June 2010

Americans Downing Less Beer, Sparking Brawl Among Brewers

It’s not clear that Americans are really drinking less beer, but rather, not drinking as much of the big name brands.  I’m happy about this.  If you really care about taste, then you’re probably drinking craft beers or something from a local brewery.  If you just want something cheap, then why not buy the cheapest beer you can find?  It seems like Americans are doing this.  I’m all for supporting craft breweries.

Michael’s Seablue, at the MGM Grand in Las Vegas.  I don’t remember what we ordered, so I’m just posting pictures of what we ate.  I loved it.

You know my quest for Texas BBQ and a worthy successor to Phil’s BBQ.  Well, I think I found Phil’s replacement.  Rudy’s BBQ is, unfortunately, on the outskirts of Houston, which means a bit of a drive to reach.  But it is worth it and highly recommended, and even though the drive may be a pain, depending on what time of day and which day you choose to go, there was no line inside and plenty of seating.

The seating was mostly picnic-table style, which seems to be the norm in Texas for bbq joints, and I like the communal feel of it.

I’ve told people before that Texas bbq appears to be all about the beef brisket and how smoky you can get it.  Look at this cut of brisket!  So moist and fatty, not gristley.  Also, very smoky.  I’ve found a place I like better than Goode Co., although I won’t stop visiting Goode bc it’s very close, and they have a larger menu.

Texans are not really into pork, so I don’t think many ppl get pork ribs when they get bbq, but I had to compare to Phil’s.  It’s really tough to compare, actually.  I think I’d have to eat them side-by-side, and I’m still used to “wet” baby back ribs, but on the other hand, these ribs are much smokier in flavor than Phil’s and don’t need any sauce.  These are fork-and-knife ribs, though: the meat slides off the bone very cleanly and easily.  You can also see how pink the meat gets.

The styrofoam cups you see in the background of the first photo are the creamed corn and peach cobbler.  Wow, those were good.  I like the sides here better than Goode Co. as well.  The peach cobbler was real, but I don’t like eating it squashed into a cup.

Anyway, Rudy’s BBQ is a large Texas chain, and I would highly recommend it.  Knowing Houston’s reputation for bbq, the other locations may taste even better.

Jason treated me to a delicious dinner on his last night in Houston at a place called Reef.  It’s a seafood restaurant, and we both enjoyed it very much.  Here is what we had:

Blackfin tuna bacon and pink sea bream tiradito, green apple, avocado.  This was my first time tasting tuna “bacon”, and I understand why it’s named so.  The meat is slightly firmer and saltier.  It was nicely tempered with the acidity and tartness of the apple.  The tiradito was refreshing, and the avocado kept everything from being too acidic.

Snapper carpaccio, grapefruit agra dolce, garlic bruschetta.  The carpaccio and grapefruit were refreshing and flavorful without being overwhelming.  Both had very delicate textures, which made them easy to drape and fold onto the bruschetta.

I don’t remember the name of the fish, but I had never heard of it before, and now I see that due to the spill, it has been replaced on the menu with grilled wahoo.  It was a light fish, with a texture similar to that of sea bass.

I believe it was served with broccolini, butter foam, and some type of tomato relish.  It was good, but I was still reeling from the appetizers, and I was busy stuffing my face with the side dish as well.

I have to thank Jason for ordering this dish for me, bc I was torn between so many of the menu choices.  This is roasted grouper, corn pudding, salsa cruda, and grilled peach.  Delicious!!  I love grouper.

Plaintain and long bean saute.  I love sweet plaintains so much, and these did not disappoint at all.  Somehow these long beans went really well with the sweetness and there as a little bit of gingery kick to it.

After dinner, I had a glass of Dr. Pauly ice wine (yum!) with our Vietnamese coffee tart, condensed milk ice cream, and mint syrup.  The coffee tart had a very liquid texture that oozed out when we broke into the pastry.  It was a delicious dessert.

Very satisfied.

Reef

2600 Travis @ McGowen in midtown

Houston, TX

713.526.8282

Tea ‘healthier’ drink than water

This is fantastic news for me, because I love tea and want to drink it all day, but I’ve always held back, thinking it was bad for me.  I’ll still be drinking tons of water, but now I won’t feel guilty about my tea consumption.