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That's a lot of leftover cherry pie. No I didn't bake it from scratch, I baked it from frozen. It was a Chef Pierre frozen pie, Sara Lee's food service industry brand. My brother, who works for a restaurant supply company, left it in my freezer. And I was too busy to bake one from scratch to celebrate National Pie Day. It wasn't too bad--the cherries were tart, the crust was so-so, but it was a little heavy on the cornstarch.

As most of you know, the day after National Pie Day is called National Leftover Pie for Breakfast Day. The two holidays have the same sort of relationship as Christmas and Boxing Day. Here at the National Leftover Pie Council, we embrace the spirit of giving. We have invited the garbage collector, the neighbors and several small children to eat a large slice of cherry pie this morning. And still we have leftover pie. There are worse problems, I suppose.

You may not know it, but today is National Pie Day (at least according to the folks at the American Pie Council, which, by the way...sweet gig!).  It's the 23rd anniversary of the venerated holiday, which was created -- appropriately, if rather disgustingly, enough -- to commemorate Crisco's 75th anniversary.  Yes, we are a country that celebrates lard.

The American Pie Council suggests that you bake pies for all your friends and family today in hopes of "starting a tradition of pie-giving."  You could go with the standards -- apple, pumpkin, or chocolate creme, which are Americans' top three favorite pies according to Serious Eats.  Or you could make your pies all fancified and make a milk chocolate banana pie or a chilled grapefruit-caramel meringue pie, two of Food & Wine's ten all-time favorite pies.

Or, if you're like me, you could just grab a slice at one of the fine establishments listed below the jump.

My favorite lunchtime stop during the week is Super H Mart, the enormous Korean grocery store / food court that occupies an old Flagship Randall's off Bingle and I-10. Not only do they serve up some mean kimchi fried rice and bulgogi in the food court, you can always be sure to stumble across some new and fascinating product in their aisles.

Most of the time, the food products are delicious and I come away a better person, enlightened on yet another aspect of foreign cuisine and eager to share that knowledge. Rarely, though, the new product is so horrifying and disgusting as to merit an entire blog post warning others.

That product? Korean Corn Tea.

If you have never seen the dragon dancing performance that ushers in the Chinese New Year, make it a point to check it out. Bring your camera--and your kids. Sometimes the dancers perform outside, sometimes the dancers burst into restaurants with drums pounding and do a ritual good luck dance that includes taking tips from a restaurant owner. It's a fun spectacle.

Gigi's Asian Bistro & Dumpling Bar in the Galleria II is a great place to celebrate Lunar New Year. The restaurant is offering an all-you-can-eat dim sum lunch on Saturday the 24th and Sunday the 25th from 11 am to 2 pm followed by a live dragon dance performance both days by Lee's Golden Dragon Dance Troupe. A second dragon dance starts at 4:30 pm each day. Gigi's will serve a traditional Chinese New Year Feast after the late show. Call 713 629-8889 for details.

The scene at the grand opening of the new H-E-B (8900 Highway 6 in Sienna Plantation in Missouri City) last night was more low key than the opening of the nearby Kroger this past weekend. There were a few red balloons tied to the wrists of kids, but no bands or football players signing autographs.

The store, though, was packed even though Manager David Solis, a 30-year-H-E-B employee, fretted that not enough people knew they were open. He introduced himself to customers throughout the store, taking suggestions and handing out free coupons to those who didn't have any. As usual in H-E-B stores, signs were frequently posted on the aisles comparing prices of select items to Kroger.

Times like these call for food superheroes: foods that are tasty, healthy, easy to fix and -- most of all -- cheap. And, if it's your thing, easy to grow, too. And that's where kale comes in.

Kale is one of the more unappreciated leafy greens, playing second fiddle to its more well-known cousins like spinach and cabbage. And that's a shame, really. Kale is not only far cheaper, but it's just as simple to fix and delicious to boot.

No, not that McCain. Our own McCain's, right here in Houston.

It seems the economic crisis we're currently experiencing has claimed yet another victim: McCain's Market on Heights Boulevard abruptly closed up shop on Saturday, January 10th. The owners placed a note on the front door explaining that "due to general market conditions we are unable to continue operating the market as usual."

People who'd stopped in to grab a sandwich only the day before were confused to find McCain's closed, but no one could say they were entirely shocked.

In fact, a fair question to ask about this recent closing is this: Is the economy truly the only thing to blame?

After much anticipation, Little Big's opened to a crowd hungry for sliders and shakes this past Wednesday night.  The restaurant, which took the place of the popular Ming's at the corner of Westheimer and Montrose, is the latest concept from REEF's Bryan Caswell: a casual burger joint that will stay open late but which focuses on trendy, creative food.

To whit, one of Caswell's most popular creations thus far is a White Russian milkshake called "The Dude," which is made from Katz's coffee and wine (and which apparently tastes much better than it sounds).  Other frozen creations on hand use Katz's coffee as well, such as the Frozen Joe, a milkshake made with Katz's chocolate-praline flavored coffee.

But what about the burgers?

Mooyah Burger on Bay Area Boulevard is another contestant in Houston's gourmet burger beauty pageant. The chain touts "100% fresh lean American beef (never frozen, no additive, fillers or preservatives)." But if you ask me, the meat at Mooyah burger is too lean. Though cooked to medium, my burger wasn't juicy enough. My tablemate also found a chunk of gristle in his burger patty. The regular order here is a double patty burger made with two 3.25 ounce patties. I went for a cheeseburger made with Swiss--they went crazy with the cheese. But I loved the hand-cut fries.

Was the Mooyah name inspired by Mooby's, Silent Bob's favorite burger joint? No one is quite sure. We got "No Comment" from the Complex Corporation.

Where: Huddle House, 8619 Richmond off Dunvale, 713-785-0003

What $7 gets you: A chicken fried steak with hash browns, two eggs, buttered toast and jelly. It'll also get you (with change in most cases) the Patty Melt, Philly Cheese Steak, Huddle Burger, most of the rest of their sandwiches, and their egg and waffles dishes. It's only when you get into the dinner platter area that you need to get into the $13 range.

Huddle House has been open only since January 5 on Richmond. The Georgia-based chain is looking to expand and serves up breakfast, lunch or dinner 24 hours a day, every day of the week. We talked to Houston Huddle House General Manager John Schilling by phone before going over, noted that his place sounded a lot like Denny's, and asked about the difference.

Schilling, who grew up in Venezuela, said he didn't know much about Denny's but that his restaurant has lower prices than the better-known chain, and not quite the selection.