Friday, November 25, 2011

Phoenicia (Yes the market with new location downtown):

Location: one at McKinney and Austin in downtown Houston; another location:  Westheimer at Kirkwood in the west side of Houston.

Type of Food:  Market.  Middle Eastern and International Market. 

Summary:  Over recent weeks since the downtown Phoenicia location has opened, Kris and I have went to Phoenicia more than a few times.  If you have been to the Kirkwood and Westheimer area location, you know generally what Phoenicia is ---  think gourmet market meets Costco.  The downtown location is situated at McKinney and Austin in the first two floors across the street from the Four Season.  They have free parking and overall it is  smaller than its sister location.  You can still find great meat, spices, teas, olive oil, alcohol and non-alcoholic beverages, cheeses, olives, and much, much more. 

Final Thoughts:  If you have not checked it out, seriously recommend you do soon.

--Megan

Thursday, November 17, 2011

Little Boxwood's

Location:  Alabama near Westlayan area.

Type of Food:  American. 

Summary:  Kris and I were on an adventure to find a great place for brunch this past Saturday and I have to say we hit the jackpot!!  Little Boxwood's is the cafe at the Thompson + Hanson; they serve breakfast, lunch, and dinner Tuesday through Sunday.  On Saturday and Sunday, they have brunch too.

When Ms. Kristina and I went, we were lucky enough to beat the total rush when we found this gem.  We ordered a scone of the day (chocolate hazelnut and banana) and a cheese & meat platter to share. The scone had a very good flavor; it was not your typical scone that you would find in the UK or Ireland, but more so a cross between a muffin and a biscuit with great flavoring.  The meat  and cheese tray had toasted hazelnuts, various cheeses (Gruyere and a few others), various smoked meats (smoked prosciutto among them), dried cranberries, honey in a honeycomb, jalapeno honey, and the lightest, fluffiest flatbread with sea salt and parmesan on it.  If we could have licked the jalapeno honey off the board without everyone else staring  at us in horror, I think we would have.

For the main dish, Kris ordered the Salmon which came on a bed of spinach with large crudite with goat cheese on it.  The salad was spot on.  The salmon was cooked perfectly.  I ordered the Summer Salad which was a spinach salad with julienne Granny Smith Apples, blue cheese crumbles, candied walnuts, grilled chicken, and apple cider vinegar dressing.  This salad was so amazing that I pretty much ate the whole dish in one sitting.  We both agree that in our quest for a great brunch place, we found that along with a great salad place!!  Another item of note, which was down right amazing, was their lemonade infused with mint.   

Final Thoughts:  Next time you are in the area, make sure to try out Little Boxwood's; yes it is a bit on the pricey side, but it is one of those decadent places everyone needs to treat themselves every once in a while.  I am sure it will not disappoint.

--Megan

Note:  If you do go, it is located on Alabama at Saint (near where Alabama and Westlayan intersect and Alabama turns into nothing).  There is parking on the next street over from Saint by a Foreign Car Garage.  The particular parking lot has a lot more space than the parking area right next to the Thompson + Hanson.

Saturday, November 12, 2011

Petite Sweets

Location:  Alabama near Kirby Drive in Houston

Type of Food:  Sweets

Summary:  We did a progressive meal and went somewhere different for dessert after we left Mockingbird Bistro. We ended up at Petite Sweets, which was a great idea. They have cake balls, whoopie pies, and my favorite cupcakes... and they are all in a miniature size, which was great and so cute. We had the whoopie pies in pumpkin, pistachio, mocha, and red velvet. They were all very unique in flavors. Our favorites were the mocha, pistachio, and red velvet. Pumpkin not so much to much allspice for us. Now for the cake balls, we sampled  Italian Cream Cake and a Salty Caramel. Salty Caramel was our pick for the cake balls!! Now on to cupcakes -- we had a Bacon Pancake, Ice Cream Sundae and a  Black and White. Bacon Pancake was hands down THE BEST CUP CAKE I HAVE EVER HAD!!!!

Final Thoughts:  The little sweets treats were about $2 a piece and worth it.... Great for when you are having a sweet tooth craving. Try em out!

Mockingbird Bistro

Location:  Fairview area of Houston.

Type of Food:  Steakhouse type place.  American.

Summary:  We visited Mockingbird Bistro this week and all I can say is GREAT!! We decided to just do the appetizers on this one because the menu was just so amazing and I can say we picked a winner, on appetizers and the place. We started off with the Washington State Black Mussels.... and I am getting the cravings right now just writing about them... they were steamed to absolute perfection. We also had the Beef Carpaccio I have never had a beef carpaccio as delish as this and it had a horseradish cream sauce as well.. the only problem with this was there was not enough sauce for the meat....Last but not least was the Charcuteris.... the crustiness were absolutely awesome and the pesto that was on then was so creamy I swore I had heaven in my mouth.The service was outstanding. The atmosphere was elegant and romantic great for date night.

Final Thoughts:   I definitely recommend Mocking bird Bistro for your next romantic dinner! Prices were well worth the quality. It will set you back about $30 a person, but a must try!

Wednesday, November 9, 2011

Need to tries!!

Now if anyone knows of any awesome places that we should check out, please let us know; we would love to blog about them and most of all we would love to eat some more awesome food!!

Andalucia Tapas Restaurant and Bar

I went to Andalucias last week and had a so-so experience i had the Boquerones which are spanish white anchovies and it was served over fried leeks.... It was wonderful is a must try. I also had the Crab cake which I do have to say is one of the best I have ever eaten in my life... It had a sweet potato sauce over it I will go back for the crab cake most def.. The Albondigas Morunos was good as well it was roasted lamb meat balls with a saffron couscous in a mint demi glaze. Now I am a sucker for a good Ceviche and Andalucias did not make the cut for that one. The ceviche was absolutely horrid would NOT recomend it. It was a flavorless mound of tomatoes pretty much. Over all, the food was decent. Now service no bueno.. The waitress was rude and not on her game. She never came to refill drinks and and seemed aggravated when we asked for the check. We went at a slow time so it was not like she was busy, and she was just one of those waitresses with no kind of personality at all. Well that's all for Andalucia in the Houston Pavilion Downtown.
~Kris~