Tea

Long Live the Long Island Iced Tea

I have many fond memories of Long Island, home to one of my favorite branches of the O'Leary family, including my wonderful cousins Julie and Deirdre. As a child, I was in awe of their sparkling wit and giggled constantly at their wonderful stories and convincing impressions. If I managed to make t ... More >>

Here, Eat This: A Beginner's Guide to British Cuisine

With acclaimed British restaurant Feast closing in August, now's the time to acquaint yourself with its excellent English menu before it's too late. Luckily, chef Richard Knight will be opening another restaurant in the Heights within a year, and there are plenty of other British restaurants in Hous ... More >>

Top 5 Ways To Cook With Green Tea

Green tea is an excellent source of caffeine that provides you with antioxidants that can help fight against risks of heart disease, cancer and blood clots. It's also one of the beverages that can instantly improve your mood. Strictly drinking green tea can be a little boring and monotonous, howeve ... More >>

What's Cooking on Pinterest? Earl Grey Tea Cupcakes

I've never liked making ordinary white, vanilla or chocolate cupcakes; they need some extra pizazz or an interesting ingredient for me to want to make them. I stumbled upon these cupcakes a while back on Pinterest, but never really thought to try to make them. It was definitely one of those pins I p ... More >>

Congratulations Galveston, You Are Only 96 Percent Honest

A few weeks back I told you about Honest Tea's "honesty experiment" where they planned to set up a few unmanned kiosks across the country offering their bottles of iced tea for with a jar asking for $1, with payment based on the honor system. Many of you were rightfully confused, asking where the "h ... More >>

What Are "Tannins" in Wine?

Have you ever been to a wine tasting or dinner party and heard some blowhard try to befuddle and belittle an enthusiastic however neophyte wine lover by asking can you taste how smooth the tannins are in this [red] wine? One of the most common misperceptions in the wine world is that you can taste ... More >>

Top 5 Foreign McDonald's Menu Items I Wish Were Available in the U.S.

One of the things I like best about traveling abroad is the opportunity to try new foods. McDonald's isn't the first restaurant I go to after clearing border patrol, but I confess I do always at least peek at (and sometimes sample) the weird, wonderful world of foreign fast food. Here are five McDo ... More >>

Upcoming Events: Kick It With Kombucha and Go Greek

If you don't like kombucha, I promise that it's only because you haven't tried Kickin Kombucha. I've turned many a hater into a convert with the brew, which just so happens to be made right here in Houston at the Kitchen Incubator downtown. I mention this because Kickin Kombucha is launching a new ... More >>

Eat Smart: Top Brain Boosting Foods

With the multitude of mind-numbing reality television shows that I can't stop watching and people like this parading around the internet, it's become blatantly obvious; I'm getting stupider more stupider just more freaking dumb by the second. Luckily, research has shown that what you eat plays an im ... More >>

Liquor Treat: Using Leftover Halloween Sweets for Six Candy Cocktails

Photo by terren in VirginiaCandy overload. Must. Make. Cocktails.​Once Halloween has come and gone, I'm always left with a giant pile of Halloween candy. I have eaten it, tortured people by bringing it in to work, and baked it into all kinds of cakes and desserts. But this year, I plan on tryi ... More >>

"Zen Chill" Smoothie at Berripop Frozen Yogurt

​I'm in the mood for milkshakes even in chilly weather and would probably drink them every day if they didn't contain so much pesky saturated fat. I've tried Coldstone's low-fat "sinless" shake, but won't make that mistake again as white-out probably has a more pleasant taste than that concoct ... More >>

Coconut Cream Tea at Teahouse Tapioca & Tea

​One recent night I couldn't decide whether I was craving a milkshake or a smoothie, so I opted instead for a coconut cream tea ($4.50) at the Teahouse Tapioca & Tea. I've tried their bubble tea before and enjoyed it, though in truth I like shooting the tapioca balls through my straw at stran ... More >>

Kombucha Comeback

​For those experiencing withdrawal over the last six months from the kombucha crisis of 2010, you can now rest easy in knowing that it's back. The fermented probiotic beverage was abruptly pulled from supermarket shelves across the country last June after Lindsay Lohan's SCRAM ankle bracelet, ... More >>

Where Are We Drinking?

Not just a glass of iced tea, but the whole pitcher. Does this sweet setup look familiar to you? Think you know where we're drinking this week? ​Leave your best guess in the comments section below.

Where Are We Drinking?

A tall, cold glass of green tea sometimes hits the spot in the summer heat better than a glass of iced Lipton. Does the setup below look familiar to you? Think you know where we're drinking this week? ​Leave your best guess in the comments section below.

Bret Michaels' Diet Snapple Trop-A-Rocka Tea

​Confession #1: I am not, nor ever have been, a fan of the band Poison. Confession #2: I have never seen a single episode of The Apprentice. But I nevertheless have become somewhat obsessed with Bret Michaels's Diet Snapple Trop-a-Rocka Tea, which the former rock star designed as part of the ... More >>

Black Sesame Gelato At Gelato Cup

​Taking a break from exploring Chinatown and its million restaurants, we popped into Gelato Cup Italian Ice Cream (9889 Bellaire Boulevard, 713-271-1082) to try their durian gelato that I heard smells like rotting fruit. We sampled it and decided one spoonful was enough. We would not want to e ... More >>

Sweet Tea & Vodka: Deep Eddy, A Uniquely Texas Spirit

​Deep Eddy Sweet Tea Vodka couldn't be more Texas if it tried. Its namesake is the oldest swimming pool in Texas, on the National Register of Historic Places. The water for Deep Eddy comes from an artesian well in north Texas, and the corn for the vodka -- which is distilled 10 times -- from ... More >>

Summer Sizzle: Sweet Tea Vodkas

​It only makes sense that June, with its rising humidity, would be National Iced Tea Month. Whether you're lazing on the beach, grabbing lunch with a buddy or relaxing at home, summer life just seems calmer when you've got a tall tumbler of iced tea, garnished with a sun-colored wedge of lemon ... More >>

Farmers' Market Brunch at Te House of Tea

​We've been going to the Te House of Tea (1927 Fairview) for many years now. It opened at the height of the tea craze in Houston, a time when it seemed like there was a new tea house opening on every corner. We went soon after it opened and found our favorite tea ever, the Fujian Silk oolong. ... More >>

Beef Vs. Chicken Battle Turns Violent In Valley Cafe

​When he sat down at his table at downtown Brownsville's El Rancho Alegre Café last Saturday night, all Esequiel Silva wanted was a plate of chicken milanesa enchiladas. Little did he know how just how much the Happy Ranch Cafe would fail to live up to its name.After taking a couple of bites, he ... More >>

Where You @?

​South Houston is home to one of the most culturally diverse neighborhoods in Houston, Sagemont. There is a dense population of Vietnamese in this area, and as a result, a fantastic selection of great Asian food. T@pioca is a little Vietnamese banh mi, yogurt, and bubble tea dive on Fuqua and ... More >>

Meyerland's Secret Lunch Sandwich

​On a trip through Meyerland recently we decided to grab some milk tea from a quaint café called Fioza (9002 Chimney Rock). This is more of a high school coffee hangout at night, but we ended up here at lunch time, and lo and behold, people were eating sandwiches. Not just regular sandwiches, ... More >>

Artisan Teas from John Harney

Photo by Robb Walsh​Whereas English Breakfast Tea is usually a blend of Assam and Ceylon, with a little Keemun added to the more expensive versions, Harney & Sons English Breakfast is made with all Keemun tea. The flavor is clean and bright, with a fruity aroma. What a treat this is in the mor ... More >>

Late Night Scene: Teahouse

Photo by Sarah RufkaEven 15 minutes before its midnight closing, Teahouse on Shepherd has nary an empty table. One would think a tired employee would grimace at anyone new walking in the door, but the guy on duty is surprisingly friendly. Someone uninitiated to the bubble tea scene could easily wast ... More >>

Iranian Cuisine at Darband Shish Kabob

Photo by J.C. ReidOne of the oldest and most well-known Iranian restaurants in Houston is Darband Shish Kabob on Hillcroft between Westpark and Harwin. Darband is a counter-service restaurant that serves inexpensive Iranian fast-food dishes. It's located in a neighborhood teeming with ethnic restaur ... More >>

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. ... More >>

Korean Corn Tea: As Bad As It Sounds

My favorite lunchtime stop during the week is Super H Mart, the enormous Korean grocery store / food court that occupies an old Flagship Randall's off Bingle and I-10. Not only do they serve up some mean kimchi fried rice and bulgogi in the food court, you can always be sure to stumble across some ... More >>

Five Reasons You Must Visit The Path of Tea

I love exploring this city and discovering new food-related things to talk about. Why, oh why then hadn't I discovered The Path of Tea, this treasure of a place, when it first opened three years ago? I'm going to dispense with the usual verbage and just list a few of the reasons why you should ru ... More >>

Update: Snot What You Thought

After highlighting a local man's discovery of what appeared to be a giant loogie in his can of green tea, the tea company has responded with an apology and an explanation. According to Steaz co-founder Eric Schnell, who personally responded to the complaint, the gruesome sub ... More >>

Sneeze Green Tea

It's mid-afternoon.  You had a heavy lunch.  The work day is sliding by like thick molasses in winter.  You're dragging ass, big time.  So you decide to pop open a cold, refreshing can of iced organic green tea to rescuscitate yourself from the afternoon doldrums. ... More >>

A World Tour of Honey

$7 at Orient Cafe in Missouri City

Sandy's Produce Market

One healthy meal at Sandy's Produce Market will wipe away all of your high-cholesterol sins

Mak Chin

A Spot of Cheesecake?

Two Faces of Mak Chin's

A new pan-Asian restaurant on Shepherd has a split personality

PESCE'S

LONG ISLAND ICED TEA

Hello, Yum Yum

A new Asian diner brings dinnertime dim sum to the Inner Loop

All Right, We Give Up

Just who the hell is showing at Aerosol Warfare Gallery?

Best Chichi Sundries

Sloan/Hall

Taiwan's Tapioca Attack

Bubble tea goes mainstream

Feeling Lucky?

Score big at the Lucky Pot noodle shop

Fish Tales

St. Pete's Dancing Marlin's Long Island Iced Tea

Best Jerk Chicken

Reggae Hut

Navigational Charts

Speaking off the toque: Michael Cordúa

Best Iced Tea

Kaldi Cafe

Dish

South of the Sabine

The Sunset Tea Room gives way to some new ideas about old-fashioned food

Tea Time