Culinary tour: one day tour in Houston, Texas

 

However I planned about a week's stay in Houston, Texas, we had hardly any time to really enjoy what the place has to offer. For one, we were there for a wedding. And second, we were dependent on someone to bring us any where.

Although the weather is hot, every thing seems nice and quiet, all places are a bit far from each other. Time seems to pass by faster than anywhere else, since travelling from one place to another is about one hour.

And finally the day before our departure, we got a culinary tour from our friend Steven, who is now sous chef. One advantage of touring with a chef is that you're assured of great food. And to top it off, he likes to try new things too.

So, our first stop was: Blacksmith

It is a café downtown, where we went for a cup of coffee. The place is small, but the service was excellent. From the cashier to the counter, I was given a big smile and it kinda felt as if they care. Their niche is that they have their own coffee beans and you can have your coffee and pastries, but also buy packages of coffee beans to enjoy it at home.

It's always a delight to have a cup of hot cappuccino to start the day, but receiving one with hearts on it warms not only your body and wake up your mind, but also warms up your heart. If you drink yours without sugar, the artwork should remain until the last drop. But I need sugar in mine, so I had to stir my coffee.

The coffee itself tasted totally different from what I'm used to. I've tried instant Coffees, Senseo & Nespresso Coffee and this was nothing like any that I've tried. It has an aftertaste of malt sugar or maltose syrup, what most Chinese use for the moon cakes.

We got there around 8:30 and it was already quite busy with people all over chitchatting and busying on their laptops. A stereotypical scene you would imagine of a coffee house.

According to this site, it is the best coffee house in Houston, Texas.

After my cup coffee, it was time for some breakfast. Our next stop was: Fat Bao.

For their menu, please check it out here.

Fat Bao is small in size and it opens around 11 am. It is an Asian fusion restaurant. The Bao is known as Chinese, some of the items are Japanese and some are Korean; all brought to you in their designed creations.
 
Our chef ordered the Fat fries, Fat Cauli & 3 different types of Bao. And since he knows we like it spicy, he also got some habanero sauce for us. However it could be spicier, but it was nice to know that there was at least something with that kind of heat.
 
The Fat fries are like loaded fries, but with Asian ingredients like cilantro, onion and bulgogi ( we chose for bulgogi). The Fat Cauli is deep-fried cauliflower with a curry twist. And then there's the Bao's. They all have a very rich flavor flavor and was surely worth our visit. We gulped these down with Japanese beer. Mine was very light and had a lychee aftertaste. I know it was probably not even noon, but hey,... I'm on vacay and 'it's 5 o'clock somewhere'.


However we only took some appetizers and small snacks, we were kinda full, so our next stop was 'The flying saucer' - a bar downtown. Probably we were not the only ones who were thinking 'happy hour', 'cause the place was quite busy for noon/afternoon. The place is decorated with saucers on the wall and at the bar, you can see all the different kinds of tap beer you can choose from and the bottled beers you can also try.

For beer lovers, this is surely a place to be. But one annoying thing for such a place, is to choose the beer you'd like to drink. To accommodate the guests, you're allowed to get a sample of the beer you'd like to taste. We try the special of the day, but it's not really something for any of us. And since they also have beer flights, we chose those. Beer flights are beer samplers. You get 5 different beers with each a small text about the beer. Since we're in Texas, I chose the Texas flight, the guys chose the Belgian flight. I did not like mine though. Most were either too acidic or too bitter. The guys did enjoy their Belgian flight though.


After we told the other guys about this place, we went to another branch at night. I had enough of the flights and just chose for the well-known Belgian Duvel.

 

 

The beer was really easy to drink, was not too light, but not too bitter either. I now understand why it's the favorite beer for most people.

 

 

Like I said, time passes by so fast in Houston. Before we knew it, it was already nearly 5 o'clock. It was time for our next tasting place: Arandas Taqueria. Since we seemed to be on a beer tasting tour too, we also ordered the Michelada. It has such a distinct flavor. You receive a cooled, salt-rimmed glass with what I believe is freshly squeezed lime and tomato juice already in it and you have to pour down the Modelo (Mexican lager beer) in it. It tasted salty, sour and different, but unfortunately not my kind of beer. Maybe because of my high expectations for Mexican food, the experience was a bit less than expected . It lacked spiciness and the flavor fullness.

 

We had planned to go to Taste of Texas to end the Houston tour, but our plans were unpleasantly disturbed by an invitation (apologies for the inviter, but we really wanted to try some Texan steak). We went for some Chinese instead.

But to end this tour with something worth remembering for, I'd also like to mention that Texas is the place to be for Vietnamese food. I went for Vietnamese twice. Once, we had some authentic Vietnamese snacks. And before we went to the airport, we went to a shop that only sells the Vietnamese Pho. There are only 2 sizes: small and large. So, since we were not that hungry we thought, a small should be do-able. Well....the size of the soup was so huge. No wonder they say 'Everything's bigger in Texas!'.

 

 

 

Culinary tour: Aruba- Papillon Restaurant

Papillon Restaurant gives off a vibe of French mix Caribbean and the stands in front of it is kinda taking the spotlight away from them. But it of course has its advantages. There is the 'I Aruba sign' in the very front and the stands in the middle, which creates a heavy flow of tourists in that area, but for someone who likes to enjoy dinner quietly with the focus on ambiance and breathe in the great thing the restaurant has to offer, it is a bit on the crowded side. But that's just me, so that's also why I chose to sit inside.

http://papillonaruba.com/

Since my first visit, I already wanted to visit this restaurant. It reminds me of  Le Papillon of Sandals Royal Plantation, where they offer a heavenly escargot, a juicy black angus and white glove service. So when I read about their '5-course for $50,-' deal, I sure grabbed this chance. And that it comes with 5 wines was like a cherry on top.

First, we got a friendly welcome and was showed to our seats. We chose a seat that was in a forgotten corner inside, where we could still see the crowdedness outside, but not hear them. Inside gave me a feeling of the old French, with many wood accents and dimmed lights. However we were in what seemed to be a forgotten corner, but our waitress surely did not forget about us. We soon got our menu and the 'bread with butter', which is a lump of bread and some pesto and olive oil. The bread was a bit on the heavy side.

Our first course was the Rillette of Salmon & dill,
paired with Chateau Ropiteau ,Chardonnay
Here I really noticed how I know but little about the terms. I had to google rillette, which is similar to pate, but just a bit different in texture and preparation.

This dish came with some arugula salad, which was not so bitter as I thought it would. The salmon was cooked very well, but the rillettes was a bit dry, but with the sauce, it made a great texture.
The chardonnay that came with it was light and fruity.

The second dish was Sweetbread & Asparagus,
paired with Minuty, Rose

This dish was a bit disappointing. The asparagus was cooked right, but it has no flavor and nothing much was done with it.

The wine has a rose bouquet, but a bit on the dry side.

But probably this course has to create the contrast with the next one, because then we got the third dish: Cream of Potato & Truffle
paired with B&G, Chenin Blanc

This is one dish that makes me want to come back for more. It tasted so heavenly. The warmth of the soup, the earthiness of the truffle and a butterscotch aftertaste, it just creates that warm and fuzzy feeling inside that gives you the feeling of being in love. And the amount was just the right one. However I'd love some more, but if I'd have more the butterscotch would overwhelm and I'd feel sick afterwards.

The wine was very fruity.

However on the menu was supposed to be Suckling Pig & Dijon, we were notified that that's changed to Steak & Dijon. I surely am not one to protest against it.
This entrée is paired with Les Pommeredes, Merlot

I ordered my steak medium and my boyfriend asked for a medium rare. Somehow my steak came out medium well, but it could be that the hot plate changed the temperature on the way to my table. The honey mustard was not too sweet, which was better than I expected.

The merlot was well bodied. I could go for a second glass....

Last but not least, DESSERT!!! However I was actually already full, but I had to finish my 5- course.  It was Orange muffin & Dulce de Leche
paired with Sauternes, Bordeaux


The wine came first so I took a sip from my wine and it was sooo sweet. I did expect it to be sweet since it's the pairing wine for dessert, but if I only had to drink this without dessert, I probably wouldn't have chosen for this wine.

The nuts, the soft muffin and the ice cream made a wonderful combination. Not only based on their flavors, but the texture combines perfectly as well. Combined with this, the wine was much more drinkable and the dessert really brought out the apricot flavor in the wine.

Unfortunately, this special ended June 5th, but you can always just order à la cart or try their early bird special. And who knows? Maybe next year, they might have a '6-course for $60' for their 6th anniversary. Cross our fingers and hope they hear us.....

For more information on this restaurant, please click here.

Culinary tour: Aruba- dinner

Dinner is always a bit difficult, since there are so many options. And since those, who have visited Aruba, already know, it's not cheap to dine out in Aruba.  Unless, you're gonna cook every night or have fast food every night, it's unavoidable to go into food temptations.

For everyone, who's going on vacation, I'd say 'if you want to really have vacay at Aruba and able to enjoy the place without hesitations, calculate at least $100,- per day.' Of course, you can get through it with less, but it all depends how much freedom you're allowing yourself. I mean, you can always make your own breakfast. There are two great supermarkets: Ling's & Sons and Super food. You can get practically everything there, even Surinamese veggies (not always and mostly expensive). You can even do that with every meal on your vacation, but are you really willing to cook on your holiday? I know I don't and I want to experience new restaurants and new food creations.

I know I promised my top 3, but there are just so many choices that are so good that I just don't know where to start. So I was thinking of putting it in the order of budget to fancy.

 Smokey Joe ( costs: about $20 per person)

recommended dress code: as casual as you want


http://menuinternational.com/aruba/portfolio/smokey-joes-island-grill/

This is a ribs joint that's nearly always busy. The place is very colorful and has a pretty broad menu. But since they're famous for their ribs, of course I ordered ribs. I went for the '4-way sampler', which includes 4 half racks and 2 sides. The half racks are all cooked differently: original, smokey's signature, jerk and dry rub. I gotta admit, the Smokey's signature was really good. The original was ok, but for me, I don't really like the jerk and dry rub. Maybe because there's comparison, but I didn't like those two. And the funny about the whole experience is that every table gets an empty tin can. For what?? For the bones of the baby back ribs!! And the sizes were pretty good too, but I just didn't have any room left after the total of one full rack of baby back ribs. The price is pretty affordable, but just not the place you want to impress your date. Unless your date is a meatatarian like me and don't mind to get her fingers dirty...It's just no fun eating ribs with fork and knife.
For the menu, please check it out here

Texas de Brazil/ Amazonia

recommended dress code: casual evening, but comfortable ( not too tight since you'll need the extra space in your clothes)

http://www.arubarestaurants.com/

http://www.arubarestaurants.com/

 However these are two different Brazilian steakhouses, but they serve the same concept. For one fixed price ( I believe it's about $40,- per person), you have the freedom to choose what you want from the salad bar and how much you want to eat. There is this grill, where the chef is grilling all kinds of meat skewers and the 'meat-guys' (I don't have another name for them) will bring the skewers to every table that has a 'green' sign. Let me explain the 'green' sign. In the beginning when you meet your waiter/waitress, you'll be explained about the traffic light system they use. You receive a coaster or a piece of wood with on one end green and on one end red. Whenever you're ready to have some (a LOOOOT of) meat, you turn your coaster/piece of wood with the green side up. So the meat-guys know you're ready to have some meat. The experience was somewhat different. I mean..it doesn't happen so often that guys are standing in line to ask you if you'd like to have some of his meat. :D But I gotta say this, even for a meatatarian like myself, it was a bit too much meat. And the awful thing is that even though you  know what's gonna happen, you're just never too prepared... But for the first timers, I have the following advice:

1. Have your lunch like 4 hours before you come to this restaurant. If you were thinking of starving yourself, it will work against you.
2. I know how tempting the salad bar is, but don't overdo it on the starch and salads. Unless of course you prefer salad above meat, but then I'm not sure this is something for you.
3. They kitchen closes at around 11 pm, so take your time. They are not gonna deny you meat if you've been there starting at 7pm. They will still serve you if you give green light. And chewing the meat on your pace is better than hurrying yourself to swallow the meat.
4. Go early...then you can really take your time to enjoy everything.
5. Drink something that stimulates the digestion like a wine or so.

And which of the two is better? There is not really something that made a big difference between these two restaurants. The only difference is that Amazonia has a sushi bar, paid separately and for Texas de Brazil, I got a coupon for $25,- off after I registered.

Madame Janette

recommended dress code: casual chic


http://www.madamejanette.info/joomla2/

This place is in one word 'magical'. Some of the tables were under the trees and the ambiance was very romantic. And above all, they have a wine cellar!!! They offer international cuisine and serve a pretty good steak. I went there last year, so my apologies that I only remember the great company and the ambiance. I remember it was good, but not that good to leave an impression.

Ruth's Chris

recommended dress code: dress to impress (it's not a must, but you'll see most people wearing quite chique)

However Ruth's Chris Steakhouse is more of an American brand, but according to people I know, this one in Aruba serves a better steak. It's of course not a budget restaurant, but from time to time, it's ok to pamper yourself with something great! However their steak is prepared very simple and have no sides on it, it's the best steak I ever had. Not too many other spices to overwhelm the flavor of the steak, it was perfectly cooked and the wine we ordered was great with it. I still remember the wine....it was '14 hands Cabernet Sauvignon'. If you want to try this restaurant, but still wants to keep the costs low, check if they have the '2 for $99,-' special. You pay $99,- for you and your date and you both can choose an appetizer and an entrée and a shared dessert. But if you are going there for the steak, choose one for the regular price and you may share a side. After the big piece of meat, and the big portion side, you'll hardly have any room left.


And of course then there's Papillon restaurant, but for that you will have to wait for my next blog!