This week, we've got restaurant reviews from some Houston hot spots, such as Dish Society and Provisions, as well as a few unusual recipes to spice up your repertoire, like a universally appealing chocolate pie recipe.

Hank on Food visited Black & White, 1001 Studewood, and gave it straight A's in every category from dishes and drinks to the atmosphere and friendliness of the staff. The dual-concept eatery specializes in Latin seafood and Mediterranean cuisine, and has revamped its menus to allow guests to order from either menu, no matter which part of the restaurant they sit in. He enjoyed an anything-but-ordinary spicy shrimp linguine, and the raw tuna appetizer, called tuna cubes, was well-prepared and fresh. A blondie with berries, pecans and lemon sauce rounded out the meal very smoothly indeed.

Bev of Bev Cooks is a bit conflicted as to whether these pork tacos should be called Chinese pork tacos or Thai pork tacos, so we'll just generalize and say that she put together a killer recipe for Asian pork tacos. They combine spicy ground pork with mint-cilantro pesto, plus some peanuts and jalapeño for an extra twang. Red peppers make the whole dish look stunning.

The Houston Food Blogger Collective held its first meeting of this year at Dish Society, a farm-to-table eatery at 5740 San Felipe that offers more casual counter service during the day and table service at night. An unusual berry bruschetta was a good start to the meal, but the real star of the show was the pretzels with gouda cheese dip, which Kim at Adventures in a New(ish) City says was the best pretzels and cheese dish she's ever had. If you keep up with Kim, you know that she loves pretzels and cheese, so this is high praise indeed. Other standout dishes were the Brussels sprouts super salad with kale and quinoa, as well as the berry shortcake, which is served with Mexican vanilla ice cream from Amy's.

Daniel Vaughn of Texas Monthly's barbecue blog visited The Pass & Provisions, 807 Taft, to put the beef rib at Provisions to the test. Long story short, it passed with flying colors. The large beef rib weighed in at more than a pound and comes with a side dish, which Vaughn says is very comparable to the way the dish would be served at a barbecue joint. He was very impressed with the flavors of the meat, which come partly from a curry-like sauce made from pumpkin seeds, and the barbecue expert thinks that the rib would appeal to die-hard barbecue fans and fancy eaters alike.

Abigail of the Shopgirl blog, while not a vegan herself, knows that good sweet eats can be difficult for vegans to find and even more difficult to make for themselves. She came across a recipe for vegan chocolate pie this week, which looked so simple that she had to try it for herself. The results? She says it's one of the best pies she's ever had, vegan or otherwise, and her friends and family had a hard time putting it down. It also includes a recipe for easy (and also vegan) graham cracker crust.

Finally, Old Chicago Pizza & Taproom established itself as a solid beer-and-bites eatery in the eyes of Dalida of Brunch & Conversation, who enjoyed the peppered bacon smothered cheese fries — if you look at her photos, you'll see that Old Chicago really does mean smothered. She found the pizza, whose crust is made with Newcastle Brown Ale, fresh and delicious, and the spinach salad served atop it was a perfect accoutrement. 

That's it for this week's food blog round-up! Check back next week for more highlights from Houston's food blog scene. If you know of a blog that we haven't featured before, leave us a comment or send us an email to tell us about it.