Cory "Soupaholic" O.'s Profile

Came here recently for a darts tournament and was pretty impressed with the place.  They opened up their huge ballroom and had all the boards set up.  We had great time over there and was impressed all around with the staff.  I didn't meet one single employee that wasn't overly helpful.  They set up food inside the ballroom and we had a ticket set up to make things easier.  The beers were surprisingly cheap ($325 for domestic, $3.50 for imports) and the burgers were tasty considering that they were sitting on hotpans.  

I ate at the breakfast buffet and was more than a little shocked at the amazing price.  I think I paid about $10 for a full out buffet of fruit, bagels, bacon, etc.  I also ate at their nice little bar and gorged myself on their fantastic soup.  Since they hadn't made chips in a few hours, they decided to make a new batch just for us and they were probably the best homemade chips I've ever had.

The downsides to the place is the location.  Yes, it is near the Galleria which is fantastic but it was a pain to get to.  And while all the food I had was pretty good, I was really disappointed with the nachos.  The chips were stale, the queso was more than bland and the only extra thing they had was jalapenos.  When we complained about the chips being stale (as in, I heard about 10 different people complaining), management claimed they weren't stale even after taking a bite.  Sad.  For the price though, I'm more than a little impressed by the place.  The food and service more than make it worth it to stay here.

What a fun way to reconnect with old friends!  Since I've missed out on so many of the Elite events over the last year, it was really fun to catch up with familiar faces and meet new people.  Farrah did an awesome job, as always, and everyone had a blast.

The food from Flemings hit the spot.  I pretty much hovered around the crab cakes, so if you didn't see me there, that's why.  They were so delicious!   When I wasn't shoving crab meat down my throat, I was chugging the pinot provided by Cameron Hughes Wine--fantastic!  When they ran out of that (it was really, really popular!), I moved on to an appletini with the Zodiac Vodka.  I was channeling JD for the rest of the night!

I didn't get a massage, but the hubs got two!  Since he is a baldy, he especially loved the head massage.  And since I was so busy mingling, I didn't really get a chance to gamble--so my entire chip on the 5 for roulette and. . . .lost.  

The party was probably the best Elite party I've ever been to.  It wasn't too big and it wasn't too small.  Surprisingly, the room didn't overheat with all the bodies and everyone there was amazing.  I promise, promise, PROMISE to write more so I can actually come to Elite events without feeling guilty!  :)

The Houston Darts Association is now called the Harris County Darts Association or more commonly referred to as the HCDA.  They help manage all the tournaments in town, place new players, form leagues, and do outreach.  

As a little bit a background, I started playing darts as a default to when the pool tables were taken at Ernie's.  The hubs started playing in December and I got him his first set of darts from Rick's (http://www.yelp.com/bi...) for his bday.  He soon outgrew the ones I picked out for him (really, don't buy darts as a gift unless you already know exactly what the thrower wants--it is impossible to guess what'll fit their throwing style) and got himself a new set.  I inherited the darts that I originally bought for him and viola!  

I started playing about three months ago and got involved with the local bar tournaments (my favs are at Ernie's on Monday http://www.yelp.com/bi... and White Horse/Ron's Pub on Friday/Saturdays http://www.yelp.com/bi...).  It was fun and low stakes--the Ernie's one is even free to play!  Then I got suckered into playing at the Houston Open last week.

Wow.  I was more than impressed with how the tournament was set up.  This was a full blown thing where professional from all around the country (and even a few flew in from outside of the US--India, I believe) came to play.  There were over $15,000+ in cash prizes and plenty of categories to play in.  Sure, I didn't win anything, but there's always next year!

I became a member last week (you can become a member online) and I'll be signing up for a league for next season.  They're trying to streamline more things to make it easier for everyone to learn more about darts, but since they have an office, people are more than welcome to visit them in person or call.  I'm a fan of them so far for making my nightlife a little more interesting, plus how you can you not love a sport that encourages drinking during tournaments?!

Also, don't forget that they have a listing of pubs/bars with darts and all of their weekly tourneys at: http://www.houstondart....

So much of this place could've made it into a much better night that I just can't justify giving them any more stars.

Let's start with the annoying things.  Like the restrooms.  I walked in and was in love with all the space and room to move around.  And then I realized it was cause they only had two stalls.  Two.  Obviously a woman was not involved with that planning.  The idea of having that much space wasted in depth (not even for things like extra sinks and mirrors) just seemed absurd to me.

The overly loud music is a given but it has to be mentioned.  Sure, that's part of the appeal, but no one needs Lady GaGa that loudly.  No one.

And most importantly it was miserable trying to get lanes for our group.  We did all the leg work--found the lanes, grabbed the balls and shoes and were ready to go.  Somehow it took almost an hour tobget our six lanes going.  This is not that difficult and it really wasn't busy enough to warrant such a delay.

Now for the good stuff.  The drinks were surprisingly reasonable.  I mean, I was scared after all the reviewers kept going on about the prices, but we made out okay.  Which leads me to my drink.  I got the mango mojito margarita and it was delicious!  You could taste all three of the flavors perfectly with a nice, tart finish.

The service was pretty nice there considering some of the roudiness going on.  We didn't even get so much as a raised eyebrow when a glass went shattering across the floor.  

In the end, I think I'm just not hip enough to enjoy 300 enough to come out here rather than another alley.  The hipster feel seemed to be more important than the bowling itself which was just too irritating in the end.  I will say that I did enjoy their speedy service with the shoes and the tester ball available with all the different sizes and weights readily available.  

In the end, I think I'll stick with the grimey alleys with character built in by years of sweaty bowlers rather than a club that happens to have a bowling alley in it.

After hearing about Ron's for months, we finally decided to check it out this weekend.  I'd heard about their monthly darts tourneys (first Fridays of each month), but I hadn't been.  We'll definitely make it a point to check that out soon.

Ron's is nestled in a little strip mall near the Galleria, just far enough away from the main roads that you can escape the traffic.  As the website explains, when they merged with the next door bar, the shape of bar turned into a fun horse shoe that kind of gives it a nice divide so it never gets too loud.

There were plenty of tvs in there for sports fans (I hear you can catch all the great soccer/futbol games here) and a trivia tourney on Sunday nights.  We ordered the shepherd's pie (there weren't a lot of food options) and it was surprisingly tasty.  The beer was more than decently priced and they had a pretty good selection.  Bartenders were a bit slow but really friendly.  I blame the shape of the bar for the wait since it is pretty hard to serve both sides when you can't see what's happening on the other side.

The lines for the dart boards seemed off just a bit.  One board we played on seemed just a tad bit too close and another was a tad bit too far.  Course, I could be wrong and maybe my three beers just hit me harder than I thought they did!

All in all, this was a great place to hang out and relax.  I love the idea of having a nice little haven near the Galleria that I can hide out in while I wait out the traffic.

You know those girls who always have the cutest haircuts?  Those girls that you just want to hate because they're always put together?  Yeah, I have one of those in my building and her little pixie cut is so adorable, it is infuriating.  In a good way.  So finally I asked who she went to and booked myself an appointment.  

I called and they scheduled me for the very next day and even gave me a 5 pm slot so I could just leave work a bit early.  Not bad.  I got there a few minutes late thanks to a lovely accident on Montrose but my stylist was sweet and very understanding.  We got started immediately spit balling ideas.  I'm pretty low maintenance with my hair so I gave her free reign.  We did the wash and she started snipping away.  

The first half of the cut was fantastic.  She was engaged and talking with me, interacting without getting nosy--the perfect blend for a hair stylist.  Then her friend showed up.  And they gabbed on and on about highlights, lowlights, bangs, and all sorts of inane things for the rest of the time.  While this would make sense in a salon, what didn't make sense was sitting there ignoring the client for half an hour while discussing the pros and cons of bangs on your friend.  

In the end, I loved the cut (and the price), not to mention that the store itself was well laid out.  I'll definitely come back, but may not specifically request this stylist since she was a bit more concerned with hang out time rather than focusing on the client.

I came here on the recommendation of a friend of a friend and it did not disappoint.  We weren't very hungry (mostly from snacking nonstop while walking everywhere), so we went light.  We split the ceviche sampler and it was all very well prepared.  Classic Peruvian ceviche was actually the most disappointing, but I'm incredibly biased.  It just didn't have the oomph of a real Peruvian ceviche--I think it had to do with the aji.  Don't get me wrong, it was still fantastic, but it wasn't like home.  The Yucatan shrimp ceviche was surprisingly my favorite and I'm very anti serving ceviche with chips and avocado.  The flavors really complimented each other well and it wasn't too sweet.  The other two had great flavors (and I'm a sucker for jicama) and you can tell that the chef put a lot of time into balancing all the tastes.

For the entree, I tried the beer steamed mussels and they were enormous.  I've never seen mussels this size.  There was a really nice, subtle flavor of the beer that comes through without overpowering the natural mussel taste.  

The table next to us ordered the churros for dessert and I was so mad at myself for being too full to try it.  I'm such a sucker for real churros and they looked phenomenal.  

The one thing that disappointed me was the lack of Inka Kola.  So sad!

I'll be the odd ball out and not mention the music venue portion of The Meridian.  I'm not a music person at all, but from what I've heard, there are plenty of great shows here.

I came yesterday for their darts tourney and was impressed by the set up.  
They had plenty of boards set up for the matches and plenty extra for the casual players.  There were pool tables galore, a poker game in the corner, random video games (including an air hockey table!!!).  They had a jukebox that spewed out a random variety of music--definitely a sign that the gaming portion of The Meridian is pretty separate from the music venue.  There were songs played last night that would've made all the patrons next door cringe, if their own music wasn't playing so loudly.

Things that I didn't love: the "parking lot" (basically a dirt lot that seems shady beyond belief--I was a bit surprised that my car was still there), location (it is in the middle of old Chinatown and in a sketchy area), the prices on the drinks were jacked way up (we're not there for a concert, so don't charge us concert prices!), and building had that dingy feel (this wasn't helped by the M lights being out as we approached "eridian").  

The bartenders were friendly and competent and the waitresses that walked around were great about not interrupting the games.   Overall, I was pretty impressed with the place after my initial misgivings.  I'm not sure I'd ever make it my regular hangout since it is a bit off my normal path, but I definitely plan on returning for more of those tournaments!

It has been a long time since my last foodgasm and pretty much never that the culprit was a steak.  

We've been meaning to check out Pappas Steakhouse for years now, but never got around to it.  I'd heard that it was the best in town and I knew that it wouldn't be the generic fare found at all the other Pappas incarnations, but I wasn't willing to shell out the big bucks to really find out.  Yep, everyone was correct.

We didn't have reservations, but they sat us at the chef's bar immediately.  It was kind of like dinner and a show watching the hustle and bustle of the kitchen.  I was mesmerized by the flurry of movement all around me and I loved seeing all the care that went into the dishes.

The wine list is pretty amazing.  They had bottles on there that you only hear about in rumours.  (Also worth checking out is the extensive list of high end dessert drinks.)  I ended up with a cheap malbec, but it was perfect for what I needed.

The special for the night was two six ounce filets with two salads and a lobster tail and a side for about $120--pretty much a steal.  We knew we had to do it even though it was an obscene amount of food.  (I'm still cursing myself for even having a bite of bread and more than two bites of their salad--should've saved room for the good stuff!)

The salad was your typical, made from scratch Caesar.  The dressing was very nice, the croutons were nice and crunchy (I hate soggy croutons), the lettuce was crisp and the cheese was heavenly.  

The lobster was enormous--shockingly so.  They presented it and took it out of the shell for us and it seemed to expand on the plate.  It came a thing of butter sitting on a candle to keep it warm, but it was so perfectly buttery that it didn't need it.  The best part was that it was nice and tight still--none of that rubbery texture or the overly mushy stuff.

The side we chose was the lobster mac & cheese.  (Yes, I have very high cholesterol.  No, I don't have any restraint.)  It was heavenly.  It wasn't too seafood-y and it came with a Parmesan crust which made it perfect.  It was nice and cheesy and didn't get all congealed by the end of the meal.  Yum!

The true highlight of the meal, duh, was the steak.  Now, usually when you get the steak and lobster combo, the lobster tends to be the star.  Not in this case.  As delicious as the lobster was, the steak was beyond amazing.  It was the best steak I've ever tried.  Ever.  I got mine a nice medium rare and the hubs did his completely rare.  They were both seasoned perfectly and had just the right temperature.  With rare steaks, it is really hard to keep them from being overly chewy, but these were of such high quality, it was not an issue at all.  My knife just slide through the meat easily, but it remained firm throughout the meal.  Again, it came with a side sauce, but I didn't bother touching it.  
Why mess with perfection?

The service was great, but not perfect.  I think since we were just about the only people seated at the chef's bar, it was easy to forget about us (not that our waiter did).  We never had to wait long for a drink and the waiter did a good job of checking in on us.  There was the forgotten stir stick for the gin & tonic and he never did come back to take the second wine request from the hubs (which is just as well since he was eying an expensive half bottle).  Overall though, I have no complaints.

While I'll probably never be a steak person, I now know where to take people for an overall fantastic experience.  While I have a few other steakhouses that I like a lot, Pappas managed to keep me completely satisfied with the quality of food, service and ambiance.  There is definitely a reason why Texas Monthly named them the #1 steak joint in the state and I will definitely never argue with that again.

Genius!!  As a former street vendor (and current Korean), I'm so impressed with this cart that I've been telling everyone about this place since I first heard of it.

My recent stay in DC included so many amazing memories but I really think that this bulgogi cart will be what I remember the most years down the road.  The bright, yellow cart was a happy sight on Monday in the rain since we'd been waiting since Saturday.  The food was plentiful and delicious--with just the perfect amount of spice.  I loved that they included a side of kimchi and salad for a perfectly well rounded lunch.

The service is what you'd expect--surly and silent.  I think if I lived in the area that this would be a regular haunt for me.  Cheap Korean food to go?  Can't go wrong with that!