Roost (Number 59)

This week, I had the pleasure of having an old friend from elementary school in town from Minnesota.  Each time she comes in, we try to get together with our moms and have a little mother/daughter dinner, just to catch up and talk about old times.

We usually go to dinner at one of our normal restaurants [Juanita's], but since I took the "Alison Cook Restaurant Pledge," we decided to try one off her list instead!  I left all the decisions up to Susanne, [I mean...she is the guest, right?] and she chose Roost.  Roost is a little, bitty, almost hole in the wall restaurant in the heart of Montrose.  The atmosphere is super casual, even giving off a hidden treasure kind of vibe.  The only complaint that I had about the location was the temperature.  IT WAS HOT!  They could definitely stand to crank the air up a little!  Despite that, everything else was great.  The owner and chef, Kevin Naderi, even met us at the door, taking our drink orders while we waited.  The whole time we were there, I felt like I was on an episode of "Top Chef," waiting for the next unexpected, yet delicious dish to come out for me to judge!

The menu was REALLY short, and it changes every three weeks or so to reflect what is available in Houston at the time.  This seems to be the trend in Houston restaurants right now.  Although the menu was short, there was enough of a variety of items, that you could find something that you liked.  They even had one vegetarian dish for all my non-meat eating friends out there!  If you go, I do recommend that you start your meal with the roasted cauliflower...IT.IS.TO.DIE.  I'm not a fan of cauliflower, and I loved it!

Overall, I give them four out of five stars.  I loved the atmosphere and the food was great!  

Cuisine: American
Entree Price Range: $$
Location: 1972 Fairview St.
Phone: 713-534-7667
FB Page: www.facebook.com/iloveroost [they don't have a web page at this point]

Underbelly (Number 6)

This weekend, we celebrated Ashley's birthday with a little dinner at Underbelly and a little dancing at South Beach.  The highlight of the night was definitely the dancing at South Beach!  I have to say, for the first restaurant on my Alison Cook restaurant adventure, Underbelly was not what I expected.  The atmosphere was great...It was very industrial with an in house butcher shop and open kitchen.  In the main room, there was community dining with large picnic tables and in the side room, there were smaller, more intimate tables.  Despite the more intimate setting, the acoustics were TERRIBLE, and it was extremely hard to hear even the person sitting right next to you.  HUGE pet peeve of mine when dining out.    


The restaurant was started as an attempt to "tell the story of Houston food," but I guess our ideas of "Houston food" are very different.  I am by no means a chef or food critic, but I know what I like, and this was not my style of dining out.  The menu starts with something like..."To share, or not to share," implying that the portions were "family size," but NONE of the items that we ordered turned out to be remotely close to family size.  In fact, the waitress suggested that we get two entrees per person!  WHAT?!?!  We all tried a little bit of eat person's food, and the only one thing that I was truly blown away by was the "Lambburger Helper."  It was really good, and if it's on the menu the night that you go [the menu changes based on what is available locally], you should definitely try it!  


At this point in time, I give Underbelly two out of five stars.  I'm still hopeful though!  I would love to visit them again and have great experience!


Cuisine: American
Entree Price: $$-$$$
Location: 1100 Westheimer
Phone: 713-523-1622
Website: underbellyhouston.com

Alison Cook's Top 100

Most people don't realize this, but Houston is one of the number one cities for dining out.  We have great restaurants with great chefs all over the city.  Recently Houston Chronicle food critic, Alison Cook, chose her top 100 restaurants in Houston for 2012.  Looking over her list, I realized the restaurants were not just upscale and super expensive, they were actually all very different.  There were upscale restaurants like Vic & Anthony's to food trucks like Good Dog Hot Dogs and everything in between. 

As I continued reading, it occurred to me...I must try each and every one of these restaurants!  I shared my idea with a few friends, and they were all up for the challenge!  Next step was choosing our time frame.  Can we dine out at this many restaurants in one year?  Hmm...There are 52 weeks in a year and 100 restaurants on the list...If we went to each one in one year that would mean that we would have to go to at least two restaurants per week.  That was a little much, so I decided to give us two years to try each and every one and in no particular order.  That's getting together and trying one restaurant a week.  We can totally do it!

Please stay tuned for our adventure, and I would love to hear everyone else's thoughts on the restaurants that we visit! 

So, without further ado...to see Alison Cook's Top 100 Houston Restaurants for 2012, CLICK HERE!

Part of Me

This blog post is so cheese, I can hardly stand it!  This weekend, I basically forced my twelve year old cousin/God daughter to go see the Katy Perry Movie, "Part of me."  I know what your thinking and your right...yes, I'm redonky and thirteen years old!

Everyone should go see this movie!  It was surprisingly so good!  I've always thought Katy Perry was OK, but I was never really a huge fan.  Let me tell you, after watching this movie, I love her!  I watched her journey to become a pop star, teared up as she went through a divorce with Russell Brand, and got in the car and promptly downloaded the entire "Teenage Dream: the Complete Confection" CD.  It was completely ridiculous.  She's just such an up beat girl and a great role model for young kids.  She really brings home the "never give up" motto in life, and I like it!  So become a teenager again, and see the move.  You won't regret it!  I think I might have enjoyed it more than my cousin!

In other news...I am in the process of revamping my workout playlist so I can get back to working on my fitness [yes, my playlist is the reason I have not been working out].  If anyone has any suggestions of any good workout songs, PLEASE send them my way...mine have become SO stale.  Here are a few of my new favs I've just added to the list...

              

Snapstagram

Recently I found the most awesome website called Snapstagram.  Snapstagram takes your Instagram photos and turns them into high quality 4x4 photos that are delivered to you right at home!  How awesome is that?!?!  I love it!  


How does it work, you ask?  Well...when you visit the Snapstagram website, the first thing you have to do is log into your Instagram account.  This allows them to automatically pull your photos, and all you have to do is pick the ones you want to print.  So easy, right?  They let you print 12 photos at a time, just like a standard roll of photo.  Each roll costs $6.00, and at this point, shipping is on them.  You can print photos for yourself or even have them sent directly to friends.  When you send them as a gift, they even have provide a spot to write a personal message.  


Check it out!  Below are a few pics I printed just to try it out.  I can't wait to print more pictures!