The Loop Scoop: Sammy's Wild Game Grill, the dog-and-burger joint, is still busy adding new exotic meats to its menu. This week, The Loop Scoop tried out one of its kangaroo burgers and came away surprised but pleased at the mild, lean flavor of the meat.

CultureMap: There is such a thing as being too popular, as newcomer Torchy's Tacos has found out. I saw on Twitter over the weekend that some customers were experiencing up to an hour wait for food, and CultureMap confirms that story with some explanations from Torchy's itself. All I want to know is: Who waits an hour for a taco?

The Mija Chronicles: Making tamales at Thanksgiving to usher in Christmas is one of my favorite Mexican traditions, and now I'm nominating a second one for consideration: making salsa over the Christmas break to ring in the new year. Lesley shares her best recipe for red taquería-style salsa, rich with intense guajillo and árbol chiles.

Aghastronome in Houston: Mary Jane Poorman, who had the first scoop in town on the revamped Biba's Kitbar on West Gray, gave the new 24-hour diner a try last week and had an experience there very similar to my own. A new restaurant still getting its sea legs, or another failed experiment at this location? Time will tell, but I'm beginning to lean toward the latter.

Almost Veggie Houston: On the subject of second first looks, Ashli Michelle had a disastrous first experience at Liberty Kitchen that didn't mirror my own at all. From what sounds like terrible service to what looks like cheese from an MRE kit, this is the experience I'm grateful I didn't have here. Now to find out whether the new Liberty Kitchen will lean more toward the good or the bad in the coming months...

Jack Around: Finally, Jack Highberger confirms the old adage that the best Vietnamese restaurants specialize in doing one thing, and doing it well. In this case, it's the bun bo Hue at Duc Chuong II. Not only is it the only item on the menu, it's also listed in much larger letters and more prominent signage than the name of the restaurant itself.