El Kiosko

This Mexican (not Tex-Mex) snack chain now has a location in our neighborhood.  I stopped in the other day for lunch--while they advertise as a snack place, they do have food you can make a meal from.

I had the Torta de Bernal, a Hot Cheeto Crunch, and a cucumber agua fresca for a drink.  The sandwich is shredded pork in a Jalisco style sauce, with mayo, lettuce, tomato, beans, crema, and avocado.  The Jalisco style sauce is sharper and smokier than barbecue sauce, and went well with the fixings.  The sandwich is toasted, so it was nice and crunchy.  Very tasty, I would get that again or try the Torta Cubana, which includes sausage.

The Hot Cheetos Crunch is a kind of parfait--sliced strawberries, hot cheetos, lime juice, two kinds of hot sauce, and a strawberry sherbet layered in a cup.  I have to say it was not really my thing, but it was lovingly and intentionally prepared so if you are expecting these flavors then you will like it.

The cucumber agua fresca was good, a tasty alternative to a soda.  I always like to get agua frescas with this kind of meal.

The menu at El Kiosko is absolutely huge.  They have troles (snow cones), hard ice cream, ice cream bars with preparations, and lots of snack combinations.  It's kind of overwhelming, but gives a lot of room for adventure.  They are being very safe--no dining in right now, and all employees correctly wore masks.  Service is efficient and polite, I am glad I gave them a try.

My Yelp Review

Tony's Italian Deli

This restaurant has a new location in our neighborhood--I stopped by the other day to give it a try.  They are all about Italian sandwiches and salads, hot or cold.  Most of the sandwiches have Italian celebrity names--I had a Lucky Luciano, with Genoa salami, sweet Italian sausage, pepperoni, marinara sauce, roasted red peppers, topped with provolone cheese.  It's served open faced on a crusty roll.  I thought it would be a knife and fork sandwich, but the roll held up well and I was able to pick it up.  The sausage is ground fine, and the cheese held it all together.  The whole thing was absolutely delicious, a great blend of flavors.  I have to say it's one of the best Italian sandwiches I've ever had.

I also had a pasta salad and a cannoli.  The pasta salad was very heavy on the balsamic vinegar, olives, and vegetables, not very much pasta.  I prefer more pasta so it wasn't my thing, but it was OK.  The cannoli had a very good pastry shell--thick enough to handle but very crisp.  It had a ricotta cheese and sweet cream filling with chocolate chips, a maraschino cherry, and sprinkles.  The filling was very sweet, I couldn't taste the ricotta at all.

The fountain has the usual suspects--they are a Coke shop.  They also have the soft ice we all like.

I'd go back there for a sandwich and chips any time.  Maybe try a different dessert.

My Yelp Review

Pastel Pizza

I stopped by this new location for a well known business recently.  They have moved this truck from downtown out to a new food truck plaza in Spring.  

This is not a place for a slice of pizza!  They sell empanadas and other filled pastry, including pizza fillings--thus the name.  I got a ground beef pastel, an Especial pizza pastel, a mandoca, and a nutella pastel for dessert.  Washed it down with a malta--a South American malt beverage.

A pastel is a lot like an empanada, and this truck sells empanadas also.  The ground beef pastel was very tasty, great flavor and good pastry.  The pizza pastel had a variety of meats and cheese, and tasted like a much better version of a pizza pocket--not bad, but I preferred the traditional one.  The pastels came with a dill sauce that complemented the food very well (I've had some that are overwhelming).

The menu says a mandoca is a fried plantain item.  Looks kind of like a fried froyo.  It was supposed to come with cheese, but unfortunately mine got left off.  I didn't miss it too much--the texture was more like a dense donut, and it tasted sweet like one too.  It worked as dessert for me.

That's a good thing, since the nutella pastel was pretty nasty.  It soaked the pastry and made it really tough and gluey.

Malta is a very traditional and popular drink, but I had never had one before.  It's a brewed soft drink, and I think is probably an acquired taste.    It was OK for me.

My Yelp Review

Texas Darbar Cafe

I stopped by the Gosling Express food truck plaza the other night to try this new food truck.  It's a very nice setup--they have their own seating area, including a lounge for the hookah if you want that sort of thing.  The service is very professional and attentive.

I had the combo shawarma platter, which was a very generous serving of both chicken and beef shawarma over yellow rice with lettuce, tomatoes, onions, bell peppers, and a white sauce.  They have it in three heat levels--I went with mild.

I took the dish with me and it traveled well.  The salad and main course components mostly kept their temperature on the trip home so I can recommend this for takeout.  The chicken shawarma was just OK--not a lot of flavor and slightly dry.  But the beef shawarma was absolutely delicious.  Perfectly seasoned thin sliced beef with a whole lot of flavor.  I loved every bit of it, and would absolutely get that again.  The yellow rice was a very nice complement to the dish, which is good because there was plenty of it.  There were a few triangles of pita bread which were OK but kind of an afterthought.

They have creamsicles for dessert.  I had a Malai, their classic creamsicle.  It was delicious cream with just a hint of a spice I can't quite place--not quite vanilla, maybe something from Indian sweets?  In any case it made the item stand out.  The desserts are kept in a very cold freezer so they won't melt quickly on you.

They have a lot of other interesting items on the menu, including sandwiches and masala fries.  I'll be back for more sometime.

My Yelp Review