Eats: The Breakfast Klub

By now, most everyone knows The Breakfast Klub is a very popular place for weekend brunch. If you don't get there early enough (like 8am!), be prepared to wait in line. And that line can get very long!

One of the perks of being a stay-at-home mom is I get to come here on weekdays when it's not as packed. Sure enough, with my baby in tow, I got here around 9:30 one weekday morning and there was not a line in sight. Yes!

Once you place your order at the counter, the food comes out fast. That's also the case on weekends when they're packed.

The Breakfast Klub is popular for it's wings & waffles and catfish & grits dishes. Personally, my go-to dish is their wings & french toast. I love their french toast!! Made with Texas toast, I think it's 10x better than their waffles. They're fluffy in the middle, yet crispy around the edges. I've had their catfish & grits in the past. While their catfish was fried to perfection, I wasn't a fan of their grits - it was very bland.

This visit, since my baby was with me, I ordered the french toast with sausage patties and scrambled eggs, so he can share my food. As you can see in the picture below, their scrambled eggs were quite fluffy - the baby appreciated that. And the sausage patties they served were plain ol' greasy sausage, perfect for the baby as he hasn't quite developed liking for fancy spicy sausage just yet.

Good breakfast platter for a toddler

What's normally my go-to dish (this is an old stock picture I dug up for this post) 

The Breakfast Klub

3711 Travis (at Alabama)

Houston, TX

http://thebreakfastklub.com/

Eats and More: Breakfast at Heights General Store

I was driving along 19th St and saw that they are now open. Apparently they've been open for over a month now. With baby in tow, I decided to check out their breakfast. I apologize in advance if some of the pictures are blurry - I blame it on the wriggly baby.

Storefront

Health & beauty section

Grocery aisle

Counter service

Breakfast menu

Dining area

Pancake sandwich

Breakfast is counter service. As you can see, I ordered the pancake sandwich partly because I was curious what it was going to be like. Presentation looks good unfortunately, the whole sandwich was just mediocre at best. The pancakes were very dense, almost biscuit like consistency. Scrambled eggs was blah. Their homemade sausage was decent - not too greasy. Overall, the sandwich was very dry and not a lot of flavor to it.

I also ordered a quiche (not pictured) to go. That day, their quiche was a broccoli and squash. The chunks of veggies inside the quiche were huge and the quiche itself was dense and dry. That's two for two - I'm not impressed with their food.

While I was waiting for my food, I had a quick scan of the grocery aisle. They carry quite a variety of stuff, brands that I typically see at Central Market and Whole Foods, and some I'm never even seen before. In addition, they also stock laundry detergent, cleaning supplies, etc. Even though the brands are not necessarily "local", they carry more inventory than most general stores that's popped up around Houston in recent years, and most are either organic, gluten free or natural... definitely following today's trend and very appropriate for the area.

Unfortunately, the selection of baby food is disappointing. I don't know if they'll add more later but, for now it's only Gerber brand - no organic brands. Ironically, the selection of dog food is better - they actually carry Organix canned food.

Heights General Store

350 W. 19th St.

Houston, TX

http://www.heightsgeneralstore.com/

Eats: Angela's Oven

I've bought breads and croissants from Angela's Oven in the past. I usually get them at the farmer's market, either from the Eastside one on Saturday mornings or Rice University on Tuesday afternoons. This year, I decided to buy some croissants for Christmas breakfast. Since they're not open on Christmas day, I went the day before and bought them directly from their bakery in the Heights. And I never knew this before but, apparently they serve breakfast and lunch here. I'll have to come back to check it out. They have ample outdoor seating area and inside there are about 4 two-top and four-top tables.

When I got there, there were a couple people in line ahead of me. I chatted with one of the customers and she was raving about their pumpkin pie. I was actually on my way to Flying Saucer Pie Company to get one but, this lady insisted Angela's was better. Apparently you have to pre-order the pumpkin pies. Luckily for me, she had an extra one! Sure enough, it was a hit among my family and friends on Christmas day. The pie was very moist and it wasn't too sweet! I like crust and personally I would've liked more crust on the bottom but, there were enough on the sides to make up for the lack on the bottom. Overall, I like them enough to buy them again.

Red Barn Bakery and outdoor seating area

Fresh baked goods. Yes, that's bacon topped glazed donuts you see!

Croissants and danish

Breads

Pumpkin pie

Angela's Oven

204 Aurora St.

Houston, TX

http://www.angelasoven.com/Site/Welcome.html

Eats: Ramen at Sushi Wabi

'Tis the weather for ramen in Houston. After seeing a couple of pictures posted by other Ramen in Common members, I decided to check out Sushi Wabi's ramen myself. This was the first time I visited Sushi Wabi. At first glance, I found their menu is a little confusing. I looked under "Noodle" section but, didn't see any ramen listed. I know they have it since I've seen pictures of it on Facebook. I asked our waiter and he said they do have it while pointing to a picture on the menu. It's the same with their seaweed salad, the picture is on the menu even though it's not listed under "Appetizers". Back to the ramen - they only carry one ramen and that's tonkotsu. Typically not my first choice but, it's all they had.

How was it? It was surprisingly well prepared! I say "surprisingly" because this place is a sushi joint after all - a casual one, too. And considering their sushi (not pictured) was just very mediocre (my husband's words), their ramen blew my mind! The broth was creamy, not too greasy, flavorful with just the right amount of salt from start to finish. The egg texture was perfect! Pork belly still had it's skin on which made it a little chewier but, fatty enough it was still soft. I also thought it was the right amount of thickness. The dish came with 4 pork belly slices which I thought was just right. I also liked there was corn in the ramen although, I felt it could've use more corn.

I will definitely be back for the ramen, and having the option of ordering a few sushi on the side (even if it's mediocre) is an added bonus!

Sushi Wabi

3953 Richmond Ave (at Weslayan)

Houston, TX

http://www.sushiwabihouston.com/

Eats: Ramen Jin, a Preview

There's a new ramen shop opening in Houston. I recently attended a private event here, intended to assist the restaurant before it opens it's doors to the general public. They had previously opened their doors to the public for one night, it turned out to be disastrous. Basically, the restaurant wasn't prepared for the amount of crowd that came and was completely overwhelmed. Carl Rosa, the founder of Ramen in Common, reached out to them to organize this private event where the crowd size is controllable.

Limited menu for private event

When we arrived, we went up to the counter and placed our order from a limited menu. We were then given a number and found seating at an open table.

Disclaimer: even though this was private event, it was not a free one. We did pay for our ramen and drinks. Appetizers weren't "available" but the restaurant gave us some on the house. 

Tempura sweet potato

Not long after we sat down, the staff brought us some appetizers. First was tempura sweet potato, which was deliciously topped with sweet and salty seasoning. Next came tempura fish cake which was good but, way too salty. And then last was chicken karaage - good, no complaints. I thought it was unusual the tempuras didn't come with any side sauce. I'm not sure if it was intentional or not. The tempura was well seasoned so technically it didn't need sauce, I guess I'm just so used to getting sauce with mine.

Tonkotsu ramen

I don't usually order tonkotsu ramen because they're typically very greasy. But, since my brother ordered the miso ramen, I thought why not for variety sake. Turns out, it wasn't very greasy at all. Since I like my ramen spicy, I asked for some togarashi. I was surprised they didn't have any. I thought it's usually standard for any ramen shop to have them. Instead, the staff brought me some chili that's similar to chili oil in Chinese restaurants. 

Initially, I felt the broth tasted rather bland but, after a while it tasted ok. I don't know if the chili oil had anything to do with it since it was a little salty, or if everything just came together once it was mixed properly. I liked the noodles that came with my ramen, I thought it was cooked perfectly. The pork belly had good flavor but it was a bit to fatty for my taste, wish there was more meat to it. The egg was excellent, by far the highlight of the dish!

Miso ramen

My brother was the one who had the miso ramen but, I did get to taste it. Initially, the broth was very flavorful but in the end it did become too much. We agreed the tonkotsu broth finished better. 

Overall, the ramen was good, I would definitely go back but, just like Tiger Den, it still doesn't compare to the ramen shops I've visited in CA and NYC. 

Side note: the table layout here is not as packed as Tiger Den's therefore, I think it's more baby friendly.

Their menu board, taken from their Facebook page.
I wish they'd offer certain items as additional condiments such as
pork belly, vegetables.

Ramen Jin

11181 Westheimer Rd (Whole Foods shopping complex)

Houston, TX

http://www.ramenjin.com/

https://www.facebook.com/ramenjin

Eats: Breakfast at Avalon Diner

This is a great place to go if you're looking for diner style food. The baby and I went here recently for breakfast. As you can see, it's nothing fancy - just good ol' diner style breakfast.

Big Breakfast
Came with eggs, sausage patties, hashbrown and pancakes (pictured below) 

Buttermilk pancakes was just ok, a bit dense.

Avalon Diner

2417 Westheimer 

Houston, TX

http://www.avalondiner.com/

Babies: Fisher Price Booster/High Chair

As a mom who loves to eat out, this is possibly one of the best gears I bought for my baby. You know those babies you see climbing out of their high chair in restaurants?! Yes, that's my baby! Ever since he's mastered crawling and climbing, I can't keep him in those restaurant high chairs anymore. I know they come with straps but, that thing is a joke. This Fisher Price chair, however, is a lifesaver. Sure, it's bulky and it's one more thing to carry to a restaurant but, it's the one chair that keeps my baby in.

Another great thing is it attaches to a regular chair so, we always have a high chair everywhere we go whether it's to grandma's house or a pub with no high chair (ahem, Hay Merchant!).

I've also found that despite my baby being in the normal height range for his age, those restaurant high chairs were always low for him, the top of the table hits right in between his forehead so it's always hard for him to see and grab his food. Whereas if I bring this FP chair, I can adjust the height to where it's more comfortable for him or just use the chair's tray.

All-in-all, I've been very happy with this chair and I highly recommend it!