Eating With Zoe

Have I mentioned that I like to eat? Cause I like to eat. Perhaps you've enjoyed the little "Cooking with Zoe" posts I've done in the past. Today, I'm thinking about the places I like to go where other people cook for me. I mostly cook at home, so eating out is a special treat. Whenever we have seasons where we get a little more breathing room in our budget, the eating out category is the first to find some elbow room. We've just moved to a new town with new restaurants to explore.

We were so excited this weekend to find our first restaurant-we-love in Maine, Shere Punjab. Chicken Tikka Masala and Lamb Curry - our signature Indian restaurant orders - were almost too spicy for me to handle, but so worth the heat. We were the ONLY people in the restaurant through our whole meal, despite the town being packed for an arts festival. We couldn't understand why no one else was in there, but we enjoyed the space, quiet, and service!

This has me thinking about all the cities I've lived in and the restaurants I miss. I have woken up several mornings knowing I'm home sick because I start to look forward to going to one restaurant or another as the weekend approaches, problem is, those restaurants are in other parts of the country now. BUT! perhaps you live in these cities, perhaps you will visit them sometime, or perhaps you share my longings for restaurants now inaccessible to you. I happen to like quite a few restaurants, so in order not to overwhelm you, I'll break this up into a scattered little series. If you're ever in my old stomping grounds and need a recommendation, please consider a few of Zoe's [a non-foodie food lover] faves. [note: if you are one of these restaurants or would like to become one of these restaurants, yes I will consider writing for food ;) ]

To begin, let us consider Houston, Texas, my home town. A visit here might earn you the consolation prize of a nice night/morning/day out to eat. Here are some of my top choices:

#1: Goode Company BBQ. ["Goode Co."] This is the standard against which I judge ALL barbeque in the world. This is what Texas barbeque means to me. Smoky, tasty, melt in your mouth goodness. This is where my dad would take me for our lunch break in the middle of a hot, sweaty day working in the yard. We'd sit out on their porch at the picnic tables, letting the fans and root bear transform our dripping foreheads into cool relaxation. For both sentimental and gustatorial reasons, this is probably my favorite restaurant in the world.

#2: Amazon/America's/Artista/Churasco's. I don't visit too many towns with South American food options, but was spoiled growing up with this family of restaurants. I was also spoiled by the fact that my father did their food photography, so we often got to eat there for free. Fried plantain chips, chimichurri sauce, churasco steak. My mouth is watering just thinking about it. This was where my dad took me on my birthday daddy-daughter dates growing up, this is where Manny and I had our engagement party, and it's always on my list for must-visit when I'm in town.

#3: Hobbit Hole. Love Tolkein? Love earthy food? Love to feel so full you might burst without even having to eat second breakfast and elevensies? Never before has a themed-restaurant been so non-cheesy and super-yummy at the same time. Their onion rings are killer [though, perhaps a meal in themselves] and a wonderful proportion of their menu includes almost overwhelming gobs of avocado [as if there could be any such thing as too much avocado! hence the word "almost"]. It is also tucked away from any main streets, so you have the perk of eating at a "hole" in the wall of sorts ;). When you eat here, you can feel gluttonous, but so literary and brilliant at the same time.

Hmmm . . . as I read over this I'm realizing there is a theme of emotional ties related to my father with these restaurants [the Hobbit Hole was one of our favorite lunch spots in the middle of a business day whenever I worked at his studio]. My mother was such a gourmet in the kitchen, I guess he cornered the restaurant market in my emotions. 

Ok, I feel like I put on a few thousand calories just thinking about these places. Houston is not a great town to go to if you are on a diet - except for the fact that you'll look around and most likely feel like the skinny one, so that can be encouraging. We'll save some more drooling for another day. In the mean time - please chime in! If our readers are visiting Houston, where do YOU think they should grab a bite to eat?