Adventures in a New(ish) City: 99 cent mimosas at Sorrel Urban Bistro for brunch? Sign us up! Kim used to live in New York City, where, according to her, brunches are required components of weekend activities. Keeping up with this NYC tradition, she and a friend checked out the brunch at Sorrel during her Sunday Funday last weekend. As soon as they began sipping on their incredibly cheap (in price) mimosas, they noshed on little baby biscuits with lingonberry butter and shared an appetizer of baba ghanoush. The egg on her Lobster Benedict was perfectly cooked: When she sliced into it, the yolk oozed all over the soft lobster cake. If brunch is this good everywhere else in Houston, it should become a necessary component of our weekend activities.
Hank on Food: If you happen to live near Vintage Park, you're lucky, because Peli Peli is a must-visit restaurant. Hank enjoyed a late lunch at the modern South African restaurant and spoke with one of the original owners/managing partners, Thomas Nguyen, as well as chef Paul Friedman, who told Hank about his journey as a chef and how he arrived in Houston to open Peli Peli. Hank also sampled one of the restaurant's newest cocktails, the South African Mojito, and the dish that won Friedman the "Chef of Chef 2013" award during a recent competition in The Woodlands, the Bobotie, a South African twist on a British cottage pie. But if there is one dish you cannot miss at Peli Peli, it's the sticky toffee pudding, which Hank describes as a work of art.
Blue Jean Gourmet: October is here, and that means baking season is in full swing. With the holidays just around the corner, you should start compiling recipes for breads, muffins, cookies and cakes, such as the French yogurt cake Nishta recently made. The recipe is simple and produces a subtly sweet cake. She used her own homemade yogurt, but you can use whole milk Greek yogurt instead. Nishta also added citrus extract and grated citrus zest (lemon or orange) to complement the tangy yogurt.
Patty and David Said...: There's been a lot of hoopla about Houston's newest fast-food restaurant, Jollibee, since it opened a few weeks ago. Patty and David were curious as to how good this place could be. While it is just a fast-food joint, the fried chicken is worth coming back for; it's crispy on the outside, juicy on the inside, and according to Patty and David, it beats KFC.
Urban Swank: RA Sushi recently added new cocktails to its menu, so Urban Swank headed over to the Highland Village location for a tasting. They learned that the new cocktails are made with higher-quality liquor that won't affect prices and fresh juices instead of processed "faux" juices. In addition, local craft beers have been added to the beer list, and one specialty drink will be featured each month at prices as low at $5 or $6. The ladies at Urban Swank enjoyed the frozen Fuzzy Momo Bellini made with Bacardi rum, yuzu, house-made peach and strawberry puree, white wine and sparkling wine; it wasn't too sweet, and the combination of frothy bubbles from the sparkling wine and the frozen portion paired nicely.
Huffington Post: Halloween is just a few weeks away, but that doesn't mean you can't start stocking up on your favorite candy. The Huffington Post Taste section released the 25 best candy bars of all time. All of the typical and classic chocolate bars made the list, but we're not sure why the Hershey's bar is only number 22. And do you really think a Milky Way is the best candy bar of all time?
