What's For Lunch Houston?

Crawfish claws???

Yep, the big 'uns have a nice bite of meat. Wifeacita doesn’t waste anything, refrigerated of course.

Grilled pork banh mi - pickled carrots, cilantro, garlic aioli, soy sauce, cucumbers, jalapeno

The bread was crustier,heavier, chewier than the bread at Simply Viet and for some reason, pickled daikon is not available.

I neglected to mention above, the jalapenos in the Simply Viet sandwich were thin strips, with no seeds and almost no membrane. There was only a faint hint of heat and some of strips tasted like bell pepper. The jalapenos were much more in evidence on this sandwich, at least visually, but there wasn’t a lot more heat.

Neither place uses any Viet terminology other than ‘banh mi,’ everything is in English. I like the sandwich at Simply Viet better because of the bread and the daikon but this place has a much larger menu.

I was given a free sample of the ‘Thai Chicken Soup.’ Minced or ground chicken and cilantro were the main ingredients with coconut milk, lemongrass, etc. Tasty. Not filling though.

Roostar - Richmond location

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The menu is a bit confusing to me but I guess the name of this is the Peli - a half order of the signature South African peri-peri, flavor infused rotisserie chicken. This place, at the corner of I-10 and Campbell, is a fast or quick casual place with a short cafeteria line. After she plopped the half chicken on my tray she asked if I wanted the ‘sweet heat’ sauce and proceeded to slather it on liberally. I had thoughts of those mediocre bbq places that smother inferior meat with sauce and was a little concerned, but for no reason. The sprinkling of herbs (parsley?, oregano?) added a little crunchiness and I really enjoyed this. The meat was firm, not mushy like supermarket rotisserie chickens sometimes are. I ate a whole half a chicken in one sitting. The chickens are on the small side.

For a side I opted for the Southern (African) version of collards. Tongs were used instead of a spoon so I got only a few droplets of South African Pot Likker - wish I’d gotten more - but this was excellent. A little heat, a little sweetness, a little crunchiness.

I liked the sauce so much I added more from the well-used bottle on my table. From what I could make out of the worn label, this includes peri-peri peppers, cayenne, red peppers, habanero, jalapeno, garlic, vinegar, sugar and spices. Next time, I’ll be looking to see if they sell this.

Signs on the door and at the beginning of the line advise this is a cash-less environment. Other than the tip jar, they don’t take cash.

They have a current promotion - come in anytime between 1 and 6 pm, 7 days a week, and you get a 20% discount. My discount was applied only to the entree, not the side or drink.

Peli Peli Kitchen

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I went to El Real with some friends for Montrose Monday - 50% off everything all day long if anybody at the table has an 006 zip code on their DL. I had the Tres Hombres on the lunch menu. Excellent refritos and arroz. One tamale - not as good as Alamo (surprise, surprise) and one taco al carbon with maybe four ounces of meat, plus a cup of green chile posole. I didn’t finish the posole - if was very acidic. A very good meal for only $6 after the discount. No pictures.

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This looks marvy. I drive by every day and wonder. (Peli)

One of my favorite dishes in Houston- spicy Mogo (yucca) at London Sizzler.

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I must have missed this. Looks great. I don’t think I’ve ever seen that on a menu. Yuca’s not one of my favorite things but I’d try that.

It’s one of those childhood things, if I see it on a menu, I order it. Comfort food from a partial raising up in South America.

Interesting. I can’t recall ever encountering it on a South American menu here. I have seen it in Central American restos (Guatemalan and Honduran), the restaurants in Stafford & Missouri City catering to the expats from Kerala, where it is known as kappa. And in West African restos.

But that looks really good; better than any of the preps I can remember encountering in the Keralan/ese (?) restos.

You gotta look for it! Churrasco’s, Sal y Pimienta, Andes Cafe, Che Inka, they all have it. I didn’t realize it was a thing in India though, and this spicy preparation is almost better than the fried I seek and remember so well!

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Which one is that in your picture? One of the appetizers or one of the Sizzlers?

I was looking at the pictures online and the first one I clicked on was the masala mogo, which looks awfully good.

This is the special mogo appetizer, made with hot chilis. Last year they were open for lunch every day, now just on Sat-Suni beginning at noon. We went on a Saturday and it was very busy. We were the only non-Indians in the house. Lots of large families bring all the kids and dine at lunch. At night it becomes a sort of night club I hear, but closes at 11.

Other items I always get here are the lovely raita, bullet naan, papadum that comes with chopped onions and two dips that are delicious, chicken tikka masala and vindaloo. For completely different items we park a few spaces away at Himalaya where I crave the chicken hara masala and so much more.

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During the recent run of sweltering temps (a PWS near me had triple digits temps several days in a row) I wasn’t doing any cooking and didn’t feel like a big sit down meal at a restaurant either so I took advantage of the multiple trips I was making to grocery stores to check out the ready-to-eat offerings.

The best stuff I got was from CM.

For some reason when the temps were in the upper 90s and low 100s I was craving hot soup :sweat:. I found this Poblano corn chowder on the hot soup bar at CM the first time I went in. Very good except for mini-diced potatoes that were mealy and skimpy solid matter, the latter probably just the luck of the ladle. A week and a half or two later I was there again; no Poblano Corn Chowder on the hot soup bar but I found 2 cup containers in the chilled racks across the room. The pic is of the 2nd version - chunks of skin on red potatoes - not mealy - a LOT more solid matter, and a lot more heat from the poblanos. Is the recipe in flux??? I actually preferred the first version a little - this second version was so loaded with corn, onions, peppers, etc., it was almost a creamed vegetable dish instead of a soup. Not as rich and decadent as the Cream of Poblano at Mexico’s Deli but very delish.

Wild mushroom and Goat Cheese quesadilla - loved this. Like everything out of the big deli cases at CM it was chilled. I wasn’t going to turn on the oven so tried toasting it in a skillet - not quite ideal but I scarfed it down anyway. Cremini mushrooms and ‘mushroom mix,’ butter, shallots, garlic, flour tortilla, chili powder, spices, goat cheese, chili peppers, cheddar jack cheese and parmesan cheese, I plan to try to duplicate this.

Another good item was the Turkey Meatloaf. I could say it’s the best I’ve ever had but that’s not saying much. I’ve only made turkey meatloaf once, from a recipe an aunt gave me that she raved about. I never made it again and can’t remember having turkey meatloaf anywhere, but probably have. Anyway, I’d buy it again here.

Egg salad and Turkey and Pesto sandwich on buttermilk sourdough bread. The egg salad at CM has been calling my name every time I’ve gone in. A big tray of that in the deli case looks so decadent, I couldn’t help but think of the decadent potato salad at Nielsen’s. Looks can be deceiving. This was very simple - hard boiled eggs chopped very coarsely, mayonnaise (probably HEB’s store brand) and some minced celery. That’s about all it was. Well, anyway, I know how I could throw together an egg salad on short notice now - probably use Duke’s or Kewpie, though.

The turkey was just packaged deli slices, there was some crisp romaine and fire-roasted red pepper strips. The other ‘half’ of the sandwich was a little thicker, this was really just one end. But the bread was STALE, beyond stale by a couple of days. I tried toasting it in a skillet but that just made it tough and leathery. Huge disappointment. Not a bad idea for a sandwich, though.

I was very disappointed in the Chicken Tortilla soup at CM. Dry stingy pieces of chicken, and very little of it, and tortilla pieces the texture of wet paper towels. I could have improved it with some fresh (toasted) tortilla strips but I didn’t have any.

The Chicken Poblano Soup with Hatch Chilies I got at HEB’s Buffalo Market was very similar to the Poblano Corn Chowder at CM, of course, minus the potatoes and plus a small quantity of chicken. I preferred the chowder.

The best soup I found at a Kroger Signature store is the Aged Cheddar and Broccoli soup, apparently very popular. I’ve repeatedly seen it on the hot soup bar and it’s nearly always available in the refrigerated cases.

Since its ‘cooled off’ to the low to mid 90s, I haven’t been craving hot soup :confused:.

Got the 10-15 Gulf jumbo super big huge colossal shrimp from MY HEB. Gonna saute some in butter/oil Cajun spices and boil the rest with a good cocktail sauce.

I found this place Rooster a few years ago and loved it!! I stopped going beacause of construction on Gessner, on my last visit 2 months ago the bread was different and the pork was a little skippy and dry. Will give give another try to see if they are still in for me.

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How odd, me too. Maybe wishful thinking for cool temps. I’ve had roasted red pepper soup besides the cauliflower and Gruyere soup I made at home, and ordered a cup of tortilla soup at Hungry’s, which actually came in a cup and was hard to eat therefore.

Oh yes, I fought the construction once to fight my way through the crowds for a take-away bahn-mi here once, and really enjoyed it. I wonder what construction is like now. It used to be called Vietnam Poblano I think.

I didn’t order this oddity , but I did want to share it with you all! I had the spicy Italian pizza at B&B Butcher’s. My neighbor ordered what was called a “bone in chopped steak.” Chopped steak molded around a tomahawk bone. :joy::joy:

Fer sheezy

That is just wrong …IMHO :scream:

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