Harvest Seasonal Grill & Wine Bar

Local farm to table restaurants seem to be the hot new concept in the food world. When I think of fresh produce and locally made foods, I don't think of Houston. I think of the North where farmers markets are on every corner and the seasons are marked by the changing produce. Farm to table concept restaurants are the hot new thing, so we found one called Harvest Seasonal Grill and Wine Bar and decided to try it out. They were just on the last days of their summer menu which was slightly disappointing because I am a huge fan of fall flavors. I started off with lavender mojito, made with vanilla rum and lavender simple syrup. It was a lovely combination of floral and sweet aromas. The mint and the vanilla paired well and the lavender was a unique twist. It was very refreshing and something I never would have thought to put together.

As appetizers, we ordered calamari and a hummus trio. I was very surprised when the calamari arrived to see that it was not fried. The calamari was sauteed and served in what seemed to be a Thai inspired broth. Honestly, it was a bit bland and not even salt helped. The broth didn't seem to have strong enough flavors to help perk up the bland calamari. The hummus trio included roasted garlic, chipotle and bruschetta and was served with pita triangles, carrots and cucumbers. The roasted garlic wasn't too overwhelming, but was slightly sweet. The chipotle hummus had a definite smoky flavor brought out by the paprika on top. The bruschetta hummus had diced tomatoes and kalamata olives mixed in, creating a very Mediterranean feel. The pita was okay, but nothing to write home about. I love hummus and was inspired by these combinations to start making my own to see what I could come up with. The hummus trio was the winner in the appetizer round.

In the entree category, the first two options were a pork tenderloin with a mustard apricot sauce and the second choice was a halibut. The pork was grilled and served on a chutney like mix of apricots and dijon mustard. There was a brussel sprout and sweet potato hash served with it that was actually quite tasty. I have never seen brussel sprouts used in a hash and the flavors went well together. The apricot and dijon mustard created a sweet and salty combination that brought depth to the pork. Plus pork and dijon mustard are one of my favorite combinations. The halibut was served with broccolini and an optional sauce, but it was unclear as to what the server said it was. Unfortunately, the halibut was a bit overcooked, so it turned out to be nothing special.

Luckily for me, the soup of the day was their season butternut squash soup! So of course that was something I had to try. The soup was creamy and surprisingly sweet with lots of toasted pumpkins seeds. The pumpkins seeds added the tiniest bit of salt and a nice textural contrast to the soup. The sweetness of the soup came from the addition of honey to the soup. I would have never thought to put honey in a soup, but it was very good. This butternut squash soup is a quintessential fall dish and would be perfect for a chilly winter night. I also decided to try the steak, swiss and mushroom flatbread. There is an area called Kennett Square that is known for their mushrooms so these were the lucky mushrooms topping the flatbread. The steak was tender and the swiss cheese was the perfect "glue" to hold it all together. The crust was nice and crunchy and seemed to be a bit seasoned. It was definitely one of the better flatbreads I have have since it wasn't basically just bread.

Though the entree part of the meal wasn't super memorable, we decided to give dessert a chance. The way they served dessert was unique because they came in a tray and you just took whichever one you wanted right then. The two we chose were a chocolate mocha mousse and a peanut butter chocolate mousse. The mocha chocolate mousse was topping with almost a cookie like crumble and a tiny dollop of whipped cream. The mousse was light, but had a very rich chocolate flavor to it. The peanut butter and chocolate mousse was like eating a peanut butter cup. The mini chocolate chips on top were a great textural element and completed the look of the dessert. Out of the two, the peanut butter and chocolate mousse was the dessert winner. Unfortunately, this wasn't an awesome dinner overall but there were definitely some bright spots in the meal. If you are willing to not be wowed by every dish, you might want to give it a try because there were some pretty yummy things and the fall menu looked good.

The West End - A Public House

The West End is a great new spot that I discovered while driving down Westheimer one day. So it ended up on the never ending list of places I need to try. They have a huge outdoor patio and open bar that would be great to hang out during one of the few perfect patio days Houston has. Their outside bar is quite large and there is tons of seating. When I went back to check it out, I started out with some "Fall Bubbles" because how can you not love a bubbly cocktail on a hot summer's day. This was prosseco, baked apple bitters, fruitlab jasmine, and a brown sugar cube. You could definitely smell the jasmine and the bubbly brown sugar cube made for a fun presentation. The baked apple bitters helped balance out the floral notes and gave the drink a touch of sweetness. It was a delicious and not something I have seen before.
 

Of course, I had to try the food so I opted for the calamari. This was served with marinara and roasted garlic aioli. (I have no idea why the picture can out red, but I promise it didn't look like that in real life.) To be honest, the calamari wasn't that great as the coating was a bit soggy and some of the pieces were a bit chewy. A squeeze of fresh lemon juice and the dipping sauces were much better than the calamari and saved it from being pretty bad. However, I probably won't be ordering it again. I do like calamari, but I guess I can be pretty picky about it. The coating needs to be crunchy and flavorful. I don't want to be eating all those unhealthy carbs if they don't even taste good.

Sometimes you just need a good dessert to round out a meal and the chocolate truffle cake didn't disappoint! It was drizzled with a raspberry sauce and was rich and decedent. the crust was almost like a brownie because there was a little bit of crunch to it, but the inside was soft and super dense and chocoately. There was a great chocolate flavor and who doesn't love chocolate and raspberry?! This cake was really yummy and helped end the meal on a high note. The West End has a huge beer selection and is a great option when you are looking for a relaxing place to catch up with friends.

Doc's Food and Wine

I love food and pairing it with a great wine and romantic atmosphere makes it even better. This is what a trip to Doc's Food and Wine was like. The bi-level restaurant had a warm and cozy feel to it. I started off with a Papa Doble, which was rum, lime, grapefruit, and maraschino liqueur. Don't be confused like me and think that maraschino means red and cherry flavored. It is made of cherries, but doesn't taste at all like the cherry you put on a sundae. The drink was not at all sweet, which wasn't really my style but at least I can say I tried it. Since it was part wine bar, I figured that I should try some of their wines and I have never had a wine flight before, so now was my chance. I tried the "Old World Whites" flight, which included Domaine de Salvard Sauvignon Blanc, Salneval Albarino, and Eric Chevalier muscadet. I would have to say that the muscadet was my favorite because it had heavy notes of fruit flavor and paired well with the seafood we were eating.

They served the food tapas style, with one or two portions per plate so we got a few to share. The four plates were (starting from the top left hand corner) shrimp and grits, jalapeno calamari, crab cakes, and parmesan mussels. They were all delicious! The shrimp had a bit of a kick to it and the grits were creamy and cheesy. The calamari of the day had jalapenos in the batter and then slices of fried jalapenos served with the calamari. It wasn't too spicy, but did have a great smokey flavor to it. The crab cakes were well-seasoned, the crust had a nice crunch to it, and the sauce added an extra punch of flavor. I was cautious about the mussels because I didn't have a good first experience with them. However, when you add butter, garlic, and parmesan cheese, it will make anything instantly better! They were a great introduction to mussels and had a really great flavor. Plus, they have there own little forks that you use to get them out of the shell, so what's not to like about that?! (Ok, maybe that's just me)

Last, but not least we closed the meal with a heavenly bread pudding topped with a snickerdoodle ice cream. I know it sounds a little weird, but the other flavors were things like skittle, cotton candy, and fruit punch. (I am sure that they are delicious, but none of them seemed to remotely go with bread pudding.) Ayway, the snickerdoodle ice cream was amazing! The bread pudding had a great consistency and tasted like fall. I would have to say that it ranks up there as far as the best bread pudding list is concerned. If you are ever in the area, make sure you stop in because it's a great little place full of charm and great food and drinks.

Table for Tapas, Please!

Photo Courtesy of Amsterdam

So getting to go on vacation and see a friend was a real treat, especially when it happens in the beautiful city of New York! I haven't had the opportunity to visit the Upper West Side during my previous travels to New York, so this was great. We went to this place called Amsterdam Restaurant and Tapas. I love tapas because you get to try a ton of different things and you don't feel overly full afterwards. We opted to try fried calamari, spicy Thai garlic shrimp, duck tacos, and sweet potato and apple pierogies. We got so caught up in the delicious food and chatting that I didn't get to take many pictures, so forgive me.

The calamari had a great seasoned coating and the remoulade sauce was amazing. The spicy Thai garlic shrimp were super spicy, but they were light and full of flavor. I have never had duck before, but we were feeling adventurous so we gave it a shot. It wasn't too bad, but it really wasn't my favorite and I probably won't be trying it again. The duck was similar to chicken and the sweetness of the pear added an interesting twist to it. However, it was the sweet potato and apple pierogies that were the favorite of the night. For those of you that don't know what a pierogi is, it's a dough that is first boiled and then fried and stuffed. I would have never put together sweet potato and apple together but it was heavenly! It was fluffy, sweet, and full of autumn spice. These are definitely something that I would eat more often if I was closer... but it's probably good that I'm not.

Since we were in the area, we of course had to take a detour through the Columbia campus. Even at night it was beautiful, though much smaller than some of the other campuses I have been to (which isn't all that surprising). This was the main library of the campus when it first opened, though it has since been changed to an office building. I didn't get to see it during the day, but I am glad that I got a chance to visit while I was up there. It's definitely something to stop by and see if you are in the area.

Always Alto

I have already shared with you about this great little pizza place in West Ave, but here I am talking about it again. I was flattered when a friend and I were going to go out to eat and she said she had read my blog and wanted to try Alto. So of course, that's where we went. It was delicious before, so I was more than happy to go back to try something new. However, I did have to indulge in something old, so I had a glass of the super fruity, white wine sangria. We started off with an order of calamari served with traditional marinara and a parsley dip. The parsley sauce was a great combination with the seasoned crunch of the calamari coating. The breading didn't fall apart and there wasn't too much of it. A squeeze of lemon adds a touch of citrusy freshness to it, making the flavors light and bright.

Next, we decided to try the daily special pizza. It had roasted garlic, red onion, chicken, cheddar cheese, and rosemary. The rosemary add a deep, earthy flavor to the pizza and the roasted garlic sort of melted into the sauce, making it almost taste like a barbecue sauce. There were big chunks of chicken that were well seasoned and very moist. The cheddar cheese was a nice change from the normal mozzarella and helped add to the barbecue feel of the pizza. The thin and crispy crust doesn't fill you up with unnecessary bread, so you get to enjoy the toppings... the real reason you eat a pizza.

I have to admit that the few times I have been to Alto, I have never had dessert. Then I heard a whisper that there was some sort of dessert with Nutella. Who passes up something with that chocolate hazelnutty goodness? So we splurged and got an order of sourdough doughnuts with nutella! The dough of the doughnuts wasn't sweet at all, but was rolled in sugar. The Nutella was melted which made it even better and easier to dip into. It was heaven and I couldn't get enough of them! Each bite had tartness from the dough, crunch from the sugar crystals, and a smooth chocolate finish. They were some of the most delicious doughnuts I have ever had. If you haven't had them, you need to go get an order as soon as possible. This is something that I may have to work on figuring out how to make at home. I am so glad that I went back to Alto and had another delicious dinner!