I tried ordering a
sandwich from this location via the app and pickup. The app installed
quickly and was easy to use. It's been awhile since I have been to a
Jersey Mike's, they may have simplified their menu for our current
situation, but I didn't see any hot options. I ordered the roast beef
and provolone, which was on a half price special. The sandwich was
ready when I came in. They gave me a cup for my drink--they have a
couple of cane sugar craft sodas, I got the Stubborn Root Beer which was
good.
The sandwich itself was fine--maybe slightly dry, but very
generous for the price and good to eat. I am knocking them down a bit
for Covid-19 handling. The store looked clean and was doing a brisk
trade, and the workers seemed in good spirits, but there was no way they
were maintaining social distance from each other. Pretty hard to do
behind a narrow counter anyway. There's no curbside or drive-through
option, you either get it delivered or you go in the store and get it
handed to you. Covid-19 does not do well on hot food, so a hot choice
for takeout is better right now. I wish them the best after this is
over.
My Yelp Review
Monday, March 30, 2020
Paw Paw Chico's BBQ
Paw Paw Chico has been
around awhile but is new to our neighborhood, and wow are we lucky.
BBQ is so hard to do right and this is amazing. I had the 3-meat plate
to get a good sample--sausage, ribs, and brisket. For sides I had the
dirty rice and corn on the cob.
We'll start with the sauce. It is a perfect blend of flavors, tart, sweet, and savory, with vinegar present but not overwhelming. It is a great complement to the food. But see below--it is also optional. The food delicious without it too.
The sausage is some of the best I have had from a BBQ place. The seasoning has real depth, not just salt and grease. It is tightly cased yet tender
The brisket is very good. I got table pieces, and they were tender with a great smoke line. I've never had such good rub on a brisket--it has lots of different spices that balance the salt. The sauce is a great add for this meat. Could eat a pound of it.
The ribs were the real highlight of the meal. They are tender with some bark on them that adds a lot of flavor. The rub really comes through here--very rich and flavorful, with a detectable kick. I chewed up the cartilage and all, not wanting to miss any of it.
The sides are usually an afterthought, but these were special. The dirty rice was fully done with great seasoning, and had quite a kick to it. The corn on the cob was unique--basted in a smoky butter sauce that looked like it might have black beans in it. There's just a little sweetness in it. Never had anything like it and I want it again.
They have sodas if you want, but it's cans so you might as well have your own. It's the BBQ you want. If this doesn't give Southern Q a run for their money I don't know what will.
My Yelp Review
We'll start with the sauce. It is a perfect blend of flavors, tart, sweet, and savory, with vinegar present but not overwhelming. It is a great complement to the food. But see below--it is also optional. The food delicious without it too.
The sausage is some of the best I have had from a BBQ place. The seasoning has real depth, not just salt and grease. It is tightly cased yet tender
The brisket is very good. I got table pieces, and they were tender with a great smoke line. I've never had such good rub on a brisket--it has lots of different spices that balance the salt. The sauce is a great add for this meat. Could eat a pound of it.
The ribs were the real highlight of the meal. They are tender with some bark on them that adds a lot of flavor. The rub really comes through here--very rich and flavorful, with a detectable kick. I chewed up the cartilage and all, not wanting to miss any of it.
The sides are usually an afterthought, but these were special. The dirty rice was fully done with great seasoning, and had quite a kick to it. The corn on the cob was unique--basted in a smoky butter sauce that looked like it might have black beans in it. There's just a little sweetness in it. Never had anything like it and I want it again.
They have sodas if you want, but it's cans so you might as well have your own. It's the BBQ you want. If this doesn't give Southern Q a run for their money I don't know what will.
My Yelp Review
Monday, March 16, 2020
Chai Taco
Chai Taco is a new
food business inside the Star Stop Exxon at Gosling and Kuykendahl. I
stopped in the other day to give them a try.
I ordered a Kebab Paratha roll and a Butter Chicken burrito. The portions are very generous--either of those items would be a filling lunch by themselves. That and a small drink will set you back about $6 so it's a great value.
The Paratha roll wrap is supposed to be a Pakistani traditional bread, but that shows you how cultures converge--to me it tasted something like a whole wheat tortilla, and definitely functioned like one. The kebab is ground spiced meat formed into a tube and served with a kind of tzatziki sauce with a kick. The sauce was good, but the meat seemed kind of bland and mealy--would be better if they put it on the grill and gave it some carmelization.
The butter chicken burrito is a true combination of North Indian and Mexican food--it's a tortilla filled with rice, refried beans, cheese, and butter chicken. It tastes OK but to me the flavors kind of mush together--I love butter chicken but couldn't pick out the Indian flavor. I would say more of a mashup than a fusion.
As for the rest of the store--it is much better than my previous visit. They have a seating area by the restrooms that is kind of interestingly bordered by stacks of 12-packs. The restrooms were in much better shape than before, pretty clean and ready. There was a strong sewage odor before that has been much reduced. The layout of the restroom is not great, you are visible from the door when you're at the urinal, but overall it's fine.
Chai Taco is a great deal and a promising concept, but I think they need to tweak the recipes a bit. Come on out and encourage them.
As of this writing Harris County has ordered all restaurants to go to delivery/takeout only. I'll continue to do these reviews as food delivery. If you can, please support your local restaurants with a takeout meal.
My Yelp Review
I ordered a Kebab Paratha roll and a Butter Chicken burrito. The portions are very generous--either of those items would be a filling lunch by themselves. That and a small drink will set you back about $6 so it's a great value.
The Paratha roll wrap is supposed to be a Pakistani traditional bread, but that shows you how cultures converge--to me it tasted something like a whole wheat tortilla, and definitely functioned like one. The kebab is ground spiced meat formed into a tube and served with a kind of tzatziki sauce with a kick. The sauce was good, but the meat seemed kind of bland and mealy--would be better if they put it on the grill and gave it some carmelization.
The butter chicken burrito is a true combination of North Indian and Mexican food--it's a tortilla filled with rice, refried beans, cheese, and butter chicken. It tastes OK but to me the flavors kind of mush together--I love butter chicken but couldn't pick out the Indian flavor. I would say more of a mashup than a fusion.
As for the rest of the store--it is much better than my previous visit. They have a seating area by the restrooms that is kind of interestingly bordered by stacks of 12-packs. The restrooms were in much better shape than before, pretty clean and ready. There was a strong sewage odor before that has been much reduced. The layout of the restroom is not great, you are visible from the door when you're at the urinal, but overall it's fine.
Chai Taco is a great deal and a promising concept, but I think they need to tweak the recipes a bit. Come on out and encourage them.
As of this writing Harris County has ordered all restaurants to go to delivery/takeout only. I'll continue to do these reviews as food delivery. If you can, please support your local restaurants with a takeout meal.
My Yelp Review
Monday, March 9, 2020
Brazilian Joe's
We have several good
South American options for eating in this area, and Brazilian Joe's is
definitely one of them. I stopped in to try it out the other day and
was very pleased.
I started off with a Guarana soda, a very refreshing drink that is a little like ginger ale, but not much--really you have to try it. I ordered the loaded yuca fries and a Brazilian hot dog. While I waited for my food they brought me a fried polenta sample. This was excellent, little fried cubes crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Would definitely order them.
The loaded yuca fries are amazing--topped with white American cheese, diced tomatoes, onions, sweet corn, black beans, Sriracha ketchup, Tzatziki sauce, and bacon. We know yuca here as cassava--nothing like the yucca plant! The fries are crisp on the outside and firm, holding up well to all that topping. A delicious blend--the candied jalapenos are unique, I can take or leave them but definitely different.
The hot dog is quite a sandwich. Come hungry for this one, it's actually two large hot dogs split on a crusty panini with cream cheese, grilled onions, sweet corn, and mayo. It was good, but the hot dogs taste just a bit dull like they are boiled. They would totally rock if they were put on the grill for some caramelization. Very satisfying.
For dessert I had the brigadeiro, a chocolate fudge you eat with a spoon. You get a small portion, just a salsa cup, but it finishes the meal nicely.
The place is very child friendly, with a play area and a beautiful changing table in the bathroom. That bathroom is quite clean and ready to serve. For those of you who play, the mural inside is a PokeStop so you can do a little Pokemon farming while you enjoy your meal. I would definitely come back.
My Yelp Review
I started off with a Guarana soda, a very refreshing drink that is a little like ginger ale, but not much--really you have to try it. I ordered the loaded yuca fries and a Brazilian hot dog. While I waited for my food they brought me a fried polenta sample. This was excellent, little fried cubes crisp on the outside and tender on the inside. Would definitely order them.
The loaded yuca fries are amazing--topped with white American cheese, diced tomatoes, onions, sweet corn, black beans, Sriracha ketchup, Tzatziki sauce, and bacon. We know yuca here as cassava--nothing like the yucca plant! The fries are crisp on the outside and firm, holding up well to all that topping. A delicious blend--the candied jalapenos are unique, I can take or leave them but definitely different.
The hot dog is quite a sandwich. Come hungry for this one, it's actually two large hot dogs split on a crusty panini with cream cheese, grilled onions, sweet corn, and mayo. It was good, but the hot dogs taste just a bit dull like they are boiled. They would totally rock if they were put on the grill for some caramelization. Very satisfying.
For dessert I had the brigadeiro, a chocolate fudge you eat with a spoon. You get a small portion, just a salsa cup, but it finishes the meal nicely.
The place is very child friendly, with a play area and a beautiful changing table in the bathroom. That bathroom is quite clean and ready to serve. For those of you who play, the mural inside is a PokeStop so you can do a little Pokemon farming while you enjoy your meal. I would definitely come back.
My Yelp Review
Monday, March 2, 2020
Bareback Bar & Icehouse
The Bareback Bar and Icehouse
is mostly a place you'd go for dancing and beer, but I had heard they
have good food so I stopped in for a meal. Would have to say I was
pretty happy with it, it is highly competent bar food.
I stopped in shortly after opening on a Saturday and was the only one there, but I got friendly service. Kicked back to watch some college baseball--they had the TV outside going.
They have a great big burger on the menu (the Handful) but at $14.50 it's a commitment, so I went with some wings and some southwest eggrolls. The wings were very good, I got classic Buffalo and can find no fault--they were nice and tender, probably from a bag frozen but revived well. The french fries were cooked perfectly, crisp on the outside and tender inside. As good as I have had anywhere.
I had heard good things about the Southwest egg rolls, and again was not disappointed. They are well sourced--very tasty. And they were cooked until good and crisp on the outside, which is just the way I like them.
One should probably lower expectations about the condition of the restrooms on a Saturday night, but I can say that they start the day clean.
It is not fast food, I had to wait while they prepared it fresh, and I could see where this process might be hit or miss on a busy night. It is not a beer connoisseur place, but they do have Saint Arnold's if you want craft beer. I would not hesitate to order a meal if I were there for happy hour or had the munchies later.
My Yelp Review
I stopped in shortly after opening on a Saturday and was the only one there, but I got friendly service. Kicked back to watch some college baseball--they had the TV outside going.
They have a great big burger on the menu (the Handful) but at $14.50 it's a commitment, so I went with some wings and some southwest eggrolls. The wings were very good, I got classic Buffalo and can find no fault--they were nice and tender, probably from a bag frozen but revived well. The french fries were cooked perfectly, crisp on the outside and tender inside. As good as I have had anywhere.
I had heard good things about the Southwest egg rolls, and again was not disappointed. They are well sourced--very tasty. And they were cooked until good and crisp on the outside, which is just the way I like them.
One should probably lower expectations about the condition of the restrooms on a Saturday night, but I can say that they start the day clean.
It is not fast food, I had to wait while they prepared it fresh, and I could see where this process might be hit or miss on a busy night. It is not a beer connoisseur place, but they do have Saint Arnold's if you want craft beer. I would not hesitate to order a meal if I were there for happy hour or had the munchies later.
My Yelp Review
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