Convivio

I had heard from a complete stranger that the new Convivio was worth a visit, though I was hesitant because of location and former failed business, Table Seven.  On a day I was looking for a new wine bar, I decided to give it a whirl and I was actually pretty impressed.  I really liked the interior set up.  It's set up like a bunch of community tables, the lighting, everything just felt so festive and different.  I really liked it a lot. 

The second time I went, the crowd and lighting were different and I think I changed my mind about how much I liked it.  The food was fine and the wine was good.  I think I'm learning I'm not that big on Tapas restaurants.  However, I still liked the atmosphere, I think it'd be a great place to do a small group dinner and can't wait to sit at one of their fun and festive community tables.  I also liked their menus.  It's pasted on a wine bottle!  I thought that was creative and cute.  This place gets a pretty big crowd.

Who is this man I'm photographed with here, you may be wondering.  It's Charlie McDaniel!  He's an old friend and also management here, I just discovered.  He's also opening up a new restaurant with the same management here, I forget the restaurant name, caddy corner to Boheme off a Fairview.

The staff is really great, very helpful.  I thought they were wonderful and they make your experience nice.  They also make you feel like they want you here.  That's always nice.  I think this place is great for small to even large groups.  Go check it out, let me know what you think!

Cody Enjoying Houston on a Beautiful Day!

Money Cat Brunch

November 2011, OKRA Organized Kollaboration on Restaurant Affairs was founded by Montrose's best restaurant/bar owners bringing back Money Cat Brunch fundraisers.  Money Cat chefs and collaborators Yu, Justin Vann, Ecky Parabanto, and David Buehrer got back together for another Money Cat Brunch at Paulie's January 8, 9am-4pm.

After brunch is over, attendees are encouraged to walk to either Poison Girl or Anvil, where all drink sales from 4 p.m. to 2 a.m. will go to support OKRA and by extension the independent restaurants, bars, and other branches of the food industry in Houston.

They had quite an interesting array of menu items including a dish described as "guts & glory" and other scary and unappetizing descriptions.  The one dish we oohed and awwed about was the Rice Cake dish.  That was delicious!  Reminded me of the Rice Cake dish from Tan Tan, but even better!

It was defnitely an interesting event, if you get a chance to go, do...it's fun.

New Listing - 854 Augusta 2/2.5 $210,000

Sophisticated & beautifully maintained 2/2.5 townhome in desireable Woodway Point community. Features a charming kitchen, breakfast nook w/bay window, cozy living w/updated black slate flrs, wood burning fireplace, high-end brass finishes, updated bathrooms w/gourgeous marble countertops, designer wall paper, toto commodes, & brushed chrome in master. Exterior features includes a quint outdoor patio, 2 car garage & incredible community amenitites. All info per Seller

Date			From	To
Jan 22, 2012			2:00 PM	4:00 PM
View Openhouse Detail
Listing Price:	$210,000 Content here
Address	854 Augusta Dr
City	Houston
Zip Code:	77057-2014
Subdivision:	Woodway Point Th Cond
Property Type:	Townhouse / Condo
Status:	Active on Market
Bedrooms:	2 Bedroom(s)
Baths:	2 Full & 1 Half Bath(s)
Garage:	2 Car Detached
Stories:	2 Story
Style:	English
Year Built:	1978 / Appraisal District
Building Sqft:	1,560 / Appraisal District
Lotsize:	0 / Appraisal District
Unit Level:	Levels 1 and 2
Maintenance Fee:	$373 monthly
Mrkt Area:	Galleria
Key Map® :	PAGE 491K
MLS# / Area:	15645094 / 22-Central West

Soo Kim

Greenwood King Properties

soo@sookim.com

832-545-0849

Triniti (Shepherd/Westheimer)

I can't tell you how long this restaurant has been on my to do list, at least a year, I think.  I had kind of lost interest to tell you the truth.  But, I had heard they were open on Christmas or something, so the idea was fresh in my mind and turns out they are finally open.  I was surprised to learn of it's location, as I don't remember seeing anything near the area.  It's located in the former Crome building off of Shepherd near Westheimer.  It's with executive chef/owner, Ryan Hildebrand, formerly with Gravitas, and other talented chefs joined with MC2 architects.  It's aesthetically really nice, clean lines, earthy colors and textures, airy, light and tons of sunlight...and so spacious!

Just thinking about the service, wow, top notch.  Our server, Ray, was excellent.  Very attentive, his timing was great on everything.  I used to work in a restaurant and timing is so hard to get down, sometimes.  There was so much attention to detail, down from the bread that was delivered...I love bread, so I always notice it.  Especially, when it's not good quality bread.  Their bread was fresh out of the oven, butter to a perfect temperature, not too cold where u can’t spread it.  The manager came by and greeted us, the water guys were very attentive, the entire staff was very friendly.  It was excellent service, I was very impressed.

The portions are extremely small. If you're really hungry, it's not the place to go.  At our server's recommendation, we got the Dewberry Chicken, which was super flavorful and nice textures, very good.  We also got the Chicken and Dumplings, which was really good too and I liked more than the highly recommended Dewberry Chicken.  It was like comfort food for skinny people!

We were totally up for dessert since we were still hungry.  He recommended the Pistachio Semi Fredoo.  I love pistachio ice cream or desserts, but I find a lot of places don't quite get it right.  This was delicious!  Creamy and I could taste the pistachio, and the chocolate shortbread with the pistachio and sugar crumbs, all together was just so so good.  But...I’m still hungry.

Jay agrees and thinks this restaurant is going to do really well.  He liked the atmosphere, food and service as well.  He thinks it's great for business folks looking for more of a nice place to talk and do business than to chow down and eat.

 I enjoyed my visit very much and am raving about it. You have to go try it, it's just a neat restaurant, food was good, and service excellent.