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..
just remember, I had it first!
ReplyDelete