Sweet Part 2

Ok, so I went back for red velvet, raspberry and strawberry to take to my girlfriends who hadn't heard about Sweet.

So I decided to get some Macaroons because the few people I know have been raving about them. I got the vanilla. It looks like a teeny weeny burger.

It's just bigger than the size of a quarter.  I thought it was really tasty...so I went back...

and got another, this time the Lemon, which I liked better.  It's $1.50 for one and packaging is cute too!

I was hoping to split the cupcakes with my girlfriends, but we couldn't coordinate early enough so I went ahead and had my raspberry.  I thought it was really good.  Raspberries in the cake too.  Icing delicious, cake was really moist and tasty too.  Overall, very pleased with it.  I think the Strawberry cupcake's icing looks much better today than it did yesterday.  So far I'm very pleased with everything I've tried here, I definitely recommend Sweet.

Sweet at City Centre

In the center of City Centre near Yardhouse.  It's a little hard to find since it's not on the most exposed side.  But, just around the corner behind Red Mango and really not a bad space once you know where it is.

Sweet is not to be confused with Sweet Cupcakes that was featured on Cupcake Wars.  They do more than cupcakes, they have macaroons and rock candy, coffee, and more to come, says Sandy.

So far I like the decor, rustic meets posh, love the combination of brick and wood, very cute.

cute little benches, plenty of seating in and out the cupcakery.

Very nice presentation and lots of choices from Red Velvet, Green Tea with Raspberry icing, Vanilla Bean, Peanut Butter (great idea!), Strawberry, and more...too many to remember.  They were all very cute, presentation was great, I wanted to eat them all! 

An explosion of cuteness in a very tasteful way.

And for your furry family members, how thoughtful!

I wanted a Lemon, but they ran out.  At the recommendation of the owner Sandy, who was really nice, I got the strawberry.  It smelled awesome!  I thought it was really good.  There were strawberries in the cake, you can see it in this picture through the cup.  I thought the icing was good too.  I thought it was pretty comparable to my favorite, Celebrity Cupcake's strawberry.  I thought Celebrity Cupcake's icing tastes lighter.  The cake taste about the same.  The only thing I thought gave Celebrity a noticeable point over Sweet's was the presentation of the cupcake.  This cupcake doesn't look as neat, don't you think?  But, just to point out, the other cupcakes were really cute and prices are great at $3 a cupcake!

Just to prove a point on the location comment I made earlier, I was sitting on a bench with my girlfriend Rebecca and eating my cupcake and two girls walked up to me and asked me where I got the cupcake, I told them it was on the other side of Red Mango...case in point. I was very happy with my overall experience from the atmosphere, staff, owner, and product. 

Cowboys and Horses in Texas

Yes, in Texas, we actually do have cowboys and horses in our streets...well...only for a limited time, rodeo season has officially begun, yee haw!

Chain Gang Hit #1 - Bamboo House

I recently read an article in one of Houston's top foodie magazines that was titled the "Chain Gang".  The premise of the article was to have a chain of recommended dishes by the recommended dish's executive chef, starting with Hugo Ortego of Hugo's. 

Hugo recommended the Shanghai Mini Buns from Bamboo House, said he really liked and was really into them lately.  I had been here once long ago and can't remember what I thought.  Obviously, not too memorable.  I think I remember thinking it wasn't that great.  But, if it receives good reviews, I always try to remind myself to try a place 3 times before I give up.  Bamboo House is in the shopping center across from the AIG building on Waugh and Allen Parkway.

Bad photo, sorry.  Simple design and decent, it's in a shopping center, can't expect much.  Looking over the menu it looks like the genre would be "Asian Fusion".  They had Thai dishes, Chinese, Japanese, etc.  The lady that waited on us also worked behind the cashier and seated us too...probably the owner.  She was helpful and appreciative of our visit, her pictured here.  Wow really bad photo, I assure you she's not an amputee and is not a man.

The Shanghai Mini Buns are on the appetizer menu.  I think they were like $8 or $9, can't remember.  Inside is pork and it comes with this ginger dipping sauce, and that was tasty.  The only thing I didn't like about the dumplings were how processed the pork looked.  You know...that pinkish processed look.  Regardless, the whole combination was good, I liked.  They had a good flavor, warm, good texture, and perfect size to pop them in your mouth.

The veggie dumplings were decent.  My first bite, I didn't like, but upon second, I changed my mind and decided it was good because they were soft, warm, good portion of substance inside the dumplings and they tasted healthy and light.  We also got the Thai Wrap, which is really like PF Chang's Lettuce Wrap.  They didn't have that crunch like PF Chang's, but the flavors were all there, texture right, but no photo because it was the first thing that came out and well...you know how that goes.

The orange beef was really good.  I liked the texture and sauce was salty and tangy, yum yum.  I could have used more rice...so I just asked for more and they brought it out, but I'm not sure if they charged us for it.  I always like when the server thinks for you.  I forgot to ask for brown rice, quite frankly I didn't think to ask because I didn't know it was an option.  She asked and so obviously I chose brown rice, which makes me a very happy patron.

All in all, I was definitely pleased with my visit.  For sure I'll put Bamboo House on my local Asian Fusion restaurant list.  David, Jae and I shared these meals, 3 appetizers, and 1 main entree felt like just barely enough, but 3 hours later and I'm hungry again.  The total came out to $28, is that expensive?  While eating the mini buns, we discovered someone ate an extra mini bun.  So Jae, who got shorted a mini bun, got the last piece of Orange Beef, which was a fair trade.  Mini bun for veg dump, not a fair trade.

Ok, go by and try...bon appetit!

Today at the office, I'm paged that I have a delivery. I come down and am surprised by a client holding a beautifully arranged yellow orchid from Buchanan's Plant Nursery. An unfortunate turn of real estate events brought her to my office with this sweet and thoughtful gesture. It's not that I really thought I was at fault for the turn of events, but oddly I had a couple of disturbing and unpleasant dreams the last couple of days about the situation. The card attached was just what I needed. I'm left but thinking about how powerful thoughtful words and the smallest gestures have. Something good to remember about how to bless others.

By the way, Buchanan's Plant Nursery is oddly one of my favorite places to get staging furniture and pieces. Some of my favorite pieces are from Buchanan's, located off of 11th st near Arlington. One of the best plant nurseries in my opinion and staff are friendly and very helpful too.

Red Bean Waffle

Still in Denver...trying new things...this is a Korean waffle dessert in the form of a fish.  It's a combination of a bland exterior and sweet red bean middle...minimal punch and flavor all together, but definitely fun to eat.  Asians don't like really sweet desserts, so this being bland and having a small amount of sweetness is a pretty typical Asian dessert. We got the 5 for $3 deal, that's cheap!  I heard they have it here in Houston too.  Hmart would be a good place to try if you're curious.

Rocky Mountain Cupcakes

In Breckenridge, so cute and surrounded by sweet yumminess!

Celebrity Cupcake Minis

So stinkin cute!  These need to be preordered and are $20 for a box.  Great way to sample or for parties!

Bon Running Social @Tqla

A friend of mine has been bugging me about running with this group he joined, that meets and runs at Rice, called Bon Running Group.  At the time I was thinking Rice is too far!  But after Bon's social yesterday, I'm more open to the idea, maybe.  It's probably 10 minutes from where I live, so it's really not that far...but further than the Memorial park which is right down the corner from me.  So, Bon  had a big social yesterday at Tqla where I learned more about this running group.  I must say it's a great idea.  They run, then after drink, eat and socialize.  Not sure how I feel about drinking after running, but overall, it sounds like a fun idea.  I don't think there's much out there like it now.  I will probably try to make it out next month after my other commitment is over.  Anyways, for more information http://www.bonrunningclub.com/.  They also have a group that meets at City Centre and the Woodlands.

On a side note, has anyone actually been running in this freezing weather?  It's been almost two weeks since the half marathon and I've made it out to run ONCE!  I feel fat.

Anyways, while chatting it up with T, David, OG, Jae and new friend Anand. I order some food...I get the shreded chicken tacos on corn tortillas on the happy hour menu, $2.  They're really small, but looking back, I think I could have eaten one and have been fine.  I thought they were pretty tasty.  No photos, sorry, must do better with the food pics.  Does anyone really care to see food pics anyways, I mean everyone does it.  Who cares right?  Do you really need photos?  Either way, must pay better attention.  I don't have food photos, but I did take a photo of my new friend, Anand.  Super fun, extroverted, smart and a nice looking guy.  I am on a mission to set him up!  Also, I've mentioned in my first blog about Tqla, but goodness holy gracious I must mention it again. The salsas are so yummy!  Warm chipotle and the pineapple green sauce, so good.  It's tempting to eat more than you should.  Ok, that's it for now...hope to see you on track at Rice next month!

Me and Jose Cuervo...or whatever his name is...

dark chocolate covered acai berries

so addictive good!

Beck's Prime Veggie Burger

Just had the veggie burger from Beck's Prime and was impressed.  It's very black beany and has a smokey flavor.  I was just going to taste it and have a bite since I had a salad just before and wasn't very hungry...but I almost ate the whole thing...very very tasty.  I can't wait to go back and have it again!

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