Haven

Sometimes, things are so wonderful and amazing that there is only one way to describe their existence.

Magic.

Literally, there must be unicorns and garden gnomes running around in the kitchen at Haven, because there is some serious mystical magical energy goin' on in that restaurant.

The folks at Haven describe their restaurant as "a seasonal kitchen." But I say enough with the fancy terms. They should just call it "really super duper yummy delish and fresh things that you will enjoy stuffing in your face." Because that's the best description there is (yeah, I'm not narcissistic... AND OH MY GOD I SPELLED THAT RIGHT ON THE FIRST TRY!!)

I've been to Haven a few times, and my parents go literally anytime they can. My mom swears there's voodoo magic in their cheese grits (she's probably right) and has ordered some for everyone at the table without being asked to on more than one occasion. People may protest, but once they get a bite of that carb-y, cheese-y, buttery goodness, they shut up real fast. One time my mom brought home leftovers and we FOUGHT each other for the last bite. I really wish I was kidding right now.

Anyway, the first time I went to Haven, I thought it was just pretty good. At that point, the restaurant was relatively new, so I'm sort of giving that meal a pass. Don't get me wrong, parts of it were INCREDIBLE (Hello, lemon/olive oil ice cream??)... I just wasn't blown away.

Well. The magic got to me. Last Friday my parents and I went for lunch, and holy moley I don't think it could have been better. Lunch came out super fast, Willie Nelson was playing, I had a coke with REAL sugar, and we talked to our waiter about all the best truck stops/gas stations between here and Austin.

Oh yeah, and our lunches were yummy enough to knock you over and leave you begging for mercy.

I had their chicken puffy tacos with avocado, queso fresco, salsa verde, and sliced radish with a side of black beans. Crazy good. Everything was super fresh and light, the flavors were strong but not overbearing and the tacos were so gosh-darn pretty. The beans got a "meh" (read: alright-ish) rating from me, but I'm really not a black bean girl to begin with. I did like the texture though, they were a little on the al dente side, which added to the lightness of the dish somehow. And the tortillas were the best I've ever had. I live in Texas folks, I've had my fair share of tortillas. These made me want to march into the kitchen and demand to see the chef (a wonderful wizard by the name of Randy) so I could thank him for his existence.

My mom had the pulled pork sandwich.

Texans everywhere- rejoice. This was the yummiest pulled pork I've EVER had. Again, magic is the only explanation. SO many flavors working their booties off in there. Let me tell you, they were WERKIN' IT. God, that sandwich was unbelievable. My mom loved the cilantro cider slaw that came with it (super light, little to no mayo). And everyone practically cried when they tasted the hand cut potato chips.

My dad had the fried shrimp and onion rings (no I didn't try any shrimp- I know, shame). And after the first bite he closed his eyes for a good long time and leaned back to let all the wonderful-ness of it sink in.

Haven gets an A++++++++++. As far as I'm concerned, Randy can do no wrong. On top of all this, Haven is a green restaurant and the majority of the ingredients used are locally produced. It does a great job of reflecting the classic tastes of Texas onto newer, more thoughtful plates and adding new twists to old classics. The dinner menu may be daunting at first, but I promise you, if you're willing to trust Randy, you won't be disappointed. The atmosphere is great, the service is impeccable, and the food speaks for itself (not actually, that would just be weird).

So, the next time you're looking for something new, duck off of Kirby and roll into Haven for some really incredible food!

Happy eating!

(PS- if you liked this post, or if you like my blog, please send it to your friends, post my link to your own blog, or share through Facebook! I'd really appreciate it!)

Gigi's (click for website link)

Good golly, how tech savvy am I (click da title foolz)??

Ok, I've added a new restaurant to my favorites. Gigi's is literally the bomb. Its this super cool Asian bistro in the Galleria and its all secret and there's mood lighting and Russian men doing shots at the bar and fabulous women in sky-high heels and oh yeah THIS ROOM.

(photo courtesy of Gigi's website)

The "Cherry Blossom Room" is smack dab in the middle of the room with 2 bars flanking its side and acting as the entrances. They also have a room with private tables with curtains to separate you from the rest of the restaurant if you so wish (hot date anyone?).

When I walked into the Cherry room I practically face planted on the gorgeous dark stained floors (which could be due to the fact that I was wearing heels- something I NEVER do). Actually though, this room is the prettiest, most amazing thing I have ever seen, and I could have spent all night sitting on the floor and staring at the ceiling. I lurved it.

Not as much as I loved the food however...

Good lord, I waddled out of Gigi's feeling like I had eaten for 4 people for a week. And its not that the food was heavy, its that the food was amazing.

Also, don't judge me. I don't know the difference between its and it's (sorry Mrs. W!!)

I was there for a girlfrand's 16th birthday party and I had heard good things about Gigi's... but I was still a wee bit apprehensive. My family has ok-ish Chinese pretty much once a week, and I've never been wow-ed by Chinese food.

Well, ladies and gents, prepare to be wow-ed. And to have your socks knocked off, and washed, and bleached, and tumble dried, and placed gently back on your feet by the heavenly deliciousness that is Gigi's food.

We had crispy spring rolls, pot stickers and shrimp dumplings to start.

Wait a second... whaaaa? SHRIMP? YES MAM PRESSED HAM (props to Mr. Thibs for that line).

I ate a shrimp dumpling. 2 in fact, because the first one was so scrumptious that my taste buddies were just begging for more. So I threw 'em a bone and ate another.

All of the appetizers were perfect. The flavors were great, the textures were balanced, and everything looked so pretty on the plate.

For the main course we had "RETURN OF THE PHOENIX" and if that doesn't describe how awesome this dish was, then I don't know what will. It was a lot like General Tsu's chicken, but with this great crunch. Only way to describe it with justice: Magical. Like, so magical it was on the same plane as garden gnomes and unicorns.

We also had shrimp pad thai (ate some of THAT too- whaddap?), Hunan green beans, and veggie fried rice. All were as delish as the main course.

All in all, Gigi's gets a bazillion million gold stars. The entire experience there couldn't have been better, and the food. My god, the food. Words aren't enough. So get your skinny little butt down to the Galleria and feast on the perfection that is Gigi's.

Happy eating!

FOR MADELEINE

Well, this blog should probably be renamed. Because a historical event occurred a couple of months ago, one that was so big and huge and crazy, you might have felt the Earth shake a little bit.

Are you ready kids?

(here's where you say "AYE AYE CAPTAIN!")

I ATE YOGURT! And I didn't throw up, gag, cry, scream, dry heave, faint, explode, implode, dissolve, OR die. Nay, I ENJOYED it!

(Cue earthquake)

Let me explain. A group of friends went to this Indian food place called Indika.

Indika= amazeballs. That's all there is to it. Great atmosphere, good service, AMAZING food. Actually.

Ok, I'll admit. I was scared poop-less when I heard we were going to an Indian restaurant. The only thing I could think was "Everything is going to be weird and spicy and funny colors."

Of course, it didn't help when I sat down, opened the menu, and saw "Baby goat brains" as one of the appetizers. I saw that and my heart sank a little. Sorry, my heart sank A LOT. I was like "Ok that's cool, goat brains. Not even regular goat brains, but baby ones. FROM A GOAT BABY. FROM A KID. THIS IS MESSED UP. I'll just eat Icees and popcorn once we get to the movie theater."

But that was all changed about 30 minutes later when it was decided that the cook would just serve us a "Best Of" meal- their best appetizers and entrees for the whole group to share. I was relieved, because that meant I wouldn't have to dig through the menu for something that I thought I might like.

The appetizers (we requested NOT to have goat brain) came out, and I got really excited. Like "Holy mother of pearl, this is all so pretty and yummy looking and I cannot wait to sink my chompers into every single one of these puppies" excited. BUT NOT REAL PUPPIES OF COURSE! Proverbial ones.

We had:
Slow roasted goat on an open faced crepe with spinach and walnuts
Lambchops with mint masala
Crab samosas with papaya ginger chutney
Warm spinach and paneer with a tandoori corn cracker type-thing
and Corn and Mint Chahat

This is where the yogurt came into play. They had brought everything out to the table when another waiter came up and was like "One last thing" and put the corn chahat right in front of me. Then he said "The is our corn and mint chahat with a yogurt dressing."

I eyed the chahat and was immediately trying to trade the goat plate over the yogurt one (yes, that is how much I detest yogurt), when Helen looked at me and said "Just do it, Martha."

So I did, and I'm really glad. It was one of my favorite dishes of the night.

Full disclosure: friends made this possible. If I hadn't had 6 pairs of eyes (YO DIZ A SHOUT OUT TO MAH GURL MADELEINE) trained on me while I whimpered about being scared, I wouldn't have had a single bite. Trusting new food and the people who introduce you to it is SO important.

I'm a believer in the power of food. Not like, "holy-crap this food has given me 5 extra pounds its so powerful" but like "I care about you, and I want to convey myself, so here's something that I am 100% responsible for, and I want it to make you happy".

I just went there.

Grumble Grumble Grumble.

You know what makes me sad?

When a good restaurant with a fun atmosphere goes down the freaking tubes.

For instance- Mission Burrito.

Once a fun, hip restaurant, Mission is now on the depressing side. The dingy tables, incompetent staffers, and sticky floors might add to this fall from the top.

I was there today eating lunch and I couldn't help remembering how awesome this place used to be back when my family ate here at least once a week. Instead of calling your name when your order was ready or delivering food right to the customer's table, Mission would give out toys.

"When your order is ready, we'll call out 'The Incredible Hulk'."

And then they would give you an Incredible Hulk action figure to mess with while you waited for your food.
Sweet right?

Not anymore. When I went today, the chick at the counter was like "Yeah, so y'all are 'sunglasses.' When we call 'sunglasses' your order is ready."

AND THEN THEY COMMITTED A HEINOUS CRIME.
They didn't give us a toy. Me, being a regular costumer, politely asked "Do we get a toy?" To which the crime-committer replied, "Oh we don't do that anymore."

Say what?

I wanted to punch a pony I was so angry. NO TOY?!?!

Ignore the fact that I'm fifteen years old and don't play with toys anymore. THIS WAS A PROBLEM. This restaurant that I practically grew up eating from was CHANGING ITS WAYS!?

I guess this is pretty indicative of my personality. Ok, so I'm not that open to change, I know that.

BUT WHEN A RESTAURANT SAYS YOU ARE "SUNGLASSES", THEY'D BETTER GIVE YOU SOME SUNGLASSES TO SOLIDIFY THAT FACT.

Argle Bargle.

Dolce Vita

For my friend Jackie's birthday, we went to this restaurant in the Montrose area called Dolce Vita.

Can I just say that if I had the chance I would eat at this place every night?

The restaurant is in this old 2 story, rickety floor board, fire-place-in-every-room, warm, cozy, house. I absolutely love the atmosphere- Everyone in the joint is laid back and there for delicious food.

Jackie's family is pro at everything food related- so we let them do the ordering, and I'll have to admit, I almost left the restaurant when I heard what they were ordering. Anchovie and bell pepper, calamari, octopus with rapini, and pumpkin and goat cheese rapini as appetizers.

Excuse me?

When the food came though, everything looked and smelled delicious. So I put on my big girl face, and with encouragement ("For the blog, Martha!") from my friends, dug into the foreign foods in front of me.

Anchovies? No problem.
Octopus? Bring it on.
Calamari? Hand it over.
Fried pumpkin and goat cheese things? Nom nom nom.

I tried everything folks... everything!!

That doesn't mean I loved everything, or even ate more than a bite of some of the appetizers, but next time, maybe I'll push on and eat more of the dishes.

For the main course, we ordered 3 different pizzas and gnocchi al ragu. Yum!

The pizzas were definitely way out there- Sausage, rapini, pecorino; tomato, mozzarella, prosciutto, and arugula; and telaggio, arugula, pear and truffle oil.

I ate a piece of each, and let me tell you, they were all DEE-LISH.

Needless to say, I was stuffed after this dinner, and had to waddle to the car after eating.

So what does this mean? Now that I've eaten anchovie, octopus, and crazy pizza does it mean this blog is over? After 4 posts?

Absolutely not. Because, duh, I haven't eaten shrimp yet! Or conquered other food fears for that matter.

However, this eating experience was a major turning point for me. I know I can eat anything and survive- all I have to do is pretend to be brave and take a leap of faith.

Because that's all that trying new things is really about isn't it- that leap of faith?

You've just got to grit your teeth, stab that sucker on your plate with your fork, and trust that this food won't hurt you.

No fear.