Best dishes we ate in November, from pimento cheese to kolaches
Each month, the Houston Chronicle food team makes a lot of restaurant visits. Here are a few of the best dishes we ate in November; we think they’re all worth seeking out.
Mala Crunchy Duo at Mala Sichuan M-K-T
Here’s the lit cocktail snack you didn’t know you needed: pickled turnip batons and peanuts, dressed with black vinegar, soy, red chili oil and Sichuan peppercorns. Green onions chime in for even more savor. The black vinegar contributes bounce. The familiar numbing mala heat, nicely controlled, works well with the new Heights outpost’s cocktails, which were developed by the estimable Chris Frankel. And the crunch factor delights, thanks to those peanuts and the almost glassy snap of the stretchy preserved turnip (really radish) strands, which add a pleasing, faint bitterness.
600 N. Shepherd
Alison Cook
Pimento cheese at EZ’s Liquor Lounge
Cleverly decorated, spacious and possessing a welcoming Texas vibe, EZ’s is a welcome addition to the Houston bar scene. And while beer and all manner of boozy cocktails are available, the bar bites rock: hot nuts, queso, chili pie and Wagyu hot dogs. We especially like the pickled jalapeño onion dip and pimento cheese served with zippy house-made giardiniera and Texas firecrackers. The pimento cheese is a solid hit; everything you would want from this familiar spreader. The crunchy, chunky pickled relish, shot through with olives and okra, is a nice touch.
3302 White Oak
Greg Morago
Beef Rendang Wellington from Phat Eatery
The inventive Alex Au-Yeung at Katy Asian Town’s bustling Malaysian restaurant, Phat Eatery, offered this spectacular special for Thanksgiving. He used Wagyu beef wrapped in beautifully scored puff pastry, lined with deep, dark mushroom duxelles and marinated with rendang spices like coriander, ginger, lemongrass and lime leaf. It brought a delightful Asian swagger to a somewhat stuffy old classic. Puro Houston.
23119 Colonial Parkway, Suite B-2, Katy
Alison Cook
Parrillada at Goode Co. Kitchen & Cantina
Goode’s Tex-Mex takeover of the former Down House space in the Heights is a handsome affair, designed with plenty of Mexican-inspired Texicana spirit. A long bar anchors the busy dining room (there’s also a spacious patio) where the Goode heritage of familiar Mexican staples play out. The showy parrillada platter stole the show. Ours brimmed with chicken fajitas, grilled beef filet, carnitas and Texas quail.
Served with warm, handmade tortillas, beans and rice, it may be the most luxe version among the many satisfying fajita platters in town.
1801 Yale
Greg Morago
Sashimi at Aya Sushi
The charismatic chef Yoshi Katsuyama, often donning pink frames, à la Sally Jesse Raphael, sets Aya Sushi apart in Houston’s impressive sushi landscape. He is often behind the counter at this restaurant, found along an otherwise sleepy stretch of Bellaire.
The menu is creative but not over the top: a slice of hama gets a dot of garlic chili oil without being overpowering, a plate of amberjack is adorned with toothpick-thin slivers of apple, and there’s even a maki roll dipped in pink soy sauce.
While Katsuyama trained in Tokyo and also worked at local favorites such as Uchi and Soto, Aya feels like his personal stage, with emerald green booths, blond wood and whimsical drinking vessels, like the Kaiju Rita served in what looks like a cracked open dinosaur egg.
5407 Bellaire Blvd., Suite A
Bao Ong
Grilled cheese at Street to Kitchen
Few things get me out of bed early on a Saturday, but I recently bee-lined to the Urban Harvest farmers market to finally try Street to Kitchen’s omelet. A classic egg dish that’s amped up with fish sauce and served over a bed of rice. It’s a savory breakfast hit.
But the grilled cheese was an unexpected winner. A Thai restaurant serving an all-American favorite? It works: The sourdough bread is grilled and pressed to an ideal consistency, with just enough crunch and char. There’s oozing Gruyere and sharp cheddar cheese spiked with hints of Thai chile paste. On the side, a hearty serving of red curry pumpkin sauce. I’ve already set my alarm for this weekend.
2752 Buffalo Speedway
Bao Ong
Cherry kolache at the Original Kolache Shoppe
I’m showing my hand a bit, but I’ve been conducting research for a soon-to-come food guide. This delectable morsel at the Original Kolache Shoppe off Telephone Road was on my to-do list, and it didn’t disappoint.
The cherry kolache is perhaps a revelation for anybody who hasn’t had a proper Czech pastry in a hot minute. The one here is semisweet, with puffy dough surrounding a thick, viscous and generous helping of cherry jam. Every bite is decadence, as the fruit filling oozes out and tiny flakes of salt on the pastry zing on the palate. Two dollars well spent.
5404 Telephone
John-Henry Perera