The Best (Foodie) Day of the Year!

Once a year, I drive around town looking for a newspaper to buy. In the age of digital subscriptions and Twitter which keeps me up to date on news, I have no need for a paper newspaper. However, once a year the Houston Chronicle comes out with its top 100 restaurant list curated by our award-winning restaurant critic Alison Cook. This past Thursday, Houston's biggest foodie day of the year finally arrived, and I bought a copy of the Houston Chronicle which includes a super cool book detailing Alison Cook's Top 100 Restaurants of the year!

Last year was the first year I had really discovered this list, so it was my goal to have tried at least 50 of the restaurants on the list. I just barely made it, having crossed off my 50th restaurant Rainbow Lodge the previous Friday (delicious bar food by the way!). Now I have a somewhat new list for the year! I say somewhat, because there are only 17 new restaurants on this year's list, the remaining 83 having been on the list last year. However, these 83 were certainly shuffled around! Take for instance Common Bond (best chocolate croissants in town!) dropping from number 4 to number 68! In fact, only a few of the top 10 restaurants from last year made the top 10 this year.

One huge change was the Pass & Provisions being categorized as one restaurant rather than two, and taking the top spot away from Oxheart! To tell you the truth, I have never been to Oxheart, a tiny restaurant with a pricey tasting menu focusing on vegetables. Nor have I ever been to the Pass, another restaurant with an expensive tasting menu. However, now that Provisions is included with the Pass, I had the chance to try Houston's number one restaurant without breaking the bank!

The very day the top 100 list came out, I looked at OpenTable and discovered plenty of reservations available for dinner at Provisions! I snatched one up, and Adam and I were on our way to trying Houston's number one restaurant! I know this post really has nothing to do with travel, but trying new restaurants can be an adventure in itself, even when sticking to American food!

Adam and I love trying different dishes and sharing, so Provisions menu made it easy for us to mix and match different dishes. We decided to order an item each from the Vegetables, Pasta, Fish, and Dessert categories. Next time we have vowed to try a pizza, but we certainly enjoyed the dishes we tried!

First up came our "vegetable" order of burrata cheese with heirloom tomatoes and grilled garlic foccacia bread. Oh my gosh. This was likely my favorite dish of the night! I was in food euphoria scooping up some of the super creamy burrata (a creamier version of fresh mozzarella) and the perfectly ripe in-season tomatoes with the foccacia bread. To be honest, tomatoes have always just been there for me; certainly nothing special. However, this year I discovered the excellence of heirloom tomatoes, served perfectly ripe while in season in the summer. These certainly fit the bill, and along with the delicious cheese and bread made an excellent appetizer. I highly suggest making your way to Provisions ASAP to catch this dish before heirloom tomatoes go out of season!

Next came our entrees of fried chicken tortelloni (yes, fried chicken!) and a lobster roll. The chefs of the Pass & Provisions are known for trying different combinations of food, and this combination definitely hit the spot for us! The tortelloni was delicious, especially paired with the greens and savory parmesan broth. Once the tortelloni and greens were gone, I used my spoon to scoop up the broth like a soup, it was that good!

As for the lobster roll, it was pretty good. However, having just had the best lobster roll ever in Boston, we were not super impressed. No picture for this one, because we love food so much that we sometimes start eating before remembering to snap a photo!

Lastly came the dessert: a Belgian waffle with smoked maple ice-cream and banana caramel. This was a perfect ending to our meal. So delicious! The banana caramel was reminiscent of bananas foster and went very well with the fluffy waffle. I don't know that I'd call their "Belgian" waffle a Liege- style waffle like the type I've actually eaten in Europe, but it was very tasty nonetheless. And the Jean Lafitte cocktail I enjoyed with it is one of the best restaurant cocktails I've ever had!

I would definitely recommend that any of you adventurous eaters out there go and try Provisions, or even the Pass if you want to get fancy! Definitely check out Alison Cook's top 100 restaurant list, and see if you agree with her ratings. As for me, I thought Provisions was delicious and really unique, but I still think Alison Cook's number 8 Coltivare is my number 1 in town!

How to be a tourist in Las Vegas

A few years ago after receiving our first paychecks from our big-girl jobs after college, a couple of work friends and I decided to head to Las Vegas to celebrate! We are not gamblers, so we decided to be tourists during the day and hit the clubs at night. Las Vegas is just as vibrant by day as by night, just in a different way. With all the different themed casinos, luxury everywhere you look, and scents of gourmet food wafting out of every corner, Las Vegas is the perfect place to play tourist!

Here are my top 10 touristy things to do in the Entertainment Capital of the World!

1. Take a ride on the New York, New York roller coaster 
   
   
   
   
   
2. Grab a crepe and check out the City of Lights from up on top of the Eiffel Tower at Paris Las Vegas
   
   
3. Be serenaded on a gondola ride at the Venetian 
   
4. Take a picture at a slot machine: even if you aren't going to gamble, the picture is a Sin City requirement!
   
5. Eat at a buffet. Be cautious though, not all buffets are equal. We had a pretty bad experience at one which I will not name, but loved our other experiences. The Bellagio is a classic, and the Wicked Spoon in the Cosmopolitan is a must visit! 

   

   http://www.cosmopolitanlasvegas.com/taste/restaurant-collection/wicked-spoon.aspx

6. Play bingo at the Palace Station Casino and celebrate your winnings with amazing food at the Oyster Bar. This casino might look a little run down and be off the beaten path, but the spicy pan roast at the Oyster Bar was one of my favorite meals on the trip, and it has one of the best bingo halls in town! Be sure to bring your own bingo marker and settle in for a good time! 
   
   
   
7. Take a picture with an impersonator. Look, MJ's alive! 
   
8. Check out a free show: the Bellagio fountain is not to be missed, and the Pirate Show at Treasure Island is a jolly good time!

   

   https://www.bellagio.com/attractions/fountains-of-bellagio.aspx

    
9. Splurge and see a ticketed show! We went both directions and saw the naughty Chippendales and an exceptional Cirque du Soleil show. Check out a Tix4Tonight booth for show deals, or book ahead for the more popular shows 

   

   https://www.cirquedusoleil.com/las-vegas

   
10. And lastly, put on your party clothes and dance the night away! You are in Las Vegas, after all

Shout out to my two favorite Vegas travel partners, Chandy and Jessica!

Boston Trip Part 2: Cambridge

As I've already mentioned, for labor day weekend my husband and I went to Boston! We had a great first day exploring the different areas in town and following the Freedom Trail. For our second day, we stayed in Cambridge to explore Harvard and MIT.

We stayed at the Sheraton Commander Hotel. It was a great choice! Not only was it a lot less expensive than most hotels of the same star value in downtown Boston, but it was right next to Harvard campus and a few blocks away from the T.

Sheraton Commander Hotel

One thing to note about visiting Harvard and MIT is that the official campus tours only occur on weekdays. Sure there are plenty of tours not actually affiliated with the universities, but those cost money. In any case, I like going at my own pace, so I went to the university websites, checked out their virtual tours, and made my own walking tour. Just call me Tour Guide Alexa!

 The good thing about having a self-guided walking tour is that you have no time constraints! We decided to start our day at MIT and finish at Harvard, as the only thing on our agenda with a closing time was the MIT Museum. I found MIT really unique for a university campus, because instead of having all their buildings uniformly built and matching, they had different waves of architects come in and build with different styles. Another interesting fact about MIT buildings is they are all assigned a number, and most students refer to the buildings by their number rather than by name. Some notable MIT buildings include the following:

• Rogers Building (7): This building is the official address of MIT and the entrance to the Infinite Corridor, which is the main pedestrian path connecting east campus with west campus. Walking into the Rogers Building and following the Infinite Corridor path will take you to ...
• The Maclaurin Buildings (3, 4, 10), the Great Dome, and Killian Court: This is the classic view of MIT you see in everyone's pictures. Built in 1916, these are the oldest buildings at MIT. 
• The Great Dome was designed like the Parthenon with columns not quite in a straight line to make the lines of columns appear straight. If you are having trouble following that logic, check out this easy to follow description of the Parthenon's design. Please excuse my nerdiness, but I find this kind of thing really cool! I was a math major, so it is no surprise that I can find the fun in Geometry.

• The buildings around Killian Court are carved in large Roman letters using the latin alphabet with names of notable people including Aristotle, Newton, Franklin, Pasteur, da Vinci, etc. I didn't get any pictures of this, because there was construction being done, but it is kind of fun trying to spot all the different names hidden around.
• MIT Chapel & Kresge Auditorium (W15): these mid-century modern buildings were designed by Saarinen. 

• Stata Center (32): This building features deconstructionist architecture designed by Frank Gehry. I felt like I was in a Dr. Seuss book wandering around here! MIT students are known for their "hacks," or pranks. You can find some past hacks on the ground floor of this building. Unfortunately, the doors we tried were locked. Another cool little fact is that this building was built over former building 20 which housed the Rad Lab using during WWII!

• Lastly, my favorite part of our make-shift MIT tour was the MIT Museum (N52)! Again, feel free to call me a nerd, but this was a really fun way to spend a couple of hours in a museum different from the usual art and natural science or history museums. Exhibits I liked the best included the Holography Enthusiasts showcasing the world's largest and most comprehensive holography collection, Images of Discovery where we got to play with science to make cool photographs, Robots and Beyond (remember Kismet?!), and Gestural Engineering where we got to see and play with machines in motion AKA kinetic sculptures.  I'd highly recommend coming here for adults or children!

We concluded our afternoon with ice-cream from Toscanini's (super yum!) and made our way back to Harvard.  Tour Guide Alexa back in action!

We naturally started our self-guided walking tour in Harvard Yard. First up was the John Harvard Statue, or the "statue of three lies": 

1. John Harvard was actually only a benefactor, not the founder of Harvard.
2. Harvard was founded in 1636, not 1638.
3. No actual likeness exists of John Harvard, so who knows where they got the face for this statue.

Next up was Widener Library, the largest university library in the world! Cool, huh? Well, everyone else visiting Harvard thought so too, so this area was full of people taking pictures. 

Luckily, I am more into really old stuff, so I walked across Harvard Yard to Massachusetts Hall and took my picture there. This is the oldest surviving building at Harvard that was used as a dormitory and housed super important people like John Adams, John Hancock, and Samuel Adams! Also as a bonus, since everyone was too busy taking pictures in front of Widener Library and the statue of John Harvard, I had this building all to myself!

Some other buildings we checked out on our self-guided walking tour included the Science Center which has Mark 1 (the 1st programmable computer!), Annenberg Hall where freshmen dine, and Memorial Hall which was built to honor peers who died in the Civil War and contains the biggest collection of secular stained glass in the US. 

We ended our tour at the Maxwell Dworkin Laboratory, part of the school of engineering that was featured in the Social Network. Look familiar?

And here is where our Cambridge tour comes to a close. Naturally we checked out a few restaurants and bars in the area. Here are ones I can recommend:

• Toscanini's for ice cream near MIT: skip the famed burnt caramel and try one of their other flavor options
• Park Restaurant: a nice atmosphere with good gastropub style food and yummy cocktails. Definitely order the crab and lobster dip!
• Charlie's Kitchen: along Mt. Auburn Street where many Harvard students hang out to unwind. A little too divey and crowded for us, but it had a decent beer garden.
• Cambridge Commons: cool beer bar/pub with a huge craft beer selection

That's all for now. Thanks for tagging along on a virtual walking tour of Cambridge with me!

Houston's Diverse Restaurant Scene

Happy Monday, everyone!

I thought I'd start this week out by sharing my weekend food adventures. Once again, Houston proved to me just how great it is to live in a city with so much diversity!

Friday night, along with my brother and parents, Adam and I tried a Korean BBQ place called Bon Ga in the Spring Branch area. I have had Korean BBQ before, but this was my first time at this particular restaurant. Since we were a family of 5, we got to order a ton of food to try and share among us. We started with kimchi pancakes and fried beef dumplings. Yum! Not everyone in my family enjoyed the pancake, as they were not as familiar with kimchi, but Adam and I really liked this appetizer. However, everyone enjoyed the dumplings. One thing about Asian restaurants in Houston, and this may very well hold true for Asian restaurants all over, is the inconsistency of service. I was worried about that with this particular restaurant, but my worries were unfounded because our service was great! Each lady that came and delivered our food made sure to tell us exactly what everything was, how to eat it, and what sauces went well with each particular dish.  This especially came in handy during the Korean BBQ portion of our meal, as we ordered a combination of 5 different meats. My favorite among these were the thinly sliced beef that we made into lettuce wraps and the intensely flavored beef short-ribs. Everything else was really good, but those were my favorites. The only part of our meal that I was less than thrilled with was the bean curd soup we ordered. I have had tofu soup at other restaurants and really loved it, but I felt this rendition was lacking in flavor in spice. Maybe the restaurant tried to tone the spice down for us newbies, but I was not really impressed. I suggest if you go try Bon Ga at some point to definitely order the Korean BBQ over the soup!

Saturday night, Adam and I went on a double date to Huynh, a Vietnamese restaurant east of Downtown near the Dynamo stadium. This was another hit! The pork and vegetable spring rolls we ordered as an appetizer were absolutely delicious, and the homemade sauce that came with them was incredible! For mains we ordered the chargrilled beef short ribs served with shrimp and a fried egg along with Bo Luc Lac, or stir fried beef tenderloin with peppers and onion often found on Houston Vietnamese restaurant menus. They were both really good. As you can tell, we love meat, and these dishes did not disappoint! Unfortunately, I did not get any pictures, but here is a link to their website in case you'd like to drool over their food pictures:

Huynh food pics

Lastly, Adam and I decided to try an interior Mexican place we pass all the time in the Montrose area for Sunday brunch called Cuchara. When we arrived at around noon, the place was super crowded with large family gatherings and of course couples like ourselves out enjoying a leisurely Sunday brunch. We were one of the only groups of English speakers, which is a good sign in my book of an authentic Mexican restaurant!  Because of all the large groups surrounding our table, service took a while, but in the end it was worth it. I had read that their chilaquiles blancos were worth trying, so that was my order. In most restaurants serving chilaquiles, you'll find a green or red sauce. However, this particular version is native to one certain part of Mexico, so it is a more rare find on a menu. This dish did not disappoint! The creamy flavor of the sauce was unique and really yummy! I found that it went quite well with the fried eggs on the side and the michelada with chamoy I ordered. As mentioned above, I really love meat, so I couldn't have a meal that was completely meatless! I decided to also order a pork rind taco. It came out in a cute little basket, and as soon as I took my first bite I groaned in pleasure. The tiny taco packed a huge flavor punch! Adam also really enjoyed his meal of enfijolados con tasajo (tortillas stuffed with cheese and covered in black bean sauce with a side of beef filet strip). All of our dishes were a hit, and I can definitely recommend them to anyone who tries Cuchara for brunch.  If you do decide to try Cuchara, be sure to check out their awesome mural too!

Happy eating!

Frontier Airlines $1 Sale

Hey guys,

I just wanted to give everyone a quick heads up that Frontier Airlines is doing a $1 fare sale today!! That means that for certain dates and destinations, flights each way cost $1!!! Plus fees and taxes, that amounts to only $15 each way or $30 round trip. If only Adam and I had more vacation days!

To all of those with vacation days to spare, you have no excuse!! $30 will surely not break the bank. Don't take too long though, as this sale won't last forever (as in longer than today). 

They also have some super cool sales for more than just a buck, that still are a huge bargain. Check it out!

"One if by land, two if by sea..." Boston, MA

The problem with vacation days is that they are so limiting! Luckily long weekends come around every now and then to make a trip possible without using those precious vaca days. This labor day weekend, my husband Adam and I decided to take a long weekend trip to Boston!

"Why Boston?" you might ask.. 

1. For starters, Boston in September has amazing weather! Sunny skies with temperatures in the 60s and 70s. Such a difference from the 90s we've been dealing with down here in Houston! 
2. Secondly, Houston to Boston flights are cheap! We are lucky to live in a big city with a lot of airport hubs. This makes traveling to other big cities like Boston relatively cheap and easy. 
3. Thirdly, Adam had never been, and I had only been able to explore a little bit when I traveled there for work occasionally. It is challenging to really explore a city when you are stuck in an office building 8-5, so I was almost as much of a Boston newbie as Adam. 
4. And lastly, we were itching to get our hands (or mouths rather) on some real northeastern seafood! Lobster rolls, anyone?

The problem with taking a trip to a major city on a long weekend is trying to stuff everything there is to do into a short amount of time. Luckily, even though Boston is a large and thriving metropolis, it is pretty easy to do and see a lot in one weekend thanks to the close proximity of all the major sites and the city's walk-ability. Adam and I were able to fly into Boston Friday after work, leaving all day Saturday and Sunday to explore the historical city before having to fly back home on Monday. We opted to explore Boston on Saturday, and stay in Cambridge on Sunday to see Harvard and MIT. This blog post looks at our day in Boston

Day 1: Boston

As my husband can confirm, I love old things. Seriously, old things are so cool! So naturally, a big portion of our day focused on following the Freedom Trail.

• oldest public park: CHECK
• oldest cemetery: CHECK
• oldest commercial building: CHECK
• oldest standing church: CHECK
• oldest tavern/bar: CHECK... OK, so maybe that one wasn't actually part of the Freedom Trail, but I had to include it on our own self-guided walking tour

The Freedom Trail is a cool concept, because you can explore whichever parts are interesting to you and spend as much time at each as you'd like. Also, most of the sites were free to check out, and of course you can't forget about the exciting history involved. It is kind of amazing to think you are walking along the same streets and entering the same buildings as our founding fathers. History is very much alive in the North End of Boston. I was able to see the meeting house where the Sons of Libery met to plan the Boston Tea Party, the hall which hosted America's first town hall meeting where early Americans protested the Sugar and Stamp Acts, and the state house where the Declaration of Independence was first read to the public. It is pretty impressive that Boston has managed to maintain all of these important historical sites, while having a thriving and modern downtown with skyscrapers shooting up all around. More information about the Freedom Trail can be found at their website: http://www.thefreedomtrail.org/freedom-trail/official-sites.shtml

Freedom Trail

Besides the Freedom Trail, other notable sites and areas we explored included the following:

• the Beacon Hill neighborhood: perfect for strolling and soaking in the atmosphere of the red brick buildings and small independent stores
• Newbury Street for shopping
• Fenway Park Bleacher bar during the Red Sox game: no need to buy a ticket to catch some of the game, as this bar is built into Fenway Park, and you can see right into the game!
• Boston Public Library
• 
  

And let's not forget about the food!

• Neptune Oyster Bar: arguably the best lobster roll in the city, and I can confirm that it is indeed tasty and worth the wait! Tip: put your name and number in early, then hang around the area until you get a call. When we went, we were told there would be around an hour and a half wait. By the time we were seated, people showing up were told there would be a 5 hour wait. Luckily, there is a lot to see and do within a 15 minute walking radius. The Bell in Hand tavern is pretty close, so we chose to hang out there with a couple of pints to feel closer to our founding fathers in the "oldest tavern in America!" Little Italy is also nearby, as is Quincy Marketplace if you feel like doing some shopping.

• Little Italy for cannoli: We chose to go to Maria's, which I had read has the best most authentic and fresh cannoli without the wait of other bakeries nearby. It was indeed delicious!

• The Bell in Hand: as I mentioned, this "oldest tavern in America" was a great spot to grab a few beers. I was pleasantly surprised at their beer selection, and also that they had a really delicious clam chowder full of cream, potatoes, and yummy bacon!

• Harpoon Brewery: This was a super fun way to spend a Saturday night, as the brewery is open until 11pm. They had a huge selection of beers to try, so Adam and I opted to try a couple of beer flights. Also, their homemade pretzels were absolutely delicious!

• Drink: We didn't actually eat here, but their cocktails were sooo good! The concept is that you tell the bartender what kind of cocktail you feel like, and they will whip you up something yummy. Adam and I enjoyed all of the cocktails we tried!

Upscale Indian Food at Indika in Houston

As Houston Restaurant Weeks (HRW) is drawing to a close, I thought I'd share my dinner at Indika, one of Houston's top Indian restaurants. Besides the obvious charitable benefit of HRW, I like to use this time to try new restaurants I might not ordinarily visit. This year in particular, I was intent on trying new restaurants from the Houston Chronicle Top 100 Restaurant list.

I like to tell everyone that after planning a wedding, I was left with so much spare time to kill. What time I had used to browse numerous wedding blogs and vendor pages, I now had open. Then I discovered food blogs. Hallelujah, what a find! I turned my attention to both blogs showcasing recipes and those focusing on showing off Houston's great restaurant scene.  For those not familiar with Houston, we have recently been named the most diverse big city in America, overtaking even New York City! This diversity has cultivated an incredible range of restaurants all over town.  Besides the growing number of Houston food bloggers floating around the web, a great source of Houston restaurant reviews comes from our very own Houston Chronicle. In addition to the articles published in our normal daily papers, once a year the Chronicle releases a top 100 list. Last year was the first year I really discovered this list, and oh man did I get excited. My goal for this past year was to try at least half of the restaurants on the list. Somehow, September started creeping up on me, and it is almost time for the new top 100 list to be released. That leaves me with a multitude of restaurants left to try to meet my goal! Thankfully, the entire month of August was HRW, providing me with a chance to try some of the more expensive restaurants I normally avoid.

Last Friday brought me to Indika, number 6 on the top 100 list. To be honest, I have never been a huge fan of Indian food. However, I intended to be as open minded as possible in my quest to eat the best food in Houston. Indika is beautiful inside and out, and as soon as I stepped into the restaurant I was enthralled by the beautiful colors and textures decorating the building. The picture below taken from their website does not do it justice. The room was beautiful!

http://indikausa.com/indikausa/story.htm

Neither my husband Adam nor I were hungry enough to each go with the 3 course HRW menu, so we decided instead to split an appetizer and each order a different entree from their normal menu. We ordered the crab samosas to share, samosas being one of the only Indian food items I am familiar with. I am sorry to tell you, that although the plating was very nice, I dug into my samosa far too fast for a picture. But after a bite or two, it is possible to see the large volume of super fresh lump crab inside of these fried goodies. Yum! 

Then, based on recommendations from our waitress, I ordered the shrimp rangoon, and Adam ordered the lamb chops vindaloo. This time around, I kept my fork down long enough to get pictures.

Both dishes were very tasty (although I did prefer my shrimp to his lamb), and I ended the meal happy with myself for going out of my comfort zone and trying something new. Go me! I can definitely recommend Indika for anyone looking for upscale Indian food, especially for a nice date night or special occasion.