040: Killen’s Steakhouse

Wedge Salad

I am almost entirely sure that Killen’s has not always been Killen’s. I have a distinct memory of going there for a special French dinner with my mother a few weeks before I left on a school trip to Europe. Our teacher was friends with the executive chef and somehow talked him into making a special meal for the group and their families before departure. This was before I cared about food—or anything, really, in typical sixteen-year-old style—but I was still impressed with what I ate. I remember thinking that if the food in Paris was half as good our meal that I would be quite pleased. (Oh, and it was, right down to the croque monsieur in the Louvre.)

039: The Breakfast Klub

Fried Pork Chop & a Side of Bacon

In the past, whenever someone would protest my recommendation of The Breakfast Klub with a mention of their line, I would brush it off. “It’s not bad! It moves really fast.” This is back when the line snaked around the corner of the building, parallel to Alabama. It’s always been worth it to me, so I had no hesitation bringing my boyfriend here for breakfast on Saturday morning. We got there around 11:00am, when the Midtown Farmers Market was still in full swing. I’ve never been, so I thought we might pop over there after we finished breakfast, before they packed up for the day at noon. (Ha!)

038: Mongo

Crispy Spring Rolls

There’s something appealing about interacting with your food, whether it’s cooking meat at your table at a Korean place or digging into fondue. Mongolian barbeque operates under the same principle. You get to pick out your own stuff! Whatever you want, whatever you can fit in your bowl! Your own veggies, your own meats, your own sauce! Isn’t it great! Well, not entirely. The novelty of creating my own entree wore off pretty quickly.

035: Emma’s Grill and Mex-Mex Bistro

Chips and Salsa

When I was a child—and if you lived in the Montrose in the early 90′s, you’ll probably remember this—there was a space by the Montrose Library, what is now Kraftsmen Bakery, which could never quite settle down. At one point it was a gelato place, then a coffee place; it would close, then open again, then close again. Clearly someone needed to burn some sage in there or something. Unfortunately, there’s a place like that in Pearland. It used to be a nightclub for teens, which I can’t type with a straight face, and has been through several restaurant reincarnations as well. The latest is Emma’s Grill and Mex-Mex Bistro.

034: Escalante’s Mexican Grille

Salsa

This was my first meal after getting off a plane at IAH on a journey that was much longer than necessary. After a successful thesis defense and presentation on human trafficking—I’m technically a college graduate now, though I don’t walk until May—things took a bad turn when I missed my plane in Fayetteville and had to spend the night in a hotel by myself where I couldn’t sleep because I was so paranoid about missing my next flight.

033: Pena’s Donut Heaven

Breakfast Taco

When my friend Margaret came down to Houston to help me get through my father’s funeral, she did a lot of driving. I forget where we were when it happened, but we stopped at a red light, she looked up and saw a donut place and said, “How many donut places do you have in this city?”.

032: Goode Company Barbeque

My Version of BBQ Heaven

Knowing the amount of passion that Texans feel for their barbecue, I’m almost afraid to write about it. I once got into a drunken argument with someone from Austin in my tiny college town in North Carolina about which city had the better barbecue. We finally clinked glasses and drank to the fact that Texas had the best barbecue in the country and left it at that. I think what it really comes down to is what you’re brought up with, and what I was brought up with was Goode Company.

031: Center Court Pizza & Brew

Mushroom and Black Olive Pizza

There’s a dearth of good pizza in Pearland. It’s all Pizza Hut and Domino’s. Double Daves, a tolerable chain in my opinion, closed while I was away at college. I saw Center Court when I drove by it, and thought I’d check it. It had mostly positive votes on Urbanspoon, so my mother and I decided to pick up one of their pizzas for dinner.

030: Little Miyako

Miso Soup

When I discovered the bento box in college it was happy times. I am an indecisive person. I hate making choices because I know that choosing something means that there are other things that you aren’t choosing and that you don’t get to experience. So a bento box is perfect for me. Lots of choices and, in the case of food, lots of flavors.

029: Da Marco

Artichoke alla Giudea

Once upon a time—the fall of 2008, to be exact—I lived in a castle in Italy. It was only three months, but those three months took my love for food, which had been there since I can remember, and made it blossom. It was my trip that made me think I wanted to write about food, so I suppose you could blame Italy for this blog.