Smoking Sunday #6

This week I decided to venture back into Asia and try out a Jang Guem a Korean Restaurant. It's located down Bellaire and is one of many many asian food places along the street. Jang Guem is a Korean Tofu and BBQ house that originally became popular in California and has slowly moved eastward.


I was excited about eating here as asian barbecued food is generally a treat. When we went in the decor was modest except for the floor which was very nicely made out of wood and stone.


Upon sitting down we were presented with a simple salad. The salad was dressed with a rice vinegar type dressing and was actually very pleasant. As David isn't big on salads I ate mine and most of his.


The menu is rather small and mostly consist of you guessed it korean style barbecue dishes and tofu soups. We ordered our entrees. David ordered BBQ pork with cold noodles and I ordered Korean BBQ with Seafood Tofu Soup.


Almost immediately six dishes of various pickled dishes were set in front of us (from bottom left to top right: tofu, seaweed, cucumber, bean sprouts, cabbage and a chili like paste) and then a whole fried mackerel was set in front of us. As we were the only diners in the restaurant at this time we had no idea what to do. The soup bowl we were each given really knocked me off guard and my initial inclination was that this would be used for the soup I had ordered.

When the waitress came over I asked her what this was for and she gave me a stupid look and said, "Eat". O yes how simple it is. The fish was ok but not great. The meat was good but there were a ton of bones to sort through and as the fish was whole you had to sort through alot of the undesirable parts (entrails and the like). As far as the pickled dishes were concerned we both really liked the tofu. It had almost a sweet and salty flavor and was the best of the six by far. The seaweed was average and the same could be said for the bean sprouts and cabbage. The main difference in flavor was mostly textural and none of them were very memorable good or bad. The cucumber was something I was disappointed in as you could tell they had been sliced way in advance and perhaps overnight as they were soggy and not very palatable. I enjoyed the chili paste though could not find a good use for it during my meal aside from eating it with some of my korean barbecue.


The tofu soup was brought out in a hot stone bowl and was literally at a rapid boil when it hit the table. It was filled with a hefty portion of tofu and seafood. Though oddly the shrimp was not shelled so you had to pick them out and eat them. I found this annoying and cumbersome. Not to mention they were about 200 degrees. I have to say though that the soup was very very good and easily the highlight of the entire meal.


David got cold noodles which was a bunch of dark colored (buckwheat) noodles that you poured an almost ice cold broth on top of .


I had no taste for this dish whatsoever. The noodles were gooey and the flavor was bland. The absence of any flavor profile and the extremely undesirable texture discouraged me from eating much of it. Maybe David could give a better description. All I know is he didn't even come close to finishing it.


The Korean barbecue was good. It had a nice char on the outside and was very lightly glazed in a sweet sauce (I believe Housin). I enjoyed it, but again there was nothing memorable about it that separated it from food at low budget Asian restaurants.


David's BBQ pork was good as well. It was marinated in a chili sauce and then cooked with green onions, onions, and chili sauce. We ordered that and the soup "extra spicy" and neither was mouth burning. I was actually disappointed as one of our missions has been to find something extremely spicy to the point where we can't eat it (weird I know).


Conclusion
Our total bill was 33.70 and I was disappointed overall. The amount of food when taken into account everything we received was alot; the only problem was that nothing was memorable or very tasty (aside from the seafood soup). There definitely was some appeal in the uniqueness of the dining experience though I can't say that it was worth the amount we paid. I wouldn't recommend this restaurant as I feel that it is too expensive given that the food is average.

Value: 5 out of 10
Taste: 5.5 out of 10
Overall: 5.5 out of 10
Ambiance: Moderately decorated though really liked the floor.

Smokin' Sunday #5- Bijan Persian

Bijan's is another restaurant located on Hillcroft. The area is very heavily influenced by Middle Eastern and Arab natives. Thus most of the good restaurants for this type of cuisine are over here.


Bijan is one that we found online and decided to try based on reviews. The restaurant sign is very noticeable compared to most of the restaurants in the area. It has a more professional look to it. Upon sitting down we are given fresh pita bread along with a plate containing fresh onion, parsley, radish, and mint.


The bread is extremely good and I would probably go so far as to say the best pita bread I have ever had. It comes off hot and is made in house. The bread is a solid 8.5 and is all you can eat.

We decided to go with the standard of all middle eastern restaurants and try the hummus. It couldn't have been anything else as David is on this massive hummus kick and eats it at every opportunity.


The hummus had a very thick texture and the tahini was very noticeable in the flavor. The only problem was aside from chick peas and tahini there wasn't much else going on. Generally in good hummus you will see either lemon juice/zest, garlic, etc. This didn't really have much flavor. It was ok and a solid 6, but we've had better at most restaurants we've been too.


As always I decide to be adventuresome and try a drink known as doogh. The description given by the waiter is that it is a yogurt drink with mint and very salty. I can tell by his face that he doesn't think I will like it. He is right. This is the worst drink I have ever had in my life. Think semi curdled milk with green floating in it. I tried a sip and could not get myself to really drink much more. I can't rate this because I don't know if it was made well or not but I would NEVER EVER order this again.


We go with waiter recommendations and David orders the Bijan special skewer of chicken and beef chenjeh with sour cherry, cranberry, almond, and pistachio rice.
His rice is excellent in the combination of flavors is very refreshing and palatable. I really enjoyed the rice tremendously and could have eaten a whole bowl of it. His chicken kabob was a little on the dry side, but had excellent flavoring and is probably the best spiced kabob I have had. The beef I didn't really get to try. I give his dish a 6.5 though the rice was excellent.


I ordered the Chennjah Sotani skewer of lamb and the skewer of beef kubideh. The lamb was extremely good and I could have eaten 5 or 6 kabobs. I was extremely impressed with how flavorful and tender the meat was. The beef kubideh was essentially very finely ground beef. It tasted basically like eating hamburger and I wasn't super excited about it. It also didn't have the spice that the other two did. I give my dish a 7 overall.


We asked if they had any good desserts and the waiter suggested 'walnut cake'. It's really carrot cake. See the little carrot on our actual slice. It was terrible, not fresh and not very appetizing. There were no walnuts either, it was pecans. The dessert was very bad and you could get a better slice from a premade cake at Walmart I give it a 4.


Conclusion
This is a pick your poison sort of place. If you enjoy nice scenery the porch is a great place to just relax on a Sunday. You can also get a hookah and smoke it as well if you so desire. If you like kabobs and want a light meal then this is somewhere you should try. If you are looking for value and/or good hummus then I suggest you go somewhere else.


Ambiance: Great porch area, relaxing and has a nice fountain 7
Food: The lamb kabob is extremely good and the bread is to die for 6.5

Food:$$$
Overall: 6.5 (Just not a great value at the end of the day)

Bijan Persian Grill
5922 Hillcroft St
Houston, TX 77036
(832) 242-5959

Smokin' Sunday #4 Addisaba

Seeing as we had hit most of the continents I decided that we must find a place that served African food. Compared to Asian, Mexican and South American, African cuisine is very underrepresented in the Houston area.


Addisaba is located just off the corner of Bellaire and Fondren (an area most known for its Asian cuisine). The restaurant sits inside a shopping mall and looks very plain. To be honest, upon seeing the outside we didn't have very high hopes for the food.

Upon entering the room is very modestly decorated and the small dining room opens up to a very large club like area. The curtain was almost fully closed and the lights were all off so we didn't get a good look at the club. The restaurant was filled with native Ethiopians and I believe that we were the only group speaking English. I was now excited, because I have discovered that generally when you go to an establishment occupied by locals of that country the food is very authentic.


We sit down and realize that the table includes napkins, but not silverware. We are going to be eating with our hands. This is awesome. The waitress was a very cute Ethiopian woman who spoke very poor English, but smiled alot. The menus were suprisingly well done and explained each dish extremely well. Our roomate Gary had accompanied us and so we decided to order different meats and try some of each. David had chicken, Gary ordered beef, and I was planning on ordering lamb. I asked the waitress which one was better and she urged me to get a particular beef dish. I agreed since she promised it would be spicy and it's probably that area of my pallet I am working most on right now.


Prior to our food arriving we are given what looks like a giant plate with a salad on top. Upon further inspections it's actually a giant soft sourdough like bread. When eating Ethiopian food you place pieces of meat (served family style) onto a spot on your bread plate and eat it. This novel concept alone made the dining experience worth trying as I have never done anything remotely close to this.

The dishes we ordered are as follows:

David- Ye'doro Wet- spiced curry butter, onion, garlic, and boiled eggs

Gary- Yes'ga alicha- beef chunk, mild curry laced in Ethiopian spices, potatoes, vegetables

Kevin- Awaze Tibs- beef cubes, awaze sauce, onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger

All of these dishes were very stew like in that the meat appeared to have been cooked in the relative sauces. This leads the meat to be extremely tender and also inherit alot of the flavor in the dish.


David's dish was almost Indian like in nature. The curry had a eastern spice to it and the flavor danced on your tongue. It reminded alot of Indian cuisine without the yogurt flavor mixed in with the curry. It was the smallest of the entrees and so I only had a little bit. His sauce had the texture of a curry paste. It was a decent dish overall and I give it a 7.


Gary's dish reminded me of roast. Though the spices and flavor made it unique. The dish had a very mild sweetness that brought out the flavor of the vegetables very nicely. It was very hearty and at the same time felt very healthy. His sauce was very gravy like. I gave his dish a 7.5.


I liked my dish the best and I think most people at the table did as well. The onion, tomato, garlic, and ginger were stewed with the dish for an extremely long time. The dish wasn't near as spicy as advertised, but had enough to lend some flavor. The sauce was made from the juice of the meat as well as the tomato juice and allowed to cook for a long time. The flavors were melded together nicely and the food was hearty and at the same time felt light. I would order this dish again in a second. I give it an 8.

Conclusion
If culinary adventure is one of your hobbies or something that you enjoy doing then eat here. You are in for a dining experience unlike one you have ever had before. The food is relatively "safe" in terms of flavors, but the presentation and atmosphere is something that lends itself to adventure. I wouldn't bring a date here that you are trying to impress as the decor is severely lacking and definitely not set to impress. If the girl though loves trying new things (one of my musts with any date) then take her here and have fun.

Addisabba Ethiopian Restaurant
7668 De Moss Dr
Houston, TX‎
(713) 995-0333‎

Ambiance: Almost non existent 5
Food: Very good and native approved 7.5
Value: Excellent 8.5

Cost: $$
Overall: 8 (uniqueness is worth at least a point)

Review: The Lemon Tree

I was excited about going to the Lemon Tree. Peruvian restaurants aren’t your run of the mill fare in the Houston area. The menu seemed unique and just daring enough to try. We would definitely be scoping it out.



The ambiance of the restaurant is nothing special. The walls are minimally decorated and the tables are standard. The lightning is nicely done.

There was a musician playing which is always fun and made the atmosphere bubbly and cheery. I had a good time. Though I'm not so sure about the "When the Saints Go Marching In" cover. He rocked out though... respect.

The first thing you have to mention about the Lemon Tree is the unique beverages they offer. Several beverages from Peru are available and so David and I set out to each try one. I chose the Inca Kola and David chose Purple Corn Drink. Houston what you know about Purple Drank!



Inca Kola tastes alot like Cream Soda Dum Dums or Big red without the bite. It's VERY sweet. I love Cream Soda and so I sipped it enjoyingly throughout the meal.

Purple Corn Drink to me tasted like carbonated barbecue sauce or a really watered down weird tasting cranberry drink. Not good at all. If you head over to Lemon Tree don't try it.


Upon sitting down we were greeted with chips and salsa. I was disappointed that the chips resembled the cheap bagged chips you get at the store, but after trying the salsa I see why they use them. The salsa is literally hands down the best sauce I have ever paired with tortilla chips. It is creamy and yet light with a hint of avocado and perhaps parsley, and then has a great kick to it after a few seconds of placing it in your mouth. We quickly went through two baskets. I have to rate the salsa a 9 because I have never had better and I have MANY salsas in my day.

After having the chips we went with waiter recommendations for entrees and chose the Ceviche Mixto and Lomo Saltado (medium rare).

For those of you unfamiliar with ceviche it's a dish consisting of raw or very lightly cooked seafood with fresh vegetables (most often corn, onions, tomatoes, etc.) and marinated in lime or lemon juice. Think light seafood salad. Here is Lemon Trees description of my exact dish:
Raw fish, shrimp, mussles and calamari with onions, cooked with lemon juice and served with corn and sweet potato.
The ceviche came out and was well put together, but the spice and flavor profile just was not complex enough for me (which is disappointing because the sauce is so spicy and so flavorful). The lemon took over the dish and the parsley was there, but the spice was all but missing. The seafood was really fresh and really good quality which I appreciated. The corn was fresh and seemed to have come right off the cob. Overall, it was a good dish and I give it a 6.5 for being well done but not memorable.


David ordered the Loma Saltado. Here is the restaurants description:
Pieces of Tenderloin sauteed with onions and tomatoes, served with fries and white rice.
There are few things that in my opinion are a culinary sin and shouldn't be allowed. One of those is advertising a certain cut of meat and presenting something completely different.

Folks, here's the beef. Tenderloin is located at the top of the cow and is the meat that goes along the backbone and is extremely tender, rare and one of the most expensive cuts of meat you can buy. Skirt steak is gathered from the flank of the cow and is one of the cheapest cuts of meat in the butchers repertoire.

Why am I pointing this out? Because our "tenderloin" was inside skirt steak. I could tell not only by the meat composition and look, but also by the fact that it was brined to make tender and sliced rather thinly (which you have to do with skirt steak in order to make it tender). You would not use these techniques with tenderloin EVER. On top of all that it was cooked medium well. I did like how the fries were set under the meat and allowed to soak in some of the sauce and juice. The sauce though overall was lacking and had no flavor complexity. I give this dish a 3 for promising a $15+ per pound cut of tenderloin and replacing it with $5 per pound cut of inside skirt steak. I would NEVER EVER order this dish.

In hopes of saving the meal we ordered dessert. We went with the traditional Tres Leches and a dessert made with Lucuma:

Whoops. Forgot to take pics so let me go over each in detail. They were that good.

The tres leches was excellent and probably the best or second best tres leches I have ever had. It was sweet, but not too sweet and presented beautifully (again my bad for not taking pics). The cake was towered by two chocolate sticks over the dessert and chocolate sauce beautifully decorated the plate. An A+ presentation and A+ taste. I give this dessert a 9.

The Lumuna cake in style and look very much resembled a meringue pie and had a cinnamon biscotti sticking out the top of it. It had a fresh sweet taste and the crust had a hint of cinnamon and crumbled in your mouth to reveal sparks of sweet sugar. It was presented just as beautifully as the tres leches. An A+ presentation and an A for taste. I give this dessert an 8.5.

Conclusion
The beginning and end of the meal were excellent and got me excited about the entrees. Unfortunately one of the entrees was extremely poor. If you decide to grab entrees (and I must admit some of the other dishes looked excellent) then go with the seafood as it seems to be the focus of the restaurant.

The Lemon Tree is bring your own booze and my suggestion: grab a bottle of wine surprise a date and go for dessert while listening to the music. You'll both have a blast.

Price: $$$
Overall Rating: 6 out of 10
Ambiance: Modestly minimal

The Lemon Tree
Restaurant
12591 Whittington Dr
Houston TX 77077

http://www.thelemontreeonline.com/

Smokin' Sunday #3- George's Pastaria and Devine

Once you do something three times it becomes a tradition and deserves a moniker. Therefore, today became the third and yet technically first Smokin' Sunday. As we like to say smokin' sunday is the best day. What does it entail? Going to a new restaurant, smokin' hookah, and watching a new movie.

So today we started out going over to Dairy Ashford to try out the Lemon Tree looking for some good south american food. Unfortunately, they closed at 4. So we went with plan B and used the beamer to come up with an alternative. That led us to George's Pastaria and Devine.





The thing I love about independent restaurants is that they are completely unique and very often you get to hear the story of how they got started (from the website):

After graduating from high school in Pawling, a small, upstate New York town, George Reed came to Texas to attend Baylor University. After graduation in 1981, George moved to Houston. His six year quest for delicious Italian food that reminded him of the numerous small Italian restaurants of his childhood gave him the desire to open his own restaurant.

George and Rene' founded George's in November of 1987 endeavoring to serve plentiful and delicious Italian food at moderate prices. For over seventeen years now we have "piled it high and sold it cheap".

Dave Devine grew up in California and moved to Houston in 1983. After arriving in Houston, Dave met George and they became good friends. Dave has over 20 years experience in the restaurant business. Throughout the years, Dave has taken numerous trips to Italy exploring their great wine tours and fabulous cuisines.


Upon sitting down you are greeted by a plate of hot of the press garlic bread. It's straight of the oven and you get as much as you want. We decided to get two dishes and an appetizer and split it between us.



The calamari was excellent and I can honestly say that I have had it better at only two places in my life. The breading was light and the meat wasn't overly fried leaving it crisp. The marinara sauce accompanying the calamari was excellent consisting of fresh tomatoes, basil, oregano, a little garlic, and small chunks of meat. Really well balanced and delicious.



My entree of choice was the Seafood Maximo. It is described as such:
Fresh shrimp, scallops with mushrooms and scallions in a white wine butter garlic sauce, served over imported angel hair pasta.

I will tell you that often white wine butter sauces are too heavy. The purpose of the wine is to counteract the heavyness of the butter and smooth out the sauce. This is rarely done well (generally the white wine isn't allowed to reduce and the sauce to meld well or the butter can burn and become too nutty in flavor) The sauce was made extremely well and didn't overpower the dish at all letting the seafood do it's thing.


David had the Rigatone Campagnolo described as such: Imported penne' pasta with mild Italian sausage and peppers in a tomato-ricotta sauce, garnished with goat cheese and fresh basil.

Goat cheese is such a great flavor and really added value to the dish. At times the Green Bell Pepper could be overpowering, but the sausage was really delicious in the meal and it all melded together nicely. Often these dishes are really buttery and this wasn't the case here at all. The sauce had been handmade and really allowed to simmer and meld together. You could tell this wasn't an out of the can sauce (see Olive Garden). I was very impressed at the quality.

We both had a Peroni with the meal which is an excellent Italian Beer that I highly recommend. It has a great flavor and depth to it. Overall I would recommend this restaurant. It's a little pricey, but the food is very well made and the owners are present giving it a certain homeliness. This place has alot of regulars and makes the place really fun to be around.

Cost: $$$ (3 out of 5)
Taste: 7 out of 10
Ambiance: Family style restaurant open kitchen

If you want to check it out:
George's Pastaria and Devine
722 S. Dairy Ashford Houston TX, 77077
Phone: (281) 558-1717
http://www.georgespastaria.com/