Cafe Eccell – Dessert menu, please?

Are there sit-down restaurants that you would go out of your way to just for the dessert? When I’m in Berkeley, I would stroll down Shattuck for Herbivore’s coconut ice cream and rhubarb pie. When I’m in Houston, I would drive 2 hours to College Station for Eccell‘s bread pudding. Crazy, you say? Well, 😀 I blame Beverly for recommending Eccell, I blame my parents for spoiling me, and most of all, I blame myself for sometimes being unreasonably particular about food. Tucked away at the west end of University, Cafe Eccell is a posh little resto: black wooden table, old brick walls, just enough sunlight through the simplistic rectangular windows to connect the quiet world it contains with the happening streets it sees. Its staff is cordial. Its setting would suit the more respectable guests for a casual lunch. However, I had no memories of its lunch entrees and I don’t intend to create new memories of them. However, I do vaguely recall having a good slice of key lime pie, so when Beverly suggested the strawberry tart, I felt complied to give it a try. I must admit […]

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A Haiku in College Station

Afternoon leaves fall, family of three gathers by hot noodle soups. How d’ya like my first ever haiku, inspired by a linner (lunch/dinner) at Haiku? 😀 5-7-5 syllables (not on, though), with kigo (seasonal reference) and kireji (cutting word) too… You can’t say I didn’t try. This was the easiest Japanese/Korean restaurant we could get to while driving on University. It’s more Japanese than Korean, evident from the short section of bibimbaps and whutnot among everything sushi. Seeing how this weather cries for soups, Mom decides on some piping kalbi tang (갈비탕). It’s not as oomphing good as the one I had at Bi Won in Santa Clara, just how many Koreans live in College station after all (*), but it sure is satisfying with loads of egg in a beef bone stock. Continue reading A Haiku in College Station

Martin’s Place – BBQ for nine decades and counting

We dive into the briskets and ribs at Martin’s Place for my birthday in 2011. That’s their 86th year. I was born in ’86. I like to think Martin’s and I share some common destiny to cross path, beside the appreciation of good ribs. There is one flimsy door to the side of the red brick building, facing the supposed parking lot, which is just a flat pebble-and-dust land free to park wherever convenient. Crack open the flimsy door, we turn the knob of another, more solid door to the interior, and with it being our first time, we awkwardly stand there looking at the few customers who are in for an early lunch, not sure whether we should wait or just pick a table ourselves. The only hostess of Martin’s Place points us to a table next to a window with broken blinds. The menus stand ready by the side of sugar, salt, and hot sauce. At first she seems a bit indifferent to us, the opposite of her cheerful friendliness to the likely long-term acquainted patrons at the other tables, but as I tell her that it is […]

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Old timer Cenare

Colorful Tortellini Toscana at Cenare, College Station, TX How do you write about a place you haven’t been to for ages? The consensus is that fresh memories, like fresh ingredients, are best for blogging. I often find myself writing effortlessly about a meal I just finish or an event from which I just depart, when the details have yet to sneak out the back door. If I wait two weeks, the tastes are still there, the ambiance is still there, but the minute corner-of-the-eye observations are gone. If I wait a month, expectations creep in to fill the fuzzy spots: I write what I think should be true as pictures trigger the taste buds, but reality can certainly outplay expectation anytime. When I wait a year, even the ambiance is nothing but a flimsy strain of smoke. Notes may take care of facts, but when memory fades, so does the flow to glue the facts together into a comprehensible piece. I’m now in such affair with Cenare. Continue reading Old timer Cenare

TAMU Physics building: Beauty and Brain

Just a few months ago, only certain people could go inside to inspect the construction, and everyone permitted had to wear hard hats. Now, driving on University, it would be hard to miss the gigantic banner leisurely hung to announce a brand new presence, that was much awaited and is worth every minute of effort put into it. The two physics buildings at A&M are a charm, and doesn’t one of them (left picture) remind you of some famous structure? (Hint: something in New York). Seven stories high (including the basement for laboratories), the newborn Mitchell Institute now houses the high energy theorists and the astrophysicists, as well as a brass Foucault pendulum complete with a full electronic protractor. Marking a crimson comet tail along its path, the pendulum pridefully swings across the floor, its movement sparks gratification in the eyes of Prof. Edward Fry, the department head. (For comparison, the pendulum at the Houston science museum is tracked by knocking down wooden pegs, much less chance for malfunction and more eco-friendly, I guess?). And just to entertain your scientific mind, every step you make […]

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Feast at the House of Sbisa(*)

This is it. My last day at TAMU, at least for a while. Also my last meal at Sbisa for a while. I’ve eaten here almost every Sunday and used to eat here every dinner my freshman year (I was naïve and got a meal plan then). They’ve raised the price since then too, so that if you don’t have a meal plan you have to pay about 25-30% more than those who do, but it’s an all-you-can-eat buffet, hence cheap for those with big appetite. With 8.25 you can make your own salad, make your own burger, wait in line for crepes, or do what I usually do: go straight to the main arrays of meats, veggie, rice, potato, rolls, etc. then head to the dessert and grab a cookie or two. Sbisa’s chocolate chip cookies are unrivaled. They usually have someone cutting barbecued brisket or ribs too, poor guy cuts and cuts, so many students always stand around waiting for him with hawk hungry eyes. Continue reading Feast at the House of Sbisa(*)

Rainy outside, cozy in Madden’s

Here in College Station, the first weekend of spring break is a wonderful time to eat out (except on Sunday, when no non-chain restaurant is opened). Especially when it rains lightly and is cold. Like today. No students, little traffic, plenty of parking space. We tried out Madden’s today. I’ve been there before, but I tend to ignore street names and number, rely on my sense of direction and memory of the building’s color and architecture to find a place. It’s a mistake in downtown Bryan. Every building is about the same style, either stained white or bright red brick. We got lost, and hungry. But that’s ok, we were treated by crusty fresh bread and a very friendly waitress once we were seated. I feel bad when the waitresses say their names and I can never remember them. So-so oil dip, not too much of an enhancement. A little more butter on the crust than for those who are not interested in buttery fingers. Anyway, strong recommendation for the bread. We did not have to wait long for our entrees. 3 plates, 6 crab cakes total. School work has kept […]

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Li xi*

Wellsfargo has always been my favorite bank, for small reasons. Very recently I have one more small reason to like it. I usually go to this Wellsfargo bank on University Dr. Last Saturday morning, I saw these red envelopes (well, not as decorated as the one on the right, but still nice red ones) on the teller’s counter. I asked her how much they cost, and she said they’re free to take. I also overheard the tellers’ chatting about eating opossums. Now that is new. The teller who helped me said her grandfather ate them (but personally she wouldn’t want to find out how they taste). I wonder how they taste, but I wouldn’t go out of my way to get barbecued opossum with mushroom sauteed in melted mozarella cheese topped with grounded peanuts or whatever. Anyway, cultural thoughtfulness, generosity, friendly tellers, interesting conversations to gossip, what else can you expect from a bank? *Red envelope is called “bao li xi” in Vietnamese.

Cha lua – Snow White of the Sausages

Today it snows…… in Texas. Yep, College Station… It was 70°F yesterday, and this morning I went outside at 10:30, seeing shrubs, lawns, cars, and the roof of the All Faiths Chapel covered in white. But I didn’t have my camera with me then. And it is snowing outside my window right now, for hours, but little Kodak can’t capture this momentous event through 2mm thick and dirty glass, so that I have no hope of disproving people who laugh at Texas for not having snow. Not that it will be long. AccuWeather says Sunday may reach record high of 82°F set in 1921. Aw… you mean I can wear my gloves only one day a year? That’s what you get for living in the South your whole life (so far). Have some snow white food instead. (Presented to you by Eistube with limited commercials, production of Gio Cha Duc Huong, Houston, TX.) I have faith in sausages. I’ll try haggis when I find a place in America that has it. Meaty, seasoned, high in calorie, compact, preservable, easy for cooking, efficient, what more can you expect from a […]

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Rosie’s Pho – part 2

Vietnamese The pho was good. The broth was beefy and the noodle was brothy. Every twirl you manage to pick up with the pair of disposable bamboo chopsticks was worth inhaling a deep breath for the flavor to soak your taste buds and dally with your turbinate. The tripe and the sweet onion rings texture-wise taste about the same to me (see, tripe tastes just fine!), which is good, since I’m soft-tongued and those little zings of spiciness can easily bring me to tears. Tendon and Flank were, frankly, tender, but still a good change of texture from the lean brisket consistency and the rice noodle naivete. Rosie’s Pho does not serve just pho. It serves a whollota things. Mudpie once amusedly predicted that one day its menu will include pizza and hamburgers. But no, it has stopped expanding, at a menu large enough that I had to carouse over for 5 minutes to find my order amidst various noodle and rice dishes. But my dad didn’t take that long, and he didn’t even have glasses on. So here’s his order: Continue reading Rosie’s Pho – part 2

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