Wandering Fork

When living in Houston, Mister intrigued me the first time he described a “puffy” taco.  Shortly thereafter in 1998, he took me to Henry’s Puffy Taco (at the second location) because puffy tacos and tortilla soup brought back memories when he lived in San Antonio.  We met some folks he had worked with at St. Mary’s before sitting down to a fabulous Tex-Mex dinner which was tasty and inexpensive.

 

Recently, when I was scheduled for a business trip to San Antonio, I was determined to visit Henry’s again: both for the memories and the ability to call home and brag about it.

 

A lot has changed since 1998.  The new location is slick in a Joe’s Crabshack or Chili’s kind of way.  The interior lighting has improved, and the staff is friendly and attentive, however it feels more Disney-fied than the Henry’s of old.  The food is still inexpensive and I’d consider joining friends for happy hour (weekdays 3:00 p.m. – 6:00 p.m.), but the reality does not live up to my memories. 

 

For those who haven’t had experienced it, the puffy taco is a taco in a “puffed” shell and filled with meat (chicken, beef, pork) or, for vegetarians, beans and cheese or guacamole, and topped with shredded lettuce and tomatoes.  For $0.25 extra you can add cheese or sour cream to your taco or get a side of jalapenos.  The tacos are filling, so I wouldn’t recommend more than two, although I made it through three during dinner.  I was disappointed that the infamous puffy taco shell was greasy and a bit dough-y in the middle. 

 

 

The chips were solid and the salsa had a nice light burn. The margarita was okay, but I had swerved away from my traditional rocks and salt so I only have myself to blame there.  However, the lemonade was quite good, although there are no free refills. 

 

Overall, I have satiated my need to relive the past.  While I may not return because I didn’t have a beautiful food moment, I would recommend the food over some of the establishments on the Riverwalk.  It can be difficult to get to immediately after 5:00 p.m. due to 410 Loop traffic, but the location is family friendly and the servers will let you sit and chat long past dinner’s end.   

 

 

Margarita and Chips

 

 

Beef and Chicken Fajita Puffy Tacos

 

Henry’s Puffy Tacos Cantina

6030 Bandera Rd.

San Antonio, TX 78238

210 . 432 . 7341

www.henryspuffytacos.com

 

April 1, 2009 

3 x Faj. Taco w/ Cheese             $ 6.60

2 x Chicken Taco w/ Cheese       $ 4.40

1 x Side Sour Cream                 $ 0.25

2 x Lemonade                          $ 3.90

1 x Margarita (Small)                  $ 3.95  

Total                                        $19.10

 

I also want to thank Rosie for being willing to humor my dinner whims and taking this picture.  It made Mister laugh.

Puffy Taco v. Wandering Fork

 

No Comments | In: Dinner, Texas | tags: Dinner, Henry's, Margarita, Puffy, San Antonio, Taco, Tex-Mex, Texas. | #

A great place to have a group dinner is Berryhill.  This Houston, TX chain is more Cal-Mex than Tex-Mex, and can be a welcome change to the usual Texas offerings in this category.  In the ten years since the Berryhill restaurant opened, they are now consistently recognized by local media (e.g., Houston Press and Houston Chronicle) and national outlets (e.g., Food and Wine Magazine and Zagat’s Survey) for their tamales and fish tacos.

 

I usually end up at Berryhill for fish tacos and margaritas after a long day at the office.  On this date, it was a group of about seven co-workers. I was the designated driver which gave me the opportunity to try their non-alcoholic offerings.  I began with the mint lemonade which was clearly fresh-squeezed, but had an odd off-taste of lemons that either were not at their peak or the drink had sat too long and began to turn.  I then moved to the fresh squeezed orange juice which was served over ice, a serving style that I frown upon.  It was cold and it was orange, but I doubted the “fresh squeezed” title as there was no pulp and tasted like Tropicana straight from the jug.  Both were a disappointment and I would recommend sticking with the margaritas, either on the rocks or frozen, with or without salt.

 

I bypassed my usual fish taco order for something new: “original” breakfast tacos with egg, bacon, chorizo, potato, pico de gallo, and cheese in a flour tortilla. Two tacos were the perfect size for dinner and the breakfast tacos did not disappoint. Therefore, while I will continue to recommend the fish tacos, I would not hesitate to suggest some of their other taco combinations.

 

 

Berryhill in the Galleria Area

 

 

Original Breakfast Tacos

 

 

Berryhill

1717 Post Oak Blvd

Houston, TX 77056

713 . 871 . 8226

www.berryhillbajagrill.com

 

January 27, 2009

2 x Breakfast Tacos                  $4.98

1 x Mint Lemonade                   $ 2.50

1 x Orange Juice                      $ 2.50

Total                                       $9.98

 

 

No Comments | In: Breakfast, Dinner, Texas | tags: Berryhill, Houston, Tacos, Texas. | #

When I visit Houston, TX, my cravings follow nostalgia.  Returning to my old stomping grounds in the Montrose, it is amazing to see a few old favorites surviving the ongoing gentrification.  On the north side of Westheimer Blvd. among the antique and second-hand furniture dealers, rises a genie from a coffee cup.  It’s Monday which means Half Price Cake Night at Empire Café.

 

Like a favorite college sweatshirt, not much has changed at this coffee shop in over a decade since I first started dining here.  It is filled with university students, professionals, and artists, actors, and the rest of the creative class.  The tables and décor may be a little more worn, but the dim lighting lends a soft glow to the charms of the pinup girls on the walls.  Outside, couples and groups enjoy the warm evenings, talking and laughing in the candlelight.

 

Ordering at the counter, I chose the pasta special with shrimp which includes a salad and a slice of chocolate cake.  Taking a number and my cake, I sit at a corner table inside.  A few minutes later, my salad is delivered.  I contemplate eating the cake first, a practice my grandfather encouraged in my youth.  But, I resist and start with the salad.  The salad is filled with greens that are green, no iceberg here, and the dressing is tossed in, lightly covering each leaf.  A couple of tomato slices and a piece of bread, almost a large crouton, are added as garnish. When the entrée is delivered, I discover the portions are larger than I remembered. Spinach linguini is tossed with shrimp, artichoke hearts, and portabella mushrooms and then covered by a cream sauce. The shrimp were large, the mushrooms sautéed.  The pasta did not have the heavy taste or texture you usually find in wheat or vegetable-based noodles.  Although very good, the downfall for the dish had more to do with my personal preference than the kitchen’s execution. My preference for bowl-served pasta is not to have a lot of liquid sauce gathering at the bottom. It creates an opaque pool from which the diner has to fish out their meal. (If I was in the mood for this type of activity, I’d eat fondue, not pasta.) Between the portion size and the excess sauce in the dish, I did not finish the entrée.

 

As noted earlier, it is the dessert that brings me to Empire Café. Each Monday, you can get a slice of cake including Toll House Cookie Crunch (mmmmm!), German Chocolate, Carrot, Hummingbird, Lemmon Poppy Seed, Chocolate Peanut Butter, and Berry White, among others. Usually there are about six different types from which to choose, however your favorite may not always be available.  Unfortunately, my two favorites, Toll House Cookie and German Chocolate, were unavailable, so I chose the reliable combination of chocolate cake with chocolate icing accompanied by a glass of milk.  It was as good as I remembered, moist and sweet, with enough sugar to keep me going for a couple more hours after a long day of travel.  

 

While I won’t drink the coffee which I find over roasted and poorly prepared for espresso drinks, it is still a good place to meet friends over a simple meal, dessert, or drinks.

 

 

Salad with Blue Cheese Dressing

 

 

Linguini with Shrimp and Artichoke Hearts

 

 

Chocolate Cake - View 1

Chocolate Cake - View 2

 

Empire Café

1732 Westheimer Rd
Houston, TX 77098

www.empirecafe.net

 

January 26, 2009

1 x Pasta Special                      $10.25

1 x Salad (incl. w/ entrée)           $ 0.00

1 x Chocolate Cake                   $ 2.95 (usually $5.95)

1 x Milk                                     $ 1.95

Total                                        $15.15

 

 

 

 

 

No Comments | In: Dessert, Dinner, Texas | tags: Cake, Empire Cafe, Houston, Pasta, Salad, Texas. | #