Leti Bee

This place has had a sign up for awhile and is now open across from Kroger in Tomball. I stopped in for a bumblebee burger, some onion rings and a tres leches cake, with a soda.

The burgers are diner classic--the buns are toasted on the flat grill. The bumblebee burger comes with lettuce, tomato, cheese, bacon, and avocado. It was well assembled, very tasty, and manageable in my hands. Very satisfying.

The onion rings were very good, better than most. Nice crisp batter on the outside, and the rings bit through very well. Sometimes onion rings aren't cooked through the middle, so the onion will slide out of the breading when you bite it. Irritating and can burn your face. These bit through pretty well, only a mild sliding tendency. I can definitely recommend them.

They purchase their desserts, but I would say the tres leches cake was a good buy for them--soaked in milk but not too soaked, nice and sweet and good texture. A good finish to the meal. They also have milkshakes.

The interior is very plain, just a few decorations and some furniture left from the previous tenant (Che Tano). The men's room was clean and ready when I came (probably identical fixtures so there is gender based waiting). It's a mom and pop place, the people are very sweet. They put all their effort into getting open. This is not a fast food burger, my lunch got over $30 with tax and tip. I would give it a 4.5 and will round up. They have other items on the menu, but the headliner is great. If you want to have a good satisfying burger, pony up and try theirs.

My Yelp Review

Brooklyn Cafe

Brooklyn Cafe has been around for a long time in our area, but for some reason I've never gotten around to going there. I stopped in to rectify that on a busy Saturday. A lot of places like this are not busy on weekends, but this place certainly was. I got a Hangover Burger, a Pistachio Sweet Cream cold brew, and a chocolate chip scone.

The Hangover Burger comes with cheddar cheese, bacon, grilled onions, jalapenos, ketchup, and a fried egg on top. The sandwich was well put together, I could pick it up even though it was fresh and hot. Not too spicy even with jalapenos. Overall exactly what I expected.

The pistachio cold brew sounded like fun. You definitely get the pistachio, and it goes down easy. A good choice from their spring drinks menu.

The scone was interesting, maybe in the uncanny valley between soft and crisp. Good flavor but I would try a cookie or something else next time.

They have nice outdoor seating, and it was a beautiful day so that was full. The decor inside is mostly sketches of New York City, so consistent with the name. The men's room was in pretty good shape for how busy the place was. The place definitely has a following and I liked the vibe.

My Yelp Review

The Horny Chicken

The Horny Chicken is a name that gives one pause. My first assumption was that this would be a Hooters-Bombshells-etc. kind of place. Put that out of your mind, the vibe is nothing like that. Their specialty is roasted chicken, like El Pollo Loco. We tried a to-go order--a sack (1/4 chicken, cilantro rice, potatoes, corn, and sausage), a fried chicken sandwich combo with french fries, and some churros. Washed it down with a jicama agua fresca.

There's a lot to like about the food. The sack is a very clever idea--they say on the website that all the components are put together in a sack, ready to dump out on a platter like a Cajun feast. I was a bit disappointed that the meal did not in fact come in a sack. In any case, the dark meat chicken was delicious, with a deep roasted flavor. The rice is tender and savory, not a strong cilantro flavor. The potatoes are also excellent, the roasted flavor really gets in. The sausage is a nice polska kiolbasa and also picks up the roasting. The corn did not do so well, it was pretty dried out but the season is wrong for it. The sack comes with a side of their rustic home fried potato chips, which do come in a sack with promising grease spots. I love these things and theirs are delicious, crisp with great potato flavor. They also have a spiral-cut potato appetizer on the menu which looks promising. They have a large selection of salsas--I got the green and red. The green salsa is pretty good. The red salsa is mild and tomatoey. I like this kind but you should be ready for it.

The chicken sandwich was massive--two very large breast pieces. The white meat was reasonably tender but didn't have that same roasted flavor. The fries are standard issue forgettable--you might try some other side. Lots of food, not so much flavor.

The churros are a good representation, a generous serving with a lot of cinnamon and sugar. They are supposed to come with chocolate dipping sauce but that got left out. The jicama was very good.

There are some serious challenges this place will have to overcome, and they have to do with the location. The restaurant is attached to a run-down convenience store. The bathrooms are in the store, and when I visited the men's room was not functional (no light in the bathroom). The place also reeks (sewage issue?), and some of that smell gets into the restaurant. The dining area is a cheerful fast-food setup. The comfort is marred a bit by the ventilation from an in-room HVAC appliance that was blasting cold air. They serve beer and margaritas but it wouldn't be comfortable enough for me to want to dine in. Bigotes' Street Tacos used to be in this location, and as I recall had the same issues. Bigotes overcame them, perhaps the Horny Chicken will too. This almost brings my review down to a 3, but not quite. They are nice people and I wish the place well.

My Yelp Review

Texas Crawfish at La Plaza de los Food Trucks

Big Cab's has rebranded as Texas Crawfish, and appears to be under new ownership. I stopped in to see if they are holding up to Big Cab's reputation. I got a pound of crawfish, a potato, an ear of corn, and the butter sauce.

The crawfish were great. Right now is the perfect time to get them. They were big, cooked perfectly, and the regular spice level is plenty hot for me (they will make them spicier for an upcharge). The potato was also done just right and the corn was plump. It was a really satisfying meal.

The evening was gorgeous, and Texas Crawfish was taking responsibility for trash collection that evening at La Plaza de los Food Trucks. That's appropriate, since crawfish generate so much trash. The cashier told me it would be a 25 minute wait (they had a line), so I settled in, but mine was actually ready in about 10 minutes. You get a full roll of paper towels to help clean up, but don't pitch it if you don't use it all! They will take it back.

$13.95 for this meal is quite reasonable. I can't find anything to note. Definitely a good time to go check them out.

My Yelp Review

Bojangles

Bojangles is a virally popular chicken chain that has just set up shop in our neighborhood. I stopped in the other day and ordered some strips and fries, Bo-berry biscuits and an iced tea.

Actually this was my second try. I went the first time with my family the week before. We waited about 30 minutes in line, then they stopped taking orders at the counter. The kitchen basically crashed.

I went back later in the lunch service. Got my order in and received the food in about 25 minutes, which is pretty good for this location right now. They had a better expediter on duty and were steadily making food, but they still aren't really able to keep up with orders.

I can't tell you how the Bo-berry biscuits were because I didn't get them. Instead I got an extra order of fries. I watched several groups getting food, and I think about half of the individual orders had something wrong or missing. If you order for multiple people it's pretty much a certainty that something will be wrong.

The fries were incredibly salty. Couldn't finish one of the two orders. Just open a salt packet and pour it in your mouth. I don't recommend them, will get something else when/if I go back.

On the upside, the chicken is really very good. Nice and crisp on the outside, not greasy, and the meat is tender and flavorful. I would put the strips right up there with Cane's. Cane's and now Bojangles have spoiled me for strips anywhere else, usually they are quite dry. Also the biscuit was probably the best I've had from a chicken place, very fluffy and tasty. The tea was fine. The soda fountain was stil dispensing some drinks but could have used attention.

If you have been to a Bojangles in the east you will be disappointed, because they do not have whole chicken, just strips and sandwich cutlets. It's good chicken, but if I want chicken strips I can go to Cane's and get them in 5 minutes. They have been open a month now and are still slammed. Maybe give it a few more months to calm down. I didn't check the restrooms, was kind of afraid to. There's potential for this place to settle in and do really well once they get service issues straightened out.

My Yelp Review