politics with a side of fries

I’ve heard a good deal about Petrol Station, and I think it did relatively well in the burger bracket over at the Houston Press. My understanding is that it used to be mainly a coffee house that offered beer, but since has veered into the beer garden that offers coffee genre. Regardless of its roots, T and I were looking for a low key ‘out of the way’ place to do a quick date night and Petrol seemed to fit the bill. We pulled up and I wasn’t one bit surprised to see…an old gas station. It was full, but not ridiculously so and we were lucky to nab a parking spot out front. Walking in I immediately felt comfortable, I’m very into wood and dark intimate atmospheres right now and this place supplied both. There’s a giant chalkboard listing some of the beer choices and menus for the more extensive list. We had to squeeze through a couple to get to the bar, but the staff was attentive and we didn’t have to wait long to place our drink order. When we had walked in, an argyle beer tap had caug...

Hubcap has the distinction of being consistently in Houston’s top burgers list. I believe it’s currently in the top on various Yelp, Chron.com and Houston Press lists. It’s only open for lunch I believe, so it became the first burger that I invited my work team to join me. The place itself is tiny, covered in hubcaps (you’re surprised, I know) and seemed to have a steady supply of people coming and going. It’s next to the Aldean hotel downtown so it was amusing to see the posh décor of their restaurant (17) next to this low slung green building. It’s a cash only type of joint, and the menu seems to have a few rotating ‘special’s that are listed on a sheet of paper tacked under the regular menu board. Everything is cooked when you order it, so expect to wait a bit. I got the Greek burger (feta, olives, veggies and meat). I had thought about going all in and trying the sticky burger (comes complete with peanut butter?!) but I figured I should try something a little more classic and sav...

Oh austin- you never fail me. So yes, this is long overdue but I can’t skip it- so here goes… T and I decided to go to Austin for new year’s this year (collective gasp at how behind this is). The friends we went to stay with decided rather than fight the crowds and do a big to do for dinner, we’d stop in a little joint they’d been wanting to try. The story goes that usually the lines were out the door, but since it was a night that is usually dominated by reservations at fine dining establishments we expected we’d be able to get right in. They were right. The place is on south congress, which in recent years has grown on me. I’ll pretend it has nothing to do with the fact that I enjoy just kicking back now instead of putting on my party shoes, but I would just be pretending. The space is pretty Spartan, open air, concrete floors, wood and metals abound. You open the door and the smell of their buns hit you like a freight train. Warm, delish, fresh baked breads. You just can’t beat that...

there's no burgers this week...but something a little different. First let me give you some background on me. At different points in my life, acceptance by others has meant either everything or nothing to me. In high school, I was who I was, love or hate me, I was simply who I was. Part of it was because I neither realized people could not like me, simply for being alive nor even thought about it. I was naïve, but happy. In college, I started out the same but quickly found that people rarely needed reasons to dislike you. I had always started out liking everyone. Even if I disagreed with what they did or their beliefs, I had no reason to be mean. It was a wide world; couldn’t we all just play nice? Further, even those that once liked you could suddenly turn against you with little reason. It rocked my world, and hurt me deeply. I would have understood if I had done something to another person, but the unreasonable pain caused by people who barely knew me began to change me. I reall...

I was hungry. It was over the holidays so there was no work. Thus the idea to go for the second burger in a week was born. T and I had been to Langford’s after the Race for the Cure last year but only for breakfast. I’m not sure about all the history of this place (that in and of itself is likely an entire blog) but it’s been a staple in the west of downtown neighborhood for quite some time. They don’t take anything other than cash and they don’t stay open past 3pm, because… they simple don’t have to. The plastic table cloths change with the seasons, seeing as it was Christmas we were treated to a variety of snowmen, snowflakes and various holiday themes. Diners, Drive-In’s and Dives has made an appearance here and they proudly display their poster signed by Guy himself. Furthermore, don’t expect them to actually have ‘Groceries’ here, unless they are the type your grandpa would refer to (as in, ‘woman, I’m hungry, feed me my groceries’). All that being said, their burger is one that i...

I don’t even know if Branchwater is on ‘THE’ list, and yes, I’m too lazy to go check right now. But, man, I’m so glad I tried their burger. We had made plans to hit up BRC with another couple but the lords of burger fate said it wasn’t meant to be. BRC wasn’t open yet for the day (I mean COME on, it was maybe 4:30 on a Saturday) so looking across the street we decided rather than drive further, we’d just test out Branch Water. I’d been there for drinks and had loved the dark inside. It’s decorated in a way that I imagine a classy speakeasy to be, the leather club chairs and rich green wallpaper just smack of dim lit, back room elegance. They have a good selection of wines, beers and the recently popular ‘mixologist’ drinks. It was a cold night, so I opted for a whisky drink blended with lavender. Can’t say that I regretted that choice. The menu is a bit overwhelming, it just all appears insanely good – bacon wrapped shrimp and grits, texas quail stuffed with foie gras, kobe flat iron ...

I will say that I am more than a little embarrassed... I will leave out how long ago it was that we went to Hefley's just to spare myself some but, it's safe to say that it was around election time. eek. The Mr and I had heard alot about Helfey's. Michael Berry talks about it a good deal and I've driven past it about a million times. I think the location is adorable and have loved what they did with the old building so I was interested to see the inside. I had come home from work and needed a burger fix. It was actually a little cool outside so, some place with access to open air was also a plus. T and I figured it was time to get it a try. I really liked the feeling of the place when we walked in, lots of wood, lots of tv's and a low key group of regulars scattered around. It was pretty empty but it was an early week night (Mon or Tues) so it made for a nice break from the normal crowded dinner places. We found a table by the open doors and plopped down in front of...