More Food Blogging
I sure hope you've had lunch already!
My my my! That was a tasty lunch. So good I gotta tell you all about it!
I'm pretty sick of all the eating establishments in the downtown tunnels near my building. I'm either burnt out on them, the food really sucks, or the employees are buttheads. I'll make an exception for the new Thai place nearby, but I'm limiting myself to eating there no more than once a week, lest I burn out on that too. I'm not sure one *can* burn out on their Panang Beef, but I'm not willing to risk it!
Rather than make another lunch out of microwave popcorn or my emergency stash of Starkist Herb & Garlic Tuna, I thought I'd venture up the north tunnel and see if the salad bar restaurant was crowded or not.
Naturally, the rabbit food place was stuffed full as a tick, but the line was really short at the Cajun takeout place called Treebeards.
It's weird, when you think about it. We've got a plethora of pseudo-Tolkien-related restaurants in Houston, and they've all been here for quite a while. I'd expect that sort of thing in Austin or San Francisco or NYC, but not here! Anyway, there's five locations of Treebeards, and a sandwich shop called the Hobbit Hole. I ought to open up Gollum's Sushi Shack and Beorn's Mead Hall just to add to the fun. Maybe even Farmer Giles' Spiral Sliced Ham, Maggot's Mushrooms, Shelob's Dried Meat Emporium, or Boromir's Shishkabob Grill. (ouch, that last one was was awful!!)
I got the baked catfish with the shrimp etouffee topping, a side of broccoli with shallots and a side of mustard greens. I had skipped breakfast, as usual, so I added a small side of red beans and rice to round things out.
Now, I'm sitting here trying not to nod off after that awesome feed. The catfish was perfect, and aside from the nasty piece of okra that invaded my food carton, the etouffee topping was good. The broccoli was a little limp, but the grilled shallots more than made up for that. The red beans & rice were perfectly acceptable, though I do like mine a bit spicier. They came with a length of Cajun sausage as big as my... well, it was sizable. Let's just leave it at that.
The greens... oh, man, let me just stop here to mop up the saliva flow. I prefer collards or turnip greens, but these mustard greens were perfectly fine. The pot liquor (or pot likker, if you're a hick) was both plentiful and tasty in the styrofoam cup the greens were served in, and best of all were two sizable shrimpies that were tucked in all that green leafy goodness.
All that, and a giant chunk off of a loaf of fresh french bread, real butter, and a free glass of iced tea came to $10 and change. Pricy for a lunch, but well worth it.
Hmmmm... now I got to go get a big mess o' greens, and cook 'em up with a ham hock or two this weekend. Maybe some onions and garlic tossed in for more flavor, and some vinegar/pepper sauce to drip on top. Definitely some cornbread to throw in the bottom of the bowl to catch all the juice. I'll bet that pot liquor aroma will pull folks in from 10 miles out!
My my my! That was a tasty lunch. So good I gotta tell you all about it!
I'm pretty sick of all the eating establishments in the downtown tunnels near my building. I'm either burnt out on them, the food really sucks, or the employees are buttheads. I'll make an exception for the new Thai place nearby, but I'm limiting myself to eating there no more than once a week, lest I burn out on that too. I'm not sure one *can* burn out on their Panang Beef, but I'm not willing to risk it!
Rather than make another lunch out of microwave popcorn or my emergency stash of Starkist Herb & Garlic Tuna, I thought I'd venture up the north tunnel and see if the salad bar restaurant was crowded or not.
Naturally, the rabbit food place was stuffed full as a tick, but the line was really short at the Cajun takeout place called Treebeards.
It's weird, when you think about it. We've got a plethora of pseudo-Tolkien-related restaurants in Houston, and they've all been here for quite a while. I'd expect that sort of thing in Austin or San Francisco or NYC, but not here! Anyway, there's five locations of Treebeards, and a sandwich shop called the Hobbit Hole. I ought to open up Gollum's Sushi Shack and Beorn's Mead Hall just to add to the fun. Maybe even Farmer Giles' Spiral Sliced Ham, Maggot's Mushrooms, Shelob's Dried Meat Emporium, or Boromir's Shishkabob Grill. (ouch, that last one was was awful!!)
I got the baked catfish with the shrimp etouffee topping, a side of broccoli with shallots and a side of mustard greens. I had skipped breakfast, as usual, so I added a small side of red beans and rice to round things out.
Now, I'm sitting here trying not to nod off after that awesome feed. The catfish was perfect, and aside from the nasty piece of okra that invaded my food carton, the etouffee topping was good. The broccoli was a little limp, but the grilled shallots more than made up for that. The red beans & rice were perfectly acceptable, though I do like mine a bit spicier. They came with a length of Cajun sausage as big as my... well, it was sizable. Let's just leave it at that.
The greens... oh, man, let me just stop here to mop up the saliva flow. I prefer collards or turnip greens, but these mustard greens were perfectly fine. The pot liquor (or pot likker, if you're a hick) was both plentiful and tasty in the styrofoam cup the greens were served in, and best of all were two sizable shrimpies that were tucked in all that green leafy goodness.
All that, and a giant chunk off of a loaf of fresh french bread, real butter, and a free glass of iced tea came to $10 and change. Pricy for a lunch, but well worth it.
Hmmmm... now I got to go get a big mess o' greens, and cook 'em up with a ham hock or two this weekend. Maybe some onions and garlic tossed in for more flavor, and some vinegar/pepper sauce to drip on top. Definitely some cornbread to throw in the bottom of the bowl to catch all the juice. I'll bet that pot liquor aroma will pull folks in from 10 miles out!
posted by El Capitan | 2:50 PM
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