Hearsay Gastro Lounge

Cyberspace: www.hearsayhouston.com

Where to Find It: 218 Travis Street, Houston, TX 77002

Food Group: American, Gastro Pub

How Much to Fork Over: $$

The Grade: A+

Faves: Cocktails, The Byrd, Mac and Cheese

Peeves: Why don't we have one of these in Dallas?

The Jibba Jab:

Time-Honored Sophistication.  If I were to create a fictional scene of how my grandparents met, Hearsay would be the location in which I would film it.  The building it resides in, which was built in 1860, could be a movie because of the history alone.  It was a Confederate armory store owned by John Kennedy and was raided by the Confederacy after General Lee’s surrender, but the building was spared until 1888 when half of it burnt to the ground.  Then the next year it was restored by Houston architect Eugene T. Heiner, which updated it to a 20^th century façade.  With a little knowledge of the building’s history, simply sipping on a cocktail or enjoying a burger at this establishment now becomes an experience back in time.  If you do actually come here, and I recommend it, and take in your surroundings then you will understand what I’m talking about.

Located in the heart of downtown Houston, our good friends, who live within minutes from Hearsay, took us here because they loved the food, and they were right! Now, their cocktails are just as old-timer as the building, but they also have a modern twist to them from the Good Bloody Mary and Halapeño Cocktail, which are both made with a very spicy vodka, to the La Rosette Champagne Cocktail and Lavish Collins.  On the other hand, their gastro-lounge grub is anything but geezer-like.  We began to please our empty bellies with an order of the Bacon and Chive Deviled Eggs.  Yes, I know…..Deviled Eggs again?  What can I say?  We are fans, and these did not disappoint.  We also started with the Jumbo Lump Crab Cocktail with Avocado.  I have to say that was some of the freshest and sweetest crab meat I’ve tasted in quite some time, and it was a great take on a ceviche. 

Good Bloody Mary and La Rosette

Halapeno Cocktail

For our mains, we just had to have The Byrd burger because A) It was suggested and B)It sounded quite amazing.  Just read the following: Angus Beef, Applewood Bacon, Cheddar, Mozzarella, onions, jalapeños, fried egg, avocado, ketchup, mustard, mayo & tomato on a sweet bun served with mac and four cheese….ummm….See what I’m saying?  We also had to try the Smoked BBQ Brisket Sandwich with rosemary fries because who doesn’t like brisket in Texas?  Take into count that these two orders are going to feed 4 people.  We were told that they were big enough to do just that, so we listened, and very glad that we did. The other table members ordered the Shrimp and Chicken Spring Rolls, Lamb Chop Pops, and the Stuffed Chicken Breast.  When our Byrd came out with the Mac and Cheese, I was bouncing out of my seat with excitement.  It was massive, looked amazing, and smelled even better!  The Brisket Sandwich didn’t have the same dramatic entrance in my mind, but it was still quite large in size.  I cut the Byrd and Brisket Sandwich in quarters, passed them around, while salivating at the mouth, and then finally dove into my portion.  Wow, Wow and another Double Wow!!  The Brisket was incredibly flavorful, and tangy, the Mac and Cheese was “bowl lickable” and the Byrd…..well…. sorry, I was entranced.  Juicy, meaty, cheesy, spicy, yolky, bacony.  I will have dreams about this burger!  Sorry, MT. 

Now the other dishes on the table looked delicious, but didn’t get a chance to try because I was basking in the glory of our own.  At this point, you could come here for the great cocktails or to visit one of the oldest buildings in Houston, but if you really want an experience, then come here for The Byrd.

Bacon and Chive Deviled Eggs

Jumbo Lump Crab Cocktail with Avocado

Shrimp and Chicken Egg Rolls

Smoked BBQ Brisket Sandwich

Lamb Chop Pops

Stuffed Chicken Breast

THE BYRD....See what I mean?

Mac and Cheese....."bowl lickable"

The Byrd with Mac and Cheese

Freebirds World Burrito

The Woodlands, TX location

Cyberspace: www.freebirds.com

Where to Find It: Any of their locations throughout Texas - or Oklahoma and California

Food Group: Burritos, Mexican

How Much to Fork Over: $

The Grade: A

Faves: The 3 B’s.  Any of the Burritos, their BBQ sauce and Beer!

Peeves: Where are the Margaritas??

The Jibba Jab:

Hippie Yippie.  A fast casual “design your own burrito” restaurant with touches of foil-made statues situated throughout, which is a “far out” compliment to the funky psychedelic décor and the upbeat friendly attitude that bounces off all of the employees. 

Being a former Aggie, (Class of ’02, Whoop!) it’s not shocking that I’m a big fan of Freebirds because it was, and still is, a staple in College Station; and I’m so proud to see that they have been expanding ever since I left A&M.  It’s a piece of my alma mater that’s within reach for me.  Pure nostalgia.  I find this place irresistible anytime I see one, especially because I know that no matter what kind of “food mood” you are in, Freebirds can feed it.  They have such a variety of ingredients to choose from that it can satisfy anyone. 

First, choose the size of the burrito, smallest to largest starting with the hybrid, Freebird, Monster, and finally the Super Monster.  Now, I can barely finish a hybrid, but to get a picture of how big the Super Monster is check out this link http://youtu.be/eQCUn2vTsAM.  This sucker is massive and should have its own zip code; ranging at 13 inches long and 4 inches wide!  At A&M, if you didn’t want to dunk your Aggie ring in a pitcher of beer, which is a tradition there, and one that I am absolutely proud of doing, you could order this burrito, hide your ring at the bottom of it and eat your way through it.  Gross huh?  Those who did not drink actually would do this, but I do not know how anyone could eat this gi-normous food creation. 

Second, decide on what tortilla flavor will satisfy your needs, flour, wheat, spinach or cayenne?  Next, what would you like to fill your burrito with such as carnitas, steak, chicken, veggies, and then you can add rice, 3 types of beans, cheese, guacamole, pico de gallo, 6 types of sauces, sour cream, queso (if you need more cheese), and this list goes on……  Not feeling like a burrito or want to stay away from the carbs; they also have the quesadillas, nachos, Burrito Bowl, Freedom Salad, soup and tacos; even something for the lil’ kid-lins….and some beer for the adults to tolerate them (depending on the location).  So, I don’t know about you, but Chipotle has nothing on this joint!

Menu

Outdoor Seating

Hybrid Size Burrito, Beer, BBQ sauce and hot sauce

Hybrid Carnitas Burrito with Cayenne Tortilla

Hybrid Veggie Burrito with Wheat Tortilla

Day 5 – A Day for Mom: El Tiempo Cantina and Mi Luna

Our Mom’s birthday also fell during this week, and it’s a rare event to have all 3 of her daughters together at one time, so NYC thought it would be a great idea to find her a new clothes because she never does that for herself, and then give her a little make-over for dinner that night. To fuel us up for the long shopping spree, we took her out to lunch for some good Mexican food and margaritas at El Tiempo Cantina on Richmond. Then, after we were able to locate and put together a great looking outfit at Chico’s for my mom, we brought her back to H-Town’s house, and dolled her up for the evening. She looked amazing! I’ve never been fond of shopping because it’s extremely tiring, and consequently, always makes me ravenous, so I was ready to eat (and drink heavely). NYC had the perfect suggestion for dinner, which was Mi Luna in Rice Village for tapas!

El Tiempo Cantina
Rating: A
Location: 3130 Richmond Ave., Houston, TX
Category: Mexican, Tex-Mex
Pricing: $$
Favorites: Margaritas, Fajitas, Outdoor seating
Comments:
If you need a place to satisfy that hankering for Mexican food then El Tiempo is your spot. I can never find a Mexican restaurant that completely fulfills my every desire with all of the dishes, but this one is not too far behind. To start, the chips are fresh, thin and crispy, the salsa has the right amount of kick to it, and the big highlight is they have green sauce!! Not too many places have it and theirs is fantastic with the perfect green tint, creaminess and a slight tang. The margaritas are great and quite strong in my opinion, but they could never beat El Patio’s, which I’ll have to review another time. Our family is huge avocado lovers, so we had to have some guacamole, which was ok in my opinion. I like the fact that they separate the ingredients and then you get to mix them together, which makes a fun task for the table, but I didn’t think the avocados were that fresh. I am convinced they buy the vacuum packed bags of mashed up avocados instead of fresh whole ones. I love fajitas and they are such an ideal dish to share, so we usually order about a pound of them as our entree. Mixed beef and chicken, of course. I was really impressed with the presentation of them! They came out in a heaping pile on this really tall and raised chaffing dish looking thing, with a parade of sides including the grilled onions underneath, charro beans, rice, pico de gallo, sour cream, shredded cheddar, and tortillas. The meat was perfectly grilled, including the onions, and very juicy with a good amount of spice, the charro beans were excellent and nicely seasoned, and shockingly, the rice was really tasty. I’m not quite sure what was in it, but it had flecks of green, which I think was cilantro, and then it may have been cooked in chicken broth and finished off with some Mexican white cheese. Whatever was in it….it was good! We had a wonderful meal and left completely stuffed, and my mom was a little toasty after 2 margaritas!

Guacamole

Chicken and Beef Fajitas

Mi Luna
Rating: B
Location: 2441 University Blvd., Houston, TX
Category: Spanish Tapas
Pricing: $$$
Favorites: Pincho de Carne (Beef Skewers), Garlic Marinated Mushrooms, Plato de Queso
Comments:
Tapas are always a fun and an interactive experience because you get to order a ton of dishes and share them all with the table. I am the type of person that enjoys trying a little bit of everything, instead of hording in on one dish, so this restaurant was perfect for me, and for our big group, which was added by H-Town’s boyfriend and our stepfather. As we arrived, my mom, H-Town and I began with mimosas to refresh our senses, and get us off to a good start before the meal, and NYC ordered a bottle of wine, which we had no problem helping her finish after our starter drink. Next, I have to say that our make-over on my mom made quite an effect because her husband was taken aback when he met up with us and saw her. He made a little sound that started off in a low tone, then went up a notch and then down again. It was a sound of impression, and we were rather proud of ourselves and very happy for her. After that reaction, we proceeded to order about 10 dishes ranging from Plato de Queso, Marinated Mushrooms, Scallops, Beef Skewers, Empanadas, Patatas Bravas, and Salmon to get us started. The server brought us some bread and dipping oil, which was fantastic, while our dishes came out one by one. We polished off those first 10 plates pretty quickly, and ended up requesting the Spanish Potato Omelet and Meatballs to finish us off. Most everything was especially appetizing, but my favorites were those Marinated Mushrooms and believe it or not that bread dipping oil! Both of which had great garlic flavor leaving me with bad breath for the night, but that was okay because my husband was at home in Dallas.

Plato de Queso, Patatas Bravas, Mushrooms

Beef Skewers

Salmon

Day 4 – Eldorado Jacks on Lake Conroe & Hillstone

NYC and SC’s good friends from nursing school, who I’ll call Couple OU, live out on Lake Conroe, so we decided to take a day trip out there to visit them and their 1 year old son. First, we met up with them at Eldorado Jack’s right on the lake for lunch, and then we headed over to their place to coo over the little one for a while. Our last destination for the day was Hillstone, formerly called Houston’s for an incredible dinner with our other sister H-Town, SC and another good girlfriend, who we’ll call Grave because she’s a Forensic Photographer.

Eldorado Jacks
Rating: B-

Location: Hwy 105, Lake Conroe

Category: Sports Bar and Grill

Pricing: $$
Favorites: Outdoor seating and Waterfront View

Comments:

I can be placed at the dumpiest restaurant or bar in Texas and it would be absolutely amazing to me if it’s on the water. I love being near just about any body of water and Lake Conroe is no exception. Eldorado Jacks has a great view of the lake, and you can even get there by boat. Yep…if you want to show off your ski boat, fishing boat, yacht or better yet … canoe, you can pull right up to one of their docks and walk right up to the bar. In my book, that’s awesome! I don’t care what kind of boat you own, I love having that option. The food is also not bad as well. I was hankering for some guacamole, which was waiting for us when we arrived….Thank you…and I was quite satisfied with it. The margaritas were also pretty decent and most of the food seemed up to par. NYC and I shared a burger, which was mediocre, but everyone else’s, especially the fish tacos, looked really appetizing, and big portions at that. If you are more into watching sports on the big tube rather than gawking at the boats going by, well you have a place there too, even outside on the patio. It’s a place for anyone who enjoys the outside air next to a carefree lake while sipping on some adult libations. That’s heaven!

Hillstone (formerly Houston’s)

Rating: A
Location: 4848 Kirby Dr., Houston, TX
Category: Modern American, Romantic
Pricing: $$$
Favorites: Seared Tuna Steak, Crab Cakes, Wine List, Buttermilk Salad Dressing
Comments:

Salad w/Buttermilk Dressing

If you know me at all I usually despise National restaurant chains, but this place is my one exception and it’s a good one. I can’t tell you how much I crave this place every time I come to Houston (I never go to the one in Addison because it wasn’t that great when I tried it). NYC was the one who introduced me to Houston’s and I was reluctant at first, but she has great taste, so I gave it a try. I was fixated immediately and now it’s become an addiction. Foremost, the ambience is immensely romantic with dim lighting and their snuggly private booths. You can also watch the kitchen pound away at the dinner rush, which I always find so exciting, and is largely due to my passion for cooking. The wine list is quite limited, but they have some really good selections, so being the Wine-o’s that we are, we dove in and ordered a bottle. As for the food, NYC suggested to start with a side salad topped with Buttermilk Dressing and then the Seared Tuna Steak as your entree, which I ordered, and I haven’t steered away from either ever since. The Buttermilk Dressing is definitely the star of their traditional salad with it’s creaminess and just the right amount of tang. Then the Seared Tuan Steak….oh my goodness…Magnificent! The tuna is always super fresh, perfectly cooked with a nice sear on the outside, and, shockingly enough because I’m not a fan of this dish, but their coleslaw is brilliant! It’s not swimming in mayonnaise, but instead I think they use yoghurt and then they add an unexpected ingredient…coconut, which really gives it a nice sweet but not too sweet ending. Now, this trip to Houston with the girls I have a new dish that I just might order next time. H-Town ordered the crab cakes, which are just like finding a good Bloody Mary because they are so hard to find, but when you do, you can’t stop thinking about them, and that’s just what these crab cakes did for me…after I snuck a taste. Wow! They actually tasted like crab and it had succulent fresh huge chunks of crab with a perfect thin crust of breadcrumbs on the outside. So freakin’ good! I have dreams about them now! SC and Grave stayed on the top side of the menu and ordered the Thai Steak and Noodle Salad and Sashimi Tuna Salad, respectively. I tried both, and they were really very good, but not good enough to be in my Zzzzz’s. Largely, it’s a brilliant place to dine!

Seared Tuna Steak

Crab Cakes

Day 3 – Surprise Birthday Party (Houston) and 13 Celsius

I know…another trip to Houston so soon, but you will have to get used to it. Being from there, I visit all of the time. Now, for sister NYC’s surprise she’s been waiting to do. Actually, Sota doesn’t even know that NYC is coming, so she must be our first target since she is hosting the party at her house. When we arrive I tell NYC to go hide next to Sota’s garage and I’ll show up at the door by myself to extinguish any inkling of hope that she had that NYC was coming. Then, I tell Sota that I need to put some things in her garage for the night, so she opens the garage door, and bam….NYC pops out from around the corner and scares her half to death….she sceams, but then realizes that it’s NYC and screams a little more. It was a good surprise! Next, we help decorate, bring out the alcohol and put out food, including the Blunt cake, Baked Plantain Chips that I made and the Mango Salsa that NYC made (recipes will be included below). Everything looked very Jamaican, especially our paper towel joints and the parsley and basil filled snack bags made to look very similar to dime bags. I was proud of our decorations. Soon friends started showing up, equally shocked that NYC was there, and we were ready for the Birthday girl to arrive, who I will call SC (short for Sacred Heart, which is the school where her and NYC became best friends). To make the event even more exciting we had NYC hide upstairs, so SC couldn’t see her after her first stunner, which is the party. She finally arrives, completely flabbergasted, but after a few minutes of thanking everyone, NYC comes out wearing a dreadlock wig, and SC completely looses it. Amazing! We really got her good. Since SC had gotten there much later than everyone else, she had a lot of catching up to do, so most of her friends were shoving shot after shot down her throat, and before we know it, she has Chunder Falls in the bathroom. Now that’s a party! SC didn’t leave too long after that, but it was pretty late. For the rest of us stragglers, we didn’t care, so we headed to our favorite wine bar within walking distance, 13 Celsius, and closed it down!

 
13 Celsius


Rating: Impressive!
Location: 3000 Caroline St, Houston, TX 77004
Category: Wine Bar
Pricing: Affordable
Favorites: Wine list, Service, Ambience, Convenience
Comments:
This little wine bar is within walking distance to Sota’s condo, so we frequent there quite a bit after a night of drinking. I love the rustic looking ceiling and the giant L-shaped bar that fills up most of the place. The employees there are always super friendly, they have a great selection of wines and many of them are decently priced. The best aspect is we can stumble home to Sota’s place!

Baked Plantain Chips
4 green plantains, peeled and thinly sliced
1/2 cup olive oil
1 tsp cinnamon
½ tsp cayenne pepper
½ tsp all spice
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Pre-heat oven to 400 degrees F. In a large mixing bowl toss all ingredients together until well coated. Spread on 3 cookies sheets lined with foil with no overlapping. Bake for 12-15 minutes or until crisp. Cool and serve.

Mango Salsa

2 tomatoes, chopped
1 mango, chopped
½ cup chopped red onion
½ cup chopped cilantro
1-2 jalapenos or habaneros, chopped
2 cloves garlic, minced
Juice of 1 lime
2 tsp salt
1 tsp pepper
Mix all ingredients in a large bowl and serve.

Max's Wine Dive and Niko Niko's Greek - Houston

As my first post on our blog I thought it would be appropriate to write about my trip down to my hometown, Houston, this past weekend. My husband, myself, and our two dogs made the 4 hour trek down there to celebrate my youngest sister’s birthday and her moving back into the cute old house that she and my other sister, NYC, used to share. (Just to make it a little easier, I will start posting my youngest sister as H-town). I think we are all ecstatic that she is back in this house for a few reasons. First, it’s in a very convenient location residing within walking distance to a Starbucks, several restaurants, a grocery store, gas station, etc. When you are slightly hung-over on a Sunday morning and need a little pick me up before the long drive back to Big D, you need that very important cup of coffee to be within crawling distance. Furthermore, the locality is fantastic because some of the greatest places to eat and drink are dangerously close. The house is also much larger in size inside and out than H-town’s former tiny apartment, so there is plenty of room for my small bunch to stay, or if she wants to have a get-together with a few friends, like this past weekend. Finally, it is quite a sturdy little house because it supposedly doubled as a bomb shelter back in the nuclear war scare days. Both of my sisters, my mom and step father rode out Hurricane Ike in that house, and everyone came out fine, so it’s a little sentimental.

On another note, I always come prepared with my list of restaurants and bars that I would like to try when visiting any major city. This trip I was able to scratch off a couple of places. Friday night we were able to eat at Max’s Wine Dive, which according to Bon Appétit it is one of the top 10 wine bars in the US, so I had to make a stop there. We went in a good size group so we were able to try a few things on the menu. We started off with the Gator Beignets and the Pan Borracho aka Drunk Bread. I’ve really never liked gator because of its rubbery texture, and these were no exception to me, but they were a big hit among everyone else. The Pan Borracho came out in a gooey cheesy bubbly mess, which I was immediately excited to dive into, but it turned out to be nothing that amazing. It was exactly like fondue, but the texture of the bread was moosh and not very appetizing. As for the main course, we split the Sunchoke Gnocchi, which was incredible with a slight exception to the very large arugula salad on top. Less is more. No need to order our side salad when we had that mountain of a garden on top of our gnocchi. I can’t finish our night without saying that the wine list was impressive and not too pricey. They also had a great wine tasting deal going on that was quite hard to pass up. I definitely recommend stopping here for some late night munching and a few glasses of vino!

BV Wine at Max's

Sunchoke Gnocchi at Max's

                                                   

Saturday I reserved for trying this Greek restaurant that’s been on the show Diners Drive-Ins and Dives called Niko Nikos. For drinks, we all had to try the Niko Rita (not that spectacular) and we started our lunch with nothing other than the hummus with pita bread. It was everything that hummus should be, which must have a creamy, velvety texture, and sitting in a small pool of olive oil with a few garnishes of olives, cucumbers and bell peppers on top. Absolutely delicious! I had no idea that we were getting a small Greek salad as well, but I think it came with H-towns main course. It was your typical Greek salad until you got a chunk of the feta cheese, which was incredibly moist and had the perfect amount of that salty tanginess to it. My husband and I ordered the Gyro Sandwich, which I know is kind of unoriginal, but when visiting a Greek restaurant for the first time, you must find out what the Gyro tastes like before moving onto anything else. My sister, on the other hand, was a little more adventurous and ordered the Spanikopita, which I had a little bite of, and it was like lasagna on crack. Absolutely amazing! The Gyro was also impressive. I was amazed by the cooling effect that the tzatziki sauce had on top of the sizzling lamb and beef bits inside the warm pita bread. One note though is don’t order the rice. It’s fairly boring or maybe it’s because I’m not much of a rice lover. Overall though Niko Niko’s is definitely a repeater!

                                      Hummus                                                                                    The Gyro

The rest of Saturday was mostly spent celebrating at my sister’s house and visiting with old and new friends and my family. We had a great time! Sunday, we slowly crawled out of bed, regretting the amount of alcohol we consumed the night before, but on a mission to have some grub before our drive back to Big D. I wanted to go to Avalon Diner in River Oaks, but we left after looking at the wait, so we ended up at one of my favorite spots for Brunch, Hungry’s in Rice Village. One of my old good friends from college met up with us as well. Congrats to her because she recently got engaged! She also had a great story to tell about how her family rented a catamaran sailboat and they basically island hopped throughout the Virgin Islands. It is something that I now have put on my list of things to do in the near future because it sounds spectacular! I know… my husband has made it quite clear that my aspirations are becoming relatively expensive! To end on a humorous level, during our drive back we witnessed a very large yellow truck pass us by with an especially classy sticker on the back of it. Only in Texas!