ordered the  Sliced Wagyu Beef “Hot Rock” Ishiyaki for appetizer and it was rather underwhelming, gimmicky as other places that offer something with the hot rock lol. I went for the 12oz filet mignon cooked rare plus, while my friends ordered the Broiled Jumbo Georges Bank Sea Scallops and Gulf Snapper Filet Meuniere. My steak seemed to have sat on the pan a bit too long, it came out with an unattractive and burnt crust on the outside and it sat on the sizzling plate cooking it even longer than what rare plus should be, the Gulf Snapper was lifeless, had no taste and just failed on all accounts. The bright spots of the night came with my friend’s scallops and the three side orders that all of us tried. Truffled Macaroni and Cheese, Sautéed Steak Mushrooms, and Sautéed Spinach with Garlic were all solid wins in my book.

3/5: Do yourself a favor and head to Bistro Alex instead.

2303 Richmond, Tx
Houston, TX 77098
(281) 501-0391

Went to Yelapa today for late lunch around 2pm and I started talking to a waiter while I waited for a friend to join me, and the waiter informed me that happy hour was on and there were drink and food specials awaiting me inside.

When my friend finally made it there we looked over the menu and I was definitely excited at what I saw. We ended up ordering tons of stuff..

- Apalachacola Oysters
- The Real Guacamole
- Sopes
- Half Enchilada
- Chalupas
- Tacos (Pork Belly)
- Cebiche (Local Citrus)

Every dish was flavorful and had me wanting more, it was a great thing that happy hour was on and I ordered as much as I did. The plates kept coming and coming and with each bite I was happier and happier. The passionfruit chili sauce that came with the oysters were tangy and spicy at the same time and they added a great kick to the oysters that my friend was too chicken to try since they were “slimey” to her. If i had to skip a dish, it would probably be the enchiladas, the 4oz of steak wasnt enough to make want want them again. The cebiche had an amazing refreshing citrus taste that was unlike any other ceviche ive ever tasted before. We opted not to try any drinks or dessert, but I will have to save those for my next trip.

The place is in the middle of a 3 and a 4, since I only tried the bar menu, i’m reserving final judgement for the time i get to sample the entrees and desserts, I’ve heard from other friends that the entrees leave something to be desired, which is reinforced by some of the other yelp reviewers here. I almost want to stick to the bar menu so I don’t ruin the idea of Yelapa.

3/5: Stick to the happy hour / bar menu for your first passage into Yelapa, you wont be disappointed by the great food or service at this cozy mexican establishment.

1611 Lamar St
Houston, TX 77010
(713) 337-7321

another simple review: wow.

Tonight’s antics brought me from a lunch at Yelapa, then to Tuscany then over to Anvil for a couple drinks before some text messages were sent from Tuscany front man David B over to Ryan Pera at The Grove inquiring about some sought after “Mangelitsa” Pig. A quick tweet and we had some reservations at 8pm for 3.

I had previously been to the grove for a horrid version of something that closely resembled a cheeseburger, but later returned for a birthday party and was happily greeted with an amazingly well seasoned and prepared steak. Needless to say, I was looking forward to what the chef had in store for us today, I was giddy at the thought of some well prepared pig about to hit the table and go straight into my belly.

A quick look at the menu and some recommendations by the waiter and we were off, the first food to hit the table would be the Grove Picnic Platter with some house cured meats (Prosciutto, Salami and Chorizo) and some cheese (Cheddar and Blue Cheese) which were fantastic when paired with the in house prepared dijon mustard. We also ordered the Mangelitsa Pig and just asked that chef Pera prepare it for us as he would want it. A quick recommendation for a skirt and a loin and we were excited to see how this would turn out. While waiting for the Mangelitsa, some hand rolled fettuccine with baja scallops, caramelized cauliflower and chile greeted us at the table. The scallops were cooked perfectly and the cauliflower caught me off guard since I had no idea what they were at first, a few bites later and they became familiar. Fast forward another 5 minutes and a duck confit pizza makes its way before us. This pizza was glorious, bits of duck combined with the cheeses came together and just worked in beautiful fashion.

Finally the Mangelitsa Pig prepared two ways made its journey to the table and I was in awe at how gorgeous the marbling made this piece of pig look. Fat upon fat coupled with more fat made my mouth water. The skirt preparation and the loin preparation were two vastly different options that came from his amazing Mangelitsa Pig, I definitely preferred the skirt preparation but you MUST try the route we went and get a cut of each for the full experience.

4/5: Get your ass over to the Grove for an experience like no other. I love the Mangelitsa Pig, and I want more RIGHT NOW.

1201 Fannin St
Houston, TX 77002
(713) 658-9457

After reading these multiple 4 star reviews, I instantly thought it was a case of yelp eagerness to give the place a shining review just because it was food and it was somewhat edible. My experience last night at III Forks confirmed that the multiple 4 star reviews weren’t just flukes or glitches with some eager raters.

For a Friday night the dining room was rather empty which worried me. The wine display was great and had a nice impact upon first entry into the place, the waiter was quick to greet us and get our appetizer orders. I decided to skip any alcohol here since it was going to be a long night with Markus Schulz at Stereo Live.

I ordered the Seafood Medley which came with a single portion of the Shrimp Cocktail, Crabcake St. Francis, and a Bacon Wrapped Scallop. The Scallop was cooked perfectly and the bacon added the essential meat food group to the scallop lol. After eating Vic and Anthony’s crabcake, everything else just became a fight for second place and it seems like the crab cake here deserves the second place title. I would definitely order the scallop or crabcake as a main appetizer and skip the seafood medley since the shrimp isnt terribly memorable.

For my main entree I ordered a 12oz USDA Prime Filet Mignon cooked rare plus along with Six Cheese Potatoes. The 12oz portion was just the right size, and what astonished me even more was the proper preparation of the rare plus that I always ask for. It was a warm crisp outside with a nice cool inside. The filet cut like butter, soft and just melted in my mouth.

Overall a great dining experience, everyone at the table was satisfied with their orders.

Cliffs: Read the review as a 3.5/5, I’ll err to the side of a 3 since the service and food was great, but just nothing stood out. Add this place to the list of solid places to eat when you cant think of anything else.

*FOLLOWUP VISIT*

After stepping back through the doors of iii forks today for happy hour and their insanely cheap bar menu I am giving this place the 4th star, sitting at the bar while writing this review made me think of the great service here and how much they deserve the 4th star from me. definitely come here for some great bar food during happy hour and the awesome filet, rare plus of course. lol.

4/5: Fantastic Service, Great Steaks, WIN/WIN!

3201 Louisiana
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 526-8885

While on a food binge today, I started off the night at III Forks with their happy hour menu and was so delighted by the service and price point that I gave them a fourth star which is very hard to come by in my book. Our next stop had us at anvil for some Haus Alpenz cocktails. After some deliberation we set our sites for some sushi that manifested in the form of sushi raku. We arrived during happy hour and saw the place fairly empty for the time. The decor was great, sleek and modern, a place you’d wan to be seen in by others and to do some people watching in general. It’s definitely a shame I won’t set foot back in the place.

The Happy Hour menu looked promising with price points below $10 for everything we ordered. The sashimi sampler, shiromi sampler, Edemame, Rock n Roll, Vege Trio, Ika Kare and Shrimp Tempura were all ordered for the two of us. The portions of fish were grossly undersized and frankly rather pathetic for the near $1 per piece during happy hour, I can only hope the regular portions are meatier. The Rock n Roll was bland and uninspired with the Ika and Shrimp tempura the best of the bunch. They were deep fried, cant get those two totally wrong now can you? The pathetic sashimi was enough to turn me away from this “sushi” place.

2/5: Walk in, try the happy hour then make the call on whether you want to stay or walk away.

Compared to the rest of the 5 star ratings my 3 star will seem out of the ordinary even though I like Lucio’s and believe that it’s a solid place to eat.  Gravitas next door definitely overshadows the smaller and cozier Lucio’s. I love the idea that it’s BYOB although I decided not to have wine and saved the alcohol duty for Anvil after the dinner.

We started off with the calamari appetizer, and when it arrived it looked just like any other calamari from any other restaurant but at Lucio’s they got the batter pretty perfect, it came with a standard marinara, but i was more interested in the butter which had a nice garlic infused taste that added a nice element when mixed with the marinara sauce.

For main entrees I went with the rosemary crusted lamb rack which was tasty but nothing jumped out at me which instantly makes the dish unmemorable. She had the sesame crusted ahi tuna with wasabi mashed potatoes which was fantastic, great flavor from the dish as a whole, the mashed potatoes had a subtle wasabi flavor with just the right amount of spice.

For dessert we went with the creme brulee with a passion fruit ice cream, the passion fruit ice cream was great and capped off a nice meal from Lucio’s.

3/5: Solid place for a nice meal when you can’t think of anywhere else to go.