steamed artichokes

the adventures of sarah and andrea eating their way through texas, but mostly college station. photos by andrea; text by sarah

Baklava Cafe at 1531 Texas 6 #100  Sugar Land, TX 77478.

After a four hour drive back to Sugar Land from San Antonio, Andrea, Kristine and I were all rightly starved. We couldn’t decide what to eat so we just drove down Hwy 6 until we could think of a place to eat, and we settled on Baklava Cafe after much discussion. :)

Kristine and I orderedshawarma(Kristine ordered the plate while I ordered the sandwich) because we were still in Avengers mode. :) I’d had the shawarma here several times, and while I cannot say it’s the best shawarma I’ve had, it hits the spot when I get cravings for it. I believe it was Kristine’s first time trying shawarma. I think she was a bit unimpressed with it. Perhaps I hyped it up too much? Probably. I can’t remember what sides she ordered with her shawarma, but she thought the flavor profile of one of her sides was quite strange, and I agree; it was some dish with fava beans if I recall correctly, but I don’t think I am.

Andrea ordered the gyro sandwich. Ahh! I totally had a craving for shawarma, but I wish I had ordered this instead! It smelled so, so good! Kristine, if you ever read this (I know you’re still in Thailand!), please get this next time or at any other Mediterranean restaurant! It’s simply deliche. The tzatziki smelled awesome at Baklava Cafe.

BTW, the sandwiches cost $6 or so, and the gyro and shawarma plates both cost $10 and come with rice and two sides. I think this restaurant is a great place to get take out for lunch or dinner. The bakery side of the cafe also has coffee, tea, several different types of baklava (all of which are very nice), as well as many other types of baked desserts. I will try them all someday! :DD

Mango Snowflake shaved ice from Nu Cafe at 9889 Bellaire Blvd, Ste 112A Houston, TX 77036. The snowflake ice at Nu Cafe is different from most other shaved ice places. Ten+ hours of preparation are needed where the sweeteners, flavorings, milk, and other ingredients are mixed and frozen in large cylindrical blocks. When served, the ice blocks are shaved so that customers are given a tower of sheetlike milky, cool ice. I was a little disappointed by the size of the dessert. The images at the shop had shown significantly taller ice towers, but whatever. I still thought it was too little ice for $7 or so. Anyway, the ice was actually really good and refreshing. We ordered the mango flavored ice, but it didn’t really taste very mango-y. The flavor of the ice was really more reminiscent of that green, enzyme-ish aftertaste of mango and not the actual mango flesh itself. The mango flavored syrup was way more flavorful than the shaved ice. The fruit at Nu Cafe was very fresh, but the red beans weren’t sweet enough for my tastes. The snowflake ice at Nu Cafe is still definitely worth a try, and I’ve heard that the green tea shaved ice is much, much better! :) Nu Cafe also has other Taiwanese foods, both sweet and savory, but I can’t judge them as I haven’t tried any of those dishes. :)

Mango Snowflake shaved ice from Nu Cafe at 9889 Bellaire Blvd, Ste 112A Houston, TX 77036.

The snowflake ice at Nu Cafe is different from most other shaved ice places. Ten+ hours of preparation are needed where the sweeteners, flavorings, milk, and other ingredients are mixed and frozen in large cylindrical blocks. When served, the ice blocks are shaved so that customers are given a tower of sheetlike milky, cool ice.

I was a little disappointed by the size of the dessert. The images at the shop had shown significantly taller ice towers, but whatever. I still thought it was too little ice for $7 or so. Anyway, the ice was actually really good and refreshing. We ordered the mango flavored ice, but it didn’t really taste very mango-y. The flavor of the ice was really more reminiscent of that green, enzyme-ish aftertaste of mango and not the actual mango flesh itself. The mango flavored syrup was way more flavorful than the shaved ice. The fruit at Nu Cafe was very fresh, but the red beans weren’t sweet enough for my tastes.

The snowflake ice at Nu Cafe is still definitely worth a try, and I’ve heard that the green tea shaved ice is much, much better! :) Nu Cafe also has other Taiwanese foods, both sweet and savory, but I can’t judge them as I haven’t tried any of those dishes. :)

The Egg and I at 9985 W Interstate 10 San Antonio, Texas. I think this is the first big-ish chain restaurant review we have done.

Eggs Benedict (with ranch potatoes) Andrea and Wenet ordered this. It was alright. It definitely wasn’t the best eggs benedict ever, but it was pretty alright. The potatoes were really nice, however. The dish was quite heavy, so it was definitely a good decision to serve the lemon wedge with the eggs. It really helped to cut down the heaviness of the dish. Is having lemon with eggs benedict common? Although it was on the rich and heavy side, there was a refreshing light element to the dish that made it more enjoyable. :) All the eggs benedict variations were $9+, which I think is too much. In fact, all the egg dishes were on the expensive side. Eggs aren’t expensive at all, and they’re not that difficult to cook, you know? Also, for a restaurant with a focus on preparing eggs, the egg dishes weren’t as great as I had hoped.

French Toast Gah! I wish I had ordered the eggs benedict or an omelet. I refused to pay an exorbitant amount of money for eggs, so I decided to get the French toast. It, too, was alright. I was actually pleasantly surprised that the toast wasn’t too sugary like I would have expected. The topmost slice was really pleasant and just the right degree of sweet. The slices beneath the first were lacking in sweetness, so I had to add some myself. By the end of the second slice, I had become very bored of the same taste and was getting carb-full, so I bartered the rest of my toast for bites of eggs benedict and omelet. If you decide to tread the waters of the French toast sea, you should probably at least order some potatoes or some other side dish as eating only the French toast can become tiresome after the first or second slice. :/ The French toast was kind of awesome; it was just also really boring after a while.

Koppe Bridge at 11777 FM 2154 College Station, TX 77845.

Fried Pickle Spears ($5.50) Honestly I can’t even remember much about this. BTW this is a really, really late review. Andrea and I ate here about a month ago. We’re super late on this, but not to worry, we should have new, more timely reviews coming up. Anyway, yeah, the fried pickle spears were nice and tangy but nothing to rave about.

The Original Burger Basket ($7) For a restaurant that prides itself on having several Best Burger awards (recently, too!), this was astoundingly and disappointingly average. There was nothing special about this at all. Me and the other people in our group who ordered this had to force ourselves to finish it— not because the portions were too large, just because it was bland and boring as paparazzi photos of Hilary Duff coming out from Whole Foods. It might have been the most boring food I’ve ever ordered at a restaurant.

The other food at Koppe Bridge might be better, but this definitely isn’t the best Burger in BCS. I would still recommend dining here as the atmosphere is very College Station, but don’t be too excited for anything you order. :/

Qin’s Noodle House at 9889 Bellaire Blvd. Houston, TX 77036. We decided to try this place becaude it was recommended to Andrea with the simple description “cheap and big portions.” This turned out to be very true. With the exception of a handful of menu choices, everything else on the menu was around $7 at most. The fabled portions turned out to be true as well. I felt like the bowls were the size of a small bathroom sink. Mr. Kwan and I couldn’t even finish our dishes. The restaurant also has self-serve wonton and sweet and sour soup as well as water and tea. Andre and Mr. Kwan ordered the Beef Noodle Soup. Andrea thought is was really fatty, but I guess that could be expected for a giant $5 bowl of soup. Kwan couldn’t finish his; it was just too filling. It wasn’t quiet spicy enough for Andrea’s tastes, so she added a lot of the chili oil. Andrea managed to finish all the noodles and veggies but remarked that she felt disgusting afterward. I ordered the House Special Soup ($7). I can’t read Chinese, and the English description just said “house special.” I thought it would be a safe bet. OMG! It was humungous! My soup arrived in the same giant bowls as Andrea and Kwan’s food, but it was piled over with seafood and veggies. It was a little spicier than I expected, but it was still easily palatable. This soup reminded me a lot of the Korean soup Jambbong. When I ordered this, I did not know that it was a seafood dish. The soup contained whole shrimp, squid, fish balls, scallops, and a lot of shredded imitation crab. I don’t really like to eat imitation crab or fish balls, so I wish I had known about that. It was still pretty good. I especially like the noodles at Qin’s.

Qin’s Noodle House at 9889 Bellaire Blvd. Houston, TX 77036.

We decided to try this place becaude it was recommended to Andrea with the simple description “cheap and big portions.” This turned out to be very true. With the exception of a handful of menu choices, everything else on the menu was around $7 at most. The fabled portions turned out to be true as well. I felt like the bowls were the size of a small bathroom sink. Mr. Kwan and I couldn’t even finish our dishes. The restaurant also has self-serve wonton and sweet and sour soup as well as water and tea.

Andre and Mr. Kwan ordered the Beef Noodle Soup. Andrea thought is was really fatty, but I guess that could be expected for a giant $5 bowl of soup. Kwan couldn’t finish his; it was just too filling. It wasn’t quiet spicy enough for Andrea’s tastes, so she added a lot of the chili oil. Andrea managed to finish all the noodles and veggies but remarked that she felt disgusting afterward.

I ordered the House Special Soup ($7). I can’t read Chinese, and the English description just said “house special.” I thought it would be a safe bet. OMG! It was humungous! My soup arrived in the same giant bowls as Andrea and Kwan’s food, but it was piled over with seafood and veggies. It was a little spicier than I expected, but it was still easily palatable. This soup reminded me a lot of the Korean soup Jambbong. When I ordered this, I did not know that it was a seafood dish. The soup contained whole shrimp, squid, fish balls, scallops, and a lot of shredded imitation crab. I don’t really like to eat imitation crab or fish balls, so I wish I had known about that. It was still pretty good. I especially like the noodles at Qin’s.

Rise No.1 at 5360 West Lovers Ln #220  Dallas, TX 75209.

Neither Andrea, Kristine, or I had tried this place before, but we were really excited. We had looked up a few restaurants online, and Rise was the most intriguing while also staying within our budgets.

We all ordered the Chocolate Souffle, $12. This was bigger than we expected, but it certainly wasn’t enough to be split among three people (we were quite full from earlier that day. Don’t judge us!). It’s a fine portion for two people to split after having an entree, but yeah, we made work of it quite quickly. It was really good! The souffle wasn’t overbearingly chocolately. It was distinctly chocolatey but not so much that it was too much. for those who do prefer a bit more chocolate, the souffle comes with a rich dark chocolate sauce. It was delicious! The server had to bring us another small pot of the chocolate sauce. The sauce on top of the souffle was mega delicious. The texture was vaguely eggy (as it should be) and really soft. It was really enjoyable. I would very much recommend it. :)

OMG the bread! It was really good as well. Actually, I think we all enjoyed the bread more than the souffle. The bread was crunchy and salty on the outside, but so soft and fluffy on the inside. The bread-cutter was totally a plus. It was like a paper-cutter, only for bread. I became quite obsessed with using it. The homemade butter was excellent and a perfect compliment to the bread. It was the best butter I’ve ever tasted! I think Andrea, Kristine, and I now understand why Paula Deen loves butter so much. We all have a new appreciation for the food lipid.

I totally recommend Rise No. 1. Everything on the menu looks really delicious. Even the oddly named “Marshmallow Soup” is a very popular item at Rise. I am eager to try it if I ever have the chance to go again. :) I would go again just for the bread. ;P

mini-mogul and spontaneousnguyen, thanks for following! <3

Nidda Thai Cuisine at 1226 Westheimer, Houston 77006.

Pad Thai (left): My brother ordered this, so I was only able to have a small bite. It was refreshingly mild. :) The pad thai wasn’t overwhelmingly sweet or too spicy like I’ve had a lot lot of places. I didn’t have a clear impression of the dish until I had some absolutely horrid pad thai at Chef Cao’s in College Station. CC’s pad thai was sour and slightly too spicy, but the most abhorrent facet of it was it’s sweetness. It was like it was entirely made of chili sauce and tamarind sauce. It took a truly horrible example of pad thai to help me realize how good authentic pad thai is, and Nidda’s pad thai is exactly that: good and authentic.

Red Curry (right): I don’t think I can give a good review. I love red curry, and I’ve never had a poor serving of it for comparison. The chicken was tender, the basil was sweet and green, and the bamboo soaked up the flavors of the curry sauce wonderfully. It was so good. :) So good!

I would totes go back again. There are a few good Thai restaurants in Sugar Land, but if I’m ever in the Montrose neighborhood again and want Thai, I would so go back to Nidda. I only had lunch there, so I would be happy to try some of the dishes from their dinner menu. A lot of the items look really tasty. :3


Mango, Strawberry, and Watermelon Shaved Ice from Juice Box at 9889 Bellaire Blvd. Houston, TX 77036.  It looks unappetizing, but it was so, so good. There really isn&#8217;t much to it. Fresh strawberries, mango, and watermelon on top of a pile of shaved ice and drenched in sweetened condensed milk all topped off with a scoop of strawberry ice cream. So good! My only complaint is that there was a lot of condensed milk pooled beneath the ice. The mangoes were a little bitter, but I know they were out of season. I still like that Juice Box uses all fresh fruit. Just be knowledgeable about what you order so you can get fruit at their tastiest when you visit. :3 These weirdos next to us (jk guys) ordered the chocolate avocado shaved ice. What were you guys thinking. The avocado wasn&#8217;t even in season. I&#8217;ve ordered it before, and it&#8217;s interesting. That&#8217;s all I can say.

Mango, Strawberry, and Watermelon Shaved Ice from Juice Box at 9889 Bellaire Blvd. Houston, TX 77036. 

It looks unappetizing, but it was so, so good. There really isn’t much to it. Fresh strawberries, mango, and watermelon on top of a pile of shaved ice and drenched in sweetened condensed milk all topped off with a scoop of strawberry ice cream. So good! My only complaint is that there was a lot of condensed milk pooled beneath the ice. The mangoes were a little bitter, but I know they were out of season. I still like that Juice Box uses all fresh fruit. Just be knowledgeable about what you order so you can get fruit at their tastiest when you visit. :3

These weirdos next to us (jk guys) ordered the chocolate avocado shaved ice. What were you guys thinking. The avocado wasn’t even in season. I’ve ordered it before, and it’s interesting. That’s all I can say.

Bacchus is a Mediterranean winebar and coffee shop in the Montrose neighborhood of Houston at 2502B Dunlavy St. (it’s kind of behind Agora). It’s the first coffee shop/winebar in Houston to serve Illy. The manager informed us about the arduous approval process that the Illy company conducts before it allows permission to be served in restaurants, cafes, etc. to maintain quality and exclusivity, so it must be awesome. :) Bacchus has a really unique feel. It’s small but feels really spacious. The furniture is modern and ecclectic and totally doesn’t fit in with the relief vases and fishing nets on the walls. The impression of the place is very Aegean. Everything in Bacchus reminds me of Clycladic and Mycenaean stonework.

Doppio: My brother has been itching to drink cafe-prepared Illy for a while now. He usually drinks about four shots of espresso a day at home, but he says nothing compares to Illy. :) Needless to say, he gives this a positive rating. He enjoyed Bacchus and the espresso so much that he has proclaimed it his new study spot.

Macchiato: I ordered a single macchiato. It was a bit stronger than I expected, but it was definitely the richest espresso I’ve ever had. The biscotti was a bit difficult to dip into the one ounce cup, but it was great once I was finally able to. I had to let it soak for a few seconds; it was a tough little cookie. :)

For those not interested in drinking straight up shots, Bacchus has mochas, lattes, frappes, and whatever else you would expect at a coffee shop.

*Ugly photos by Sarah. Andrea was studying for CPA stuff. :(