Austin (and surrounding areas)

10 Things We Loved!

1. The Oasis on Lake Travis -  Watch the sun trickle down Lake Travis while sipping margaritas and savoring beef fajitas. Incredible views, wonderful food, warm conversations and a melodramatic way to end the day.

The Oasis on Lake Travis

The Oasis on Lake Travis

2. Barton Springs –  The three-acre natural spring within Zilker Park has 68-degree water that needs some getting used to but is a perfect balance to Texas’ hot summer days. We loved it, the kids loved it!

Barton Springs

Barton Springs

Barton Springs

3. Natural Bridge Caverns - When you have visitors from out of town, you go to the Natural Bridge Caverns. If you have people in your party that don’t want to go, you can always drop them off at the Premium Outlets in San Marcos.

Natural Bridge Caverns

Natural Bridge Caverns

Natural Bridge Caverns

Natural Bridge Caverns

4. Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum – Three floors of interactive Texas history. This is a very nice history museum with an IMAX theater to boot.

Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

Bob Bullock Texas State History Museum

5. Black’s Barbecue – On the way back to Houston, a stop at Lockhart.  In a sea of barbecue joints, Lockhart apparently has some of the best and oldest in Texas. Always go for the moist brisket.

Black's Barbecue

6. Covert Park at Mount Bonnell- Drive on up Mt. Bonnell road to this park that give you a a very nice view of Lake Austin.

Mt. Bonnell

Mt. Bonnell

7. Austin Food Carts – Awesome food carts. They are all over Austin; some are stationary and some move around. We’d love to sample them all.  So far we’ve tried Hey! Cupcake, Fry Baby, Coat and Thai, Flip Happy Crepes, The Zubik House and a few more whose names I can’t remember.

Austin Food Cart

Austin Food Cart

8. Wimberley Glass Works - mind-blowing glass-blowing store and exhibit in Wimberley, Texas. Cool dudes in their undershirts and aviator sunglasses displaying the hot art and expensive science of glass works. I can only afford the glass shards, unfortunately.

Wimberley Glass Works

Wimberley Glass Works

9. The Inn Above Onion Creek – Stay at the inn and you not only get to stay at an amazing room, you have access to a perfect porch, almost perfect views and glorious breakfast and 3-course dinner.  Highly recommended.

The Inn Above Onion Creek

The Inn Above Onion Creek

The Inn Above Onion Creek

10. Gruene, Texas- Good lunch at Gristmill River Restaurant, a massive cotton gin brick boiler room turned restaurant. Also stopped by Gruene Hall, a famous Texas landmark.

Eating in Texas 2

Here’s another list of restaurants we’ve been to in the past year. The list is easier to remember now that I’ve been using FourSquare.com. I simply looked at my check in history and here they are.

1. Tan Tan (8066 Westheimer Rd Houston, Texas 77063) – One of our favorite Chinese/Vietnamese restaurants. This is their second location and it looks modern. The first one is iconic here in Houston. We love the Salt Toasted Squid, Shrimp, Scallops and Tofu.  The Walnut Shrimp, House Special Rice Cake, Diced Beef and Stir Fried Flat Noodles are very good as well. The menu is thick and there are lots of options.

2.  Cafe Singapore (12345 bellair blvd #b2 Harris, TX 77072) – I don’t think there are a lot of Singaporean and Malaysian cuisine restaurants in Houston but this tiny, nondescript cafe is well worth the drive to Alief.  We ordered the recommended Beef Rendang and it was delicious.

3.  Tradicao Brazilian Steakhouse (6800 SW Fwy Houston, TX 77074) – We love steaks and one of the best ways to enjoy it is in a Churascaria . There are a number of these restaurants now in Houston all vying to the Texas-sized appetite but Tradicao is still has one of the best value for the money. 14 or so cuts of beef, pork, chicken and shrimps make it a delightful experience. They also have a salad bar but we didn’t have any of that. We were there for the meat and we left the place very satisfied.

4. Yori-Yori (1302 Blalock Rd Houston, TX 77055) – We’ve been to the one inside Super H Mart and Ranch 99 and both have been consistent with their dishes. It’s basically a Korean fast-food restaurant so it’s fast (obviously) and affordable (also obvious). We go for the seafood dishes and not the more common bulgogi and kalbi since those you can buy in the supermarket and then cook at home. Definitely worth a try before you do your grocery shopping. Super H Mart has several other establishments that we’ll try for sure.

5.  Gigi’s Asian Bistro – (5085 Westheimer Ste B2515 Houston, TX 77056) – This one is located inside the Galleria so expect that it’s pricier than going to the typical dimsum and dumpling place. The restaurant looks excellent especially the semi-private booths at the back. What lured us in is the all-you-can-eat dimsum that they have on weekends. The quality and the flavor were good and they were served with more style.

6. Shawarma King (3121 Hillcroft St Houston, TX 77057) – We went back to the Philippines this year and forgot to eat Shawarma, darn it. So we went back to Shawarma King. The place serves other dishes of course but nothing beats the price of the shawarma. It’s still not the Shawarma we love from home but it will do for now.

7. Sushi Choo Choo (12149 fm 1960 w. Houston, TX 77065) – I was looking for a fun place to eat with the family and saw this recently opened sushi place in FM 1960. We went there and we’ve been back several times already. We liked the concept (similar to the sushi boat we’ve had in California) of using conveyor belt to parade the sushi. The plates range from $1.00 to $4.00 and we all have our favorites. We also like the Japanese fried rice that they have on the menu. Sushi purists might shun a place like this but nothing beats the variety, the fun and the value of a place like this (especially during their happy hour).

8. Maggiano’s Little Italy (2019 Post Oak Blvd Houston, TX 77056 ) – Faye’s aunt Melissa got her PhD. and had her celebration here. I loved the food so much that I think I gained several pounds that night. Most memorable were the stuffed mushrooms, the fettuccine alfredo, the salmon and the tiramisu.

9. Makati Asian Cuisine (16427 West Little York Houston, TX 77084) – There’s not a lot of Filipino restaurants in Houston (yet) so it’s always good to see one close by. Makati is a buffet restaurant that serves Lechon during weekends (extra). The food is good and Bernard, the owner is very nice.  They have the usual fare including a very good Nilagang Baka. They also have good desserts including halo-halo.

Eating in Texas

We love to eat out when we can. We don’t eat often but we like to try different things. We are also easy to please, preferring to enjoy what we have in front of us rather than to find fault in the food or the restaurant. We are not critical and pretend to know the finer points of food.

Anyway, we’ve been in Houston for three years now and what better way to look back than to list down as best we could all the joints we’ve shared meals in. In no particular order:

1. Redfish Seafood Grill, Cypress – Whenever I pass by Highway 249, I always see a good number of vehicles parked outside the Redfish restaurant. I looked it up online and saw good reviews. They opened a new branch recently on Highway 290 and since this is closer to us, we decided to try it out finally. The tempura cocktail, the fish dish and the sushi roll were all excellent both in taste and in presentation. We’ll definitely be back to try their other specialty dishes.

2. Ocean Palace, Houston – We’ve been here twice, both visits with the same friends. The restaurant is adjacent to the Hong Kong Mall on Bellaire Blvd., which is probably the artery of Chinese and Asian culture in Houston. The interior is like a grand ballroom and is spacious enough for the rolling dimsum carts. Dimsum is such a delight and those served here do not disappoint. The place is big and is clean. The dimsum are very good. A little pricey, though, and considering the restaurant is big, they didn’t seem to have enough carts with enough variety. We saw the same carts carrying the same selections a few times.

3. Kim Son, Stafford – Another dimsum place along Highway 59. Good selection and good prices. If you haven’t had dimsum before, here’s a fair warning: It’s easy to get carried away and select many items on the different carts. The problem is you don’t really know how much your bill will be unless you keep tabs of the stamps on the dimsum card. Depending on how many you are in the party, I think it’s best to limit yourself to one or two plates of the same dish per round. This way, you can try many things and not order too much of the same dish.

4. Mi Luna, Houston – Spanish tapas rule. Tapas are small plates of food, much like dimsum is to the Chinese, I guess. Mi Luna offers a good selection in several “packages” or as stand-alone plates. Tapas are either seafood or meat plates with plenty of garlic, chilies or paprika, cumin, salt, pepper, saffron and heaving amounts of olive oil which you then soak your bread into. One of my favorite dishes growing up was my mom’s Gambas and I always order one whenever I find it on the menu. Needless to say, it didn’t disappoint especially when paired with a pitcher of sangria and a sizzling plate of paella. The place is nice and the wait staff friendly. The food is satisfying and you leave craving for the next visit. I swear I could drink the olive oil on those plates.

5. Rudy’s Barbecue, Houston – We’ve been to Rudy’s in San Antonio, Rudy’s on I-45 in Spring and ordered to go from the new Rudy’s on 290 in Houston. We love this style of barbecue – not your typical sweet rub and sauce – but one that has a bite to it. A good mix of pepper and spice drive us nuts. The place is iconic, as well. Every branch has a gas station up front and the seating is communal bench-style. There are no plates, instead you rip wax paper and place it on your table. You line up to order food and you are expected to clean up your mess after.

6. Spring Creek Barbecue, Cypress – We love the barbecue at this place. I love barbecue sauce and theirs is top notch. One of the best things about this place is their fresh baked bread. Faye and the kids will sometimes go there just to buy bread.

7. Carl’s Barbecue, Cypress – Before Rudy’s and Spring Creek, Carl’s was our bbq place of choice. It’s near and they have good brisket and ribs. From the outside, it looks like a hole in the wall kind of place but the inside is actually bright and surprising.

8. Goodson’s Cafe, Tomball – We were watching an episode of Travel Channel when this restaurant was featured for its Chicken Fried Steak. We were intrigued and headed out to Tomball one weekend. The place was packed. The CFS was huge and wonderful.

9. Mel’s Country Cafe, Tomball – A friend recommended this not so easy to find restaurant in Tomball. The food is deep-fried and greasy delicious. Their main attraction is the Mega Mel which is a 1.5 lbs beef, 1 lbs bacon and .25 lbs cheese burger. That’s like a death wish. I ordered the steak and chicken fingers instead. This is an interesting cafe. I would say it is the most “country” restaurant I’ve been to.

10. Cypress Station Grill, Cypress – The restaurant serves what I’d like to call standard Texan food. The place is clean and airy. We like to order the Fried Mushroom appetizer and the Grilled Pork Chops here.

11. La Hacienda, Cypress – This place seem to be always busy. They serve what I like to call standard Tex-Mex fare. Nice interior, play area and good food. The fish dishes are superb.

12. Bertani Ranch Steakhouse, Cypress – This steakhouse looks real nice inside and out. When they opened, they were serving $40 steaks which put them in my ‘never’ list. Fortunately, they went back to reality and decided to be more competitive and have steaks in the $15 to $20 range which put them in my ‘must try’ list. Needless to say, we enjoyed the rib-eye steak.

13. JB’s Steakhouse, Cypress – We decided to try this seemingly nondescript steakhouse along Huffmeister Rd. The place looked very much like a local favorite. I fell in love with their rib-eye steak the first time I tried it…and the second time…and the third time.

14. Green Garden, Cypress – We have eaten only once inside this restaurant but we have ordered to-go many times. Our favorite is the Shrimp Lo Mein and our recently discovered Egg Foo Yong.

15. Thai Spice Buffet, Houston – We go here regularly. You just can’t beat the selection and the price. Pad Thai, curry dishes, Tom Yum soup and a bunch of other tasty choices.

16. Wood-Fired Pizza, Cypress – Tucked into a small strip mall in the corner of Huffmeister and Spring-Cypress, this family-run pizza place is superb. Quality and flavor are excellent. We’ve ordered pizza here a number of times and they’ve remained consistent.

17. Spicy Sichuan, Houston – Spicy Crispy Chicken! Tried this restaurant in Bellaire Blvd. out of whim and it has become our favorite place for an injection of spice. The specialty spicy chicken is a wonderful concoction of red peppers, pepper oil and chicken. It’s so good that you can’t stop even though you start sweating and sniffing.

18. Pappasitos, Houston – Our favorite Tex-Mex restaurant. The beef fajitas, the chips, the margaritas and everything else in between are excellent. I’m getting hungry just thinking about the melt in your mouth fajita beef.

19. Pappadeux, Houston – The sister restaurant of Pappasitos serves mouth-watering fresh Louisana-style seafood. The Lobster Bisque and the Chef’s Special fillet dishes never disappoint.

20. Hikari, Houston – A small and quaint Japanese restaurant along Highway 6 has one of the best tempuras around. We like the batter to be crunchy and they make it exactly to our liking.

21. Frenchy’s, Houston – One of the best fried chicken we’ve ever had. The skin is light and oh so crispy. We’ve been there once and can’t wait to try it again.

To be continued . . .