Outback Takeout

This is one of my secret vices. I do this about once a month. There are a number of reasons why

1 They are close to the house
2 You can order on line and with their new software you have all the options presented to you without having to interact with a non knowledgeable or rushed phone person at the restaurant
3 They have curb side pickup
4 In general food is not too bad

Below is one of the best appetizers. I use to get this and Shrimp on the Barbie (this has disappeared from the menu) all the time. At this point the other appetizers do not appeal to me
The luscious sweet shrimp with the coconut crunch and mustard spiked marmalade seem to be a match made in heaven

Shrimp en Fuego Large crispy shrimp, sliced mushrooms and fresh tomatoes in a spicy, creamy sauce. Paired with fresh steamed French green beans. This is a new item. Sorta of like bang bang shrimp. Shrimp is fried (tailless) then tossed in slightly spicy sauce (very creamy). Halfed grape tomatoes and mushrooms are sauteed until just soft with herbs and al dente green beans. The shrimp are sorta ladled into a fried potato skin. This combo really worked for me except the green beans. I rarely like things al dente and this was no exception. The shrimp and tomatoes went well together. Nice flavor profile. Would order this again without the green beans

Big Daddy's Sports Grill

I took Good Friday off. After finishing up my taxes (yes I usually wait this long to do them) I decided to treat myself to Clark's crawfish etouffee. Closed for Good Friday. I have been trying to go to Nina P for the last couple of weeks. Never seem to hit it right. Closed for Good Friday. Aha Dana Kaye around the corner. Closed for Good Friday. I know O'Charley's would not be closed and they have decent food. However when I got to Sale St. This place popped into my head. I usually go for breakfast but I know they do plate lunches. Plus they had just expanded into the adjoining space so what the heh lets see if they are open. Eureka.

The gumbo of the day was crab and shrimp. I got a cup. Pure heaven. You don't see many commercial gumbo that use whole crab parts. The shrimp and crab were pretty much overcooked but they had given up their goodness for the broth. Dark roux and thin with tons of crab flavor. The rice on the side was excellent. Best gumbo I have had in a long while

The plate lunch was over stuffed. You got a fried catfish strip (light cornmeal crust done just right crispy outside moist interior). A real honest to god in house hush puppy not a pre fab. Had corn kernels and onion in it. Doctored green beans and their fantastic grilled potatoes came as sides. They also had spicy shrimp and rice. I was expecting a dark shrimp stew kinda of thing. What I got was a light sauce with shrimp and green onions. There was a spice in there I did not like and could not put my finger on. So the shrimp did not work for me but the rest of the meal was outstanding and exactly what I was looking for. I peek into the new room. A nice little bandstand with a bar and extra tables and chairs. Decorated in the sports theme.

Also got a small piece of coconut meringue pie. Nice

El Tapatio

Had not been here in awhile. I was headed to Kyoto but by the time I got there it was after two thirty. Same warm greeting as usual at this place. While I should be exploring the menu more I usually end up ordering the same things. They do not have an appetizer small enough to feed just one. As usual I go to the a la carte section. I was a bit hungrier than usual so I got three tamales instead of one. These tamales have a thin masa coat with taco meat inside. Then the top it with their red sauce throw more taco meat on top and add cheese. It then goes under the broiler. I consider these the best in town at this point. Let me know if there is better

Next came my favorite here. Cocktel de Cameron. A sweet and spicy gazpacho with a ton of boiled shrimp and avocado slices. They use to present this in a depression era green glass. Now they do in a large martini glass. By the way this is a small which goes for about $5. They had lots of onions and red jalapeno in this one. It starts out with a sweet flavor but the heat slowly creeps up on you. By the time I finish one I am sweating but I am addicted to that sweet heat.

Again nothing on this menu comes out like you expect. It is always better and freshly made. Warning no liquor license but that has never put off people looking for good food. Parking lot always filled up for lunch and dinner

Regalia

OUT AND ABOUT
Regalia Cafe & Market
411 West College
Lake Charles, LA
337-564-0932
www.regaliacafeandmarket.com
Tuesday - Friday 1:00 PM to 7:00 PM $3-$35
Saturday 11:00 AM to 3:00 PM
As hopped menu offerings, seating and market items have expanded with time. In the spirit of Lent I give you the non-meat items available. First of all I tried the Falafel Wrap. Falafel is a mixture of fava beans and chickpeas ground with herbs and spices. They are formed into patties and then fried. Put in a pita wrap along with hummus and tzatziki sauce, delicious. If you have never had them the texture and taste will satisfy a meat eater. It especially nice here because it is fried to order. Definitely my favorite thing here to eat. Next up is the Veggie Wrap. This contains olive mix, hummus, tzatziki, mozzarella and tabouli in a pita bread wrap. A light and refreshing alternative with wonderful flavor and great balance of flavors. Runs a close second. They also have a no meat platter. It’s items are a spinach, onion and potato filled kibbies, spicy tomato and rice stuffed grape leaves, a pasta salad with feta cheese and olives, mejadra (lentils and rice) and hummus. Spinach lovers will enjoy the kibbie. The contrast between the fried Bulgar and spinach make a nice contrast. The grape leaves have a clean spicy bite to them, my favorite on this plate. The pasta salad has a wonderful olive flavor and the mejadra rings true to a red beans and rice guy. The regular meat platter has change a bit. It now has the pasta salad and yellow rice along with sliced meat, regular kibbie and regular grape leave.
They also offer pressed sandwiches and meze (kind like a big antipasto tray of Mideast goodies). In the dessert department they have baklava, home made mamoul (a wheat and cream of wheat crust with a chopped pecan center (not too sweet)), Italian Ice and premium ice cream from a New Orleans company. If you like the taste of coffee you will flip over the Coffee and Chicory one. Speaking of coffee they do Arabic (Turkish) coffee here. You can find me most Friday afternoons sipping this ultimate fruit of the coffee bean munching on a mamoul (perfect accompaniment)
This is not a fast food place. This is take your time and unwind while savoring great coffee, food and conversation place. See you there.


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Yum Yum Cha

ABOUT AND BEYOND
Yum Yum Cha
2435 Times Blvd
Houston TX 77005
713-527-8455
Monday - Sunday 11:00 AM - 5:00 PM $1 to $6
This hole-in -the-wall Dim Sum place in Rice Village is like no other place you have been to, small (sits maybe 30 people) and quite stark. It is all about the food and not the atmosphere. Also no carts roll here. You order “a al carte” from a paper menu with abut 60 options. In a ring system on the table are pictures of the food items so you can see what you are getting. They make everything fresh and bring it to your table as it is finished. Do not expect to see everything arriving at the same time. If you have patience you will be rewarded with excellent food. Service itself can be rude especially if you are not a regular. So hang tough and forbear for the reward.
I was alone so I could order all the strange stuff I love and others people roll their eyes at. Be assured they also have the normal stuff except it tastes better since it is made to order. After placing my order they started coming out in a steady progression after a slight delay
First to hit the table was Jook with Pork and Preserved Duck Egg. This is rice gruel, which I absolutely love. A lot I like about dim sum is the mouth feel of certain items. I must have Chinese genes because I love unctuous gelatinous textures. The 100-year-old egg in the Jook was just the white, which turns black during the process. They tasted like unflavored jello. The pork lent great flavor however. Next came Foong Jow. Really nice large braised chicken feet in soy. They had lots of skin and scrumptious sticky gelatin. Ngau Pak Yet appeared. Braised beef tripe with ginger and spring onions. It proved to posses a light and snappy taste with just the right mouth feel (not at all chewy) and melted in the mouth. The ginger made all the difference in the flavor. Ngau Tow followed. Steamed beef stomach with a black bean sauce and chile flakes. A bit chewier but still good texture. The spiciness of the dish made it that much better. Next came Law Bak Go, turnip cake (maybe my favorite dish). This one contained pork and shrimp. It is kind of like a stiff pudding with a mild turnip taste that has been pan seared. The mouth feel and taste make this a must have for me. Chai Sui So is a baked BBQ pork bun. While OK I prefer the steamed kind (least favorite of the meal). For a bit of sweet I got Dow Sai Jen Ban. It consists of red bean paste stuffed in a rice flour pastry steamed then coasted with sesame seeds and pan sauteed. Just enough sweet without being cloying.
All in all, the best dim sum experience I have ever had. I have eaten dim sum in San Francisco, New York and London, none better. If you are in Houston and are a dim sum nut like me give it a try. Patience is the key.


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New Products

Kleinpeter , dairy from Baton Rouge is selling their product in Lake Charles Albertsons. I pick up a pint of this favor. I would have like to have tried Cafe' Au Lait or Sweet Potato PIe (not available in Lake Charles Ryan St store) but they do not package in pints. As you can see they try to use Louisiana products in it. This one was rich vanilla ice cream with a caramal swirl with blotches of cooked sugar and sugar coated pecans. Very little over run. Well worth the price. Their milk is even priceier than Bordens so I did not try it. Here is a link to their site
http://kleinpeterdairy.net/Main.aspx

I love looking for new Zapp's flavors. I had never tried this one. Usually sweet potato chips come with cinammon sugar coating. The light salt suited this one. The chips are very crisp (wish I knew the secret to that) not over cooked and the naturallly sweet flavor played well against the slight saltiness. Here is their website. Beware it takes awhile and has music

http://www.zapps.com/zapps_crunch.htm

Pho Tien

Cha sue da. Vietnamese coffee. CDM (cafe du monde) grounds in it own little drip pot. In the cup some sweetened condensed milk. Stir up and then pour over ice. Best iced coffee you ever had. Excellent to calm spicy foods

Bun Bon Hue. The soup from Hue (ancient capital of Vietnam) It is a spicier version of Pho with both pork and beef. This is a minimalist version. It just has slices of beef and pork. Other versions I have had contained all kinds of body parts. The noodle here are still rice but larger.