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How can you resist a Mexican restaurant called Pancho Villa’s Kitchen (1482 Wilcrest, 713-782-3919) that advertises by hiring a couple of hombres to stand on the sidewalk in big straw hats and serapes holding signs?

The restaurant turns out to be a charming little seven-table café with dark wood furniture and lots of pictures of Pancho on the walls. The owner is a Houstonian of French-German-Mexican descent named Jean Pierre. It’s his Mexican wife who does all the cooking. She’s from Veracruz and her homemade tortillas, tamales and sauces are superb. There are also some Veracruz-style shrimp dishes on the menu.

Walking through the metal detector at Treasures, I wondered how the buffet would stack up against the gold standard that is Golden Corral. Things got off to a good start when an attractive young woman at the hostess’s stand said I had a nice profile – that kinda thing almost never happens at Golden Corral!

A very personable waitress led me into the main dining area, which was surprisingly sparse, given that it was lunchtime. She asked where I wanted to sit, and I found a nice spot in a plush, high-backed booth by the TV, where I looked forward to catching up on All My Children. I asked for a Lone Star, only to strike out – Treasures doesn’t carry it. So I opted for a Corona, which she brought salted, with a lime. It was cold and delicious. That’s when another member of the friendly waitstaff, a young woman in a rather revealing uniform, asked if I wanted any company. What a novel idea – a restaurant that offers dining companions. That’s another thing that almost hardly ever happens at Golden Corral.

In this week’s review of French Riviera Bakery, I praised a cup of Segafredo espresso I was served there. But two of my espresso-loving friends, Jay Francis and Paul Galvani, were not as impressed as I was.

"The flavor was good and strong, but the crema was a little weak,” Galvani said. He also observed that while Segafredo is a leading Italian coffee brand, it’s not as good as Illy, which he considers the best.

Jay Francis agreed with Paul about Riviera’s coffee. “Crema is kinda like roux or caramel,” he said. “There's a subtle difference between 'almost there,' 'right on the spot' and 'oops, went too far.’”

Looks like another yogurt shop has joined the fray: Flavors of Yogurt (5757 Westheimer, 713-789-1111) just opened up in the Galleria area.

The place is self-serve - patrons get to serve themselves ten different flavors of nonfat frozen yogurt, including green tea tart, cappuccino and banana; top it with their choice of 36 toppings, including fruit and candy; and then pay by weight.

A stop by the nearby Water Wall, and you have the makings of a perfect summer evening.

My Dutch friend, Adrie, got me hooked on mojitos. When we go out, he has one as an aperitif and then switches to red wine for the meal.

The way to make a mojito great, instead of just squeezing lime juice, is to mash the complete cut lime and release the skin's citrus oils. I’ve found the easiest way to do this at home is with a standard British pint glass and a wooden rolling pin (the solid wood kind, not the one with handles and rollers on the end).

Driving down Lockwood the other day, I was delighted to see smoke billowing out of the chimney at Kozy Kitchen. I stuck my head in the back door and had a chat with owner Bill Taylor who was getting ready for the Saturday lunch rush. Taylor is also the guy who cooks the barbecue at the Continental Club on Main Street. He has been smoking meat for a long time.

He told me there was a fire February of 2007 and Kozy Kitchen was closed for part of last year. The historic 5th Ward barbecue joint was opened in the 1940s. It is the last of the famous African-American barbecue joints that thrived in the 5th Ward during the days of segregation. Simpson’s, the Lockwood Inn and two others were located nearby.

Kozy Kitchen used to be the only place in town that offered barbecued veal, but that tradition didn’t survive the fire. Taylor told me he only cooked brisket, ribs and hot links these days.

The comments feature on our Web site is malfunctioning. Sorry for the inconvenience. Here are some comments we received via e-mail from readers about the French House review:

“The story we heard was that many years ago the owner was a French woman who enjoyed a big success with her quiche, potato salad, chicken salad, soups, etc…We think their chicken salad sandwich on toasted French bread is the best in town. Try again.” -- Joe and Margaret Clegg

“If you find yourself in the neighborhood again, please give the chicken salad sandwich a try!” -- Courtney

“I like their chicken salad.” -- Melanie

Okay, so evidently I got the wrong sandwiches when I reviewed French House. In the interest of fairness, I went back and ate lunch there again. And this time I got the acclaimed chicken salad sandwich.

Where: Cecil’s, 600 West Gray, 713-527-9101

What $7 gets you: A slightly less painful hangover

We haven’t always been kind to Cecil’s over the years, but we can’t quit the place, mainly because our buddy has a dog that does well there, and also because of the pool tables. Not to mention the friendly staff, and the jukebox filled with what are basically classics by now, and the big patio for smoking if you got ‘em, and the…well, okay, we just like hanging out there.

And what we really like are the folks who come by and set up a grill on weekend evenings and cook up sausages and fajitas.

Once you start talking about small town sausage makers in Texas, you are in for an endless discussion. I like to buy a few pounds of jalapeño sausage whenever I see one these little meat markets and take it home to throw on the smoker or the grill. I keep a cooler in my car for just such opportunities.

Yesterday I visited an old favorite called Krolczyk Meats (979-826-3601) on Hempstead Highway (Business 290) in Hempstead. It’s a combination Exxon station and butcher shop that specializes in Polish sausage. Perusing the big glass display case, I also saw deer sausage, spicy jalapeño sausage, dried sausage, and breakfast sausage in both the link and pan sausage style.

There is a hot dog machine in the front window that’s loaded with hot kielbasa. There’s a bin of hot steamed buns and a container full of stout wooden skewers so you can eat your sausage on a stick or a bun. I got mine on a bun with mustard and relish. The sandwich cost $2.49. – Robb Walsh

Some homemade kolaches to get you in the mood...

Fancy a day trip? Head out to East Bernard next Saturday (June 14) for the all-day Kolache-Klobase Festival.

You can get your mitts and mouth on plenty of sausage, barbecue chicken and real kolaches (unlike those silly doughnut things you see at many places around here) and take in more polka music than you ever thought possible.

Be sure to bring a cooler. Vincek’s Smokehouse (Texas 60 at U.S. 90A, 979-335-7921) is a great place to stock up on barbecue and smoked sausage before heading back to the city. – Jay Francis

I pulled the cork on a California Cab yesterday morning. Then I had a big glass of red wine and some homegrown tomatoes for breakfast. I had never felt better.

The idea that red wine is good for you isn’t new. But scientists now think red wine is gushing from the fountain of youth. The new evidence suggests that resveratrol, a substance found in red wine, can stop cancer, halt Alzheimer’s and reverse the effects of aging. In clinical studies, lab mice fed resveratrol stayed healthy on a high fat diet, became better athletes, and had healthier hearts. The hitch is that the mice fed resveratrol in the study were given the equivalent of 35 bottles of wine a day. But other scientists claim that every glass of red wine we ingest actually makes a difference.

So don’t wait for happy hour. Have a glass now. And what goes better with red wine than homegrown tomatoes?

The brand new H-Mart Korean Grocery Store (1302 Blalock) features a food court with five dining choices. My current two favorites are Sobahn Express and China Factory Mini.

China Factory Mini has my new favorite dish: noodles with black soy bean sauce ($6.00). A combination of stir fried onions and cabbage, chewy noodles and black bean paste, it looks pretty messy but tastes delicious.

Hungry? Literate?

Virginia Willis, author of Bon Appétit, Y'all, has - you guessed it - an interest in both French and Southern cooking, having grown up on Southern food and been trained as a French chef.

Her new book combines both types of recipes with photos, stories and cooking tips. The recipes include Coca-Cola-glazed baby back ribs and coq au vin. Hmm...sounds like a strange, but interesting, combination.

She'll be speaking and demonstrating recipes at 6:30 p.m. this Saturday, June 7. Central Market, 3815 Westheimer. For reservations, call 713-386-1700.

Robb's story on soda bootleggers got you craving more DP action? Give these photos a try. There's a monkey in there. We promise. - KP

I stopped by Adrian’s Burger Bar in the 5th Ward this weekend with the intention of eating one of Adrian Cooper’s amazing one-pound burgers. I was saddened to see that Adrian’s has closed its doors.

The old burger joint down the street from Wheatley High School was a neighborhood institution. Adrian’s grandmother ran a bar called Vivian’s that also made burgers for Wheatley High School students years ago.

Adrian’s Burger Bar and its awesome burger won Best Burger Joint in 2003 and Best Vintage Burger in 2005 in the Houston Press Best of Houston Awards. The 5th Ward is going to miss this place. – Robb Walsh