PJ's Coffee

We now have a PJ's Coffee in our neighborhood. I stopped in to give it a try with their classic combo--a chicory cafe au lait with beignets. Beignets are rare in this neighborhood, but I've had them at the Cafe du Monde in New Orleans. 35 years ago. Would these hold up? Absolutely. I came in at 2 in the afternoon, and they made the beignets fresh. Light, crisp and tasty, with plenty of powdered sugar (Cafe du Monde gave me a ridiculous amount, like a half a cup). The beignets were well coated and there was more than enough sugar to sweeten the coffee. Also plenty to get on my pants--beignets are messy things. The coffee was good, I would say the chicory was on the light side which might suit this area better. Also got a flat white which was just fine.

The place is inviting inside. There are outlets at every table, encouraging you to stay awhile. The seating area up front where you'd wait for a to-go order is very comfortable. Lots of nice coffee-themed decor. There are two identical any-sex restrooms, so no gender-based waiting. They were clean and ready when I was there. Service is friendly. They have lots of other pastries, and list sandwiches on the online menu, thought I did not see them on the in-store menul.  The only other place I've seen beignets in this neighborhood is Walk-Ons (those are good also). If you like beignets you need to try this place.

My Yelp Review

Agape Cafe

I stopped in to try this new coffee shop on a busy Saturday. Got a mocha latte, a sausage and egg frittata, and a chai latte to go.

The mocha latte was done with whipped cream and a chocolate drizzle, so was nice and sweet--almost more like a hot chocolate experience than a coffee, but very good. Nice and rich. The chai latte was also on the sweet side but quite fine. The frittata was a disappointment--dry and not much flavor, I would get something else last time.

The shop is very attractive, with a large world map on one wall and murals on the other. The furniture is quite comfortable. They have lots of games for families, and several tables were playing. It's inviting to stay for awhile, but BYO power--the only outlet I found was at the to-go waiting table. The restrooms (gendered but identical) were clean and ready.

The cafe bills itself as a brunch place, but they do have small sandwiches in addition to the frittatas and baked goods, so one could make a light meal there. The baked goods appear to be their strong point.

As is apparent from its name, the cafe is Christian themed, stepping into the niche that the Sweet Inspirations tea room and Heavenly Cups (both now gone) filled. Hopefully they can overcome the awkwardness of the location--I find the strip mall they are in hard to access. Things look good for them so far.

My Yelp Review 

Brazil Plus Acai Market

I stopped in to check out this new Brazilian market in our neighborhood. I got an acai bowl and a coxinha (chicken croquette) with cheese. Chased it with a guarana soda.

The croquette was quite good, a unique experience. Shredded chicken, potato and cheese wrapped in a pastry coated with cornmeal and baked. At first I thought it was a bit soft, but the more I ate the more I liked it, it grew on me and I can recommend it. My acai bowl was made with a base of acai sorbet. I selected granola, caramel, and condensed milk for my toppings. The bowl was delicious--I'm not a huge fan of whole acai berries, but this sorbet was excellent. The server (the owner, I think) and I talked about cupuacu fruit, another base on the menu. It's a white, chocolaty fruit. You write your choices on a menu sheet, and I asked for cupuacu, but I got acai. Not sure he actually had cupuacu. But I was happy with it. The interior is very inviting, tasteful furniture and seats to linger if you wish. I did not see a public restroom. Service was friendly and enthusiastic. It's great to have this option in our neighborhood.

My Yelp Review

Everything You Ever Wanted, by Luiza Sauma

I'm going to give this a 3.5 and round up. There's a lot to appreciate in this book. The author's description of our protagonist's (Iris Cohen) life is the perfect buildup to her decision to emigrate to Nyx. She leads an apparently privileged (she has a job that pays enough for her to live decently and party) but absolutely hellish (meaningless work, meaningless relationships, drinks hard and eats horribly because all her friends do and then feels awful later) life. She hates what she does and it seems like an endless treadmill. Her family relationships are not enough to keep her there. Though she would have liked them to be. So off she goes.

The world of Nyx seems artificially constrained in a way that makes it feel like it's fake. Sauma spends no time explaining the science at all, just says one gets there through a wormhole and briefly describes what it looks like. It's all about what Iris goes through. The participants are weirdly cut off--they can (and are required to) post about their lives on social media, but they are not allowed contact with Earth and so never get feedback on what they are doing.

[You keep waiting for the book to relent, and it never does. Nyx is not a fake.  Once the perspective shifts fully to Nyx, the situation just grinds all the participants down until everyone is dead. Iris is hopeful at the beginning, Nyx seems to strip away all the distractions that kept her from having a good life. But the social media and livestream lose support and eventually the colony goes downhill. One expects a reveal or a rescue and it never happens. At the end I reflected on the book and it made me incredibly sad. It also reminded me of the early American colonies--some ended exactly this way, and for most it was a one-way trip with little to no contact with those they left behind. (hide spoiler)].

The writing is excellent and I feel like I understand Iris. It's not a book to lift your spirits but it's worthwhile.

My Goodreads Review

Kuksu House

This food truck recently moved from Sawdust Road to La Plaza de los Food Trucks behind the Gosling Express on Gosling.  We stopped in the other night to try them out.  It's Kuksu House so I got the kuksu, and we also got the hanum.

Kuksu is an Uzbek-Korean dish--a cold noodle soup from ethnic Koreans living in Uzbekistan.  It's made with wheat noodles, rice noodles, garlic broth, pickles and beef.  For $17 they give you a great big bowl of it.  The flavors are intense and really tickle your palate.  There's a whole lot of flavor here and I couldn't eat a whole lot at once--I think it works better as an appetizer soup than a main course.  You could get 8 appetizer servings from the order.  Just for grins I warmed up some of what I took home, and it wasn't bad that way either.  One thing I found lacking was the beef--I couldn't find much.  But it's a fascinating dish if you're looking for a unique combination of textures and flavor.

Hanum is another dish from the same region.  It's a steamed dumpling with layered pastry and a meat and potatoes filling, topped with stewed tomatoes and onions.  This is a hearty, satisfying savory dish--all melts together in your mouth.  There's plenty to share or eat later, and it keeps in the fridge just fine.

We wanted to get fries but they were sold out.  Service was friendly and enthusiastic.  They do have more conventional foods--chicken thighs and Korean tacos.  But if you are tiring of Tex-Mex and want something really different, this is worth a try.

Mi Rancho The Woodlands/Gosling

This new, custom built Mi Rancho location is now open in our neighborhood. The official name is Mi Rancho--Woodlands, but it's a bit south of there bordering the Northampton neighborhood.

For an appetizer we got the corn ribs, a new item since the last time we've been to a Mi Rancho. These are absolutely amazing, a must try if you like corn at all. They take an ear of corn and split it four ways so the corn is still on the cob. It's then fried and dipped in butter sauce and garnished with Cotija cheese, and served with tajin mayo. I ate way too many. I also ate too many chips with the salsa, which is served warm. I think it's now one of the better salsas around, nice big chunks of onion and tomato.

For our entrees we got the chile relleno with beef fajita meat and the El Valiente combo plate with chicken. The El Valiente is a stuffed and fried avocado and a cheese enchilada. The avocado was great--the coating was crisp and tasty, adding a nice texture to the creamy avocado, cheese and chicken inside. The chile relleno was very good--the fajita meat was flavorful and tender. The green bell pepper was a bit firm, didn't cut with my fork too well, but was very tasty. The rice was also very good, nice flavor. Beans were fine.

I chased my food with a jamaica agua fresca. Theirs is nice and strong. The server brought an extra glass of ice so I could cut it, which was very helpful. We wanted to get the tres leches cake for dessert, but they unfortunately were out so we ended up passing on dessert.

Our server was friendly and fun. Our drink server deserves special mention. She was very attentive and observant. We were next to a baby at the stage where they throw things on the floor, including a china plate. She was on it very quickly with a cleanup team.

The setting is very attractive. Bright, appetizing colors and high ceilings set the mood. It's less noisy than their Spring location, still pretty loud on a busy evening but overall very nice. The bathrooms were clean and ready, one soap dispenser was out but not bad for a very busy evening. 

My Yelp Review

Taqueria El Rancho

This new food truck on Spring Stuebner has been in preparation for awhile. Stopped in for a to-go lunch now that they are open. We got a chicken quesadilla grande, a fajita taco on corn, a barbacoa taco on flour, an elote, and a jamaica agua fresca to finish it off.

The tacos were excellent, each good in their own way. The fajita meat was diced small and cooked until caramelized, which makes for a great bite. I like fajita tacos that way. The barbacoa taco was great also, nice and tender and full of flavor. The green salsa tasted homemade and had a nice slow burn. The chicken quesadilla was different from what you would find at other restaurants. They use white Mexican cheese instead of mozzarella like a lot of places. For me it had good flavor but ate somewhat dry.

The elote was a real standout for me. Plenty of parmesan, butter and white cheese. They gave me the chili topping on the side, which is great for me because I can't handle a lot of heat. I was able to mix in just what I wanted and it tasted great. I finished a big cup. The jamaica agua fresca was a good representation, and a generous 32 oz serving so you really have to share it or save some for later.

The front of the venue is nice, with pretty decorations and all, but there's a surprise around back--a beautiful dining area under a spreading oak tree. When I was there it was decorated for Halloween/Day of the Dead. They rent it out for parties. This place was worth the wait and I can recommend it.

My Yelp Review