August 21, 2009

Burger Friday: Mooyah Burgers & Fries, Pearland

It was deja vu all over again the moment I walked into Mooyah Burgers & Fries in Pearland, one of three Houston-area locations of the Dallas-based chain. (The others are in Webster and Katy's Cinco Ranch.) With its bright white and red-accented color scheme, its industrial lamps and sacks of potatoes, Mooyah's "trade dress," as they call it in the chain restaurant biz, was eerily close to that of Five Guys Burgers & Fries.

Even the menu conjured up Five Guys: the regulation burgers consisting of two thin, double patties with toppings you choose yourself; the proudly fresh-cut French fries; the deal that is made of never-frozen beef and baked-daily buns sprinkled with sesame seeds. Here's how the experience stacked up:

Alison Cook Cheddar cheeseburger, Mooyah style, Mooyah Burgers & Fries, Pearland.

*PRICE: Mooyah cheeseburger $5.09; small fries $1.79; chocolate shake $2.99, for a total of $9.87 plus tax.

*ORDERING: Make your way down the disconcertingly narrow line corridor to the counter, where you choose every last one of your own burger trimmings (or make things easier by ordering it "Mooyah style," with secret sauce, grilled onions, pickles, lettuce & tomato). Pay up, get your numbered receipt, find a table and wait for your order to be called.

Alison Cook Look familiar? Dining room at Mooyah Burgers & Fries, Pearland.

*ARCHITECTURE: As at Five Guys, the Mooyah burger is swaddled in tinfoil and delivered in a paper bag. Salad stuff goes on the bottom, the signal difference from the Five Guys burger. On a griddle-toasted, sesame-seeded bun you will find (for the Mooyah-style cheddar cheeseburger option) pink mayo-based "special sauce," leaves of iceberg lettuce, a couple of smallish tomato slices, pickle slices, lots of minced grilled onion, a quarter-inch beef patty, a thin layer of cheddar, another quarter-inch patty, another thin cheddar slice, and a final slather of pink Mooyah sauce.

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August 20, 2009

Chef Robert Gadsby out at Bedford

It's official: Robert Gadsby is out as executive chef at Bedford, the upscale Heights restaurant he opened last fall with the backing of investors. Sous chef Joe Shad [CORRECTION: it's Joe Shead] , who worked with Gadsby at Noe and Soma before joining him at Bedford, will take over the head slot.

Alison Cook Bedford, the restaurant named for departed chef Robert Gadsby's hometown in England.

Acting manager Lambert Arceneaux, who is an investor in the restaurant, was at pains Thursday evening to insist that Gadsby is "still a very good friend" and "will be working with us as we change the concept a little." He said reports on Twitter that Gadsby had been escorted from the restaurant by investors today were not accurate.

"We will continue to prepare the menu that Robert and Joe came up with for now and the near future, and Joe will start creating some of his own dishes."

Alison Cook Chef Robert Gadsby.

So what went wrong? The 5500 square-foot restaurant with a casual fine-dining approach and a pricy chef's-table component looked fine in the summer of 2008 "when oil was at $148 a barrel," said Arceneaux.

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August 19, 2009

I was a Buc-ee's virgin

Okay, so I finally visited a Buc-ee's yesterday: the brand-spanking-new one on Shadow Creek Parkway in Pearland, just west of Highway 288. I've got to admit I came away wondering at all the foodie love for this burgeoning South Texas chain of upscaly convenience-store/gas-stations.

Alison Cook Buc-ee beaver reserves the right to limit.

I'm not a jerky connoisseur (although that could change if society collapses), so the appeal of the special Buc-ee's pemmicans eluded me, too. I checked out the house-brand bagged snacks, but not one of them called out, "Buy me!"

Alison Cook The famous wine aisles at Buc-ee's on Shadow Creek Pkwy in Pearland..

I did admire the wide open spaces inside, the absolute cleanliness and the heartening lack of sleaze. The gas prices certainly were right, being 11 cents lower than what I had paid the day before at a regular gas station on my side of town.

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Catalina has free coffee grounds for compost

Anyone who gardens and composts knows how nicely loose, friable coffee grounds add to the mix. They even look good, being as dark and rich and brown as earth itself.

Stone Creek Coffee Roasters

So here's a deal for you: Catalina Coffee, the distinguished coffee shop on Washington Avenue, just announced on Twitter that its spent coffee grounds are free to Houston gardeners for the taking.

You can show up with a bag or a pickup and haul them away while they last. Tell owner and barista extraordinaire Max Gonzalez thank you.

While you're there, be sure to indulge in one of the finest coffee drinks the city has to offer. I'm in love with the cortadito.

(Catalina Coffee, 2201 Washington Avenue @Hemphill, 713-861-8448)

Posted by Alison Cook at 12:09 PM in Bargain of the week | Comments (1)
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August 14, 2009

Sunday blues brunch at Danton's

I don't know when I've had as much fun at a brunch as I did at Danton's Gulf Coast Seafood Kitchen in Montrose last Sunday.

The event features local blues musicians every week, and listening to guitarist Milton Hopkins (yes, he's cousin to the late Lightnin') was pure Houston delight. The bonus: his vocalist pals Annette Metoyer and Ardis Turner showed up and sang, too. I smiled so hard I thought my face would break.

Alison Cook Chicken and andouille gumbo's on the buffet at Danton's Sunday blues brunch.

"I wish I could do one thing in my life as well as Milton Hopkins plays guitar," I said to my friend Sarah as we stuffed ourselves with gorgeous, fat boiled shrimp and lively catfish enchiladas. Hopkins still has the magic at 75, which should give all of us hope for the future.

The blues brunch is spendy at $35 a head (festive adult beverages extra), but as a combined food-and-entertainment experience I felt it was worth the tariff. There are enough first-rate dishes on the somewhat uneven buffet to assemble some killer platefuls; and the featured cocktails add to the fun, from the chambord-zapped Kir Royale to the kick-butt Bloody Danton's, a Mary variant based on the restaurant's gumbo roux. It's got the swamp thing going for it, along with a whole garden of garnishes.

Alison Cook Annette Metoyer guests with Milton Hopkins at Danton's Sunday blues brunch.

Those jumbo boiled Gulf shrimp are a big buffet draw of course: sweet and perfectly cooked the Sunday I tasted them, to be consumed with remoulade or a cocktail sauce that needed some horseradish for a pick-me-up.

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August 13, 2009

What Chris Shepherd ate on his summer vacation

They say that travel is broadening, and the proof is in the latest menu items from chef Chris Shepherd at Catalan Food & Wine.

Alison Cook Italian antipasto plate goes local at Catalan.

Shepherd recently returned from eating and drinking his way through Istanbul, the Greek Islands, Dubrovnik, Venice and Lake Como. He has brought back such notions as a Turkish-style meze plate and--in the rollicking global "Street Food" section of the menu--a summer-friendly antipasto platter based on the Italian leg of his trip.

Shepherd, being the rootsy Gulf-Coast chef that he is, has worked local produce and motifs into the Italian classic. Note the teeny-tiny pickled baby okra, and the local red and yellow peppers swaddled in Catalan's opulent house-made lardo , a melting, translucent ribbon of cured pork fat. They're a grand indulgence.

I loved the rough-textured, cardamom-spiked cotto salami that's made in-house, to eat along with a square of agressively seared polenta (grits to the max!) and springy mozzarella that's also made on the premises. Fruity olive oil and little green figs glazed in balsamic vinaigrette made everything sparkle.

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August 10, 2009

Meet David Buehrer: a coffee star is born

I consider coffee one of the fundamental food groups. So the discovery of a truly great cup of coffee in Houston--where there are very, very few of them--is a big deal for me. That's why I am currently obsessing over barista David Buehrer's espressos and lattes at Tuscany Premium Coffees in Greenway Plaza.

Alison Cook Espresso macchiato at Tuscany Premium Coffees, Greenway Plaza.

Yes, Greenway Plaza. I wish I were kidding. Coffee enthusiasts who want to sample Buehrer's wares must take the visitors' entrance to the office complex off the 59 feeder, then follow a half-tunnel back to a paid parking lot. You pass through a lobby, a disconcertingly Star-Trekky atrium and a bromeliad-spangled food court to get to the Tuscany Premium Coffees counter.

It's worth the journey just to taste one of Buehrer's rich, aromatic espresso macchiatos. The blend the day I visited contained Brazilian and Indonesian beans, a full, round, low-acid mixture with a flavor that seemed to coat every molecule of my tongue--and to persist long after I swallowed, like a really good wine. I hadn't had such a memorable coffee since I met the cortadito at Catalina on Washington Avenue.

Alison Cook Barista David Buehrer, Tuscany Premium Coffees.

Even Buehrer's lattes have gravitas and length: they are anything but the sissified, milky coffee drinks most places serve up. And it's a joy to watch Buehrer swirl foamed milk into the cup. Tulips, rosettes, a fountaining palm, a pair of hearts skirl into the coffee and stay there, almost to the last drop.

Alison Cook Latte at Tuscany Premium Coffees.

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August 06, 2009

Houston's Feast on Bon Appetit mag's 10 Best New Restaurants list

It's a bit startling to see two Texas restaurants--including Houston's own Feast--on Bon Appetit's list of the Ten Best New Restaurants in America. Austin's Olivia made the cut, too.

Elinor Carucci/Bon Appetit Braised beef with pears and ginger, from Feast.

The way such things normally go, Texas would have a single "slot" on any such list. New York, California, even Chicago might merit multiple winners, but Texas? Nope.

I'd like to think that the one-two Feast/Olivia punch means the state is being taken more seriously as a restaurant hub. I guess time alone will tell if this is just a blip or the beginning of a trend. You know which one I'm hoping for, but I am not holding my breath. I am still grinding my teeth in my sleep after Paul Bartolotta--the Milwaukee chef who now purveys elevated Italian seafood at the Wynn hotel Sin City--won Best Southwest Chef at this year's James Beard Restaurant & Chef Awards.

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Upstairs, downstairs: where's the restroom at RDG?

Miya Shay, the Channel 13 reporter and gal-about-town, noted with some astonishment on her Twitter and Facebook accounts yesterday evening that there's no bathroom on the second floor of chef Robert del Grande's new Restaurant RDG. And the second floor is where almost all of the tripartite restaurant's 160-plus seats are located.

Alison Cook The grand staircase at Restaurant RDG.

Diners and drinkers must either negotiate the bi-level staircase (think: two flights of stairs) or take the elevator to the ground floor, which is home to a small lounge. I hadn't noticed that quirk when I blogged about the restaurant recently. What gives?

On its face, the arrangement does look odd. That's quite a hike, especially for women in stilettos. But on further reflection, I have to wonder if setting up such a forced march might not be as much a matter of social engineering as architectural necessity.

Lots of coming and going on the dramatically lit staircases creates activity, fizz, a sense of busy life in the restaurant. It maximizes the people-watching potential. It generates buzz.

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August 05, 2009

First taste of Bodegas Taco Shop

I'm afraid I panicked a little when I walked into Bodegas Taco Shop for the first time and confronted the wall menu.

This document instructed me to "Pick a Pallet" (huh?), "Load It" with meat fillings, "Stock It" with 18 different kinds of garniture, and then pick out one or more of the 11 salsas to go on top. That entailed a lot of quick decision making. Worse yet, I would have to communicate every one of those choices to the poor young woman who stood behind the counter, ready--nay, eager--to assemble my tacos. Gulp.

Alison Cook Pork carnitas, fajita steak & rotisserie chicken tacos, Bodegas Taco Shop .

Despite my temporary paralysis, it all worked out okay. Bodegas is a perfectly nice self-service place in a tucked-away corner of the Museum District that can really use it--which is to say the Plaza Professional Building, a medical midrise catty-corner from the Park Plaza Hospital.

Nothing at Bodegas rocked my world, but I emerged satisfied by two of my three taco choices, cheerful about my frozen margarita and enthusiastic about the house charro beans. (They kill.)

Did I wish those 11 salsas had been offered on a do-it-yourself salsa bar, so that I could have added as much (or as little) as I wanted? Yes, I do. But Bodegas is too conscious of portion control for that. Extra containers of salsa will cost you 50 cents each.

Alison Cook Bar area, Bodegas Taco Shop.

I settled on tacos (corn tortilla version) as my "pallet," or base, in Bodegas-speak. (The others are burrito, salad, tostada, nachos, quesadilla and the inscrutable-sounding "bowl.")

The counter person was happy to give me three different fillings in my $6.45 order of three tacos: rotisserie chicken, fajita steak and pork carnitas. She painstakingly put guacamole on one, red onion and cilantro on a couple, different salsas on each...above and beyond the call of duty, really.

Alison Cook Frozen margarita, Bodegas Taco Shop.

Relieved, I retreated to a table by the floor-to-ceiling windows and waited for my order to be called, admiring the green tunnel of live oaks that gave the dining terrace unusual appeal. I sucked at the pale, fine-textured snow of a frozen margarita in a fancy goblet and decided it wasn't half bad.

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August 04, 2009

First taste of Block 7 Wine Company

I think I'm going to like Block 7 Wine Company. The new venture, located in a smartly rehabbed appliance store on Shepherd just south of the Washington strip, combines retail wine sales with a wine bar that also functions as a restaurant. There's a short, well-edited menu that will soon be expanded but which already looks and tastes promising.

Alison Cook The bar at Block 7 Wine Company.

Click here to see more photos of Block 7 Wine Company.

The place looks smashing: airy and crisp and cool, all gunmetal greys and silvers, with black notes for ballast, a shimmer of glassware and a few bright pops of color. Cooler still--literally-- is the wine storage and display room, where a personal, manageable selection waits at cellar temperatures. That's impressive. Just walking into that glassed-in section during a Houston August is a treat for which the owners could probably charge admission.

Alison Cook A glass of Chinon at Block 7 Wine Co.

I admired the vintage store fittings salvaged from the original appliance business and repurposed as a check-out desk, as well as the reasonable by-the-bottle prices and the distinct personality of the list, which does not try to be all things to all people. I was excited to see three examples of Ribera del Duero (a favorite Spanish red of mine) at three different price points: entry-level, medium and premium. Same deal with three Malbecs, none of which I had tried.

Over in the sparkler section, I checked out the Louis de Grenelle Brut Rose I had tried--and liked--at Restaurant RDG recently. It was priced at $21.99, or by the case at $18.99. Not bad. Depending on my financial situation, I could have picked up a nice little Muscadet for a song, or a big-deal Burgundy for a lot. Staff was both welcoming and helpful.

From them, I discovered the great not-really-a-secret here: if you spot a wine you're curious about, they'll open the bottle in the bar and sell you a glass, whether it's on their official by-the-glass list or not, with just a one-glass commitment. And if you decide you like the wine enough, you can just purchase the entire bottle with no corkage fee whatsoever.

Alison Cook Croque Monsieur at Block 7 Wine Co.

At these bottle prices, that's as good as it gets in this town. Far better than Block 7's steepish by-the-glass prices, which inch toward half (!) the bottle's retail value. At least the pours are not skimpy, and they let you taste before you commit to a glass from a previously opened bottle.

There's some fun stuff to be sampled. A Schloss Gobelsburg Gruner Veltliner, a fresh and aromatic Austrian white for $8.50 a glass, had a nice acid bounce and a faint green prickle on both the nose and the palate. Swell for a Houston summer.

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Tour de Wine

[Note: the Chronicle's wine writer, Dale Robertson, reports from France.]

For a weary sports writer, the seemingly glamorous Tour de France is anything but wine and roses. There's never enough time to stop and smell the latter, and one's consumption of the former is sorely limited by the number of kilometers to be negotiated each night to reach the next stage's start or finish.

Bas Czerwinski/AP Stage 13: Colmar, in the Alsace region of France.

You can imagine how torturous this is when you are in France and rarely out of sight of grapes ripening on the vine. Still, during the recent Tour, I picked my spots -- much like the cyclists themselves -- and somehow survived to make it to Paris, too, with enough good wine memories to keep me from breaking down and crying when I think about all the stuff I didn't get to sample.

So now I'll take all of you on a tour of wines to be had from the cycling stages that took me through France and parts of Spain, Switzerland and Monaco.

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Posted by Melody at 05:48 PM in Guest blogger | Comments (2)
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July 31, 2009

Burger Friday: Beck's Prime, Kirby

I was startled to see Becks Prime as the best-rated Houston entry on Texas Monthly's recent list of the state's top 50 burgers. (It came in at number nine.) A visit I had made to the oak-shaded Augusta location 6 or 7 years ago had been such a disappointment that I mentally crossed the 11-unit local chain off my list.

So I went to the Becks Prime original Kirby location last week for another look, and to my great surprise, I discovered a burger I admired. It just wasn't the burger I thought it would be. Here's the tale:

Alison Cook Cheddar cheeseburger basket at Becks Prime Kirby.

*PRICE: $7.25 for the cheddar cheeseburger, $3.55 for a small order of fries, $3.95 for a jamoca shake, for a steep total of $14.75 plus tax.

*ORDERING: Line up to order from the very nice staffers at the counter, receive your light-up buzzer, find a table in the bland, banquette-lined interior or on the very nice deck, and wait for the buzzer to do its crazy thing.

Alison Cook Subtropical deck dining at Becks Prime Kirby.

*ARCHITECTURE: Salad stuff on the bottom. On a sizable toasted, sesame-seeded egg bun goes a mustard slather, fine-cut romaine lettuce, chopped raw onion, pickle slices, a couple of thin tomato slices, a slice of cheddar cheese, a thick, slightly squared-off beef patty (ordered medium rare, which you can do here, since they grind their own chuck daily), a second slice of cheddar, and still more mustard.

Alison Cook Cheddar cheeseburger at Becks Prime Kirby.

*QUALITY: My imposing burger turned out to be all about the mustard and the vast quantity of rare (not medium-rare) beef. I love my burgers on the rare side, mad cow and other risks be damned, but this cheeseburger was too rare even for me. With all the mustard and pickles and double cheese, I couldn't get a true sense of the beef flavor or the mesquite-smoke from the grill job. The top bun was a bit too poofy for me, but it squished down nicely as I ate for a better meat/bread ratio. I did appreciate the unusually red-ripe slices of thin tomato, a nice change from the pink-flannel stuff many places use; but the shreddy romaine didn't add much in the way of texture. I stopped eating halfway through, because as a sandwich, this thing wasn't doing it for me. But wait: there's more.

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Posted by Alison Cook at 09:24 AM in Burger Friday | Comments (74)
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