Christian's Totem

For a self-proclaimed dive bar, Christian's Tailgate (formerly Christian's Totem) sure gets a lot of good press. It's listed on Playboy.com's A-list for America's Ten Best Burgers. It was also highly rated by the Texas Burger Guy. To say we went in with high expectations would be quite an understatement.

The first thing I noticed was that Christian's is surprisingly large, clean and well-lit. We've eaten some of our favorite meals at some pretty questionable establishments (anyone ever been to Cupp's in Waco?), so this was a little disconcerting.

The second thing I noticed was that they got our order wrong. Not stunningly wrong -- my burger had the wrong type of cheese, and they gave us fries instead of onion rings -- but since all we ordered were two burgers, one side, and 2 serve-yourself drinks, this also didn't bode well.

What a surprise then that the food was everything we were hoping for. I had a cheeseburger (American, though that wasn't my choice) with lettuce, tomato, mayo and mustard. The patty was a 1/3 pounder, thick and delightfully salty. It wasn't quite as juicy as I had hoped--I like a little ooze in my burger--but the meat was very good quality and all of the toppings were very fresh. I managed to eat the whole thing, but it wasn't easy, and I didn't feel like eating anything else for the rest of the day. Super-filling and super-tasty for only $7 a pop.

The fries weren't anything to write home about, but that may have only been my disappointment at not getting my onion rings clouding my judgment. I'm willing to forgive mediocre fries for a fabulous burger; in fact, I pretty much expect mediocre fries, which is why I don't usually order them. How can a couple of fried potatoes live up to 1/3 pound of American Angus on a bun? Now fried onions, well, that's a whole 'nother story.

One note about atmosphere: we went to Christian's on a Wednesday around noon, and it was so crowded we ended up sitting at the bar. We weren't drinking -- although the set up is fabulous, if you care to do so -- but the dude next to us was. Heavily. About a pitcher of Bud Light in, he started hitting on the bartender, who wasn't interested and wasn't afraid to show it. Though it sounds funny, it was really just kind of awkward and sad. From the look on the bartender's face, you could tell this kind of thing happens to her a lot, so prepare yourself if you decide to sit at the bar.

Tommy Bahama

Before we begin the review, let me cut you off at the pass here and make two points:

1) Yes, I know Tommy Bahama is technically a chain restaurant, and I'm supposed to be blogging about more regional and eclectic places. But the restaurant in The Woodlands is one of only 12 nationwide, and the only one in Texas, so I'm making an exception.

2) OK, yes, it's in The Woodlands (located about 30 minutes outside of Houston). But if Houston Craigslist can cover both the city and the surrounding areas, so can this blog. Plus it happens to be where the Hubs and I were on Saturday, so deal with it.

Now onto the meal: we started off with the "drink of the month", a citrus gin fizz recommended by our (very friendly and competent) server. The drinks tasted a lot like a mixture of lemonade and ginger beer, and very little like alcohol, making them particularly dangerous for those of us drinking on an empty stomach. They were good but not worth $10 apiece -- a price we didn't realize we were paying until the bill arrived. The server also brought us complimentary bread with the drinks--probably to soak up the alcohol--which was quite good, as free bread goes. The sweetened butter that came with it was a nice touch.

Both of us had a cup of soup. Hubs tried the tortilla, and I had the crab bisque. It was a bit sweet and very hot, but I ate every bite of it, so I suppose I can't complain.

My dinner was a real treat. I am a sucker for tuna, so I decided to try the Tahitian Tuna Salad. It would take a while to express in words how pretty the plate presented to me was, so here's a picture:



It tasted just as good as it looked. The salad consisted of spinach (not arugala, as stated on the menu, which is fine as I like spinach more) dressed in a slightly spicy vinagrette. The tuna was seared very rare with a peppercorn crust. The dish was served with soy sauce and a bit of wasabi on the side, but I didn't find it necessary; between the crust on the tuna and the dressing, the meal was just spicy enough. The texture of the tuna was perfect and the aioli it was dressed in, though a bit heavy, nicely balanced the dressing on the salad. I ate all of the tuna and would've finished the entire plate, but I was saving room for dessert.

Turns out that was a good decision too. We decided to share the pineapple upside down cheesecake. Once again I don't feel words can do it justice, so here:


Yes, that is a layer of candied pineapple at the bottom of that cheesecake. And yes, it was heavenly. We couldn't finish it -- the buttons on our pants were already screaming in fear -- but we did the absolute best we could, and it was totally worth it. The coffee was decent too.

So, yes, maybe I did compromise my ideals a teensy bit this week by eating at a "chain" restaurant. But you know what? Tommy Bahama was really good. Not just really good for a chain, but really good period. The service was good, the food was good, and the atmosphere was good. They even had a really good house band who played several of my favorite songs (Neon Moon, Have You Ever Seen the Rain, and, in a moment of complete coolness, Under the Milky Way).I liked Tommy Bahama, and even though it was a little bit pricey, I would definitely eat there again. And I don't feel as ashamed of that as I thought I would.

Recipe: Lemon Pie Cake

I don't normally post recipes, but a friend shared this one with me today and it's delightful. If there are any budding pastry chefs in the crowd, you'll want to try this one.

Oh, and no, that's not a picture of the actual pie I cooked. Most of the pie I cooked is gone!

Sippity Sup's Lemon Pie Cake
Cook Time: 40 min

Ingredients
2 tablespoons unsalted organic butter, melted
1 1/2 cup sugar
1/3 cup flour
Pinch of salt
Zest of 1 lemon
Juice of 2 lemons
3 organic eggs, seperated
1 1/4 cup milk
Premade piecrust

Directions
1) Preheat oven to 375. Put premade piecrust into a greased pie pan and crimp edges
2) Stir the butter and sugar together. Add dry ingredients, zest and juice.
3) In a seperate bowl, beat the egg yolks and milk together. Add to the lemon mixture.
4) In a standing mixer (or with an electric mixer), beat the egg whites until they hold firm but moist peaks. Fold into the lemon mixture. Be careful not to mix them too much!
5) Pour the filling into the crust and bake for about 40 mins, or until the top is browned and the center only slightly jiggles when the pan is gently shaken. Cool before serving.

Tinto's

Last night my husband and I had dinner at Tinto's Spanish Restaurant and Wine Bar. The restaurant was pretty crowded, and once again, we had to get comfortable with our neighbors. This time we were surrounded by a James Cameron look-alike who was chatting about the BP oil spill and an awkward first date who were chatting mostly with the waiter. Oh well ... it still beats talking about discovery.

We decided to do tapas and a bottle of wine. Both menus are impressive, with a huge range of flavors and prices. We settled on a $38 bottle of Spanish white wine (good choice!) and 4 different tapas (varying ... see below).

First we tried the carpaccio. I order this pretty much everywhere, with my gold standard being the one at Capital Grille in Washington DC. The carpaccio at Tinto's doesn't top that one, but it's a close second. They ODed on horseradish, but the meat was extremely tender and the little salad on top was lovely. Definitely a win.

Next we had the Campinones al Ajillo (mushrooms in spicy garlic sauce). The mushrooms were crimini and button, served warm in an oily and very spicy sauce. Everything was well done and it was tasty, but nothing special. The best part of this dish was sopping up the sauce with the complimentary bread.

We also had the Caricoles Anduluces (snails with roasted artichoke). I love snails, and these little guys certainly did not disappoint. However, the real standout of the dish was the artichoke. Drenched in the slightly sweet goat cheese sauce, the pungent artichoke provided an amazing balance, and I wish they were a dish all on their own. Totally worth the price of admission.

Finally, we had the empanadillas. The crust on these little babies was a lot flakier than on other empanadas I've tried, and the filling was serviceable, if a little bland. Not a total score like the artichokes, but I'm glad we tried them.

For dessert we settled on churros with chocolate dipping sauce. My husband was a churro virgin and he really liked them. The chocolate dipping sauce was a real treat -- I only half joked about drinking it straight out of the bowl after the churros ran out. Ok, I licked some of it off my fingers. Our only complaint is that we wish the churros hadn't been drizzled with caramel -- we felt like it took away from both the crispy texture of the pastry and the amazing flavor of the chocolate. Still a very successful dessert though -- leave room for it!

Tintos is a little on the pricy side. It's not terribly fancy, but not an everyday choice. We enjoyed the tapas concept -- nothing is more fun than making a meal out of appetizers -- and we wished our table and our stomachs were a little bigger, so we could sample more. My best advice is to try and stay away from anything you could have anywhere else (ie, the mushrooms) and go for the more "exotic" offerings (ie, the snails). The small portions mean that you won't have to taste anything you don't like more than once, and chances are you'll find something you love.

BRC Gastropub

Oh, hello. My name is Jessica and I love to eat. Back when I lived in Waco I would occasionally help my friend Ross with his food blog, and now that I'm in Houston, I've been inspired to start my own. For our inaugural entry, I'm going to write about one of my favorite places in Houston, The BRC Gastro Pub.

Let's get one thing out of the way: yes, BRC does stand for Big Red Cock. And there's a fine specimen of one right there in the driveway. The inside of the restaurant is decorated eclectically, with red felt wallpaper and a really cool chandelier made out of wrought-iron baskets. Seating is tight, so you better get comfortable with your neighbors, or at least have a good sense of humor. My husband and I were seated next to a pair of very self-important lawyers who insisted on talking loudly about discovery requests and electronic filing. I'm sure they would be thoroughly disappointed to learn that my husband and I were both trained as attorneys and were therefore quite unimpressed with their conversation; however, they were fun to quietly mock.

The best thing about BRC is the rotating menu. The main categories of food remain the same, but the ingredients change weekly. For example, the menu might say "macaroni and cheese", but one week the mac and cheese might include lobster, and the next week it might include jalapeno. This concept keeps the menu fresh and fun no matter how often you go. It also provides the waiter with a lot to talk about at the beginning of the meal.

The day that we were there the chowder was made with shrimp and bacon jam. All I needed to hear was "bacon jam" -- what it was spread on or in was pretty much irrelevant. The chowder was well-made, with large chunks of shrimp and carrot, but something was off; it was just a little too sweet, and not thick enough. As for the bacon jam, there just wasn't enough of it. Another tablespoon of the stuff would have gone a long way to make this whole dish better.

My husband ordered a Dr. Pepper-glazed quail dish from the appetizer menu. This is not a rotating dish; it's always made the same way. I didn't try it -- quail is not my favorite fowl -- but from what my husband told me, it's a good thing that it's always available, because he wants it again.

It was lunchtime, so we didn't have any desserts or alcoholic drinks. Our waiter told us the frozen Snickers beignets are to die for. And I thought the white-wine mojito sounded lovely.

BRC is a special place with an amazingly creative chef. Service is fast and friendly, and the prices are reasonable. Although the rotating menu means that the dishes can be a little hit-or-miss, the misses are rare and not disastrous, and the hits are absolutely wonderful. I would recommend BRC to anyone -- but if you're bringing your kids or your grandma, maybe decline to explain the name. Or how it's related to that thing in the driveway.