Burgers and Cheesecake

Two all beef patties, special sauce, lettuce, cheese, pickles, onions on a sesame bun. Sound good? What about one beef pattie, over easy egg, bacon, mac and cheese, jalapenos on a non-sesame seed bun? Okay, so it doesn't have the same ring to it, but you can only imagine how good it tastes. Or you could try it yourself....

Lankford Grocery & Market on Dennis Street in downtown-ish Houston. There is no website but you can google it easily. You can all thank Food Network's Guy Fieri (yes the guy with the platinum spiked hair) for the discovery of this dive in the middle of a random neighborhood in Houston. I have passed over this restaurant listing in my Zagat book numerous times due to the name. When you hear the word grocery what first comes to mind? A grocery store of course. The thought of eating at a grocery store isn't nearly as appealing as the reality of this fun and casual place. To get to Lankford you drive down back roads through random neighborhoods, and it's literally right next to residential homes. It looks like this little run down house sort of with picnic tables outside. You seat yourself (if there is room) and wait to be served. Your drinks come in plastic cups that you would give to children, and I believe they are only open for lunch. Their menu is pretty basic with burgers and fry sorts until you get to the "grim burger." How can you help but wonder what a burger with jalapenos, mac and cheese, bacon, and egg tastes like? I mean even if you don't like everything on it, it's so unique you can't help but wonder....And that's exactly what happened to me. Jalapenos. No thanks! Bacon....can be sometimes be overbearing... But what the heck! It's just like that saying goes: if you're going to eat a burger and fries might as well load it up! Or maybe that's just the justification process inside my head....

Okay, so first of all, the burger is ginormous (for this purpose, ginormous is a word). I spent a full five minutes strategically planning the best way to fit a bite in my mouth, and it took me a full four bites before I even got a bite of egg. The burger falls apart as you eat it, and it's one of those where you end up losing the pattie, so be warned. I meant to request a fork and knife and just mix it up into a burger mess salad, but for some reason never got around to it. I definitely recommend asking though. So I decided my first bite should include everything. You can't be a food critic without trying it all. The flavor was definitely there, but the jalapenos provided a little too much kick for me, BUT if you like jalapenos feel free to leave them alone. I took them off after the first bite. The bacon was also a little overbearing and masked the flavors of everything else, so I left some on but took a lot off. Again, if you are a bacon lover, leave it on! The macaroni and cheese tasted of creamy goodness, and mixed with the egg flavor was perfection in a bite. The thing should be called brunch in a burger. You get your eggs, your bacon, and your meat. What could be better than that? Needless to say I did not finish the burger, but I did take it home and actually just reheated it so that I could have another bite to better capture the flavors. I used a fork this time, and I must say it reheats almost better than when it first came out. I tried a bite without the bun and jalapenos, and there are simply no words to describe the taste. The contrast of the smokiness from the bacon and the grill taste of the burger with the creamy flavor and texture of the egg and mac and cheese is pure genius. Warning: may cause indigestion. Oh, and they only take cash, but this hidden gem and magical burger are worth a try.


Cheesecake+Pralines=Divine. I'm glad that I am a senior in college and my education in math has provided to be useful. Only kidding. But in all seriousness, divine doesn't even capture the truth. Ciao Bello is where you can find this delectable piece of art. http://ciaobellohouston.com/
The restaurant has only been open for about two weeks and was formed by the owner of the expensive eatery Tony's in Houston where you can find a kobe beef steak for $125 (it's safe to assume that I have tried this-I know I know out of control..I'm working on it). Anyways, Brian went to eat there the other day for lunch and told me that I would love this cheesecake, and of course I did. I can't vouch for the food here because I haven't tried it. However, you can be just like me and call in a to go order for one slice of praline cheesecake at 8:30 PM on a Saturday night, and then when you go to pick it up simply wait by the bar wearing a t-shirt and uncombed hair while the many people in the loud trendy restaurant stare at you and wonder why you're standing there looking like you are waiting for a piece of cheesecake. Is anyone else sensing another Bridget Jones moment? Whatever. When a girl wants dessert then a girl wants dessert! Or maybe that only applies to me...

Okay, so has anyone ever seen the praline cookies that are sometimes sold at the counter of Mexican restaurants and are always sold in a basket at Walgreens. Does anyone even know what a praline is? It is essentially a cookie sized candy made of brown sugar, butter, and pecans. Aka amazingness. Okay, so if you're skeptical about a praline just walk in to any Walgreens, and there will be a basket sitting on one of the counters with a basket of them. They are like a $1, and if you don't feel like spending a $1 on one, I will give you a $1 to take a bite of it and throw it away if you don't like it, only because I know that won't happen, and that in all actuality, I will eat it if you don't like it. So the cheesecake was your basic cheesecake and was covered by a praline mixture. Actually, basic was a bad word. The cheesecake looked basic but it was anything but. It wasn't as dense as most cheesecakes are but had more of the consistency of a white cake, and tasted of a creamier version of white cake. Sometimes cheesecake can get so rich that one bite will do you in, but this particular cheesecake had the perfect balance. The praline mixture on top tasted exactly like a praline cookie. The smokiness of the pecans worked in complete harmony with the sweetness of the sugary taste and the smoothness of the cheesecake. And I'm not just saying this because I'm "that girl" that will eat anything that even remotely resembles chocolate and could think that dirt tastes good if it was sprinkled with sugar. Brian, one of the pickiest eaters I know, was the one that recommended it to me.

So followers...that pretty much sums up a day in the life of yours truly. I've got lots of food blogging to catch up on, but until next time..

Whoop!

Hello everyone. I have returned from falling off the face of the Earth. There is this thing called school that seems to have taken over my life, and apparently all teachers seem to think that my life consists solely of attending their class and studying for their class. Little do they know that I have regular eating and blogging to attend to.

So last night I received my Fightin Texas Aggie Ring! WHOOP! For those of you non Aggies the Aggie Ring is received after completing 95 credit hours and is the most recognized symbol and tradition of being an Aggie. Aggies worldwide wear their Aggie rings. Friends and family come in town for the event and then people proceed to dunk their rings in a pitcher of beer. Yes, that is a full 4.5 beers. You put your ring at the bottom of the pitcher and then chug as fast as possible. Don't ask how we got the tradition.

My mom took Brian and I to a well known restaurant in College Station called Christopher's World Grille. Most people say it's overrated but it's the most well known fine dining restaurant in College Station, so I decided to celebrate there. Although, I have to agree, the food is good, but not spectacular, especially for the price tag. The desserts, however, are to die for. We will get to those later.

Our appetizer was a guatamalan pork tamal: a banana leaf wrapped, tender pork with chile, garlic and lime in a cracked rice masa with mole sauce and beer shooter. Masa is Spanish for dough and is sometimes used for tortillas and tamales. The pork was the sort of fall of the bone tenderness that you come across when it is cooked very well. The flavor combination of the sweet mole sauce, the kick of the cilantro, and the smooth "corniness" (corny, I know) of the masa was delectable. The dish also came with a shot of Shiner beer. My mom had the idea that I should do a miniature ring dunk. I'm waiting until I turn twenty one to officially dunk my ring, so I figured why not. It would be a fun festivity to celebrate getting my ring. Now, I have never tried a soda in my life, so carbonation isn't exactly my cup of tea. I dropped my ring in the shot glass and proceeded to take the shot only to feel this burning fizzing sensation on my tongue. I immediately stopped taking the shot and could not even force myself to finish what was in my mouth. Brian had to take the shot himself in order for us to get my ring out of the shot glass, and so that I could spit what was in my mouth back in the shot glass. It was not a pleasant experience. Very good manners too...

You can just see the excitement in my face.

At the end of dinner when the waiter brought out the dessert tray, I couldn't for the life of me decide which dessert to get. Who would have thought? So I picked my top 3 choices.

Polenta almond cake with fennel ice cream. When they presented this dessert, I was ecstatic. I had just been watching Iron Chef the day before, and the secret ingredient was fennel. I sat there the whole time watching the show dying to know what all the dishes tasted like, and I even remember saying that I wish I could taste the fennel ice cream that one of the competitors made. Someone was definitely watching out for me. Polenta is made from boiled cornmeal, which is ground maize. The texture of the dessert was divine. The cake itself had this grainy crumbliness. Paired with the creaminess of the fennel ice cream brought it to a whole other element. The cake tasted almost of a sweetened version of cornbread, and the ice cream was out of this world. Fennel is an herb that is used for many different things, and when eaten raw tastes like licorice. I am not a fan of licorice, but anything dessert related I am open to trying. The ice cream had a very subtle hint of licorice, but not overbearing. It was the perfect partner to the grainy sweetness of the polenta cake.

The second dessert was a pear almond tart. It was my least favorite of the three, but still delicious. It was your typical tart. It tasted of shortbread cookies and had a soft crunchiness from the almonds. The pear taste was evident, but every once in a while I would taste a hint of banana. Not entirely sure how that got in there..Honestly I was so concerned with inhaling the fennel ice cream and my third dessert that I wasn't completely focusing on the tastes of the tart. The creative caramel sugar piece on top of the dessert and the painted sauce on the plate made for a beautiful presentation.

The third dessert was a chocolate hazelnut sponge cake with espresso ice cream. It was the pinnacle of elegance. They took what could have been a basic chocolate cake and added textural and flavor elements that turned it into this succulent piece of art. There was a layer of chocolate cake and then almost a sort of thick ganache layer, that was not too rich, but just right. It was topped with a crunch hazelnuts nougat piece and paired with a small dish of espresso ice cream. The fusion between all the different pieces of the dish was beautiful. The espresso ice cream literally tasted like Starbuck's in my mouth. Just imagine the strong aroma when you walk in to Starbucks and put that with the creamy coolness of ice cream and chocolate cake. Perfection. You couldn't take just one bit. It was an addiction waiting to happen.

www.christophersworldgrille.com

Cookie Jar Blizzard Among Other Things...

So, expect a decrease in frequency of my blogs until December. Some of you may see this is a good thing, but it makes me very sad. School just started back up, and I feel like I am working a full time job. I feel sorry for those of you already in "the real world." My only enjoyment today has been trying the new Cookie Jar Blizzard from Dairy Queen and writing this blog. I'm not sure which is more sad. The fact that only two things have brought me enjoyment today or the fact that a blizzard and a blog brought me enjoyment. Okay, enough complaining. I really don't want to be viewed as one of those people that complains all the time, but when something goes wrong (like when people that aren't working at the Rec Center or working out park in the parking lot that those that are working out or working need to park in, AKA ME. This is not complaining, this is merely providing an example), what else are you supposed to do? They always say that suppressing your feelings just makes things worse and just causes you to blow up later. We don't want that now, do we? All right, all right, on to the blizzard.

Okay, so the Cookie Jar Blizzard is simply ice cream, Oreo's, cookie dough, and hot fudge. You can pretty much guess what this tastes like since you more than likely have eaten all four of these ingredients at one point in time, but I am in desperate need of escape from reading about audit and tax. Will someone please tell me why I am an accounting major?? And by the way, this blizzard just came out yesterday, and yes folks, it is September 2, and I have already tried it. I subscribe to every single "whatever" of the month club so that I can be the first to know about any new food or desserts that come out and be the first to try new things. I told you. I see Limited Time Only and the alarms start going off. I have no time to finish my readings for class tomorrow, but you can bet that I have plenty of time to go try the new Dairy Queen Blizzard.

All right, back to the blizzard. One word, divine. What could possibly be wrong with something that contains ice cream, Oreo's cookie dough, and hot fudge? The crunchiness of the Oreo's meshed with the creaminess of the ice cream, the softness of the cookie dough, and the rich smoothness of the hot fudge were the pinnacle of perfection. Except when I got to the bottom of it and was just left wanting more. After I got home, I then proceeded to eating handfuls of Hershey Kisses out of a bowl sitting in my living room. I was then interrogated by Brian as to why I was now eating Hershey Kisses. As if that even needs a response.

And as a side note I recently discovered that fresh blueberries pair deliciously with Life Cereal. I randomly tried it one morning, and it has now become the thing that gets me out of bed in the morning. So for those of you in the real world....Here is your new incentive.