Subject: Nikki Metzgar

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by J.C. ReidThe pecans are held together with a sickeningly sweet cream made from sugar and nightmares.Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly round-up, where we try to put the week in some kind of perspective for you, before you go out on the weekend and obliterate it all. Monday was Memorial Day, also known as National Cookout Day. Robb Walsh paid tribute with his study of the grilling of Cajun stuffed peppers, which offset our normal aversion to vegetables by looking like little meat

  May 29, 2009

• Recession Snacking: Chinese Tea Eggs

  Photo by Nikki MetzgarStewed in black tea, soy sauce and spices, Chinese tea eggs are ideal as snacks or placed on top of a bed of noodles. The flavor is savory and a little bit salty. The shells are gently cracked before the eggs are steeped in the marinade, leaving brown marbling on the egg white. At 30 cents an egg, just about anyone can afford several. Tea eggs are sometimes mistakenly called soy sauce eggs, which are entirely brown instead of marbled, because their shells are taken off co

  May 26, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by Robb WalshI can't write this column on an empty stomach. It's difficult to maintain your trademark acerbic wit when all you can think is, "I would literally murder somebody for that hamburger / pizza / pastry / whatever insane but incredible dish from Feast we've featured this week." Having taken a sandwich break, we can now move on. The week started with a review of Bluebell's three new ice cream flavors - damn it, now I need to find some ice cream -- followed by Mike Giglio's

  June 5, 2009

• Black Mushroom Stir-fry

  Photos by Nikki MetzgarA dozen different brands of dried black mushrooms line the shelves at Asian grocery stores. Yes, they look woody and their aisle has a distinct aroma - it's even hard to tell that they are mushrooms, and shitakes at that - but once you cook with them, you'll see they are meaty, satisfying and great for stir-fries. They even have a number of health benefits, none of which can be verified here. Drying the mushroom intensifies the flavor. They must be soaked for several hou

  June 9, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Katharine Shilcutt ate all this chicken and did not save any for you.Welcome back to the weekly Eating Our Words round-up, where the food is well-prepared, plentiful and, more often than not, weird as all hell. To start with, Robb Walsh introduced us to the concept of a Wal-Mart supermercado, which might not go over as well as Wal-Mart is hoping, because the main competitor to the Hispanic-style Wal-Mart is the regular Wal-Mart. After some quick tacos and a tall, frosty mojito limonada, J

  June 12, 2009

• Batter Blaster: Against God and Nature?

  Photos by Nikki MetzgarFirst, there was whipped cream. Then, there was cheese. Now, it's pancake (or waffle) batter being sprayed out of aerosol cans. God-fearing people everywhere are trembling as technology pushes us ever closer to experiencing breakfast as nature never intended. We tried Batter Blaster for ourselves. The batter was thick and slower to ooze out of the can than whipped cream, which increased the ick factor. As it cooked, a lot more bubbles rose to the top than with homemade b

  June 15, 2009

• Kimchee at Super H Mart

  Photos by Nikki MetzgarThere's something luxurious about the banchan, or side dishes, that come with Korean meals. Before dinner has even begun, the table is already full of food -- ten different little dishes -- and everyone gets their own fried fish. Of course, the most recognizable dish is the kimchee. If you thought there was only one type of kimchee (guilty), a trip to Super H Mart will prove you wrong. In the refrigerated section alone there are more than a half dozen types besides the ca

  June 19, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  The proper presentation for mat kimchee should mirror as closely as possible the appearance of an exploded chicken.Welcome back once again to the weekly round-up at Eating Our Words, where we've found a way to put gravy on pretty much everything (you just have to tell people it's "some kinda sauce"). We like to keep things nice and informal around here, like Mike Giglio did when he ate at Hank's and gushed all over it like he'd just eaten a bunch of really good ice cream or something. Just to

  June 19, 2009

• Aladdin's Genie in a Platter

  Photo by Nikki MetzgarEating ice cream from a pink spoon makes it taste better. And food on a platter is better than food on a plate. The "Genie in a Platter" ($11.99) at Aladdin Mediterranean Cuisine is a vegetarian feast. The contents vary a little from visit to visit, but there are always roughly a dozen items. The outer ring of the platter is covered with salads -- tabouli, lentil and cucumber -- along with hummus and baba ghanoush. In the middle of the platter, there's a mountain of rice

  June 26, 2009

• Houston Vegans Come Out of Hiding

  Photos by Nikki MetzgarBetween June 20 and 28, cities across the world held vegan bake sales to raise money for charities and show everyone that vegan food can be delicious too. The second task was probably more challenging. It's safe to say that no non-vegan has ever tasted food that doesn't use any animal products and said "that's good" without adding "for vegan food." But cities such as Portland and Vancouver put up a good fight last week with desserts that were beautiful by any standard. H

  July 1, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Photo by J.C. ReidBAM! Goddamn peanut butter and bacon burger IN YOUR FACE. We're through the looking glass here, people!Welcome back to the weekly round-up of our food blog, Eating Our Words, where the beef isn't jerky but a couple of the maitre-d's are. Robb Walsh started us off this week with a very informative post regarding those herbs you sometimes see growing behind Mexican food stalls; skipping the obvious "herb" jokes, the plant is called chepil and is used in a Mexican squash soup form

  July 17, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Ray's Franks' Freddy Krueger will haunt your dreams. But in a good way. Welcome back to the weekly round-up here at Eating Our Words, where we have gravy on tap. To start off with, Mike Giglio out-spent Robb Walsh $13 to $7, because Mike is a fancy man of top-shelf tastes. He seemed impressed by the food, ambience, and air conditioning at Fadi's Mediterranean Grill, but not as impressed as Robb was with his bowl of "Houston's best noodles" from Tan Tan. Sarah Rufka took in the sad state o

  July 24, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  The veggie sandwich at Bowl, which is disappointingly served on a Plate.​Welcome back to the weekly round-up here at Eating Our Words, where we're such food dorks, every time one of us gets sunburned the rest of us giggle about the Maillard reaction.To start the week off, J.C. Reid handed out a lovely comprehensive guide to Roman pizza and its nearest Houston approximation, the pizza at Dolce Vita. It's a very informative article, and calls to mind the old saying "When in Rome, brag abo

  July 31, 2009

• Amarillo's Big Texan Steak Ranch

  Photos by Nikki Metzgar​Having seen the steak challenge at Amarillo's Big Texan on television, I had to drop by the restaurant when I swung through West Texas. For the unacquainted, the challenge touted on billboards hundreds of miles away requires you to eat a 72-ounce steak, a baked potato, two fried shrimp, a side salad and a roll within 60 minutes. (You puke, you lose.) If you win, you get girls, glory and a free meal. The restaurant is all about putting on a show. It provides a free

  August 6, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  In the mythical land of Awesomevania, burritos are used as currency, and having two or more stents in your heart is a sign of great personal wealth.​Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly roundup, where we use meat loaf as the bread in our sandwiches. Hey, if we're not supposed to do that, they never should have started calling it a "loaf". This week got off to an irritable start with J.C. Reid posing the question: how often does your restaurant bill get inflated? If you're in It

  August 14, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  Pork bellies galore. They plump when you cook and/or tickle them.​Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly roundup, where we've already picked all those wonderful little brown rye chips out of the Gardetto's. This week started off with a story from another dimension: Conservatives are applauding Whole Foods, while liberals are boycotting it. WHAAAA?!!?! At first we thought we were in some kind of alternate universe where George W. Bush converted all the cars to run on water and Toby Keith

  August 21, 2009

• Houston's Top 5 Macaroons

  The macaroon is a sort of existentially confused food. In France, a macaroon is a colorful cookie sandwich. In the U.S., we generally think of coconut macaroons first, but they are often made with nuts as well. Rumor (or Wikipedia) has it that in Australia, macaroons often have a jam filling - so jealous! At any rate, screw the cupcake fad - here are five of the best macaroons in Houston. Photos by Nikki Metzgar​5. Three Brother's Bakery You can't tell from the outside, but the recently

  August 27, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  Runnin' down a dream.​Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly round-up, where each table has salt, pepper, sugar packets, and a Super Soaker full of chile con queso. J.C. Reid kicked off our week with a long-overdue investigation into Tex Chick, Houston's only Puerto Rican restaurant. It's a wonder most Puerto Ricans still prefer New York City to Houston, especially after what happened to those poor West Side Story kids. Robb Walsh has a new favorite melon: the honey-sweet Swan Lake me

  August 28, 2009

• Feasting at Arco Seafood Restaurant

  Photos by Nikki MetzgarPeking duck with white buns, shredded green onions and plum sauce​With his drink- and food-induced gout, King Henry VIII was a master of feasting. Sure, we overeat in the 21st century, but do we feast? Feasting involves multiple courses, a big table, and some grandiosity. The so-called "Big" Mac achieves none of this. Luckily, at Arco Seafood Restaurant at 9896 Bellaire in Chinatown, you too can eat lobster as Henry VIII did - as only one small portion of your meal.

  September 3, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  "Oh God. I ordered eggs AND bacon, not eggs OF bacon. This is... actually, this is SO MUCH BETTER." ​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where, after years of therapy, we've at last learned not to hate ourselves for dipping our fries into our shakes. After Sarah Rufka's interview with the decidedly not-shy Geneva Gordon of Under the Volcano, Robb helped start the week off right with his resourceful foray into bobbing for fish-smeared croutons. Everyone will be doin

  September 11, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  The sandwich mesmerizes you with its exotic accent and mysterious foreign spices. Surrender to the sandwich.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we've already started marinating the turducken. After E. Ting's N. Formative chat with Elouise Jones of Ouisie's Table, Robb Walsh started the week off right with some obscure wine. Robb also figured out something for us to do with all this broccoli and cavatelli we've got lying around, so that was helpful. Kathar

  September 18, 2009

• This Week in Deliciousness

  Golden-brown is the proper tone for any loaf of sourdough / Hollywood starlet.​Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where today we're bitterly sniffling at the fact that everyone else from the office is at the Austin City Limits festival. It's cool! There's lots of fun stuff to do in Houston, too, you know! Bastards. We hope you've been following along all week, and got to experience first-hand the epic sourdough odyssey begun on Monday by Robb Walsh. It started wi

  October 2, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Hopia baboy is a lard-based Filipino pastry, not the name of the new Sigur Ros album.​Welcome back to Eating Our Words' weekly round-up, where we separate the wheat from the chaff and then have Robb Walsh make us a bitchin' spiced blackberry chaffshake. We started off the week with some gourmet-style pig face. That picture looks kind of incredible. It makes us imagine eating a bacon-flavored sea urchin. So in other words, it's awesome, like Hostess cupcakes, which are still going strong

  October 9, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  Liven up your Halloween parties this year with some carne asada con silly string.​ Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we defiantly eat summer sausage in the winter and we don't care who knows it. We kicked off this week at a sort of cookout triathlon with a plot of Texas land on the line. J.C. Reid likes his steaks like he likes his women: rare, aggressively seasoned, and shared with a drooling audience. E. Ting chatted up Remington Restaurant's executive

  October 23, 2009

• This Week In Deliciousness

  MEATSPLOSION!​ Welcome back to the weekly roundup here at Eating Our Words, where we've finally secured the patent on sourdough incense. This week started off with a bang, when Greenway Barista slammed the Luling City Market on Richmond, which is actually unaffiliated with the actual market in Luling City. We're allowed to do that, just steal a name and pass ourselves off as affiliated to those who don't know better? Well in that case, stay tuned for a blog name change from "Eating Our Wor

  October 30, 2009