Stephan S.'s Profile

I did some research about Beast before committing to reservations and found a lot of negative reviews about the communal dining setup, the wait staff, and the food, even so, I jumped at the opportunity to try this place.

We arrived right at 6pm and the waiters (who serve as hosts as well) allowed us to choose between the large communal table or the smaller one near the front window. We chose the large table because it faced the prep area.

Immediately the waitstaff asked us the kind of water we'd like and whether or not we'd be having the wine pairing (of course we would).

When the food started arriving I was overwhelmed. Every course was delicious and paired perfectly with the wine. The meat course, a braised pork belly, had a crispy outer crust but the inside melted in my mouth.

Overall, the menu, the atmosphere, the waitstaff, and the wines all exceeded my expectations.

This was not the kind of place I expected to find in West Texas. A transplant from the Boston area, the owner takes your order at the window, and lets you know how long it will take, and be prepared for over an hour wait when it gets busy.

The most important piece of information though, is that the pizza is fantastic! The crust was thin, a little crunchy, and darn delicious. The toppings were substantial and fresh. These guys know how to make a good pizza!

They had quite a back up when we were there and some how our order was lost in the mix. Without us having to go report it, the owner came up to me, apologized, and bought us a round of Lone Star.

For anyone in the Marfa area, or those just passing through, check, it, OUT!

I visited during the soft-opening but will try to make it back soon to try the "regular" service.

The restaurant is setup in a Heights bungalow that has been renovated. There is a small patio in the front and some more seating in the rear. Ordering is done at the counter.

During this soft-opening there were not a lot of dishes that I was interested in that did not have shellfish (I have an allergy) and went with the fish tacos. The breading that they used was very nice and the fish was fried perfectly, giving it a nice golden color. However, the cabbage that they put on the tacos was bland but fresh. The best way to describe the dish was forgettable.

What irked me the most was that my wife had ordered a fish Po-Boy, but as she bit in she noticed that there was a piece of shrimp. Had it been my Po-Boy, I could have had an allergic reaction.

Again, I know this was on the second day of them being open, so I will go back and give them another shot.

Lucky's is, at it's core, a bar, but they offer a pretty big menu, so for a group of guys wanting dinner, it was an easy choice. My expectations were low but I was pleasantly surprised.

Seating is mixed with a lot of four person, round tables, not the greatest environment for a large group, but the wait staff helped us rearrange some tables and made it work.

The happy hour specials are $2 domestic draft beers and $3 imports. Not bad for a couple of drinks.

I ordered an appetizer of fried pickles and was surprised when out came fried pickle spears. I am so used to fried pickle chips that I was not expecting spears. Either way, they were spicy and good, the fry batter was just a little too tough.

For my main course, I ordered the Lucky's Chicken Sandwich grilled (you can get it fried) and it was served on ciabatta bread with Swiss cheese and different toppings. I bit into it not realizing that the entire bottom of the sandwich had a layer of jalapenos. YIKES! I like spicy food but this was heartburn waiting to happen. After removing the jalapenos I really enjoyed the sandwich. The fries great as well but you have to request fries because the sandwiches are served with chips.

Overall the food was good, the wait staff was punctual, and the atmosphere was what I expected from a bar.

Parking is abundant, just pay attention to the signs on the street.

Who doesn't like Pappasito's? Sure, it is not super authentic Mexican food but it is a Houston staple and tastes great!

The Little Pappasito's location gets a little crowded after 6pm, so get there early.

The salsa is served warm and has a great smoked pepper flavor. Depending on the day you go, the salsa can be fantastic or it can be "meh". I do not care for the green salsa that they serve, it's just too sweet and is one of those elements that takes away from the Mexican side of the food.

Our service has always been decent, not great, just alright. The wait staff is friendly and they get their job done, but this place gets busy and they have a lot of tables to handle.

The food is served in huge portions, so if you are new to the restaurant, tread lightly when ordering. Their mixed entrees are a great place to start since they give you a sampling of their different menus. The tamales are done well as are the chicken enchiladas and cheese enchiladas.

Lately, Pappasito's has been running a special where you get the Fajita Platter for 2 for the price of 1. It's a full dinner for $16. I believe it is only on Wednesdays after 5pm.

Due to some recent driving on the East Freeway my car had a few cracks and nicks in the windshield from rocks. Since we live so close to American Auto Glass I decided I would take it there and give a local business my cash.

The building is shared with a women's workout facility (I believe the owner's wife runs it) and it did not bother me at all.

The owner was prompt in helping me and was honest in telling me that there would be no way for him to get the cracks out completely, only to make them stop getting bigger and some aesthetic improvement. He said he'd have it done in an hour so I walked home and sure enough, an hour later I receive a call saying the work was done.

The cracks are fixed and look great. They are not perfect but he did a fantastic job of removing as much of the crack as possible.

I have not visited Rattan in a few months but we were frequenters last year.

The building is definitely modern and chic and the inside decor is about the same, with a flat-screen television in the middle of the dining room (this threw me off a little).

Happy hour at Rattan is a fantastic bargain with appetizers and sushi being affordable and tasty. The house red and white wines are also on sale during this time and are chosen on a day-to-day basis.

Now let's have a little chat about the food. If you come to Rattan with the expectation that you are going to get true Asian cuisine, you are going to be very disappointed. I would describe the menu as Asian with American and French influences. There are dishes on the menu that are very Japanese in style like the Teriyaki Beef right above a burger that has a mix of Asian and American flavors.

The key point here is that the food is well done. Occasionally a plate will make it in front of me that is a little too sweet or salty, but it's rare.

The satay is one of my favorite appetizers, with the smoky flavor that satay should have. We usually order the sampler and the only meat I have ever taken issue with is the lamb, which was overcooked once. The peanut sauce leaves a little to be desired, needing a little more heat behind it to complement the peanuts.

Sizzling Sweet Onion Beef and Red Curry Basil Beef are two of my favorite beef dishes at Rattan, both with lots of flavor and the sweet onion beef having just enough sweetness. Of the chicken dishes, I usually spring for the Thai Style Grilled Chicken or Buddha Chicken, both are palette pleasers.

Lastly, the sushi here is great if you are not expecting the most elegant presentation and freshest fish. Don't get me wrong, the fish is fresh, it just isn't straight out of the water and on to your plate. The flavors that they create are good and they can do the standard rolls just fine. The Wicker Roll and the the Kung-Fu Roll are great choices on the specialty roll menu, as is the Tiger Eye Roll. They deliver on flavor and a little heat.

I recommend Rattan to anyone wanting something different from their everyday General Tso's Chicken place.

As a teenager my parents would take me to the Le Peep on Westheimer and Wilcrest and I loved it. Nowadays, I'm keen on going somewhere else.

For old time's sake, my mother suggested that for my birthday we go to the Le Peep near the Galleria. It was Sunday and we arrived at 11:30am. I was told that for six people it would be a 20 minute wait, great, we do not mind waiting.

Almost a full hour later and plenty of inquiries into where we were on the list and we were finally seated right next to the kitchen with no room to squeeze in.

The food was not worth the wait. My feta omelette was almost cold and the potatoes were mush. The only thing that was good on the plate was the side-order of bacon.

Overall, I was extremely disappointed and may not visit this location again, though I will give the Wilcrest location another try.

One thing to note, there is a sign in the restaurant that states "Please make sure your party is present - we will only seat complete parties", yet I watched on two occasions as they sat incomplete parties where the rest of the group did not show up for 10 to 15 minutes. When we were finally called for our table, I made the statement "let me go get them" (they were sitting outside), the host made the following rude comment, "Is everyone even here?", to which I replied, "Yeah, they are just sitting outside the same way they have been for an hour".

I went to Empire Cafe to scope it out for a group of friends that would be visiting and wanted to try the food. My expectations were set high because of all of the reviews I had read here, on other sites, and from friends.

Parking was the first thing I noticed. There is a small lot behind the restaurant, plenty of street parking, and a lot across the street, yet this still is not enough parking and people seem to ignore signs and basic parking rules.

As we approached the restaurant at 11:30am on a Sunday, I noticed the line was out the door, a great sign initially. We ended up waiting for 45 minutes and as we made our way to the counter the staff at Empire Cafe let everyone know that there were no more pancakes (good thing I am not a pancake fiend).

I ordered the Eggs Benedict and a cappuccino while my wife ordered the french toast with berries and a coffee.

The Eggs Benedict was one of those dishes that I should have sent back to the kitchen. The poached eggs were completely cooked through, so no runny yolk for the English muffin to soak up and the entire dish was cold. So cold in fact that the hollandaise sauce had almost congealed.

My wife's french toast was just so-so, being a little on the crunchy side for her tastes but overall decent, she did comment that the bread they use is very good.

The saving grace for the entire meal was the cappuccino, which had great flavor and was piping hot.

As an aside, I noticed a lot of people poaching tables while we were eating. Instead of waiting in line and letting the natural progression of tables clear out, people would leave their party in the line and find a table, messing everything up.

Overall, I was not impressed with Empire Cafe but will give it another shot. It seems like a great environment to bring friends and have a quick bite to eat outside on the patio (being a rare commodity in Houston).

It seems that everyone loves this place because of the pizza. Everyone except me. I love Dolce Vita because of their attention to Italian cuisine and fantastic pastas.

Our first visit entailed a fantastic caprese salad made with Buffalo mozzarella and the evening's specials. I do not remember the exact dish that I was served but I remember finishing every bite and enjoying every second of it.

The food here is full of different flavors, whether it be softening the saltiness of a meat using a fried egg, or a sauce that just brings the plate to a completion point.

I definitely recommend Dolce Vita to anyone looking for an affordable Italian restaurant with an authentic taste and atmosphere.

Parking can be hectic but it is worth it!