New Place: Fratelli's Ristorante

Fratelli's Ristorante
1330 Wirt Rd
Houston, TX 77055


First of all, this was a spur of the moment Groupon Now. We decided to buy two Groupons for the brunch on Sunday.


We are not usually inclined to leave the comfort of our home neighborhood in Montrose but we figured we could branch out for a lazy Sunday brunch.


The View: Run of the mill shopping center with a few tables outside. The interior was the expected murals of someplace far away, and table linens of an odd orange color. It had a very storefront feel to it.

The Service: We were seated immediately and our drinks came out quickly. My mimosa was acceptable, although a little strange to me that it was served in a red wine glass and not a champagne flute. The coffee was ok, nothing to write home about, I guess I just assumed since it was an Italian restaurant the coffee would be wonderful.

The Food: Italian brunch....yes, lot's of pasta. But it was the real thing. The alfredo was creamy and the penne was flavorful and the mushroom crepes were delicious! My omlette was perfect and the chef was accommodating. There were no muffins or croissants or sweet yummy things. Just a few dishes that would have been seen at a lunch buffet. Not spectacular but at least filling.

The Dissappointment: We were looking forward to some kind of yummy Italian pastry. It wasn't until we were out the door and looking behind us when we see the beautiful dessert/croissant table. To the left of the front door. The door we entered and were directed to the right to be seated. Never was it pointed out or even in view. Yes, you would think we would have noticed it on the way in but I only thought it was the 'preview' table some restaurants have upon arriving.

The Judgement: We won't go back. Not because of any one thing. Restaurants in neighborhoods outside of the city proper (the loop) have more churches than dining establishments and don't have enough competition to drive them to be Great, they can get by just fine being OK. The local Spring Branch folk are missing out on Great brunch.

Happy music!

New Place: The Blue Fish

The Blue Fish Sushi ; Houston

550 Texas Str, Houston, TX 77002 - (713) 225-3474

The Story: Today is my day off and after we combined our car insurance policies and went to the gym we were pooped! The Fiancé was staaaarving since he hadn't eat a thing all day. We could have gotten something quick but hey, a day off is a rare thing and I wanted to get something goooo-oooood! It was his idea to look for someplace with a good sushi happy hour. I personally have never been to a sushi happy hour and thought it would be perfect. Basically, we had dinner at the same time as most retirees on their way to Luby's. I can guarantee we ate a lot better than those folks! I looked up "best sushi happy hour in houston" while he was in the shower. This is the review I found...

"Where do I begin?? I love sushi happy hour, and The Blue Fish is number one on my list.

I'm not writing this review about the perfect service we received or that the ambiance is fitting for a romantic dinner or a group setting... but what I want to expound on is how the food AND prices were wonderful."

This was exactly what we were looking for. We are not so concerned with romantic since we can make romantic at home, we were looking for quality AND quantity!

The View: Located in the heart of Bayou Place, The Blue Fish has a beautiful view. When you walk by you see elegant outdoor seating, complete with white table cloths, candles and flowers. Outside of the entrance are comfortable looking couches and coffee tables. Indoors the usual Japanese sushi restaurant decor; small hanging LED lights, very IKEA mixed with nightclub colors. Hues of blue, gray and green. Easy on the eyes, serene and calm. As a side note, the bathroom was beautiful, very much

glass and steel decor, very clean and calm. With more of the blue and greens.

The Service: We sat at the bar in order to experience the Happy Hour specials. Our server/bartender was extremely knowledgeable. Perfect salesman technique, found out what we liked by asking the right questions and the recommended items that would fit what we were looking for. He answered every question posed to him, including weather the fish was frozen or not. Evidently their fish is never frozen. That seemed to be something they were very proud out. On a poster marquee on the pation there was an advert for the restaurant that said, "Friends don't let friends eat frozen fish". He gave us the prices for beers, sake and wine up front. We didn't have to ask for a thing, he seemed to know exactly what he was doing. The manager came by and greeted us, shaking our hands and getting our names. We had about 3 people helping us, AT

THE BAR! It was terrific to feel like our serer actually enjoyed his job!

The Fare: The food. The Food. THE Food! Was AMAZING! We had an item that was recommended both on Yelp and by the server. It was called a "Mini Me" Ahi Tower. It was a layered item in a shot glass. It's hard to describe....let me go to the interwebs and find some help.

...

Ok, I cheated a little bit. I couldn't find a description but I found a picture (you have no idea what I had to do to get this!). This little tower is served in a shot glass with a tiny spoon under it all. I believe it consists of salmon tartar, crab, avocado, rice and small amount of caviar with a wasabi mayo. It's a blend of both textures and flavors, temperatures and color. Splendid little thing. You get 2 for $3. Yeah, seriously, good price.

I had fried calamari with two types of dips. A spicy chipotle mayo and a ginger honey. About $4 it was the perfect amount. Similar in size and shape to about 8 large onion rings.

The sashimi, oh goodness the sashimi was so wonderful it should have been illegal. I've never in my life had tuna that truly melted in my mouth. My teeth felt like they were going to lose their jobs. And at $4 for 3 large pieces it was worth it.

The rolls I chose I were the avocado and eel and the yellowtail and scallions. The ratio of rice to filling was 1:3. There was considerable more filling than rice. Which I believe is important. The rice is simply a transportation device for the delectables inside. The eel and avocado were of such similar texture I didn't know what my tongue was swirling through, avocado or eel? It was enough to drive my mouth crazy!

The Fiance and I shared a little bit of everything except when we ordered seconds. He got spicy tuna rolls that (he said) were spicier than most places (he likes spiiiiiiicy!). I ordered DESSERT for the first time in forever! On the Happy Hour menu they had "Chocolate Spring Rolls". They were the perfect dessert in keeping with the sushi theme. Also, one of the lightest desserts I've seen on a menu. Almost more an amuse bouche. One side of the plate was a small mound of vanilla ice cream with chocolate sauce and strawberry slices. The other side had four petite spring rolls with a strawberry puree as decor and added flavor. How to describe this decadent blend of east and west? Imagine taking a piece of a Hershey bar (the ones that snap of to share) and rolling it in rice paper, frying it and putting it on a plate. The chocolate was melty but not gooey, it didn't have the texture of fudge or frosting. It was most certainly a melted piece of chocolate. *sigh* I kind of miss those little guys right now.

The chocolate spring rolls went quite well with my Sipporo ($2 pint). I had finished a large bottle of saki ($2) and wanted something cold.

The Bill: We did go a little crazy with the food. The Fiance hadn't eaten all day and we even ordered seconds and dessert. With our drinks and everything our tab was about $57. Don't let that scare you. I could have very very very easily eaten and drank for $13 by myself (and that includes sake!)

The End: We both left happy and couldn't stop talking about the meal, the place, the service and the price. There is not question in my mind that this will be a regular sushi place for us.