Welcome back to the weekly round-up here at Eating Our Words, where we're now voting Republican, because they're the only ones fascist enough to pass this "Everyone Must Now Put Grape-Nuts in Their Yogurt" legislation we've drafted. It's something we feel very strongly about.
Greenway Barista started the week off with a study in farmers' markets, and Lauren McKechnie graciously informed us of some excellent chicken pot pies. Ah, chicken pot pie: one of our favorite things to eat, and one of our least favorite Weird Al songs. Jane Catherine Collins tried pretty much every single wine they had at the Rancho Ponte vineyard, and, we hope, had someone else drive her back to Houston.
Katharine Shilcutt seemed pretty enthusiastic about the meal she had at Yelapa Playa Mexicana, and Margaret Downing tried some "modern Singaporean cuisine" at a place called Straits. They're very gracious hosts, but if you stiff the waiter, you get a caning. Ooof, shoulda thrown that joke out, it's about 15 years stale. The Shameless Chef suffered a disheartening lack of derision for his surprisingly decent-looking lemon butter shells with ham, and Jane tried out Taqueria Huetamo II: The Legend of Curly's Gold. Mike Morris investigated the Peruvian Festival for some handmade ceviche and a whole bunch of italicized words.
Craig Malisow took a break from hawking adorable animal companions to try out some tasty egg rolls (and a decidedly average Vietnamese sandwich) at BB's Donuts, while Ruthie Johnson enjoyed some chocolate-covered goodies.
Katharine posed as a wine judge on Monday, and you'll have to read the article for the details, but TWiD can give this much away: It went almost exactly like the Enrique Palazzo scenes in the first Naked Gun movie. Lauren McKechnie drove all the way the hell out to Sugar Land to look into their various sweeteries, and Margaret checked out the Strip House for some fine dining and light decorative nudity.
Robb's Coca-Cola habanero potatoes are made from three main ingredients that TWiD loves, so how could we not try them? We'll tell you how: We're criminally lazy. This is not true of Jeff Lewis, co-owner of Little Blackbox Company, who put in some hot, hard work frying some fish for his buddies. Katharine recounted Beaver's Ice House's Bloody Mary / Michelada competition, which included a bartender who knows how to make goddamn hickory-smoked ice. Sorry, did we say "bartender"? We meant "sorcerer".
Greenway chatted with Houston Country Club's Michael O'Connor, while Robb offered up some Thanksgiving recipes that look pretty good (okay, they look really good), but can't hold a candle to that most gloriously obscene of Thanksgiving indulgences, the Turducken. This magnificent creature is often seen in the wild, majestically flopping about on its hilariously tiny wings and muttering things like "Why does God hate me?" and "Please kill me. It is what I want most in the world." Try 'em with cajun gravy!
Margaret sampled some new dishes at Ra Sushi, and Jane Catherine rejoiced in some sweets, while Lauren mourned the passing of Whataburger's A1 Thick & Hearty Burger. Forgive me for opinionizing, but fuck the A1 Thick & Hearty Burger in the face. What we really need is the Honey Barbecue Chicken Strip Sandwich to be available year-round. We don't care if we weigh 400 pounds in three years, you hear me? We don't care.
Katharine succinctly summed up what Hell is like by listing some ingredients for a vegetarian Thanksgiving, while Jane Catherine collected some tumbleweeds at So Vino's happy hour. And we're getting close to Thanksgiving, so you know what that means: Here comes some Christmas bullshit! TWiD pretends to be Scroogier than we are; the truth is we love Christmas bullshit, especially the goodies at Central Market.
In this week's Food Fight, the masala dosai of Udipi and Madras Pavilion faced off, and Katharine asked: Is it still Thanksgiving without the turkey? The answer: hell yes. TWiD plans on giving thanks that we don't have to gnaw on the world's driest poultry as we bite into our Thanksgiving prime rib.
Jane had a chat with Scott Fix, bartender at the nearly Houston Press-adjacent Maple Leaf Pub, and Katharine provided some insight into the Saint Arnold brewery's Divine Reserve #9. The lesson: Do not lean on large red switches. Meanwhile, Liana Lopez gave her recipe for mini Thanksgiving dinner.
Finally, Margaret went to Highland Village Farmer's Market, where you can corral your very own free-range turkey to eat on the big day. Or to release into the wild, assuming you live inside one of the terrible Hallmark movies soon to be airing 'round the clock.
