From August 8-12, 2008, Wendy & I were in lovely Houston Texas to attend the wedding of a friend of mine. Why they chose to get married in TEXAS in AUGUST is beyond me, but we had a great time despite the oppressive heat and humdity!

Our flights were short and uneventful and we landed in Houston’s Hobby Airport with the entire day stretching out ahead of us. We got our rental car and headed to the hotel, the La Quinta Inn on West Loop South, in the city’s swanky Galleria district. We didn’t expect to be able to get into our room since we were several hours early for their 3:00pm check-in. We were pleasantly suprised that Paul, the front desk clerk, allowed us to go right up. The La Quinta Inn was much nicer than we expected. It had a nice pool and hot tub, and the room was clean, interestingly laid-out (not just a box), and included a mini-fridge and a microwave. We got settled into our room and then went out to find some lunch.

I’d done some research on dining options in Houston (B4-U-EAT was very helpful) and we had made some dinner reservations (NOÉ and Feast) and decided against various restaurants (Cafe Annie, Mark’s American, The Grove, DaMarco, Dolce Vita, etc) for various reasons. However, as we were driving toward our original lunch destination that day, I spotted Cafe Annie. We pulled in to get some lunch only to be informed that they weren’t open yet that day. Wendy & I went and did a little shopping for stuff we’d forgotten and then headed back to Cafe Annie for a really enjoyable lunch and a nice culinary introduction to Houston.

Cafe Annie is an elegant place, once you’re inside. From the outside, where it sits at the end of a strip mall, it looks a little dilapidated. Walking up to the doors, we were a little nervous. But once inside, there are comfortable banquettes surrounded by rich wood and brass trimmings, and padded tables set with table linens and nice silver. Professionally attired servers and bussers move silently through the room.

We were seated in a corner table on the raised perimeter of the room, overlooking the entire dining room. Shortly, we were served an amuse bouche of salmon salad with a spicy sauce on a small thin square of fresh jicama. We ordered soups — Wendy had tortilla soup and I had roasted corn soup. Both were very tasty. For my entree, I had the Wood Grilled Salmon with BBQ Guajillo Chile Sauce, which was absolutely delicious. The salmon was perfectly prepared — just a touch translucent on the inside — and the Guajillo Chile sauce was piquant without overpowering the flavor of the fish. The entree was served with a very fresh roasted corn salad. Wendy enjoyed her Redfish Roasted in Banana Leaf with Artisan White Grits very much — the fish was tender and delicious, and the white grits were outstanding. The entire experience at Cafe Annie was very pleasant. I’m glad we were able to eat there!

That evening, we dined at NOÉ (pronounced “no-weh“, shockingly (and inappropriately) close to “no way“) at the Omni Houston Hotel, again surprisingly close to our hotel. Finding the restaurant makes you forget that you’re in the middle of a giant city. The huge red sign outside the hotel is easy enough to spot, but you wind your way back quite a distance down their long driveway before coming upon the lobby entrance. You feel like you’ve driven well out of the city and are miles away. Inside the lobby, the Omni is very impressive. The entrance to NOÉ is off to the left side of the lobby, and walking through their doors transports you again from the bustling lobby (which was hosting a noisy wedding reception) into a quiet, calm, and welcoming restaurant with modern touches.

As I recount our courses, please excuse any name errors — I am reading from the scribbled shorthand notes provided to us by the waiter. (It is another opportunity for the restaurant to impress customers with the level of service when the request to “keep track of what we eat and drink” is taken seriously! The shorthand notes are acceptable to me, but a “civilian” diner might not like them. There is nothing like a beautifully printed, dated menu of food & wine to send with the guests.)

• Amuse Bouche: Gazpacho shooter
• Tuna Tartare with Pineapple, Avocado, Cilantro, and Soya, paired with a Jenna Reisling
• Roasted Sea Scallops with Forest Mushrooms, Vidalia Onions, and Crispy Parsley paired with Sterling Sauvignon Blanc
• Pan Roasted Salmon with Pasta Pearls, Baby Spinach, Grape Tomatoes, and Basil Broth paried with Bargo Macredo Pinot Nero (this wine was a real standout)
• Braised Beef Short Rib with Baby Leeks, Horseradish Soubise, Carrots, and the delicious Braising Jus paired with an Edna Valley Cabernet Sauvignon. Gosh, do I love short ribs. I know they’re the trendy food right now, but goshdarnit, they deserve to be.
• a fairly pedestrian cheese course with three selections paired with a nice 20-year old Floodgate Tawny Port
• Creme Brulee with Ellio Perron Rose Moscato di’Uva.

It was a wonderful meal! Chef Steven Musolf came out and chatted with us for a while after dinner. It was nice to meet him — he’s a young guy, very passionate about food (he recently — and controversially — took foie gras off his menu), and quite talented.

Our chief complaint (one of only a few — for example, I wish they had foie gras on the menu though Chef Steven was able to articulate their reasons for not having it in a convincing way) was that the place was essentially empty the entire time we were there on a Friday evening. We saw just a few other diners during our meal, and were significantly outnumbered by the number of staff running around trying to look busy. I don’t understand that… The restaurant is very good, the prices are reasonably within fine-dining standards, the hotel is posh, & parking is easy (valet). Plus, the chef is new (he arrived in May). I think the place should be packed with local foodies checking it out. And it’s worth it. After a tremendously enjoyable and relaxing dinner, we headed back to the hotel and to bed after a busy day.

The next day was the wedding of Tucker and Patience. We woke up in the morning, went for a dip in the hotel’s pool, and then went to the church (which wasn’t far from our hotel) a bit early. We were the first guests there, followed shortly by Nora, the next-door-neighbor of Tuck & Patience. After chatting with her for a few minutes, a long-haired guy in a tuxedo came out. I thought he was Tucker (we’ve been email friends for over 6 years but had never met in person), so I jokingly asked him for a kiss. The guy’s eyes went really wide, and he looked very confused, at which point I said, “You’re not Tucker.” He quickly agreed, informing me that he was, in fact, NOT Tucker and was the best man. Embarassed, I asked him to take me to Tucker. I went back to the groom’s ready-room to find Tucker standing, nervous. I talked to him for a few minutes before assessing that he was far too focused on the upcoming nuptials to be a sparkling conversationalist, so I excused myself and went out to the sanctuary.

Their wedding was very nice — understated and intimate. Patience appeared just a little petrified as she walked down the aisle, but still managed to look stunningly beautiful in her dress. Tucker did NOT lock his knees and, therefore, did NOT pass out (though he was sweating up a storm!).

At the end of the wedding, we followed the caravan of people to a lovely house for a reception with cake, champaigne, and all manner of snacks, including our first taste of true Tex-Mex fajitas. Delicious! While there, we learned that if you’re a young Texan, you stand outside in the heat & humidity. If you’re an older Texan, you stay inside in air-conditioned comfort. Wendy & I drifted back and forth from inside to outside, and that was reasonable. We also learned a new (drinking) game — The Name Game, the rules of which are as follows:

• Go around in a circle in one direction. One person starts with a name, for example, “Johnny Rotten”.
• The next person says a name beginning with the first letter of the last name you said (”R”, in this case, resulting in “Robert Goulet”, followed by “George Thoroughgood”). You must be actively drinking while thinking of the name. Real, living, dead, fictional — it doesn’t matter as long as another person backs you up on the name.
• If it’s a double-letter name (”Tommy Tune”) or a single name (”Zeus”), then the direction reverses, which allows for “battles” between two players.

It’s really easy, a lot of fun, and FINALLY provides an outlet for all your esoteric band-member names or comic-book hero names.

A day or so later (Wendy & I somewhat holed-up and swam, watched Olympics, and were lazy, so time is a blur), Tucker & Patience joined us for dinner at FEAST, a 3-month-old restaurant in Houston for a delicious dinner celebrating their marriage. It was their first time expreriencing fine dining, so it was very exciting to watch them, and the fine folks at FEAST took outstanding care of us.

We started with Sweetbread and Pea Soup (though we didn’t tell Tucker or Patience what sweetbreads were until after they tried them (and loved them!) — don’t worry; we weren’t being deceptive… Tucker & Patience told us to encourage them to try new things and they were real troopers about it!). The soup was pureed and finished with a handful of fresh peas thrown in for texture and color, and the sweetbreads were a delicious replacement for a crouton garnish. A second starter of Roast Pork Belly with Radish and Orange Salad was lovely. I am so happy pork belly is appearing on more menus… Two of my favorite things (pig and roasted meat) are involved! The weakest dish of the evening was the Duck Liver Pate, which had a too-soft texture and was overly liver-y. Throughout the evening, we enjoyed two wines… Macon-Villages Old Vine Unoaked Chardonnay (2006) and Albert Bichot Bourgogne Pinot Noir (2006).

We moved on to our entrees… Wendy had the Lamb Shank with Kale and Roasted Potatoes, perfectly prepared and cooked. I had the Pork Cheeks, Duchess Potatoes, and Red Cabbage with Apples, which was delightfully fatty (perhaps too much so if you weren’t expecting it, but if you’re not expecting it, what are you doing ordering this dish?!) and extremely tasty. Tucker & Patience both enjoyed their Smoked Salmon, Bacon and Scallop Pie, Topped with Mash and served with Braised Leeks. Tucker called it “a bowl full of awesome”, and I do believe he was correct. The braised leeks combined two of my other favorites — braising and leeks — (though I particularly adore fried leeks (take note, future culinary students of mine!)).

We were pleasantly surprised when the server brought out a lovely Summer Berry Pavlova to commemorate their wedding day (a pavlova! in Houston! in August! — check that out, Joanne!), and we added a scoop or two of the outstanding Treacle Toffee Ice Cream to round out the excellent meal. A visit from Chef Richard completed the evening, and we headed home, full but tired.

The next day, Wendy & I explored Rice University, the Houston Zoo, and the Houston Museum of Natural Science. All were excellent (though the Zoo in August was a sweaty experience!). Lunch was at Mi Luna (against the protestations of one of my students, Rice alum Miguel, who encouraged us to RUN!). We bravely chose not to heed his warning and were rewarded with a very nice brunch.

For dinner that evening, we decided to lay low, near the hotel, and ended up at California Pizza Kitchen. After eating their frozen products for so long, it was nice to enjoy it fresh-from-the-oven. The next day, we had lunch with Tucker & Patience at one of their favorite TexMex places (delicious brisket tacos!) before heading to the airport for the ride home.

It was a great trip. We really enjoyed the food, the company, and the wedding.

We joined our friends Bob & Sharon for a comfortable meal at Outback Steakhouse, their pick. We really like Bob & Sharon. After our meal — I had the chopped blue cheese salad, steamed broccoli, and a 7-ounce filet — Wendy commented that they’re really easy people to talk with.

It was a nice evening, quiet amid the flurry of activity that is the holiday season.

We left the hotel at 9:00am (their time) to travel back from Kentucky.

In the evening, we attended the fourth annual craft party at Dave & Robin’s house, attended by Dave, Robin, Cheryl, Danny, Holly, Wendy, and Drew. We made candle cozies, little beaded Christmas trees, and beady candy canes. It was fun, but if you ask me about it in front of people, I’ll lie to your face. It’s just not very macho.

Dinner was at their place, and consisted of pizza rolls, bagel bites, and holiday snacks.

Tonight, I went with Paul & Julie to dinner at Pappadeaux. I had Crab Cakes and a couple beers.

It was a very sad event, since Paul is leaving for a new job in South Bend, Indiana on Wednesday. His attention must soon exclusively turn to the details of packing and moving himself, his six guitars, a fat dog, and all his other possessions 4 hours away, to a town he does not know. But, tonight we took the time to quietly (and at times boisterously) reminisce about our 18-year friendship. Since I’ve known him, Paul has lived in the same state, city, or house with me. This will be the first time in our long friendship that we’re not in the same areacode.

An understatement: I’ll miss Paul very much.

In many respects this opportunity is the best thing that could happen for him and comes at a time where he is uniquely positioned to take advantage of it. I am envious. All the good prospects in the world cannot dull the fact that my best friend is moving away. A friendship like ours is rare — I was the best man at his wedding, he at mine. We’ve been through good times and bad times, thankfully more of the former and a smaller helping of the latter. He’s a constant pain, an endless challenge, and just about the best friend anyone could ask for. I am grateful for the years we’ve spent together, and though our friendship will change as a result of this move, I expect it to continue. I know that it will.

Bon voyage, Paul!

Six years ago tonight, our friends Holly & Ed got married in a lovely wedding that we attended. Tonight, a group of us — most of whom were at the wedding six years ago — met to celebrate their anniversary with Holly, Ed, and their two children Piper & Colin.

Ted, Ron, Tracy, Ken, Dave, Robin, Jay, Debbie, and I met at Jimmy’s BBQ in Hartwell only to discover that it closed for business — yesterday! Quickly coming up with new plans, we ended up at Jim Dandy’s BBQ on Sharon Road, closer to my house, for delicious smokey BBQ, pulled pork, and side items like collard greens in vinegar (yum), macaroni and cheese, and corn bread. Everything was very good, and their sauces were tasty, too. We had a nice time talking and being together, though Wendy didn’t go because I think she’s got the same crud that made me feel like crap on toast last week.

Happy Anniversary Holly & Ed!

Wendy & I went to dinner with Bob (who is also celebrating a birthday today — Happy Birthday, Bob!) and Sharon to the Cheesecake Factory.

We set to meet there at 6:30 and Wendy & I were right on time — arriving at 6:30. We glanced around the restaurant but didn’t see Bob & Sharon, so we put our names in and settled in for a short wait. We were notified that our table was ready at 6:50, but Bob & Sharon still hadn’t shown up. As we were walking to our table, Wendy spotted Sharon, who had actually arrived at 6:00 and were seated in a booth wondering where we were!

Happily reunited, we enjoyed our meals… Wendy had Bang-Bang Chicken & Shrimp (A Spicy Thai Dish with the Flavors of Curry, Peanut, Chile and Coconut. Sauteed with Vegetables and Served over Rice) that was very good. “My favorite dish at the restaurant,” said Wendy. I had Pasta Puttanesca which was also very good.

We shared a slice of Dulce de Leche Cheesecake for dessert (Bob & Wendy’s desserts came with candles and a song from the restaurant staff). It was very nice, and very filling!

Another beautiful day, two more awesome dives… We got to the dive shop early and received scowls from Steffi, one of the dive shop employees who we really connected with. We’d promised to bring her a cappucino and completely forgot.

Our dives took us to Tortugas, where the sea turtles are and later to Paamul.

Tortugas was the first time I’ve ever seen Wendy descend easily. Normally, she has significant trouble with her ears and equalization, but on this dive, she went down at a normal rate. We had a 49 minute dive with Mikey as our instructor and Dan & Scott from St. Louis on the dive with us. Dan was quite possibly the worst diver I’ve ever seen — he constantly swam with his arms forgetting that they’re all but useless under water and was so multi-level it was unreal — and we’ve seen some doozies. We saw tons of Hawksbill Turtles, Cowfish, and, after both Dan & Scott were cut, we saw a school of GIANT Tarpin during our safety stop.

After dives, we hung out at the dive shop and talked with the gang a bit, and then went to the pier to swim. Toro, one of the dive shop assistants, came to the pier with loads of fish food and threw it on the wading Wendy, attracting loads of fish to torment her. Being the gentleman, I tossed Toro into the water and threw food on him. After that, he and I got into a language-barrier splash contest. We had lunch and happy hour with Dawn & Jon, a super-cool couple we met down there. They live in Ohio, and pretty close to us, so we’re sure to see them again!

Wendy & I then went to the Mexican restaurant for dinner, which I wrote about here. After dinner, we went straight to bed because Thursday was going to be a big day. A really big day!

We got up early today, and with a purpose… We were diving this morning, with two dives — one to Canyones and one to another very close dive site. Grabbed breakfast at the buffet (fruit, bread, yogurt, cereal, and some meats & cheeses) and then headed to the dive shop where we met Jochen, our divemaster, and Majo our videographer.

Our gear was quickly loaded on the boat and we got all hooked up to check our pressures. My tank was a little bit low, so Jochen called for a replacement and we waited a few minutes for the new tank to be brought. I checked the pressure and it was fine, but in my haste, I forgot to connect my inflator hose the second time. This would come back to be embarassing in a few moments at the dive site. Because we were a very small group of customers, we were taken to a first dive site very close to the shore — probably less than 10 minutes out. We Jacques Cousteau’d off the side of the boat and were into the water in no time. Expecting a less-than-satisfactory dive based on the placement, we were pleasantly surprised at how clear and vibrant the site was as we started our descent. By the time we got to depth, I tried to inflate my hose and found that it wasn’t hooked up. Staring at it dumbly for a moment, Jochen came over and with a look of “dumbass” in his eye, calmly hooked me up and I was good to go.

Our dive was fairly uneventful after my inflator hose issue, though Wendy had a brief moment of her own. We saw a Hawksbill Turtle, 2 spotted Eagle Rays, one Green Turtle, black durgan, parrotfish, queen angels, squid, barracuda, and pufferfish on this dive, which lasted 49 minutes.

After a decent surface interval (we actually came back to the shore, got dried off, had lunch, and reported back to the boat), we went back out to Cuevitas/Angelitas for the second dive. Mikey, the manager of the dive shop, decided to be our divemaster this time. The shop was very slow, so they were ’sharing the wealth’ of two self-sufficient divers. We dove with a guy called Bill who was pretty random underwater, sort of fun to watch him flail around as Wendy & I were calm, collected divers. He got cut pretty early, which was no surprise since he was all over the place, and Mikey, Wendy, and I enjoyed a full 50-minute dive. In Bill’s defense, he was a quarry diver enjoying his first-ever ocean dive.

After the dives, we came back to get cleaned up and hung out at the pool and the bar with Jon & Dawn. Dinner was Asian-themed at the buffet, and the sushi was actually pretty good — especially one that was wrapped around the outside with cream cheese.

Today, we rose early — about 7:30 — since the sun comes up and is ferociously bright by 7:00am. We made our way down to the buffet for breakfast, which, to Wendy’s delight, included fresh fried doughnuts. Breakfast was yogurt, scrambled eggs, cereal with milk, fresh fruit, sausage, and of course a fried doughnut.

After breakfast, we made our way back to the room to get changed, then went swimming by the dock for a while, enjoying the fish that live nearby. Soon, one of the small boats — either the dive boat or the snorkel boat — pulled up nearby and told everyone assembled that there was a nurse shark just over there, within snorkeling distance. Wendy and a few others went off in search of it while Drew stayed by the dock.

The nurse shark was never found, but we also learned that there was a barricuda near the pink bouy just over the other way, and most of the water crew snorkeled over to see it, which they did. Wendy reports that it’s a big sucker — about 5 feet long, and “fat as a sausage”. He guards the pink bouy, it seems.

We ate lunch at the beach cantina with Jon & Dawn, and sat and talked with them for a few hours, enjoying the breeze, the beautiful scenery, and the occasional beer or two. The four of us then went to the pool for a while before heading to the resort’s hot tub where we sat for a bit longer.

Cleaned up and hungry again (though we have no right to be), we went to the Seafood buffet for dinner, which is written up here.

We arose at the ungodly hour of 3:30am to get into the car and go to the airport. The only thing that could rouse us is the promise that, in a few short hours, we’d be in sunny Mexico, on the Mayan Riviera, sipping frosty Banana Republics out of large glasses at the Barcelo.

We made it to the airport with no problem — it is always amazing to see the amount of traffic on the streets at that hour — after stopping by McDonald’s for a breakfast of McGriddles (God smiled the day McGriddles were invented).

Our plane was on time and full. The young man in the seat next to Drew smelled like he hadn’t been home all night, and his actions (getting up to puke three times before we even took off) confirmed the suspicion.

The carrier, USA3000, is quite impressive. They provide a juice service, a full breakfast (a sausage-egg-and-cheese muffin with a fruit cup), beverage service, delicious snack cakes near the end of the flight, and free headsets for the in-flight movie (HOUSE OF D on the way there and HOOT on the way home). The fact that our headset jacks didn’t work did little to dampen our impression of the airline. We rested as much as the puking row-mate would permit until the plane landed.

At the baggage claim, we met Buddy & Jenny when Buddy asked if Drew worked at Keebler (Drew was wearing a thrift-store Keebler shirt) and we struck up a conversation. Customs was a breeze and we were on the bus in no time. After a long wait, during which we met Dawn & Jon and ran into Jenny & Buddy, our bus took off for our resort. An uneventful 90 minutes later, the bus arrived at the Barcelo and we stepped off into the tropical beauty of the place. There are loads of photos in our gallery of the resort and grounds from our previous trip to Mexico.

Our room wasn’t going to be ready until 3:00, so we accepted our wristbands (which identify us as guests of the resort) and wandered around the resort. We had lunch in the buffet and took a walk around, finally ending up at the dive shop where we were happily surprised to see Edgar, who had been our dive guide when we were there two years ago. He was preparing to go on vacation (to answer the question I’m sure you’re asking — “Where do people who work in paradise go for vacation?” — the answer is Scotland), so we didn’t get to dive with him this time.

We finally got our room, room 5388, around 3:00 — the third floor of Sayil, which is the best building to be in if you’re a diver because it’s the closest to the dive shop in the ‘low rent’ district (the old section of the resort), so it’s inexpensive and convenient. I think even more ideal might be something in the 5120-30 range, but 5388 is still good — it’s at the far end away from the beach and walking the length of the building time & again each day gets tiring. We learned that the resort was only 4% occupied this week (a nice surprise for us since we really like low season without the crowds), and in fact one of the new buildings was completely closed down and without any occupants — the lights were off and everything — so we wondered why it took so long to get our room ready. Ah well. Once we got in, we found the room to be cold and comfortable, just like usual. We called down for a mattress topper (the resort will throw a 2-inch foam pad on their rock hard mattress if you ask) and set to getting settled in.

After unpacking and getting organized, we headed back to the dive shop to plan our dives. We planned to do a total of four dives in two days — not a lot of diving, but we had something else in mind, too… We watched a Whale Shark video and, in a staggering display of spontaneity, Wendy & I decided to sign up to snorkel on Tuesday with Whale Sharks. We then headed to the newly-reconstructed pier (it was a rickety wooden thing before and is now a concrete beauty) for a bit of swimming, then to the lobby bar where I had my first-and-last michelada, an awful combination of beer, lime juice, worchestershire sauce, and salt & pepper. If you think it sounds bad, it tasted even worse than it sounds. Truly nasty.

We had dinner at the Italian-themed buffet with Buddy & Jenny, then hit the sack by 9:30.