See photos from Bohemeo's colorful interior and kitchen in our slideshow.
Troy Fields
At Bohemeo's, the fish tacos are fat, tasty surprises.
Location Info
Details
Hours:
11 a.m. to 10 p.m. Monday and Tuesday, 11 a.m. to midnight Wednesday through Sunday.
Bo's Baja fish taco: $3
Shrimp nachos: $6
Veggie pizza: $6
Italian hoagie: $6
Fruit and greens salad: $6.50
Chips and salsa: $3.75
Hummus: $4.50
Mochachino: $3.50
Bohemeo's
708 Telephone Rd., 713-923-4277.
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"I have a bad feeling about this," my friend remarked ominously as we traveled down Leeland toward Bohemeo's one evening.
"Why?" I asked, confused.
"It's a coffee shop," he replied. "They aren't going to have good food. And I'm hungry." His brow furrowed in imagined anticipation of a sorrowful, meager meal surrounded by sullen hipsters and omnipresent mugs of java.
"Would you just trust me? It's good. I promise."
An hour later, he was smiling over an empty plate that held nary a trace of the grilled fish tacos he'd devoured. "All right," he admitted. "It was really good."
And therein lies the charm of Bohemeo's: No one seems to expect this little coffee shop in the East End to begin with, much less expect good food from it. The story of how Bohemeo's came to be is fascinating enough, but equally intriguing is the decent, inexpensive food it serves alongside individually brewed cups of Antigua La Flor and all-Beatles open-mike nights.
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Bohemeo's is the creation of Sid and Lupe Olivarez, a husband-and-wife team who wanted to create an oasis in the East End — where they themselves are residents — for artists, students, musicians, coffee connoisseurs and anyone who desires a comfortable, welcoming, "home away from home" atmosphere. Bohemeo's certainly has that in spades.
When it first opened nearly five years ago, the coffee shop was just that — a coffee shop. It didn't yet have a full kitchen. But within only a couple of years, Lupe — a longtime Houston musician — and Sid — his wife and a talented artist — had started serving basics: wings, nachos, burgers. But those basics weren't your standard bar fare. The food was cheap and healthy. Sandwiches were served on whole grain bread; salads were more substantial than just iceberg lettuce and carrot shoestrings; an ample vegetarian section ensured that non-carnivorous types could enjoy more than just chips and salsa from the menu.
The restaurant portion of Bohemeo's is still going strong. New items are added all the time, sometimes at the encouragement of the regulars, who populate the colorful main room with laptops or books open, conversation usually quiet but vivacious.
It's a fantastic place to escape to for a weekday lunch, especially when the weather is cooperative and cool. On a recent Wednesday afternoon, I enjoyed a fruit and greens salad and a plate of hummus at one of the colorful mosaic tables in the main dining room. The salad wasn't anything groundbreaking — butter lettuce, diced apples, pumpkin seeds and a sweet, tangy poppyseed dressing — but it was good. It was better, even, than a somewhat similar salad I had had at Shade a few days earlier, a salad which cost nearly twice as much. The creamy poppyseed dressing and the salty pumpkin seeds were such a nice contrast to one another. The apples in the background provided a satisfying crunch with each bite.
The hummus didn't taste homemade, but it was pleasantly tangy. No skimping on tahini or lemon juice here. My only complaint was the pita bread, which — like all of the other breads and tortillas served here — was whole wheat. It was fluffy and thick, but had an unpleasant mineral taste that I couldn't quite pin down. It simply didn't taste like bread. I normally enjoy whole wheat pita, but this left me cold. Unwilling to let a little thing like that spoil my lunch, I ate the hummus with my fork and left Bohemeo's quite happy.
On other occasions, though, the whole wheat bread and tortillas have been a welcome sight. A veggie pizza ordered there one evening took a confusingly long time to cook. I wondered at one point if my order had been forgotten. But the pizza finally emerged from the kitchen and I saw why it had taken so long.
The personal-sized pizza had been lovingly assembled by hand on top of several large whole wheat tortillas. I'd never seen anything like it. The pizza sauce itself was a tad too sweet, but I couldn't find fault with the bounty of vegetables on top: mushrooms, spinach, bell pepper, tomatoes, olives and even broccoli. The whole wheat tortilla "pizza crust" beneath all the veggies and cheese was wonderfully crispy throughout; from edge to interior, there wasn't a trace of sogginess. It was unusual in the most fantastic way, and I enjoyed every bite of the odd little thing. I chuckled to myself as I ate it, admiring how well the "crust" reflected the Hispanic influence of the East End neighborhood, just as the owners and always cheerful employees here do: Spanish is heard as often as English, and gorgeous Latin-themed art hangs from every wall.
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The brightly hued Tlaquepaque Market in which Bohemeo's is housed was built in 1929 to serve the surrounding Eastwood neighborhood, which — at the time — was considered one of the finest master planned communities in the nation. The Market eventually found itself catering to the more heavily Hispanic communities in places such as Magnolia Park, to the east.
