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!

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!

Van Loc - makes me miss Mai's

Quality	Ambiance	Service
6.5	6.0	4.0

Location: 3010 Milam Street, Houston, TX 77006
Phone: (713) 528-6441
Cuisine: Vietnamese
Price range: each item $2 - 10

First and foremost, Farrago will be coming up - but in the mean time, Van Loc.

Van Loc is a pretty popular place for Vietnamese food among the student population as it's accessible by metro rail. It's a casual place and it's good on both the student budget and the belly. The most exciting thing at Van Loc may be their bright chrysanthemum below their counter shrine...which says a bit about the rest of the experience. Oh, and they're opened until 11 pm Mon -Th, and midnight on Fri - Sun, so it's really nice for late night Vietnamese food.

The menu itself is pretty standard...pho, vermicelli, rice of chicken/pork/beef/tofu, but it lacks the variety of other Vietnamese places. Usually, you can order parts of beef like tendons/tails/etc for your pho...but you only get to pick between well-done and medium-done here. The broth is pretty good, but I disliked the noodles for some reason. The rice dish at Van Loc is pretty mediocre. The portions served are also pretty standard for Vietnamese food...that is to say, large.

Like most other Vietnamese places, you can also get a nice cup of ca phe su da to go along with your food. Ca phe su da is essentially personal drip coffee with condensed milk poured over ice - and it's delicious! It's pretty hard to go wrong with condensed milk and coffee...there is also a warm option available, called ca phe su nong.

The service at Van Loc is, like the rest of the place, mediocre. The waitress seemed to rush our ordering and answered our inquiries for different beef cuts a bit harshly. Granted, it was near closing...but there were other guests too!

My feelings toward Van Loc is met by ambivalence. I prefer Mai's...but it sort of burned down. Of course, I might be romanticizing Mai's, but I really do miss their larger selection of pho and their more flavorful broth. I also prefer Givral's and Pho Saigon to here...but I'd come back to Van Loc's again for late night Vietnamese (as it's one of the few Vietnamese place open past 9).

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