Teaspoon

We stopped in the other day to try this new boba tea option in our neighborhood. We got a lemonade, a Golden Brew coffee, a House milk tea, and a Caramel Cream with no boba. They are in the soft opening phase so they did not have pastries yet.

The Golden Brew coffee was quite good. Rich and full bodied with good coffee flavor. I did not really get the hazelnut, so if you are looking for that you may want to ask for an extra squirt. The Caramel Cream was very enticing, the caramel made for an interesting look while you are mixing the drink. Flavor was excellent.

The House milk tea was pretty basic. Tea with cream. They offer sugar levels and we asked for less, which was a good idea--a sweeter drink would not have been great with more sugar. The lemonade was a disappointment. We got the basic lemonade, and it had no sugar! Lemon water. I think this was a mistake and they'll get better.

The servers were friendly and enthusiastic. The business is social media oriented, with a station set up for video posts. The decor is quite cute. The bathroom was clean and ready. The other recent entry in this space is Tea Amor, and I would say they are quite similar but Teaspoon is cuter inside.

I have mixed feelings about their ad campaign. They have put a lot of bandit signs around our area. Those are clutter that have to be cleaned up at some point. But they do their job, you know the place is open.

My Yelp Review

Taqueria la Guanajuatense in TX Mart

The gas station and food offering at this location have rebranded. I stopped in to check it out, and was pleasantly surprised. This station had been allowed to kind of go to seed for awhile, and has had a few different food vendors give it a try since Laredo Taco Company went out, but this one might stick.

I got a barbacoa taco, an al pastor pork taco, and a chicken empanada. The big thing that stands out is the portions. These are not tiny street tacos. There's a good half pound or more of protein in the tacos, one will hold you for lunch. Almost what I would expect in a burrito, so the burritos are probably huge. The barbacoa was juicy and tender, as was the al pastor pork. I got both green and red salsas, they were quite good and tasted homemade. The red sauce packs a serious punch. The empanada was not bad but they had been out for a bit, I think it would be excellent when fried fresh.

The food is quite ambitious for gas station fare. You can get a whole grilled fish plate. And all of it looks delicious on the steam table, it made it hard to choose from all the goodies.

The place wasn't perfect. My fountain coke was pretty weak. But the restrooms are clean. Things are trending in the right direction for this place.

My Yelp Review

The Grille at Willow Creek

The Willow Creek Golf Club recently opened their grill to the public on Fridays. The Grille at Willow Creek serves dinner from 5:30-8 to all comers. This is a detailed review of the Grille from the perspective of a non-member having a family dinner in the dining room.

We came on Tinis and Tapas night. The place was buzzing, I'm assuming mainly with members. You are required to call ahead for a reservation, though you can arrive any time during dinner service. They had a table with our name on it set up. If you ask, they will say they have a dress code--"dressier than jeans or shorts"--but they don't enforce it so really it's come as you are.

For starters we got the stuffed mushrooms off the Tapas menu and some fried pickles. The mushroom caps were sauteed and filled with spinach, cheese and panko. These were very tasty, a great mushroom flavor and cooked just right. The pickles were also very good--came to the table hot and fresh, with a nice dipping sauce. These are hard to get right and I can highly recommend them. One downside--the server dropped the appetizers off with no plates for sharing. So we passed the mushroom plate around.

For the main courses we got tempura shrimp (on the lunch menu but available in the evening) with tater tots, short rib ravioli and the ribeye with onion strings. The last two came with side salads.

The shrimp were disappointing. The breading was a standard seafood breading, not tempura, but it was cooked well and served hot. The problem was the shrimp itself--it was not fresh. Very soft, no way to save it with the preparation. The tater tots were standard issue.

The steak was OK. I think the grill was not hot enough to get a proper sear on it. It came with a generous dollop of steak butter, the meat was tender and had less gristle than ribeye usually does, and the flavor was good. The onion strings are a fresh version of French's, they were very tasty.

The short rib ravioli was the best dish. Cheese ravioli in a rich sauce with short rib pieces. The sauce had excellent flavor and was well cooked into the meat, which was beautifully tender. It's a meat forward dish, more meat than ravioli. I can absolutely recommend it.

For dessert we got a butter cake. This tasted exactly as I expected it to, and was quite good. The butter flavor is strong and satisfying, and it's soaked in a sweet syrup. Reminds one of cornbread, but more of a cake. Yum!

The prices for the entrees are pretty high. You'll pay more for dinner here than you would at Butler House, Craft Grill or Belly of the Beast (recently awarded a Michelin Bib Gourmand rating), which set my expectations fairly high. The preparations are not that ambitious--there's only five entrees and they are pretty basic. There are no vegetarian options on the menu. They have two dressings for the salad--caesar and ranch. The staff was pretty swamped with the event. They had their priorities correct--it took some time to get in an order but the food was timed well and delivered hot. But they don't have the polish of the servers at the other local upscale dining establishments.

I would say that if you want to try them as a non-member, pick an event Friday (they have a couple a month) and embrace that. The tapas menu had great variety and some vegetarian options, and they do other themed events that look promising. The entrees do not deliver value for the money yet. The course is under new management and the new owners seem very committed to improvement, so I expect they will get better at serving the public with time.

El Rincon de la Gocha

This Venezuelan food truck has opened a new location in our neighborhood. I stopped in the other night to try them out. Got a Venezuelan hot dog with fries and a tres leches cake.

The fries were made fresh to order so were still hot and crisp when I got home. It's up to you to season them. I like Venezuelan hot dogs, and this one had an interesting preparation. I got the deluxe dog with chicken. The bottom layer is the bun and hot dog, then they add ketchup, mustard and mayo, then a pile of potato stix and more ketchup and mustard. The chicken is a cheese and chicken mix, warmed up on the grill and placed on top of the whole thing. It's definitely a dish to eat with a knife and fork. Pretty tasty. I do wish Venezuelans were not so fond of boiling the hot dogs, but that's just me.

The tres leches cake was labeled as handmade, and did taste that way--had a nice whipped cream and cinnamon topping. Do be careful with it, mine tipped on its side and the milk leaked out.

Service is friendly but it definitely helps to know Spanish. I do not, but we got by with pointing at the menu. Overall it's a decent entry in the Venezuelan food truck category.

My Yelp Review

Taqueria El Mil Amores

This taco cart recently relocated to our neighborhood. I stopped by the other night to check them out. They offer their meats in various forms--burritos, quesadillas, gorditas--but I went with street tacos to keep it simple. One each of beef, chicken and trompo (al pastor pork). Got a side of elote to go with them. They do not offer drinks.

The tacos are pretty good. The salsas that come with them are tasty, but I had to be careful--they pack a serious punch. If you like heat the salsas really bring it.

The corn was prepared with sour cream, parmesan cheese and just a little of that hot salsa. This made it more salty than spicy. I really liked it prepared this way.

Service was friendly and it was fun to watch the server work--he's very fast. It helps to have some Spanish but with good will you'll get by without it.

My Yelp Review