Summer Solstice Sichuan Pepper Treat at Friend's Kitchen

Bruce of Chili Bob's Houston Eats and I had been discussing a lunch get together to try out a new Malaysian restaurant (Cafe Singapore), which is located at 12345 Bellaire. We arrived to find it closed on Mondays. After checking out their menu in the window (which looks really promising), we decided to try something out in the shopping center at 9889 Bellaire, as there is quite a bit of stuff in this one strip. As we walked back and forth, trying to decide, we finally settled on a place called called Friend's Kitchen. I noticed that they had a cold appetizer of Beef Tendons, which had two stars next to it. They also have a very inexpensive lunch menu ($4.95) that provides a smaller portion of many of their chef's specials.

I have been afraid of beef tendons in the past, as I was worried it might be high in fat. It also sounds a little gross to most people. However, I had recently done some research on the subject and found that they are high in protein/very low in fat. It also has a quality that I really like-chewiness. I decided that today would be the day that I would try some tendon, and this was a great decision.

The beef tendons came simply prepared with fresh jalapenos and cilantro. The secret ingredient though was the generous amount of chili oil and sichuan peppers in which these tendons were coated. There was just enough heat from the oil where it wasn't overpowering, and there was plenty of sichuan pepper that made my lips and tongue numb after a while. The tendons were pleasantly chewy, and I liked that this dish was served cold (but had another form of heat in it). Cold beef tendons are a great appetizer for a summer meal if you love some heat in your food like I do.

Friend's Kitchen looks to be brand new, as there are no mentions of it online. I believe that another place went under and this is the space's next restaurant incarnation. I will for sure try this place again, as the cooking is simple, cheap, and fresh. The other diners had some nice looking stuff on their plates. At $4.95 a pop, two could try three things and still not be out too much dough.

Here is a link to more pictures

Boogies Chicago Style BBQ - Post-fire Update

Many of you have probably read about the recent fire at Boogies via Chili Bob's Houston Eats or the Robb Walsh Blog. I went last week to see how things were progressing. I spoke with Boogie late last Tuesday afternoon. The bad news is that he is still not smoking.

His plans for the addition to the pit are at the city. Once they are approved, he should finish the pit and get inspected. I was not going to walk out of there empty-handed, and I really don't want to see this guy go under. I felt compelled to buy something, so I settled for a hamburger/fry/drink combo, which was $7 and change.

Fortunately, the hamburger I had was worth the drive. It was a massive, hand-formed patty cooked on the griddle. He toasted the buns on the griddle as well, and they had a nice brown glaze. I had him add just mustard, lettuce and tomatoes to it. Apparently cheese was standard as it was put on there as well. The burger was quite juicy, but not a mess. That made consumption in the car tolerable, as he is take-out only these days. The fries appeared hand-cut? If not, they are better than average. The meat was cooked til it was just a bit pink in a several places.

I asked him if he thought it would be a month or so until he was smoking on the new brick, wood-only pit. He said that he couldn't really wait that long,
as the lack of business from the trailer burning was really hurting him. When I asked him about the trailer, he did affirm that it was being rebuilt, and he would have both the brick and mortar and the trailer in operation soon. He said that quality would be top notch, as everything would be done in-house. He took my name and number, remarking that he had about 400 email addresses so far of people that wanted to know when he would be smoking again. He flipped through a big notebook to oneof the last pages to write down my name and e-mail address by hand. I told him that I would get the word out once he was smoking again, but he asked me to "twitter that burger" if you can. Here you go Boogie. I hope that your awesome cue is available soon.

New address for Ziggy's SW Side Food Blog

http://ziggy-smogdust.blogspot.com will be the new address for the blog. The only difference between the new one and the old one is the addition of the dash between Ziggy and Smogdust (Old URL was http://ziggysmogdust.blogspot.com/) The posts from the old blog will go down soon. A big thanks to Chili Bob and Guns and Tacos for the encouragement. I have several more posts in the pipe. Kid Lengua and I have been hitting quite a few places in our neighborhood these days.

Why the long absence? A rough year filled with many trials. I haven't stopped exploring, as I always need to eat. Some of my future posts will be stuff that I tried a few months ago (that was photographed and journaled). Thanks for reading, and I hope you enjoy the update on Boogies.

Taco Truck Crawl 3

Note: this post will be updated as more information becomes available. Update 9 April 2010 In case you haven't heard, the third Taco Truck Crawl is happening this Saturday. This is an event hosted by the Houston Chowhounds and 29-95. We will be led on this adventure by Jay of @gunsandtacos fame. The plan is to meet up at 10:30 AM Saturday, April 10th.

The meeting spot will be the Target store by I-10 and Sawyer.

The itinerary was a closely guarded secret, but Jay did let the cat out of the bag. The full itinerary can be found here . The first stop will be Karanchos , which has real tacos de trompo. The list with the other locations was being guarded by this guy in the picture. Or at least his ghost.

So what do you need to throw in the truck before you head out Saturday morning? Here is my checklist.

1. Cash - preferably a few $5's and $10's

2. Cooler - preferably full of Dos Equis and Topo Chico Mineral Water

3. Proper music - I will have a good selection of music from Chalino Sanchez , Ramon Ayala, and a few of my other norteno favorites

4. Folding chairs ( I will also throw a small table in the with these. This came in handy last time.)

5. CHL and sidearm ( this is Texas!)

6. Hand Sanitizer

7. Guide to TT terms

Ziggy's TT guide

There are a few terms you should know if you are a bit rusty on that Spanish you learned in HS last year. Ok, so maybe it was 10 or 20 years ago. The taqueros will often ask you your preference on these items

Maiz? - corn, as in corn tortillas

Harina? - Flour, again for tortillas

cilantro y cebolla? - cilantro and onions - the non-gringo topping for most tacos. Lettuce and tomato is for the Taco Bell set. The taqueros will often ask "Con todo?" which usually refers to these condiments. If you really want lettuce and tomato, order a tostada.

Here are some more vocabulary terms for the types of tacos and condiments often offered at trucks

barbacoa and/or cabeza- cheek meat

pastor - pork

chivo - goat

tripa or tripita - tripe (intestines)

chicharron - pork skin

longaniza - a type of sausage

chiles toreados - these are basically a grilled or roasted jalapeno pepper. Many trucks offer them for free with your order. If the side of the truck says "chiles gratis", then make sure you get it with your tacos

cebollitas - these are the small onions that have part of the stem with them. They are grilled like the chiles toreados and are quite tasty. Often the trucks will have "cebollitas y chiles gratis" written on the side of the truck, so these should accompany your order.

Lengua - beef tongue, the favorite food of Kid Lengua

Bistec - Beef Steak

Pollo - Chicken

Milanesa - a breaded and fried piece of thin beef steak

deshebrada - shredded beef

chorizo - another type of sausage, but it is usually served with eggs

machitos - another form of tripe

suadero - brisket meat

campechano - a mix of chorizo and beef

nopales or nopalitos - cactus (spines removed) Pretty much the only thing vegetarian on a TT menu. These are actually very good when done right.

A note about these terms - Often the spelling on the menus of taco trucks is "creative", so what you see written on the side of a truck may differ slightly from the spelling in my TT guide.