Podcast - late night eats

Hey guys I've had one helluva week (last week of classes in undergrad ever) and has spent the last couple of nights not sleeping. I think this podcast for late night foods was fitting - lots of Clare rambles. If anything sounded funny grammatically...that's because it's late and sleep is for never.

(Not food related: Catalyst: Rice Undergraduate Science & Engineering Review will be out soon - look for it at your college! It looks super snazzy)

(Double plug - if you think the toys look cool in the video and you want one - leave a comment)

Caffe Bello - good food comes with awkwardness

Quality	Ambiance	Service
8.0	7.0	5.0

Location: 322 Westheimer, Houston, TX 77006
Phone: (713) 520-5599
Cuisine: Italian
Price range: each item $10 - 26
http://caffebello.com/

So we decided to go try Caffe Bello on the usual Saturday night hunt for food. Unfortunately, parking at all the Cajun places were ridiculous and the line at Dolce Vita was out the door. So we drove for 3 more minutes and ended up at Caffe Bello. Despite the fact that the rather spacious parking was attached to the restaurant, Caffe Bello employees insisted on the complimentary valet parking for our car. First point of awkwardness at Caffe Bello - our car was right next to where you pick up the car. Do we still tip if they don't need to drive our car? Moving on, the interior of Caffe Bello was dim, and it was quite romantic. Fun fact we learned - it opens until midnight on Friday and Saturday.

Their website touted, "Our menus are always changing, reflecting the best ingredients available that day." It is undeniable that their food is delicious. There was complimentary bread basket with a cream sauce rather than olive oil and also a delicious complimentary amuse-bouche. The amuse-bouche was a mustard yellow shooter with crispy prosciutto sprinkled. We ordered:

• Bresaola, taleggio, pear, Italian truffle honey Pizza
• Roasted Beet Carpaccio with goat cheese panna cotta, arugula, and pine nut puree
• Risotto Reggiano with crispy pork belly, green garlic, grilled mushrooms, and saba

Drool at your own convenience. The pizza was delightfully proportioned and very crispy. There were no unfortunate greasy residue. The roasted beet carpaccio (yes - beet! not beef) was surprising. I usually dislike beet because of the awkward sweet aftertaste, but the goat cheese panna cotta offset it very nicely although there was an annoying cloying aftertaste. I was equally surprised by the goat cheese panna cotta. Usually, panna cotta is eaten as a dessert and has a mild sweet and creamy taste, but the goat cheese panna cotta was very savory and the sweetness came from

the beet rather than the cream. The risotto reggiano was probably my favorite part of the meal. The crispy pork belly was, unfortunately, not crispy, but there were also very little fat (so it totally made it up for the not crispy) on it as the fat was infused into the risotto instead. The mushrooms were very tender and I'm not quite sure if they used saba the fish or saba the syrup. The amount of food was quite sizeable and according to Yelp, Caffe Bello is really good for brunch. (Bresaola, taleggio, pear, Italian truffle honey Pizza image courtesy of Albert N. on Yelp)

Service was a nightmare. I'm pretty sure it was only our waitress though as I saw other seats got their orders taken promptly and drinks delivered on-time. Instead, we waited a good fifteen minutes before we were served breadsticks and almost twenty before our orders were even taken. My order of italian soda wasn't even delivered until half an hour later. This really wasn't an excuse as we were her only table. Quite honestly, we almost just got up and left. It was that bad. When she came to take our orders, she took away our menus before taking our orders. WHO TAKES AWAY THE MENU WHEN THE CUSTOMER IS TRYING TO ORDER? Moreover, she did not bother to explain anything on the menu or explain the amuse-bouche until we asked. In fact, we were left in a confused state when the amuse-bouche was placed before us...not quite sure if it was for our carpaccio, bread, pizza, or what. Her redeeming feature was that after the initial wait and awkwardness with ordering, everything came along quite well.

So, in conclusion - food is great. Definitely come and get the pizza at least. I'd definitely come back here again for brunch or lunch or dinner. Valet parking might be useful when it's at a more popular hour, but if I get the same server, I might just get up, make an awkward remark about coming into the wrong place, and split.

Any suggestions as to where I should go next? Leave a comment!

Video! I like Cake! A lot.

I love cakes and pastries. So, I embarked on a trip around Houston eating cupcakes and pastries! Here is the video compilation.

List of places that came in order:
Sugar Baby (strawberry)
Epicurean Cafe (chocolate mousse)
French Gourmet Bakery (grand marnier)
Crave Cupcakes (hummingbird)
Epicurean Cafe (cheesecake)

Special post: Lüke Restaurant in NOLA

Quality	Ambiance	Service
9.0	8.0	8.0

Location: 333 St. Charles Ave., New Orleans, LA 70130
Phone: (504) 378-2840
Cuisine: Modern American
Price range: each item $6 - 25
http://www.lukeneworleans.com/

Over spring break, I was travelling to the lovely city of New Orleans for some fun Mardi Gras fun. Of course, this calls for some delicious Cajun food and fresh seafood. So, we went to Luke Restaurant,owned by John Besh (he was a guest judge on season 5 of Top Chef!), for their lovely half off raw seafood happy hour deal. $6 for a dozen raw oysters? Totally worth it.

The ambiance was homey and warm. The servers were extremely welcome and a warm loaf of bread was brought out in a towel with fresh butter along with lemon and hot towels. Service was immediate and even though the restaurant was extremely busy, the noise level was still acceptable and orders were carried out with dutiful speed and thoughtfulness.

The menu was extremely impressive. It was truly a challenge to pick out an entree. We ended up ordering appetizer in the form of a rabbit and duck liver pate. Don't grimace, this was truly amazing. Served on a flat wooden board along with the crispiest baguettes, diced pickle radish, pickled cucumber, and other things, the pate had a smooth finish but the liver was not overpowering. Seriously-if you don't like liver, you'd still like this. (rabbit and duck pate, image courtesy of Arnaud H. of Yelp.com)

The oysters came out soon after we got our pate. The oysters were fresh, and well...awesome. Served with their house cocktail sauce and also horseradish, they give the oysters a strong kick and scintillate the taste buds. If you've never had raw seafood before, give it a whirl before you turn your nose at it. Of course, if you are allergic to shellfish...I'm sorry and don't try it-eat more pate. (raw oysters, image courtesy of Goodfella M. of Yelp)

For entree, we ordered shrimp and grits and shrimp farci, which was a collection of crabmeat stuffed shrimp with blood orange hollandaise. The grits were perfect-wonderfully creamy and just the right amount of grainy with really tender shrimps. The broth that the grits were in brought out the texture and seafood taste really well. The shrimp farci were good, but it was a tad too rich right after the pate. Otherwise, the shrimp farci was wonderful. It was possible to distinguish crab from shrimp

which is often rare in fried seafood, and the hollandaise sauce was super creamy and had an attractive orange/yellow color. (shrimp and grits, image courtesy of Tu-van L. of Yelp)

The amount of food that came was kind of monstrous...it was a pity we didn't save any room for dessert. Otherwise, I'd totally try their black forest pot de creme.

If I could, I'd go here again and again and again. Honestly, I could probably live on that pate and oysters. Luckily, John Besh doesn't have any restaurants in Houston or else I'd probably be living there. He did open a Luke in San Antonio though, so if you happen to be in New Orleans or San Antonio...I'd definitely give it a spin.

Any suggestions as to where I should go next? Leave a comment!

Top 5 Coffee Places in Houston - shortened

Coffee is a large part of the modern adult's life. You can't wake up without it and it's a fantastic thing to drink at night when you're studying/working. For me, it's often one of the first things I drink and the last thing I drink before going to bed. I also often study at coffeehouses as it inspires me to actually work instead of goofing off on my computer.

I've compiled a list of top 5 coffeehouses I love in no particular order.

1. Tuscany Premium Coffee

• Favorite Drink: Vanilla Latte
• Location: 5 E Greenway Plz Ste C610, Houston, TX77046
• Free wi-fi? Yes - from surrounding places
  

2. Inversion Coffee

• Favorite Drink: Latte
  
• Location: 1953 Montrose Boulevard, Houston, TX 77006
• Free wi-fi? Yes
  

3. Salento

• Favorite Drink: Mocha
  
• Location: 2407 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005
• Free wi-fi? Until 6 pm
  

4. Agora

• Favorite Drink: Greek iced coffee/ Earl grey lavender tea
  
• Location: 1712 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77098-1612
• Free wi-fi? Yes

5. Catalina

• Favorite Drink: Cappuccino/everything
  
• Location: 2201 Washington Avenue, Houston, TX 77007
• Free wi-fi? Yes

Honorable Mention:

1. Rice Coffeehouse
2. Coffee Groundz
3. Katz (not actually a coffee place, but it's 24 hours and they have some awesome coffee)
4. House of Pies (also not a coffee place, but they serve coffee and you can get pie, and it's 24 hours)

Top 5 Coffee places

Coffee is a large part of the modern adult's life. You can't wake up without it and it's a fantastic thing to drink at night when you're studying/working. For me, it's often one of the first things I drink and the last thing I drink before going to bed. I also often study at coffeehouses as it inspires me to actually work instead of goofing off on my computer.

I've compiled a list of top 5 coffeehouses I love in no particular order.

1. Tuscany Premium Coffee

• Favorite Drink: Vanilla Latte
• Location: 5 E Greenway Plz Ste C610, Houston, TX77046
• Pro: Their latte come with elaborate coffee art. They make all their own syrups and the baristas are super friendly. Their cookies are also pretty darn delicious and if you sit at the bar and converse with the barista, sometimes they let you taste new coffee.
  
• Con: It's hard to find and it's in a food court. Not to mention, they close at 5 and they only validate 2 hours of parking.

2. Inversion Coffee

• Favorite Drink: Latte
  
• Location: 1953 Montrose Boulevard, Houston, TX 77006
• Pro: Sunny and spacious, it's a great place to study. They have wonderful decor and a food truck outside. Inversion also sells 50% old pastries and apparently smoothies. Also, they're opened late (around 10 pm).
  
• Con: Parking is really hard to find
  

3. Salento

• Favorite Drink: Mocha
  
• Location: 2407 Rice Boulevard, Houston, TX 77005
• Pro: Located in Rice village AND at Rice, Salento has fantastic coffee and food. Seriously, try their brie sandwich and empanadas. It's also a great place to meet up with people and chat but they have free wi-fi in the morning for people to work. I can probably credit at least four of my papers to Salento mocha.
  
• Con: Free wi-fi is stopped at 6 pm and it may be too dim to study during the night as everything is by candlelight.
  

4. Agora

• Favorite Drink: Greek iced coffee/ Earl grey lavender tea
  
• Location: 1712 Westheimer Road, Houston, TX 77098-1612
• Pro: It's opened until really late (2 am), the clientele is pretty international and many people are open to conversation. They also serve wine and beer as well as sodas, so if you don't want just coffee/tea...try those out. Wednesday has belly dancers so that's always a rowdy day. Otherwise, Agora is really nice to study or for a good chat on couches.
  
• Con: Crowded, oftentimes loud, and their mochas taste more like chocolate milk. The stairs to get upstairs are also kind of steep, so be careful when you're balancing a full cup of hot drink. The owner could also be kind of gruff on a busy day.
  

5. Catalina

• Favorite Drink: Cappuccino/everything
  
• Location: 2201 Washington Avenue, Houston, TX 77007
• Pro: Small, intimate location with comfortable chairs. The baristas are pretty nice and they have fantastic selection of coffee. Pretty much anything here is worth drinking. The espresso is just fantastic and it's just really nice and quiet so you can get a lot of work done (bookwork that is).
  
• Con: They close too early for me (8 pm), and it's hard to actually get there. It's also kind of hard to find if you don't know where it is. Also, don't bring a laptop...they don't really have more than one plug. Do your bookwork here.
  

Honorable Mention:

1. Rice Coffeehouse
2. Coffee Groundz
3. Katz (not actually a coffee place, but it's 24 hours and they have some awesome coffee)
4. House of Pies (also not a coffee place, but they serve coffee and you can get pie, and it's 24 hours)

Farrago's - easy breezy brunch

Quality	Ambiance	Service
7.0	8.0	7.0

Location: 318 Gray St, Houston, TX 77002
Phone: (713) 523-6404
Cuisine: Modern American
Price range: each item $8 - 12
www.farragohouston.com

Farrago is located right in the fashionable Midtown district, which means that parking will be impossible. There is a parking garage that offers free parking for up to 3 hours and you can usually find a place there, but the street side parking will be a nightmare.

Farrago is relatively spacious, with generous outdoor seating. It may be a bit awkward as some of those seats are right next to the road. But if you don't mind sitting next to pedestrians and drivers, it's a wonderful way to catch a bit of Houston weather before it gets unbearably humid and hot. The interior of Farrago is comfortable in hues of warm red and brown. There are rumors of live music at certain times, so you may want to look that up.

As suggested, we went to Farrago for brunch. The menu was interesting and we ended up ordering Spinach and Feta Souffle and Cajun Benedict. Also exciting was the bottomless mimosa on the menu. If there is one thing that makes brunch awesome, it's that it's perfectly okay to have an alcohol laced drink before noon. For $10 + entree, bottomless mimosa is a fantastic deal if you want to get your drink on before noon. However, I find that one mimosa was a solid amount for me to face the weekend. Their mimosa also has the right ratio of orange juice sweetness to champagne tang, so I highly recommend you to order some.
The spinach and feta souffle came with a toasted cheese stick, which was super fluffy. The actual souffle was not bad...although it was really more reminiscent of a steamed egg omelet than an actual souffle. The sauce that it came with was creamy but a bit bland.

The actual Cajun Benedict was superb. The potatoes that it came with were a tad dry, but as with all potatoes, it's hard to really disparage them no matter how they are prepared. The eggs were poached just to the right amount, so while it was solid, the yolk was still moist enough to not crumble. The Cajun cream sauce it came with had actual little crawfish in it and the biscuit was fluffy.

Service at Farrago's was a bit slow, but it wasn't terribly so. Our orders were taken promptly and it wasn't too long before we got our food. However, the waiters kind of disappeared after we got our food, and it was difficult to get their attention.

Overall, I think it was a mildly pleasant experience and I wouldn't mind coming back but not on my own. However, for the food and service...I find that it's a bit overpriced, but that's sort of a defining mark of Midtown. It's a lovely place to go for a brunch gathering with your friends and there were plenty of large groups and couples there, but I wouldn't go there just for the food.

Any suggestions as to where I should go next? Leave a comment!