A progressive meal is where you go to more than one place for one meal. Some people like to do it by course: an appetizer at one eatery, the main course at another, dessert at a last place. My friends and I do it by what the restaurant is known for. This entry is the third (out of four) progressive stop of a lunch we had in Houston. If you missed the other entries here is a chronological list:

1. First stop: Niko Nikos
2. Second stop: Asia Market
3. Third stop: Straits

Photos used in this blog entry were taken by Thomas.

Straits

800 W Sam Houston Pkwy N
Ste 940
Houston, TX 77024

(713) 365-9922
www.straitsrestaurants.com/

If you click on their website, you’ll see that Straits also has a location in San Francisco, in Atlanta, and in San Jose. I’ve been to Straits before for drinks but have never thought to try their restaurant. Willis, a Houston foodie, recommended that we tried Straits because everything he’s had there he’s enjoyed. Specializing in Asian fusion, the restaurant certainly has a trendy and modern flair in both their cuisine and their atmosphere.

The Food

Our group of four ordered the Roti Prata, a pulled duck sandwich, and Indian street noodles.

Roti is a crisp griddled Indian Flatbread. It came with the a curry dipping sauce. My three eating buddies LOVED it. I thought it was good. It’s like eating puff pastry with a delicious dip and really, that’s hard to go wrong with. I like my carbs.

Pictured above is the slow roasted pulled duck sandwich that comes with a dipping sauce. Seriously, out of all the dishes we’ve tried that day (I’m also including a dinner that is not included in this lunch), if I could only have one thing over again it will be this pulled duck sandwich. It was heavenly. The Asian Slaw and Shiitake Au Jus with the pulled tender hearty duck, dipped into that sauce was such a powerful fusion. You could taste everything! All the flavors and textures contrasted in such a harmonious way that it’s STUNNING. Shit. I’m not kidding when I say of all the delicious food I had that day, if I could only have a repeat of one, it’ll be this sandwich. The fries, dusted with garlic and Parmesan, were a nice complement.

The Bathroom

One quality I realize I cherish in my friends is their ability to have fun (almost shamelessly). Thomas left us girls to use the bathroom and came back reporting that the bathroom was “awesome.” So we three girls left Thomas to check it out. To our utter childlike amusement, we were delighted that in addition to the hot pink lighting, the bathroom was also a UNISEX. Party in the bathroom! So we came back and fetched our boy, Thomas and proceeded to have a photo shoot.

All in all, I’m pretty impressed by Straits and cannot wait for my next opportunity to come back. (Again, for that pulled duck sandwich!)

Next up and last for this progressive series, dessert at Juicebox!

Last weekend, Thomas, Kim, and Jessica and I embarked on a progressive lunch in Houston. Except for the photo of him and Jessica, photos used in this blog entry were taken by Thomas.

A progressive meal is where you go to more than one place for one meal. Some people like to do it by course: an appetizer at one eatery, the main course at another, dessert at a last place. My friends and I do it by what the restaurant is known for. Follows is the list of entries in series in chronological order.

Progressive Series
1. First stop: Niko Nikos
2. Asia Market
3. Straits

Asia Market

1010 W Cavalcade St Ste D
Houston, TX 77009
(713) 863-7074
asiamarket-hou.com

Asia Market was actually Willis’s recommendation and was supposed to be our last stop of a progressive meal the previous time we did a progressive in Houston. Willis took Thomas and me there but they were closed for Thanksgiving. You can see Willis’s review of Asia Market here. He wanted us to try the pastry puffs that were stuffed with curried chicken. (Willis couldn’t join us again this round because he went to LA. Funny, Thomas came to Houston from LA and Willis went to LA from Houston.)

Our little eating group of four trekked to Asia Market after our satisfying tasting at Niko Nikos. We each had a curry pastry (priced at under 4 dollars for a box of 4) and we sat our bottoms down at the very modest Asia Market and nibbled. We even shared a Dragon Fruit drink. I’ve confirmed with my parents that I’ve never had Dragon Fruit, a tropical fruit you can find in Asia. Very seedy, that fruit.

Yes. Kim and I totally inadvertently wore the exact same outfit. Leather jacket, leather boots, jeans, and striped shirt. What?

The puffs were tasty. The pastry was nice and flaky and buttery and the curried chicken, flavorful.

They had a Thai restaurant in the market with entrees for very reasonable prices. I’m tempted to come back to this place and try out their kitchen menu. It’s quite tiresome trying to eat the world.

So this concludes our trip to Asia Market. Next up, Straits! Stay tuned for stop number three of our progressive lunch.

A progressive meal is where you go to more than one place for one meal. Some people like to do it by course: an appetizer at one eatery, the main course at another, dessert at a last place. My friends and I do it by what the restaurant is known for. Follows is the list of entries in series in chronological order.

1. Niko Nikos: First stop of Progressive Lunch
2. Asia Market: Second stop of Progressive Lunch
3. Straits: Third stop of Progressive Lunch

This past weekend, Thomas, Kim, and Jessica and I embarked on a progressive lunch in Houston. Our first stop was at Niko Nikos. Photos used in this blog entry were taken by Thomas.

Niko Nikos

2520 Montrose Blvd
Houston, TX 77006

(713) 528-1308
www.nikonikos.com

Thomas alerted me that Guy from Diners, Drive-ins, and Dives went to Niko Nikos, one of my favorite Greek restaurants. He had the lamb shanks and honey balls. I haven’t had either but I LOVE lamb. Thomas nominated that as one of our stops and it ended up being our first eatery. Interestingly, the first time I ever went to Niko Nikos was in 2008 with Thomas! Our whole eating group has been to Niko Nikos numerous times but the famed lamb shanks and honey balls were new for all of us.

I’m a big fan of lamb. When cooked right, the meat just falls off the bone. We watched in anticipation as Thomas easily cut away the meat with a plastic knife. We all shared the plate because Thomas and I learned from the last time we did this, it was best to watch our portions. The lamb came with a side of the potatoes I always get when I go to Nikos. Buttery, lemony, soft potatoes.

Beautiful, isn’t it?

For dessert we had the honey balls. Tasted like donut holes that are dipped in honey and dusted with powdered sugar. Delicious. The four of us had 2 balls each. ;)

All in all, I’m a little upset that I loved the lamb so much. I don’t live in Houston, my stomach lining can only stretch so much, and I already love Niko Niko’s menu so much…. to add yet ANOTHER favorite from here? Torture.

A picture of our photographer.

Video Clip of Diners, Drive-Ins, and Dives at Niko Nikos

This entry is part of a series. Here are the other entries in case you missed them.

1. Sneak Peak/Introduction
2. Sneak Preview of Little Bigs
3. First stop: Kolache Factory
4. Second stop: Antones

Little Bigs: Third and Thankfully Last Stop of Progressive Lunch

2703 Montrose Blvd.
Houston, TX 77006
http://littlebigshouston.com

Our third and last stop was Little Bigs. (We were supposed to go to fourth place but I’ll tell you what happened to that place later.) You order in threes at Little Bigs which works out perfect for a group of three. We let Willis take the reins and order 2 of whatever he thought best for us. Unfortunately they stopped doing their famous mushroom burger so Willis chose a black bean vegetarian burger and the signature all beef patty burger (with caramelized onions). The boys started with the black bean sliders which I should have done. The black bean was meh to me. I guess it tasted too much like black beans for my taste. I started with the signature slider which was juicy and perfect. I wished I had the black bean slider first so I could finish on a higher note. Their special sauce is special in a good way and their fries were a great complement to the sliders. Mmm. I understand the hype.

Before I tell you about what happened at our fourth destiation, here’s a pictural intermission.

When the guy behind the counter told Willis they don’t make their mushroom burger anymore, he said almost too seriously, “Are. you. serious?!” It made Thomas and me laugh because the poor cashier looked a little nervous.

Patience is a virtue.

Thomas having a hard time with the ketchup.

Still having a hard time.

Which tickled me!

How beautiful is our feast? We were already full from our previous stops and my mom making me lunch, but we managed to enjoy anyway. (It’s hard out there for a foodie, ya’ll)

After we stuffed ourselves to the point of MOANING, we took deep breaths and drove to our fourth place. Willis wanted to take us to get us pastry puffs at Asia Market. We got there, hurting, but still excited to finish our 4 part progressive lunch. We were greeted by a locked door and a sign that stated they were closed for Thanksgiving still. More relieved than saddened, we stood around in the parking lot because it hurt to sit. :) I love progressive meals. I’ve only done it twice before. Once with Cindy (we only hit up 2 places though) and once more with Alan our first night in San Francisco.

P.S. Since we never made it to Asia Market, I’ll leave you with Willis’s food blog entry of Asia Market.

Photos in this entry were taken by Thomas.

If you missed the previous entry, you can read it here. It’s a quick introduction to our progressive lunch in Houston.

So I met Thomas and Willis (of Skissors Eats) for lunch the day after Thanksgiving. Willis was originally supposed to introduce us to Little Bigs, a sliders eatery and I said something about how I want to eat the world. I often say how I want to eat the world. Willis suggested we add three more places and that he had three more places he’s been craving. (He lives and plays in Houston, unlike Thomas and me). Willis wanted to go to Kolache Factory to eat their special flavor of the month: turkey and stuffing kolache. Turkey and stuffing in a kolache? I’ve been to Kolache Factory but usually in the early morning when I’m half awake and never thought to stray from my usual sausage, cheese, and jalapenos. So this is where we started our food trek.

We each ordered one and then shared a Philly Cheesesteak kolache. The Philly Cheesesteak one was sub par but the turkey and stuffing one rocked our socks off.

This photo taken by Thomas.

Here’s a video that I love. Willis was being a little shy (surprisingly) and I was prying to get him to give me a better introduction/reaction to the kolache. Wait for Thomas’s interjection.