Los Dos Amigos, it is worth a visit....

Los Dos Amigos is a small Mexican restaurant on Washington. It is right across the street from Wabash Feed Store. You can't miss it with its extreme Pink exterior. Today I went there with my friend Bob. He is the one that convinced me to go there years back. Glad I took him up on the suggestion. Today, I had the Caldo del Res (Vegetable Beef Soup). It comes with large freshly chopped carrots, cabbage, zucchini, potato, topped with cilantro.  This is goooooooooooood soup.

 
Bob had the Menuto, which he says is the best anywhere.

They have excellent breakfast, too.  It's a lip smacker, I'm telling ya!!!

Quote of the Day: All life is an experiment. The more experiments you make the better. 
Ralph Waldo Emerson
 

Los Dos Amigos

5720 Washington Avenue  

Houston, TX 77007

713. 862. 0462

Cheeseless Quiche of the day; you may ask why....

...you'll find the answer at The House of Tea.  I love quiche, but cheese and I don't always see eye to eye, so it was a pleasure to find a really great tasting quiche without cheese.

It was loaded with fresh asparagus, garlic, red pepper, dill, onion, mushrooms and avocado. Nice flaky crust, too. If you order the Quiche Delight it comes with a cup of soup and tea for $10. What a deal. I'm sure that other days there is cheese in the quiche for  traditional quiche lovers, but today was my lucky quiche day. The soup today was potato leek.

The House of Tea is a great tea shop as well as a place for healthy lunch items. The menu is small, but the items are well prepared and flavorful. The atmosphere is quiet casual.

 Quote of the Day: “Good friends, good books, and a sleepy conscience: this is the ideal life.”
― Mark Twain

www.tehouseoftea.com

House of Tea

1927 Fairview St.  

Houston, TX 77019

(713) 522-8868

Nabi has left the building.....

Sadly, one of my very favorite restaurants has closed. The scuttlebutt around the lower Westheimer area is that Chef Ji Kang is striking out in a new direction. That he sold Nabi to pursue a new concept in dining. I have not a clue what that is, but I wish him the very very best. Ji is a talented chef with an exceptional table-side manner. He will be missed in the neighborhood.

I stopped by the Nabi building just to see for myself what was going on, the door was a jar, I called in to see if anyone would come to the front of the restaurant, a young man did. "What happened to Chef Ji Kang, to Nabi?" I asked, trying not to sound too whiny. He didn't know the details, but he did tell me that Nabi will be transformed into a Mexican Restaurant in two months. I am a bit unsure about this new development, but maybe it stems from my disappointment that Nabi is gone. I will not pass judgement until I have taken fork to mouth and tasted the food at this new Mexican restaurant.

Chef Ji Kang all the best to you. Don't be a stranger. Let us know where you plan to cook next. Love your food.

Thanks for the memories!!! Yummmm!!!

Quote of the day: Parting is such sweet sorrow..... W. Shakespeare

Let's get JUICED at Roots Juice...

the happy sister of Roots Bistro and right next door, too.

Think Sunday Brunch, think fresh Quail Eggs, whole kernel polenta mixed with goat cheese, a freshly squeezed glass of organic juice called The Fuel (carrot, ginger, apple, beet, spinach, lemon) and you will be sitting squarely in the middle of Roots Juice.

Quail Eggs and Polenta with Goat Cheese

It is so pretty and oh so good.

I went with friends Flora and Cath to celebrate Flora's birthday. It was a perfect day for a celebration, the sun was shining, the birds were singing, conversation and laughter poured from us as we enjoyed our farm to table BRUNCH. Lovely!!!!!

Cath had the Quail Egg and handmade biscutt

Flora had the grill pork with polenta (different from the polenta I had)

If you haven't tried either one of these restaurants, please do.

The atmosphere is friendly, casual and comfortable. I love the tables and chairs. I believe they are re-purposed. The coasters are former menus, cut up in squares. The food is fresh. What more could you ask for?

The menu changes daily and in accordance to what is available at the market.

Quote of the Day: 

"We are indeed much more than what we eat, but what we eat can nevertheless help us to be much more than what we are." Adelle Davis

I was standing in line waiting to order and a young man was standing in front of me. "I guess the secret is out about Roots Juice," smiling broadly.

 

Roots Juice
Roots Bistro
507 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77006
713.524.1000
www.rootsbistrohouston.com

Queso for VEGANS and lactose interolant folks, too!

Queso with blue corn chips.

I tried this "Queso" because I have trouble digesting cheese..... well, most things diary, so I was really curious about this product and if it really could pass muster for queso. Amazingly, it does. The flavor is cheesy and I mean that in the best possible way. It clings to chips just like a pro and has enough spice to give a good solid kick to my taste buds. The owners of this Round Rock, Texas company were handing out samples at Whole Foods. Glad that I took the trouble to take a taste. I was impressed.  The label reads "Deliciously spicy with a creaminess you never thought you'd experience without dairy." That pretty much sums up my experience with this product. It also states, there are no fats, soy, nuts, dairy or cholesterol, which is great.  However, it does contain wheat for those with wheat allergies.

Quote of the Day: "I love that Queso. I JUST bought some last night....it's a really great alternative to the real thing.
Jessica Cramer, Vegan

I know Whole Foods carries this product, but check out Food for Lovers Web site for more locations and information.

Food for Lovers
www.food-for-lovers.com
512-909-6157

One pan, one chicken sausage and one sweet potato..

...easy as pie!!!!!

Heat your pan on high, throw your uncooked sausage into the pan (for this dish I used an apple-cinnamon chicken sausage), brown on both sides, pour one generous cup of red wine into the pan ( you may want to take a couple of sips of the red wine to make sure it is to your liking). Allow the wine to reduce for about five minutes. Cut up the sweet potato (skin on) and peeled onion roughly cut, toss them into the pan, bring to a boil. Reduce heat to medium low, cover and let simmer for 20 minutes. Remove the sausage, potato and onion from the pan, pour the remaining liquid over it,  then top it off with a scoop of Greek yogurt. This is fast, simple and really tasty.

Just a note, I did not use oil or butter in the pan.

A pie in the hand is better than....

two desserts baking in the oven. A fact that came into full focus in the Menil parking lot last week. Porch Swing Desserts is the reason. As I held the chocolate ice box pie in the palm of my hand, I wondered how such a small pie could satisfy my overwhelmingly large sweet tooth.

Fits in the palm of your hand.

Look at that flaky crust. It is a thing of beauty and tastes heavenly.

 "No problem" was the response from the pie. As I processed the first lip-smacking bite, alarm bells went off in my brain, "Danger, Danger, consumption will only make you want more." And in fact that is what happened. Satisfaction, delight, taste bud pirouettes, yes this little pie made loud happy music to my sweet tooth. The savory crust is flaky and light, the filling is rich, thick, dark chocolate topped with fresh whipped cream. A perfect combination.

When I made my pie selection I was torn between the chocolate pie and the lemon pie. Both are favorites, but chocolate won out. The only solution is to go back to Porch Swing Desserts and try the lemon, I know that I will not be disappointed. The banana cream looked pretty good, too. 

Lemon Meringue, Banana Cream (bottom) Chocolate Ice Box Cream Pie

Other offerings by Porch Swing Desserts include seasonal pies (I just missed peach season by a week), cupcakes, cookies and cakes.

Jennifer Diaz is the owner and master baker of Porch Swing Desserts. She learned her art and cultivated her passion for quality desserts in the kitchens of her mother and grandmother. I love that she has brought that homemade tradition to the streets of Houston.

A little dessert poem:

I'll obey them in the winter when the doctors say to me
I must give up ham and spinach, and obedient I'll be.
To relieve my indigestion in December they can try,
But there's none of them can stop me when it's time for cherry pie.
~Edgar A. Guest, The Milwaukee Journal, 1935 May 29

Porch Swing Desserts
www.porchswingdesserts.com