NOTES: While Rome Burned...

While Rome burned, Nero played the fiddle. Rita is barrelling down upon us. There is a 100 mile traffic jam (no I'm not making that number up) to Dallas. It's taking 16 hours to get to Austin when it should take 2.5 hours. So what do Rekha and I do? We go to Central market, pick-up some gourmet food and have ourselves a feast.

Don't get me wrong. I'm pretty apprehensive aboutt his whole thing. But what to do? My parents are staying. I can't just leave them here alone. We've moved the furniture around our place a bit, but it's a corner unit town-home with three stories. We're a quarter of a mile from buffalo bayou. I'm not sure any of this is going to help if we face wind and flood more severe than our house is rated.

I'll write more about our stay here when I get the chance. Oh yeah... What did we have for dinnder? Cowboy burger with potato salad and Rekha's tres bon spinach souffle. For dessert we'll have a chocolate mousse ribbon cake.

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Cova Wine Bar

5600 Kirby

Many kudos to Monsterville (as you'll find out, that really is his name) for opening Cova Wine Bar. Houston has needed a spot like this for a VERY LONG TIME. I can't tell you how happy I am that they opened. It's a little like Beso's or Mi Luna, but without the pressure to purchase a full meal. Tapas run from $6 to $12 or you can order the full entree for about double the price of the tapa.

Monsterville bills this place as a wine bar, but for non-wine afficianados like me, the place has a great kitchen. Saturday night we found out the executive chef left, but the pastry chef took over and the food came out excellent. Monsterville in all his red shirt glory is planning to open a second one of these near my neck of the woods on Washington Avenue. I can't wait.

I know this is a short review, but I'll talk about the food and the wine a bit later when I have more time to write.

Boudreaux Cajun Kitchen

5475 West Loop S
713.838.2200

As a tribute to our New Orleans neighbors (quite literally neighbors now), we wanted to have some Cajun food. Except that we didn't want to pay Brennan's or Pappadeaux prices, so we opted for Boudreaux's Cajun Kitchen. It's a chain, but you can forgive them for that sin given their prices.

We had a bowl of gumbo, blackened catfish, and a large Greek salad for $25. The blackened catfish came freshly grilled with the appropriate amount of spice globbed on. It came on a bed of dirty rice that tasted dirty--just the way I like it. The gumbo? We had the shrimp gumbo that came with succulent shrimp and a broth that tasted spicy and deep. I actually prefer the gumbo here at Boudreaux compared to the slightly bitter Pappadeaux version. Rekha's Greek salad didn't hold a candle to the Pappadeaux version, but it was an acceptable less expensive salad.

If you're looking for some good and inexpensive cajun food, give this place a shot. It offers up fresh cooked food in a clean pleasant environment.

NOTES - The Social Katrina Fund-Raiser

I haven't posted something off-topic in a while, but thought Katrina would be worth the effort. Asia Society Young Professionals (there are quite a few non-Asians in the group) is hosting a fund-raiser at the Social Wednesday at 6:00. We've found folks to match your money twice over. So, if you contribut $50, we'll find an additional $100 in matching funds. This is a great way to raise money. Come join us and say hello.