Delices De Maurice

A new gourmet bakery Delices De Maurice has recently opened up and I love to see new places that are family owned and not your average cookie cutter spot. I went with 2 other friends for lunch and fell in love just walking in. It reminded me of our travels and I instantly felt like I was back on vacation again!

Everything is on display here so you can see what you get. Of course it also makes you want it all!

We finally settled on what we wanted to order and headed to take a seat. While we waited the owner brought out a sample of the tomato bisque since that’s one of the items we where debating. I personally did not care for it. I think mostly because I am so accustomed to the creamy based ones that this one was more rustic and made me think of pureed pasta sauce.

I ordered the onion soup $7 and holy smokes is it worth it. It’s packed full of onions and tons of flavor. I love the thick fresh bread on top just covered in cheese. This soup is done right in all the right ways! I also got the grilled chicken crepe $11.50. It’s filled with chicken, mozzarella and swiss cheese, mushrooms, avocado and pesto sauce. I think it was nicely done with a perfect thickness of crepe. I do think it was lacking in so flavoring, maybe a little seasoning or more smoky grill taste to offset the creamy cheese and avocado flavor.

My friend ordered the club sandwich. I didn’t see the price, but it was huge and easily enough for 2 people. the potatoes nestled in the middle where AMAZING! We could have eaten a whole plate of them! They also had a really nice garlic mayo sauce on the sandwich which balanced it out nicely.

Their menu has a nice selection and it’s also a great spot to grab a coffee and pastry. I do hope people stop in and they make it, as we could use more unique places like this around!

Olympia Grill

Sometimes the appearance of a place can fool you until you go inside and have the most wonderful meal. The Olympia Grill is tucked away in a strip center and once you see their menu you are blown away at how many things they have to offer.

My son ordered the kids pizza which was actually really good and only $5.99.

D ordered the Grilled Seafood Platter $24.99 (Includes flakey white fish, fried calamari, gulf shrimp, crab cake. Grilled or Fried.) All of the seafood was cooked well and tasted really fresh. A must order if you can’t decide and want a variety.

I ordered the Shrimp and Eggplant Casserole $18.99 (Layers of eggplant, mushroom, pastitsio noodles, cream cheese, mozzarella and Parmesan. Topped with 3 grilled shrimp and marinara.) I loved every bite of this dish!

I honestly can’t wait for our next trip back down to Galveston to try some of their other menu items!

Banger’s

I’ve had my eye on Banger’s from several reviews I read and I was stoked to finally give them a try. We met up with my niece who lives in the area and attending UT. Warning – This place will get busy in a hurry when the weather is nice! We happened to go on a Sunday when they had brunch. There’s a live band and it’s also known as being packed for brunch. Parking is limited in the area so plan on hiking a little or get there super early. We stood in line at least 30 min before getting a table which they won’t let you save seats so be sure your whole party is there!

We sat outside to listen to the band (Boss Street Brass Band). If highly recommend following this group they are AMAZING!

During their brunch they are most known for The Manmosa $15 (a liter of behemoth of champagne with a splash of orange juice) and there is a limit of 1 per customer and you must order food! I’m picky when it comes to mimosas, but I was pleasantly surprised at how good this one is which leads me to see why it’s so popular. 

D ordered the Stone Mikhail’s Odd $7.50 which was also really good.

The food does take a while to come out, so I advise bringing a small game like Left, Right, Center.

For the food D ordered the Bratwurst $8 (comes with sauerkraut and whole grain mustard on a kolache bun) They’re sausages are all house made and really good!

I ordered the Banger’s Benny $13 (Braised pork belly, poached egg, and hollandaise sauce on an English muffin, topped with chipotle-dusted shoestring potatoes.) Highly recommend it’s so good!

If in Austin this is a must stop! Highly recommend this place and would love to visit again to try some other dishes!!

Longhorn Steakhouse Steak Master Series

This is the second year Longhorn has put together the Steak Master Series contest, challenging all of their chefs from the kitchen with a series of test to pass in order to advance to the next round. I was lucky enough to attend the semi-final round for our region and boy let me tell you. These guys know their stuff!

I really loved all of the details of this event. What was even more awesome was seeing these guys in their element in action at the grill. Each of them had a special spark, humble and you could tell they do what they love!

One thing Longhorn Steakhouse has perfected is consistency! Every time I have visited and different locations, they really do perfect what they do and make sure you have the same flavor at each location. I fell in love with the fried okra today and their steakhouse mac and cheese has a nice creaminess to it along with bacon that makes everything better.

After we sampled the steak and sides it was time to get to business and learn who would be moving on to National Finals later in June. (Michael Coates, Mauricio Salazar, Darius Jones)

3^rd Place: Mauricio Salazar, Houston, TX

2^nd Place: Darius Jones, Fort Smith, AR

Champion: Michael Coates, Denver, CO

I’m sad our local boy didn’t win, but I’m proud to have Michael represent us in the West! Congrats to all the entries this year! Be sure to swing by your local Longhorn Steakhouse and taste their amazing steaks grilled to perfection!

Also, be sure to sign up on their website and enjoy a free appetizer sent to your inbox!

Glass Wall

Glass Wall has caught my eye on the Houston Restaurant Week menu, but we never got a chance to try them out. We finally just decided lets just go on a date night. After dinner we decided we’ll be back for sure!

The inside is nice and trendy. They had a few floor heaters going since it was a cold night. We had to slip our jacket on a couple of times because it seemed the cold air was seeping through.

We started out with the Hamachi Poke Tacos $15 (avocado, ginger, wasabi, ponzu). D said he wouldn’t order again, but I liked them. Not at the price point but they where filling.

We also got a flavored butter and nice soft fluffy house made bread while we waited.

I ordered the Hereford Beef Tenderloin $34 (spinach/bone marrow mashers, cabernet demi glaze). This dish was wonderful! I thought the mashers should have had a little more of the bone marrow flavor, but they where really light and perfectly whipped.

D ordered the Coffee Crusted Pork Chop $28 (hericot vert/sweet potato mash, espresso demi jus). He said he should have gone with his gut and picked something else. The saving grace of this dish was the sauce.

Finally for dessert we shared the Espresso Cheesecake $9 (Espresso Chocolate Sauce, Cinnamon Whipped Cream). O…M….G is this good! I found a similar recipe on Pinterest I can’t wait to try. It’s so good and the cinnamon whipped cream makes it!