roflhouse

9705 Westheimer
Houston, Texas 77042
(713) 952-1988
www.churrascos.com

102710 — Houston Restaurant Month(!) takes us to Churrascos for Lunch with mom and girlfriend this weekend with solid results. I simply love Churrascos, from the plantain chips that are included with every meal to the rare steak to the Tres Leches dessert, everything was just a winner that makes the $20 lunch well worth it.

3/5: Win Win Win.

112 Commerce St
Tomball, TX 77375
(281) 516-9699

082610 — Back to Bootsie’s with my girlfriend and best friend..

_ fresh rolls
_ local almaco jack crudo w/ citrus radish and onion blossom
_ skillet cornbread w/ whipped butter and smoked honey
_ smoked chicken and pork gumbo with puffed rice
_ avocado and cucumber salad
_ “oriental” wings
_ fresh pappardelle pasta w/ lots of vegetables & herbs
_ roasted ribeye w/ mushrooms and charred onions
_ grilled almaco jack w/ sweet corn, cabbage, and mountain mint
_ chicken fried steak w/ roasted potatoes and sawmill gravy
_ chocolate mousse and oranges
_ chocolate chip and bananas foster cookies

502 Algerian Way
Houston, Texas 77098
(713) 581-6101
www.HavenHouston.com

082010 — Haven is one of those restaurants that hasn’t disappointed me in the few times I’ve ventured through their doors. Although it’s never on the top of my list as places to go, it is a place that I need to frequent a bit more often. The menu for Houston Restaurant week definitely confirmed that notion. My reservation was for 8 people at 845pm on a busy Friday night, while we did arrive at 845pm, we weren’t seated due to squatters at the tables, but that didn’t keep us all from being social with each other. What bugs me about haven is the lack of self parking since I don’t want a damn person driving my car after getting my fresh wheels on. I opted to park over by Cafe Japon and hope that no one shady decides to target my car. In any case, as we were shown to our table I was reminded of how loud the place can get, but I was also reminded how gorgeous it was inside, nice and simple decor.

We sat down and were quickly greeted with a warm smile and the magic question, “Can I get anyone some cocktails?”. I quickly snapped off a reply of “Campari and Soda please!”. We looked over the menu and most of us at the table decided on similar items. I ordered Jumbo Lump Crab Cake (w/ Squash Blossom Sauce, Charred Corn Relish), Akaushi Steak (w/ New Potatoes, 1015 Onion, Leeks, Mushrooms, Red Wine Demi), and Coconut Tres Leches Bread Pudding (w/Dulce de Leche Sauce, Meringue, Toasted Coconut). Other dishes that came to the table included Shrimp Corn Dogs (w/ Lemonade, Tabasco Mash Rémoulade), Free Range Chicken (w/ Bacon Spaetzle, Crispy 1015 Tabasco Crispy Onions), Wild Head-On Shrimp (w/ Shrimp Demi, Bacon, Creminis, Onions, Crescenza Grits), Ambrosia (w/ Blackberries, Peaches, Blueberries, Lemon Curd, Pecans, Coconut, Peach Sorbet, Fresh Mint), and Chocolate Tart (w/ Chocolate Flourless Cake, Short Dough, Chocolate Mousse, White Chocolate). I’ve previously had the shrimp corndogs and loved them, but wanted to try out a different option and I’m happy I did, the crab cake was easily one of the best I’ve had since Vic and Anthony’s iteration a few weeks ago. This year I also went with the Akaushi prepared rareplus. Another stand out favorite was the shrimp and grits. The big fumble came at the end when dessert arrived, I remembered the tres leches bread pudding having a much better texture and consistency last year, the other desserts weren’t anything great either, they looked rather dull and sad.

Even with the fumble in the dessert, the appetizer and main course coupled with the handful of campari and soda’s and great friends made Haven a great meal, everyone shared the same idea as well. Definitely a place I need to frequent more often.

4/5: Another great meal for a great cause.

3410 Montrose Boulevard
Houston, Texas 77006
713-524-7999
www.LaColombedOr.com

081910 — Annie wanted to take me out for date night, my original reservation was for mockingbird bistro but I opted to come to La Colombe d’or because I had never been and other friends were fans of their HRW menu as well. Our reservation was for 830pm and we arrived about 10 minutes early after some light shopping at Central Market. We were seated at a central table inside one of the rooms near some obnoxious douchebag talking too loud for his own good. It was funny hearing them argue about who had the best burger, Christian’s Tailgate or Lankford, I was halfway tempted to turn around and tell them Hubcap was much much better than both, but alas we had to order and I was ready to take some photos.

We decided to get different things so we could try a variety of options. I ordered Escargots Bourguignon w/ Garlic and Parsley Butter, Petit Bone Marrow and Herb Crusted Filet Mignon w/ Red Wine Reduction and Cherries Jubilee (Bing Cherries Sautéed in a Cherry Liqueur with Homemade Ice Cream). Annie ordered Ceviche (Cilantro, Shrimp, Jumbo Lump Crab, Calamari and Avocado), Atlantic Salmon Sauté w/ Broccolini Sautéed with Garlic and a Tomato Mint Salsa, and Crème Brûlée. If we could have ordered polar opposites in terms of taste and quality I believe we did it. My escargot was swimming in a beautiful butter concoction that I found myself dipping the bread into in order to get all the flavor, just excellent. I ordered my filet rare plus and it came out exactly as I ordered it, I couldn’t exactly discern the bone marrow on top of the filet, but it neither added or took away from the excellent filet. The dessert coupled some nice cherries with a creamy vanilla ice cream. Annie’s selection was far from great, the ceviche was just random large chunks of what was supposed to be shrimp, crab and calamari, cept it was 75% calamari and tentacles which was a major turn off for her, there was zero balance of the various components. Her salmon, while cooked perfectly, lacked ANY flavor whatsoever, I thought there would be flavor in the skin that was left on while cooking, but even that was extremely bland, the creme brulee was probably the worst offender of them all, extremely thick and I almost had to chew the dessert to make sure it didn’t clog my throat.

The place was filled wall to wall with older folks, even the Director had a noticable problem with me taking photos, enough to come to my table and shoot me 20 questions as to the intentions of my photos. I’ve been confronted happily before by the General Managers and owners of restaurants that were more than happy that I was taking photos. If I wanted spy shots of your food, I can assure you I’m not going to carry a $6,000 setup to take photos of your food. The director “Ed” fired off a quick and rude “You should have asked us first” before I can to calm him down by showing him the blog. I didn’t see what the big problem was considering other people were taking photos as well, however, they were using point and shoot cameras. A definite new school meets old school moment there. In the end he said to me that I should ask him if my plates needed any rearranging. The place in general was just old feeling, the staff, the patrons, the decor, OLD. It’s one place that I felt out of place, the fumble on Annie’s dishes left a lot to be desired as well, and while great, the steak isnt enough to make me want to come back during a non HRW outing.

3/5: New school patrons meet old school staff and decor at la colombe d’or with a mixed spread of good and bad.

2011 Ella Blvd
Houston, TX 77008
(713) 861-8666
www.rainbow-lodge.com

081910 — After a fun meal with Frankel and Annie last week at Indika, we decided to continue the tradition over at Rainbow Lodge for Lunch. My best friend Jeni along with Plinio rounded out our table of 5 for Houston Restaurant Week lunch at Rainbow Lodge. We arrived at 1pm to a nearly empty dining room, there were maybe 4 tables occupied, but what caught us off guard even more was the music selection. Quite a random array from what we heard and the music seemed to change with the new dishes we were presented, odd but highly entertaining.

The HRW lunch menu was quite limited but we all managed to find something we liked, I went with the Smoked Duck Gumbo with Andouille Sausage & Wild Rice Pilaf for appetizer and Redfish (Farm Raised and Sustainable) on Spicy Stewed Okra w/ Homestead Gristmill White Corn Grits and Crispy Okra for main. Annie went with Garden Salad, Shaved Vegetables, Citrus Vinaigrette for appetizer and Slow Cooked Wild Boar Shoulder and Sweet Potato Cakes w/ Sunny Side Quail Egg for entree. The gumbo was flavorful and definitely left me wanting more, the redfish was firm and tasty, but the highlight of the dish were the various presentations of okra. Annie’s entree wasnt the best looking entree but the taste of the boar definitely made up for the “look”.

Sadly the HRW lunches dont come with dessert so we opted to head to Red Mango for some froyo afterwards. Overall an excellent lunch for $20 that helps out charities and fills out stomachs.

3/5: Tasty lunch with friends was great

219 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 529-7788
www.feasthouston.com/

101410 — Holy Feast! this place was packed wall to wall for our 930pm last minute reservation this past Saturday. I was amazed that I was not only able to get a table for 5 on a Saturday night, but also increase that reservation to 8 a few hours prior AND add 2 at the last minute as we walked through the door. I am a huge fan of feast, and love the opportunity to bring someone here that is willing to be adventurous with their food selection.

A group of 10 headed to Feast, half were car friends in the vw/audi community and the others with social friends that have been coming to other HRW venues prior to Feast. Everyone welcomed the idea of great food for an even better price. As we sat down and looked over the menu, I was slightly red tinted and tipsy due to my prior adventure a few hours before at Liberty Station. If you read that post, you understand that I ate an entire Hubcap Burger 3 hours before my 3 course meal here at Feast.

Simply put, the food at Feast is GREAT. I ordered the Scottish Smoked Salmon, Braised Lamb Shank w/ Shallots, Roast Potatoes and Sautéed Kale with Anchovies, and Bread and Butter Pudding. Some other first course dishes that came to the table included Salad w/ Romaine, Cucumber, Radish, Celery, Herbs and Raisins, Fish Soup, and albondigas. Main courses included Fish Pie topped with Cheese and Leek Crusted Mash and Brussels Sprouts, Crispy Roasted Pork Belly w/ Potato Cake and Red Cabbage with Apples, and Stuffed Eggplant w/ Lentils, Mushrooms, Tomatoes and Cheese. Desserts included Sticky Toffee Pudding, St. Clements Sorbet, and Molten Chocolate Cake. Everyone had a great time, we were the last table to leave Feast and needless to say, we were all stuffed and ready to head home to sleep!

4/5: I <3 Feast. (sorry for the photos, campari and fernet owned me lol)

Liberty Station
2101 Washington Ave
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 640-5220

081410 — Last Saturday some random events happened and somehow the golden doomba, greenway barista, ms coffeestreet, arabmoney and I ended up at Liberty Station where we made our way through some Campari and Fernet shots as well as beer and other Campari and soda combos in the extreme heat while waiting for the Hubcap Burger Truck. We all thought this would be a great idea since John and I just wrapped up a photo shoot in downtown as well as some corona’s at Lucky’s Pub next to Wherehouse Live.

We arrived at Liberty Station around 5pm and I was pleasantly (?) surprised at the venue, small, and filled with the normal washington crowd with less fist pumping and more chill. Cute girls with fake boobs and personalities, guys with too much gel and affliction on, but alas, we were here for drinks and food. As we waited and waited.. it honestly seemed like forever due to the heat and 4-5 50/50′s we consumed lol. After what seemed like an hour, the window to the magical truck named Hubcap crept open and I ordered a Bacon Mushroom Cheeseburger and John went with a Double Cheeseburger, while David opted for the ever popular sliders. The burgers in the truck are just as tasty as the ones from the downtown location. Epic burgers now couple with some tasty drinks, what can go wrong? (don’t answer that lol).

Another Friday, another Lunch with Mom, this time I decided to take her out to Tomball.

a plate of assorted seasonal pickles
cobia crudo w/ necterines
whole fried louisiana frog w/ creole mustard
roasted cobia w/ a warm heirloom tomato & herb salad
beef paillard w/ roasted mushrooms and shallots
chris’ special dessert > corn/lime/cayenne ice cream-orange soda float w/candied butternut squash and summer squashes in style of apple sauce, olive oil pudding and candied hazelnuts

516 Westheimer Road
Houston, TX 77006
(713) 524-2170
www.indikausa.com

081210 — Houston Restaurant Week continues and I joined up with Frankel from Anvil and my girlfriend Annie to tackle Indika. I’ve wanted to come to Indika since last HRW, but schedules conflicted too much. Frankel is a veteran of Indika, he said he tried almost the whole menu and also said that everything is great. I found it amazing that their parking lot was full but the restaurant was slightly empty.

As the three of us looked over the menu, we made the decision to all order something different to try the full spectrum of dishes at Indika. I ordered the Tasting of our Rendition of Chaat, Slow Cooked Lamb Shank, and Mango Saffron Kulfi. Annie ordered a Roasted Eggplant, Patra Fish and a Fudge with Coffee Ice Cream. Frankel chose the Mulligatawny Soup, Local Free Range Chicken Breast and a dessert that I can’t remember the name of (lol). Every dish was great, an intense amount of flavor coupled with the right amount of spice to keep you ready for the next dish. My favorite dishes of the night were the street food, lamb, and fudge. I’ll definitely have to go back for their normal menu where I can explore outside the set menu structure.

4/5: Service, Flavor and Spice, proper ingredients to making a place that I will surely visit again

5555 Washington Ave
Ste A
Houston, TX 77007
(713) 426-4260
www.catalanfoodandwine.com

080610 — Decided on coming over to Catalan after some chatting on aim with Rachel, after I exerted some peer pressure on Peter and Lisa, they were also headed over to meet us up as well. I’ve been to Catalan before on a date as well as a birthday party and have loved everything that came out of their kitchen and tonight for Houston Restaurant Week was certainly no exception.

We arrived at 845pm for our reservation and were diverted to the bar where I ordered an Old Fashioned and sipped along with the rest of the gang as we waited for our table, a few moments later and the table was ready for us, the dining area was loud, crazy and filled with people showing off (lol). As we sat down for dinner, the HRW menus were handed over and we each strategically ordered so that we could get a fine sampling of everything. Rachel chose Bourbon Street Food, Country Fried Bryan Farms Chicken w/ mac & cheese, corn salad & watermelon pickles and Carrot Cake. Lisa chose Roasted Berkshire Pork Belly, Gulf Shrimp w/ bacon & goat cheese grits and roasted piquillo pepper butter and Carrot Cake. Peter chose Roasted Berkshire Pork Belly, Slow Roasted Suckling Pig w/ vietnamese style baby cabbage, vermicelli, cucumbers, herb salad and Un Fudge Overboard. I chose Crispy gulf Shrimp Beignets w/spicy Tabasco mash remoulade, Slow Roasted Suckling Pig w/ vietnamese style baby cabbage, vermicelli, cucumbers, herb salad and Local Peach crème brûlée.

The shrimp beignets were awesome, lightly breaded with large chunks of shrimp coupled with the tabasco remoulade that had the right amount of spicyness. My slow roasted suckling pig was great as well, but I wasn’t a complete fan of the undercooked vermicelli, everything else worked in that dish. My favorite dessert would have to be the fudge, the bitterness to the chocolate was a great way to end the meal. Everyone seemed happy with their choices and we can all add Catalan to our short list of favorites.

3.5/5: Awesome meal with great service at Catalan