Jinya Ramen Bar

Jinya Ramen Bar

After one of our Texas Showdown meetings, we all headed for a team dinner at Jinya Ramen in Downtown Houston.  This was the second location in town, the first being out by Nasa.  The chain is originally from California, and is pretty highly regarded.

I ordered a combo, which is not necessary unless you're a big eater.  This was my first meal of the day so I went for it.  This was just a basic salad with miso dressing.  Nothing too fancy about it.

There are different options for the combos, karage, among other items can be chosen.  I went with gyoza.  Not bad, tasty, standard appetizer fare.

Here is the main course.  I went with Tonkotsu Black.  I think I've had this more often than not when I go to either of the two locations.  I've tried a couple of other flavors, but I always end up liking this one more.  What makes it different from other Tonkotsu recipes?  I have no idea to be honest.  The broth is thick and tasty, the noodles are done well, the pork & the egg are done well.  I really love the nori sitting in the bowl.  I always save it at the end once its totally sopped up the broth, its amazing.

I've been here enough times to know what I like and don't really need to experiment.  I'm hooked on Tonkotsu ramen, so its always going to be Tonkotsu Black whenever I go to Jinya.

Ramen Jin

Ramen Jin

Ramen Jin was one of the first ramen shops to open up in Houston, and it's been a while since I last ate here.  I figured it was time to give another shot and see if I liked it any better than last time.  Vicinity wise, it's right off Westheimer and Wilcrest, across the street from Nippon Daido and Genjis.  Definitely a prime location for such a restaurant.

 

For starters, I went with takoyaki.  They have all the usual appetizers, gyoza, karage, and this dish.  Most places tend to give out 5 or 6 pieces, so the 4 I got here is a little less than average, but since I was by myself it wasn't a big deal.  The food was very tasty though, nice and crispy outside, soft and not too chewy inside.

The main event though was the ramen.  I got my favorite tonkotsu ramen as usual.  So to start with the positives, the pork belly was excellent, noodles were ok.  The not so positives, broth was not very tasty, like it looks like its full flavored and creamy, but its kind of an illusion.  Like it was kind of tasty, but watered down.  Definitely not the best I've had.  The rest of the dish, the egg was meh, the veggies were fine, but how would you mess that up?  Overall, not good, which is about the same way I felt about it when I ate there last time when it was only them and Tiger Den.

I don't know if I'll ever come back here since there are so many other ramen shops open now.  But those that are interested in trying it, I deem this as a spot you go to if you're in a hurry and really just want some kinda noodles.

Mellow Mushroom

Mellow Mushroom

It's been a month or so since I've added a new entry, but I've definitely been eating.  I'm going to put some of them up this week while I'm not so busy.  First up is a pizza chain called Mellow Mushroom. More of a higher end pizza joint, this place boasts a fresh made pizza with a huge variety of ingredients.  That also means it takes longer for your pizza to bake.  But there are appetizers and a full bar to take your mind off the wait. 

Speaking of appetizers, gotta go with the stuffed portabella at a place called Mellow Mushroom.  Packed with cheese and veggies and topped on a leafy salad, this was a packed starter that should be shared instead of eating solo like I did.

Main course, the pizza.  Came in three different sizes, the personal, regular, and large.  This right here is the personal size.  The pizza itself was probably enough for me, but with the appetizer I only hate half of the pie.  I ordered the house special, which pretty much is the works or supreme at other joints.  It was definitely better than your normal pizza, but you're also definitely paying more.

Overall it was a good place, the pizza was definitely good, the appetizer as well.  Others have told me that I should try the pretzel next time, and I wouldn't mind trying out a different type of pizza.  

Samurai Noodle

 Samurai Noodle

This Seattle chain opened up their Houston branch a while ago, and quickly became one of my favorite ramen stops.  While it's debatable for many as to which ramen reigns supreme in town, this is my blog so I don't care what other people say.  

For starters, the takoyaki at Samurai Noodle has always been one of my favorites.  Its texture is a crispy & lightly fried exterior, with a soft creamy interior surrounding a chewy piece of octopus.  Covered with onion and Japanese mayo, its a great dish to get your appetite ready for the main course.

The main course, as always, is Tonkotsu ramen.  I always end up coming back here just for this dish.  Tonkotsu ramen w/extra rich broth.  Its very basic, but very good.  I used to prefer getting spicy miso, or crazy duck garlic extra egg blah blah blah versions of ramen.  But after eating the authentic stuff in Japan, I've grown to appreciate just the simple tastes.  That said, Samurai Noodle has the closest taste to what I had in Tokyo with this dish.  

But like I said, this is my blog, so this is just my opinion.  There are plenty of ramen shops in town, and even more coming soon.  However, Samurai Noodle is still my go to shop when I'm just really wanting a good bowl of ramen and don't have to guess if its going to satisfy me or not.

Gatlin's BBQ

Gatlin's BBQ

Monday for lunch I was near the Heights area, and treated myself to one of my favorite BBQ joints, Gatlin's BBQ.  Widely considered to be one of the best in town, I absolutely love the fact that its only about 15-20 minutes away from me off Ella near the 610 loop.

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If it's barbecue, then I have to get the brisket. The fattier the better for me.  I'm sure everything else on the menu is awesome as well, but I'll stick to the brisket!  The fried okra was fine, and the creamed corn was really good for the sides, but the brisket is the obvious star here.  Thick, moist, and just melts in your mouth.  I preferred it plain without the bbq sauce, and their sauce is actually really good.  This plate right here cost about $14, not too bad, definitely worth it.

Sometimes there can be a long wait for the lunchtime crowd, but they also sometimes sell out.  I've yet to try Killen's BBQ out in Pearland, but Gatlin's is no slouch.  One day I'll try some of the other offerings, like the ribs, sausages, pulled pork, etc., but if you can only have one thing, definitely try the brisket.

Shake Shack

Shake Shack

The east coast burger joint finally hit the South with their new location in the Galleria.  After reading tweets and posts about the place I finally decided to try it out.  I met up with my buddy @WTHamad and waited in line(not too bad, maybe 10-15 min).

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Since Hamad was a veteran from their other locations, he pretty much steered me in the right direction.  Granted I had already made up my mind from the online menu, he swayed me towards getting the shake.  I got the Shake Stack(the cheeseburger combined with their mushroom burger), cheese fries, and holiday special peppermint shake.

Hamad suggested the smoke shack, but I'm happy I stuck with this shake stack burger.  It was a cheese burger topped with a fried portabella mushroom stuffed with cheese.  It definitely blew me away.  Another cool little detail is how the bun is closed on the bottom so it doesn't leak out.

So overall, the burger was amazing, the fries were solid, and the shake was good.  Its probably a little much to get all of that for one person, next time I'll probably skip the shake.  Its still pretty new, so expect lines, but it wasn't that bad of a wait and the food comes out pretty quick.  Definitely worth trying out, especially if you love burgers.

Polonia

Polonia 

So I stumbled upon this Polish restaurant as I was looking for something to do this afternoon.  Its pretty much one of the only restaurants in town that offers traditional Polish cuisine.  Since the only Polish food I've ever had was at a festival, I decided to try it out.

Bread w/Garlic Butter & Pork Jelly, Complementary Tomato soup.  Between 11am-3pm, Polonia offers complementary soup, it varies by day.  The tomato soup was pretty good, the bread was fresh, the pork jelly was interesting.

For the entree, I asked the waiter what they would recommend.  He told me the cabbage rolls were popular, as were the perogies.  I took his advice and ordered some of both.  You can either order a full plate of pierogies(9 count), or just individually.  Pierogies basically remind me of boiled dumplings.  There were three different kinds they gave me since I had no idea what to order.  One was cheese & potato, one had beef, and the other had sauerkraut & mushroom.  I think my favorite was the cheese & potato.  The cabbage rolls were ok, kind of bland compared to the pierogies though.

I decided to try their fruit pierogies for dessert.  I think its an acquired taste.  The boiled cooking process didn't seem to really enhance the flavor of the fruit stuffed dumplings.  Rather, it kind of made it bland to me.  If it weren't for the whip cream that accompanied the dish, I don't think I could have finished eating it.

Overall the dining experience was good.  The waitstaff was very nice and helped me order since I had no idea what to get.  The savory pierogies were all very tasty and flavorful, kind of kind a boiled version of empanadas.  The "sweet" ones, not so much.  Next time I'll just get the cheesecake.

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