This Week in Houston Food Blogs: A Houston Re-Plant's Food Year in Review

This week, we have a recipe to help you kick your body into gear on those rough early mornings, plus a review of a seasonal spring menu and a few guides to help you branch out of your dining-out comfort zone.

Hank on Food visited Songkran Thai Grill, 2258 Texas in Sugar Land, to try some of the items that aren't available at the Songkran Thai Kitchen location in Uptown Park. The menu is crafted in the style of Thai street food, with larger, shareable plates, such as the "Heavenly Beef" appetizer, or nuer sawan, which Hank absolutely adored. The standout dish of the evening was the moo yang, or Thai grilled pork with sweet-and-savory marinade and an herbal, tangy dipping sauce. The drinks and desserts were as well-received as the main courses, and Hank strongly recommends that you try either location of Songkran Thai very soon.

Oyakodon is a Japanese dish made from chicken, eggs, onions or scallions and delicious sauces, then served over rice to make a messy, soy-laden concoction. Erika Kwee of the Pancake Princess blog decided to create (and share) a vegetarian version with tofu, and found, to her delight, that oyakodon is equally as satisfying when served over hot toast as it is on rice, and it's a great, protein-packed start for a busy day.

Writing for Urban Swank, Joanna O'Leary visited La Grange at 2517 Ralph in Montrose, for a quick post that showcases the very best offerings at the restaurant. Since the patio is the perfect place to relax with friends, she suggests that you grab some of the craft cocktails and a few appetizers, such as the barbecue oysters and pico-loaded queso, and spend an afternoon soaking up the sun. If you're more in the mood for a full meal, she recommends the whole fried fish with garlic-lime sauce, which, we have to admit, looks very impressive.

To celebrate the anniversary of her return to Houston, Kim of Adventures in a New(ish) City shared a list of her ten favorite dishes from the last year. This list will be especially useful for vegetarians looking to spice up their food life, but we carnivores could learn a thing or two as well. We couldn't agree more that the Napa Black & Blue pommes frites at Urban Eats make a stellar side, and, if you go to North Italia, don't skip out on her No. 1 dish of the year.

Seasons 52, 4410 Westheimer, just unrolled its spring menu, and Last Course Gourmet absolutely loved it. From the organic sunshine martini to the restaurant's infamous dessert shooters, the spring menu was a knockout success. The standout dishes were a beautiful rack of lamb and glazed Chilean sea bass, and, as a bonus for this month only, the restaurant has fiddlehead ferns, which alone would be worth the price of admission, in the opinion of yours truly.

Finally, if you're in the mood for a brew but have grown tired of hitting up the same pub every time, check out Robin Sussman's beer-bar round-up on Zagat. The list includes 21 Houston beer hot spots, such as perennial favorites like The Hay Merchant and The Ginger Man, as well as recent additions like Axelrad Beer Garden and Eight Row Flint. 

That's it for this week's food blog revue! Do you love a blog that we haven't featured yet? Leave us a comment or send us an email to tell us about it.