Shade

I'm not going to lie to you, I am sick today. Seriously. Every time I look at the picture above, I feel like dying. It's not specific to that picture -- looking at, smelling, or even thinking about virtually any food seems to be enough to push me over the edge right now. With that in mind, I'm going to try to write a thoughtful and honest review of what is a pretty good Houston eatery, Shade.

We decided to try Shade at the tail end of Houston Restaurant Weeks. I did the "noble" thing (it's for the food bank!) and selflessly tried the three course restaurant weeks menu. We started with the carpaccio. I have to be honest, I was not impressed. The beef was fine quality, but something was lacking in the flavor for me. Skip it.

Next I had the scallops. Now those were special! Without going into too much detail (because seriously, my body can't handle that right now), they were sweet, succulent, perfectly cooked and paired delightfully with their sides. What more do you need to know?

For dessert we did the sponge cake with strawberry mousse. The mousse was very good, with a lot of real strawberry flavor. I recommend it.

Shade has a very intimate atmosphere and a great service staff. Our waitress and I happened to be using the ladies room at the same time, and she was accosted by a guest IN THE BATHROOM and asked to change an order. That is something I have honestly never seen before, but she handled it a lot better than I would have. Managing to be pleasant while being bugged on the toilet -- that's a true professional!

Alicia's

Alicia's is located in the West Houston/Katy area, right off the highway and close to the HEB. From the outside it looks like any other Mexican joint, but don't let that fool you. Alicia's is on the Top 100 Houston Restaurants list for a reason.

Let's start with the margaritas. They're perfect. They're light, fruity, and not too sweet. They're also an amazing value, and a great way to start your meal.

The food doesn't disappoint either. I had enchiladas rancheras (chicken enchiladas with ranchera sauce). The best part of the meal was definitely the ranchera sauce. It paired well with everything -- from the plain brown ride to the very good refried beans to the enchiladas themselves. Everything tasted real, like a lot of thought and good ingredients went into each part of the plate. It was satisfying and comforting and fun.

Service was good -- a sweet college-aged kid who actually seemed to enjoy his job -- and prices were fantastic, particularly items on the lunch menu. And it wasn't even crowded! All around, Alicia's is a win.

Branch Water Tavern

The best thing about Branch Water Tavern is the space itself. The place is surprisingly large, with a very nice lounge/bar area in the front, plenty of seating in the middle section, and a large semi-private room in the back. Everything is tastefully if rustically decorated -- hardwood floors and plain white china. As soon as you walk in you feel relaxed and welcome.

The food is standard American fare. We were there for lunch, so I had a rueben sandwich. It was nothing to write home about. I would have liked some sauerkraut on my rueben, but otherwise I have no complaints. There was plenty of good quality meat, cheese and a very nice dressing on a good piece of crusty bread. Fries on the side (a nice surprise, since they weren't mentioned on the menu). Very similar to anything you could get at Laurenzo's, BRC, or any other upscale lunch spot in the same area. Same service and prices too.

I think Branch Water would be an amazing place for a happy hour. The lounge area is large and welcoming, the bar is well stocked, and the atmosphere is laid-back and cool. It's a fine place for a meal, but the mood just says "cocktails" more than "sandwiches" (at least to me).

Kata Robata

My husband LOVES Kata Robata. The food is very creative. Above, you will see one of the specials available on the day we went. Raw Kobe beef with melon and onion. It doesn't sound good, but the flavors -- particularly the melon and the onion -- melded beautifully. That's what Kata Robata does; they take things you wouldn't expect to taste good, and prove to you that they are wonderful.

Another oddly delicious dish was grilled fish collar. I don't think that Americans regularly eat the collar of the fish, and we should. It isn't easy to eat with chopsticks (eventually we just picked the collars up and ate the meat right off the bones, like a rib), but the meat was very tender and had a nice smokey flavor. Plus we got the added bonus of a little crispy fish skin, which is always tasty.

We also had the Houston roll from the traditional roll list. Tuna, yellowtail, avocado, salmon and masago (roe) -- what's not to love? Between the rolls and the collar, we ordered the perfect amount of food. We left feeling completely satisfied but not gross.

Service was basic. Our waitress seemed a little shy, like she may be new at the job. Prices and atmosphere were comparable to most other upscale sushi restaurants in the Houston area. It's not my favorite sushi spot -- that honor still belongs to Sasaki -- but it's a nice place with an interesting menu, and I can absolutely recommend it.

The Bird and the Bear

The Bird and the Bear is a new establishment from the people behind Oussie's. It's located in a shopping center, and although attempts have been made to create a cozy space, it's hard to forget that this space is supposed to be a store-front. There are just too many windows that let in too much light.

It's also hard to forget that this is a new restaurant. Little notebooks and pencils are on every table (why I don't know), and they're emblazoned with the name "Oussie's." Things like that make you feel like this restaurant is secondary to to the older one. If they're using leftover notepads, will the recipes be afterthoughts too?

Thankfully, the food is good. The menu feels fresh and different from Oussie's, with lots of fun little touches (ie: a dish called "damn eggplant"). They also have a large selection of vegetarian dishes, which, as a former vegetarian, I appreciate. And they aren't all pastas either! I had the creative vegetable paella.



This paella is comprised of mushrooms, a variety of peppers, onions and saffron rice. At first I wasn't sure I liked it -- without meat or seafood, paella is inherently a little bland -- but I gave it a second to linger, and I discovered something. It wasn't bland, it was delicate. It was also warm, filling, and very good.

We also enjoyed an escargot appetizer. This dish was different than other escargot, as it wasn't covered in cream or puff pastry. It was just snails cooked in a savory, garlicky butter sauce, with good bread on the side for dipping. This is not a snail starter dish, since you really get the taste and texture of the snails, but if you like them this is a great way to get an escargot fix.

Dessert is NOT to be missed. We had a chocolate cake with banana filling. It was perfectly done, and worth the extra calories.

Service is good, but green. Our waiter seemed nervous, even though he was doing a great job. He overcompensated by using the same script of quips with every customer. Typical new restaurant stuff, I think. He just needs to find his stride. The whole place does. But once it gets there -- and I think it will -- this place might just outshine its predecessor. It certainly won't be an afterthought.

Dozier's

Dozier's is located in Fulshear, about 40 miles outside of Houston. The drive is totally worth it. The space is classic Texas -- taxidermy on the walls, picnic tables with striped tablecloths, etc. The best part is that there is nothing ironic or intentional about it; it's real Texas, before the hipsters got here. The only strange thing is the grocery section in the front of the store. Some of the items make sense (Texas jellies, jars of homemade BBQ sauce) and some do not (overpriced, seemingly old hygiene and pet care products). It's kind of like the "emergency grocery" section in a gas station, but I can't imagine anyone is really buying this stuff out here in the middle of nowhere.

I had the homemade sausage platter with two sides (mac and cheese and potato salad). The sausage was perfection. Spicy, hearty and served with their amazing homemade sauce. My husband's chop beef sandwich was likewise delicious. It was ready at warp speed too -- we barely had enough time to grab drinks and find a table before our food was done. Clearly the staff knows what they are doing.

As you might imagine, prices were very reasonable. Service was basic -- you order at a counter, get your own drinks and condiments, and bus your own tables -- but it was fast. The only person who made us feel unwelcome the whole time was the man at the checkout counter (you pay as you leave), who stared at us intensely for no apparent reason. I don't think he meant to be rude; maybe they're not used to seeing customers who aren't regulars. I guess the solution to that is to become one. 

Special Out of Town Edition: Moonshine

Friends from Austin have usually raved about Moonshine, so when we had to be in town for a hearing, we decided to check it out. We went in at lunch time and there was quite a crowd. It was too hot to eat outside, so we were seated at a cozy little table next to the window. Right away, we liked the country-chic decor. It felt airy and bright, like eating at my husband's grandma's house. And the food was almost as good.

We started with a plate of homemade potato chips with sour cream dip. The hubs really enjoyed the dip, but I wasn't crazy about the chips. I was expecting something akin to Zapp's, but we we got were more like Baked Lays in both flavor and texture. Pass (at least for me).

I had a small Indigo Spinach Salad. First, I love that Moonshine allows you to buy just half a salad. It was a perfect lunch portion. Second, the ingredients in this one just scream summer: blueberries, peaches, fresh spinach. It was the perfect meal for the space we were in, the season and the time of day: bright, fresh, and not overly filling. The complimentary cheddar muffins on the side were also quite good, and helped to round out the meal nicely.

Service was very good. The place was crowded, but they seemed to have a good ratio of servers-to-guests, and we never wanted for anything. Most surprising was the check. I guess we're getting used to Houston prices on everything, but this was a very good value.

Overall, I'll join the ranks and recommend Moonshine. It was just as good as I expected, based on my friends' reviews. It was much better than many other casual lunch places. And it was damn sure better than rain.