#riceuniversity Archives

PART 2: HOUSTON EATS

By threejamigos | September 22, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

Well of course we ate our way through the city! My favorite place from this trip is…wait for it……..

TORCHY’S TACOS!

Queso dip with thin crispy tortilla chips, Trailer Park Tacos trashy-style and corn grilled taken off the cob and gussied up with cheese and spices. Good tacos at a great price. Yum.

Houston is not just a one trick pony of Tex-Mex food. During this trip we feasted on Greek and Indian food. Stopped for Boba tea, nibbled on great biscuits over a steaming latte at Blacksmith. Ran into Shipley’s for kolachys and witnessed a char-siu bao eating contest during dim sum lunch. We perused the international aisles of Phoenicia Foods and munched on chili biscuits to start our soul food supper at Lucille’s. How’s that for cosmopolitan eating.

Dinner at Helen Greek Food and Wine in Rice Village: We started with a trio of delicious dips followed with stuffed squash blossoms and a whole stuffed snapper with a tart and tangy lemon sauce. A sweet ending of fennel cinnamon laced donuts.

The squash blossoms were DELICIOUS, GET THEM.

We ate at Pondicheri Cafe, an upscale Indian eatery that serves familiar Indian dishes in a lovely space. I had their Earth Thali that included crispy golden pakoras, carrot roti, butter chicken and a creamy vegetable korma-yum. We then promptly headed upstairs to their Bake Lab after dinner.

Yum, yum, yum, the Bake Lab, serves wonderful pastries and breads that pay homage to India. There is always room for dessert!

My favorites include the Chai Pie Trifle and their Masala cookie, a unique riff on shortbread (yes, my favorite) flavored with chili, cumin and coriander..don’t freak out…it was deliciously different, slightly sweet with a hint of Indian spice.

And now I head to NASHVILLE!!!!!!!

Going Back to Houston, Houston, Houston

By threejamigos | September 17, 2016 | Comments 0 Comment

I don’t want to sound like the Houston Chamber of Commerce but we did have a great time this past weekend. Being a native Californian, a San Franciscan at that, does not lend itself well to being a fan of the Lone Star State. Politics aside (I just can’t wrap my head around how Molly Ivins and Ann Richards come from the same state much less the same planet as Ted Cruz) I have been pleasantly surprised by how much I have enjoyed my visits. Of course it does help that I get to see my girl.

This quick jaunt did have a purpose. This past summer Jamie came home and announced “I think I am going to try out for the cross country team at Rice this fall”. To which we all did a double take and exclaimed “What!? Have you ever seen a cross country meet? Nope.” She has always played a sport-soccer, field hockey, lacrosse, baseball, softball but run? Hmm, did not see that one coming. She spoke to the coach and they came up with a plan. A simple plan really. RUN. RUN a lot. RUN some more. It paid off. She excitedly called home to tell us “I made the team!” So we packed our bags and headed to Houston to watch Jamie run her very first cross country meet.

Let’s play “Where’s Jamie?”

The day before Jamie’s meet, we headed to the Museum of Fine Arts for the Kusama Exhibit, “At the End of the Universe”.

While Jamie was in class, we wandered around Houston’s Museum District starting with The Menil Collection. The museum is comprised of a main gallery, the Rothko Chapel and the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, it is an eclectic, amazing collection of art. One of my favorite pieces is the Broken Obelisk, dedicated to Martin Luther King Jr, it sits in front of the Rothko Chapel.

After the Byzantine Fresco Chapel, an afternoon break was in order at Bistro Menil.

She did great at her first meet so “we” cooled down by walking around campus enjoying a gorgeous Houston evening.

Go Rice Owls and James Turrell’s “Twilight Epiphany Skyspace” on campus. The canopy’s light changes morphing into an array of beautiful peaceful colors. We sat under the canopy mesmerized by the colors, definitely a nice spot to sit, relax and reflect.

Houston Part 2: We talk food in the next post!