St. Arnold's Beer Garden

St. Arnolds Brewery Beer Garden
2000 Lyons Ave
Houston, TX 77020
713.686.9494

www.saintarnold.com

Sunday - Wednesday: 11:00am - 10:00pm
Thursday - Saturday: 11:00am - 11:00pm

Tours: 1:00pm, 3:00pm, 5:00pm, and 7:00pm

In the local Houston beer scene St. Arnold's is the first to market and a mainstay in the local brewery scene.

A few months ago they launched their beer garden next to their brewery. It is an incredible space that really fosters a community atmosphere.

The Fire Emoji sauced wings were pleasantly spicy but not overwhelming. It is one of those menu items that goes well with beer. The menu tried to taunt me but it didn't realize I cab basically eat fire for breakfast. Meat wasn't fall of the bone but otherwise a good decision.

Between my appetizer and the rest of us it appeared we had a number of things to dip something into. We asked the server for a side of fries to share. 

One of us ordered the Fire Emoji Chicken Sandwich. There was a lot going on. The blue cheese and coleslaw are not a particular favorite flavor of mine. The chicken still had the crunch.

Bishops Burger felt like their namesake. It may seem like a standard double with cheese but two key ingredients set themselves apart. The arugula have it that sharp bitter taste and the bun was a good kind of toasted. I had to add the bacon for it is just habit for me.

One of our friends ran late and picked up a bratwurst. A beer brat is a must have if you are a brewery that has a beer garden. Really drove home the German ancestral roots beer has, beer and brat right?

The fries kinda overwhelmed the dishes across the board. I can see that since it is a beer driven place so its gotta be big, salty, starchy. One thing I learned is that there is no need to order fries to start. The serving portions on all the dishes is more than enough.

Breaking bread here will be fun and festive on more than a few occasions. This makes the cut.

- Eat HTX

Fluff Bake Bar Pop Up at Glitter Kareoke

Fluff Bake Bar Pop Up 

@ Glitter Karaoke

2621 Milam 

Houston, TX 77006

(713) 526-4900

http://www.glitterkaraoke.com/

Hours of Operation:

Tuesday 9:00pm - 2:00am

Wednesday  - Saturday 8:00pm - 2:00am

Sunday - Monday Closed 

Glitter Karaoke has been hosting pop ups in their Midtown establishment for a while now. It is a generous gesture to consistently offer opportunities to local culinary talent to chop up some good eats and break some seriously good bread. Every Thursday night has become a weekly treat.

This week Glitter hosted Rebecca Mason aka "Houston's Sugar Fairy". As I understand it she realized when she was a kid in Wyoming that baking was going to be her life, she got her culinary education at Le Cordon Bleu in Paris, got her experience in NYC, then made her way down here... well more to it than that but in a nut shell. and the Houston food scene is better for her in it!

It was the dinner I didn't know I needed. Having previously enjoyed all these things separately having it all at once was one amazing decision.

The deliciousness of fried chicken infused with the tandoori flavor is already great. Add the dutch crunch pastry and zing of the mango chutney I could have said it was more than enough.

I'm a glutton tho so next up was the Everything Bagel Dog Bites. The intense clusters of poppy seeds, sesame seeds, and flakes of spice wrapped around the all American hot dog bite. The mustard was definitely a little something extra to the everything.

"The fluffy crunch of the croissant and the savory brisket with mac & cheese is what I needed. I am happy." The fresh made croissant was stuffed with Muellers Brisket and Mrs. Wilsons Mac & Cheese. I don't know who Mrs. Wilson is but she is lovely for this.

Glitter Karaoke hosts another amazing pop up!

- Eat HTX 

Nancy's Hustle

Nancy's Hustle

2704 Polk St. 

Houston, TX 77003
346-571-7931

http://www.nancyshustle.com

Hours of Operation:
5:00pm - Midnight, Tuesday - Sunday

"I want to order everything" She exclaimed. Sharing experiences like this is always more enjoyable. Yes, I saw the menu too and indeed it could have been so. We decided to start with a few small plates and work our way down the menu. A few small plates, a couple of medium plates, one main large plate entree, etc. 

Started with the Nancy Cakes, Lamb Dumplings, and the Sourdough Bread with fermented butter doused with Chive Oil. 

Lamb Dumplings came out first. Over a bed of labneh, with spicy tomato vinaigrette and a lamb jus the dumplings were a feel good start. The thinly sliced garlic crisps over the top are a garlic lovers delight. 

Oh, the Nancy Cakes. "It's like you experience all the flavors separately but at the same time." She said. "Yes! The roe on the whipped butter. Again with the taking butter up a notch!"

There is something that sets cultured butter apart from the other butters. Butter enthusiasts will agree that a bit of chive oil put it over the top. My first thought, "Why haven't I done thing myself?". Well this is why we experience new things. These are the flavors that kick off the whole experience.  Fermented Butter is supposed to last a long while. Unfortunately it is so delicious it wont last that long once on the table.

Options continued to be plenty with the next round. Our server gave us her top two. "My favorites are the Lamb Tartare and the Duck Rillette." The Duck Garlic Sausage got my eye since garlic is just an amazing weakness of mine if incorporated properly. 

Never have I had Lamb Tartare before. Its probably the most tender melt in your mouth lamb I tasted in a while. The pairing of almonds and sesame seeds really gave it something a little extra. The fresh sesame bread was the edible vessel we needed. 

The Duck Garlic Sausage was my least favorite. Though I loved the braised boluga lentils and spicy sauerkraut I was not happy with the sausage compared to the rest of what we had so far. I really wanted the duck and garlic to be more apparent. 

Not all was lost. There was as duck entree. The Roasted Duck Breast L'Orange. Ducking great. roasted just right. the Gold Rice Grits surprised me. Perhaps I just don't eat Grits very often but I was happy with it. 

"You save room for dessert? What is your go to dessert?" as I was fishing for a reason to order something sweet. 

"Ice cream is my favorite." and I looked down and saw a Profiterole stuffed with Labneh Ice Cream. A tart yogurt turned ice cream.... with a blackberry sauce and pistachios which was crumbled and scattered about the plate. Tart, sweet, and savory. Yes, please. 

Billed as a modern bistro and wine bar Nancy's Hustle absolutely takes the dining experience up a couple of notches with a sprinkle of Mediterranean influence and alternative ingredients. Houston, this is a new American melting pot of cuisine.

- Eat HTX

Rudyard's British Pub

Rudyard's British Pub

2010 Waugh Drive

Houston, TX 77006

713-521-0521

http://www.rudyardspub.com

Hours of Operation:

11:30am - 2:00am 

40 years strong. Rudyard's has been a neighborhood mainstay patronized by Houston's music loving, brew drinking, good time having population. Recently Jordan Economy took the reigns in the kitchen. Rudz, as it is locally called, is already a beacon of local musicians, artists, and an amazing range of local brews. Now as of recent, it's got the fare to match. 

The furnishings are a hodgepodge of remnant furniture from churches, other restaurants, and maybe some outdated decor left over from the 80's. The benches inside are old pews. I walked by some high top tables that had old Joe's Crab Shack logos on them. 

Standard pub fare around here always seems to include chicken wings. A British pub with "Korean Wings" on the menu with Korean/Carolina BBQ Sauce? It was a must try. Saucy for sure. Served with tots...which had an elevated taste or maybe they just used a better amount of seasoning and salt. 

"I really want to try their chicken sandwich but its called 'White Girl Wasted' and I don't know how to feel about this as a guy" a friend of mine said. "Panko breaded chicken parm, remoulade, and scallion mustard in the description says we have to try". 

It was every bit as tastefully balanced as the menu reads. Sweet, savory, spicy all rolled into one. The crunchy texture of the over-sized panko breaded chicken breast is exactly as expected. 

"Wait, I see a Ruben Sandwich and i hear the corned beef is fall apart good". Indeed, the corned beef was fall apart good. It was a shame I had to split it. 

Burgers named after the street begs to be the item they want the neighborhood to be known for. This Waugh Burger may sound closer to that. "The bacon jam really sold me on it." My other friend we were having lunch with said. 

This might be the hidden lunch gem in Montrose. Hopefully not much longer. There is more than enough room to grow here. 

- Eat HTX