Glass Wall

933 Studewood St
713.868.7930

A new restaurant in the Heights? Yes. A competitor to Shade? Yes. Alcohol? Yes. Should you go? Yes.

Chef Lance Fegen used to cook at Zulu. Now, in this interior-modern, neighborhood-friendly exterior restaurant, he displays his simplified food talents. Think of T'afia and their deconstructed food and combine it with strong flavors and you'll get an idea about what to expect.


I had the flavorful slab of beef. Nothing super-complicated, but seasoned and pefectly cooked so that it tasted like a more expensive piece of meat. The food is good here. The wine list is impressive, if a bit expensive.

But what do I remember? The dessert. Try the rasberry/white chocolate bread pudding. This slice of goodness has the texture of pudding, the density of bread, and tastes like heaven. Combine it with the dark caramel jus that comes in the sake container, and you'll feel like you're eating a part of heaven's cloud smothered in the naughty goodness of the devil's elixer.

Lupe Tortilla

After studiously avoiding this restaurant for the past couple of years (I really am not a big fan of most Tex-Mex), I somehow ended up eating at a Lupe Tortilla twice in the same month. It wasn't on purpose.

The first thing you need to know about this place is that it's designed for a family. Everyone there had children. The sandbox in the front (Sugar Land and Kirby location) tend to encourage the little people to come out. On Friday night we waited almost an hour to get in. Today, we didn't have to wait at all to have lunch.

I've tried the queso flameado con chorizo, the enchiladas, the tacos, and the chalupas. Ignore such nonsense, grease-filled dishes. Instead, order the tasty beef fajitas ($14). This yummy dish tastes great because of all the lemon/lime they put on the meat, the fact that there's a poblano thrown on the skillet, and the large, hand-made tortillas. An order for two should feed about three moderately hungry people.

If you're trying to have a sophisticated night or an adult night, I'd avoid this place at night as if it were Chucky Cheese itself. If you're looking for a good lime-infested fajita, give this place your full attention.

NOTE: One gripe I have is the non-chalant way they handled a potentially serious problem. A sharp piece of hard white plastic fell into the sour cream. Luckily, Rekha found it before she ate the sour cream. When we waved down the manager (not easy on Friday night), he just casually said he knew where that came from. No apology. No, "it won't happen again." Apparently, they get the sour cream in a tub with a white plastic lid. Instead of taking the lid off, they stab it to make an opening. When they stabbed it that Friday night we were there, a piece fell into the sour cream. It's a lawsuit waiting to happen. If it happens to you, e-mail me.

Notes: Gnocchi in Florence

So we were in Florence, Italy, a few weeks ago. There was some dreamy food there. Here's a picture of some gnocchi with truffle oil.

Kim Son Buffet

Just outside the Beltway on Bellaire sits this huge new Kim Son. We had the $15 per head dinner buffett here. It's a great buffet for lunch, but lacks quality for dinner--though it did have some imagination. Seafood heavy, the restaurant has some good points.

Try the congee. Flavorful, but thin, it's a nice little starter for a buffet. Then get the banh xeo (Vietnamese crepe). They put a little bit of coconut milk in the batter so it has a delicate sweetness that contrasts with the egg, bean sprouts, shrimp and other goodness in this fried delicacy. For dinner, the other food is satisfying, if a little low on quality. But what do you expect for a buffet?

If you've eaten at China Bear, you know what this restaurant is all about. It has a Vietnamese take on food and Haagen Daz on the menu: maybe justifying the higher price. So try this place for lunch when you're hungry and just want a lot of food. Avoid it for dinner.

Dharma Cafe

1302 Nance Street
713.222.6996

Fruits and Nuts. Granola Land. Apt descriptions for this very California-feeling restaurant. Small, intimate, beautiful. Located on a strip of street unknown to most mortals, Dharma Cafe exudes that hippy, happy feeling you get when you go into a local place run by people who are trying really hard to bring you good food and good hospitality.

There are only a few tables at this very small restaurant. They serve something of a fusion menu that is a little heavy on healthy eating and light on heavy eating. We started with the very yummy spicy tuna wrap ($10). Minced raw tuna, onions, spinach, and cream cheese comes wrapped in a tortilla-like wrap. It's big. Enough for 4 people to try a piece. Very tasty, if a bit spicy from the jalepenos.

I had the nicely cooked sea scallops (why the heck do you have to say "sea scallops," why not just "scallops") on a bed of spinach. Perfect amount of food for my small appetite. Rekha had the expensive and rich fettucini with shrimp. The pasta was fresh and hand cut.

For dessert we had the blueberry and coconut pie. The pie was worth the visit alone. In fact, we might just come here for dessert instead of dinner one night.

This is an intimate restaurant that can set the mood for a romantic or cultural night. The food is good, if a little pricey. We need more proprietors to try these concepts in Houston, even when they fail on some of the small details (high prices and limited menu).