Category: Dining

For all things gastronomical

We had my folks and David & Lauren & Rebekah over for dinner tonight. I grilled some steaks that Mom & Dad got at an auction in Beaumont (beautiful cuts of meat!); Anne made grilled asparagus, bake potatoes, Jello Easter Eggs, and this wonderful apple tart.

Anne's Apple Tart

Anne and I are going to start blogging our dining experiences. There are too many good and great places to eat in Houston to waste time on mediocre and poor restaurants.

Unfortunately, our first post will be a negative review of one of my old favorites, Java Java on 11th in the Heights. Back in the day, they had really good coffee and incredible croissants, and we decided to visit today after church. What a disappointment. Our table was quite rickety, and when we pointed this out to our waiter, instead of offering us another table, he just suggested we shim it with some sugar packets. I ordered the Eggs Benedict la Java [sic, not ‘à la’] and Anne had the California Burger. I started with a cup of the Flavored Coffee of the Day, which was toasted almond; not bad, but switched to regular after one cup. Despite the restaurant being less than half full, and at least five folks waiting tables, we had a heck of a time getting our beverages refilled, and it took an inordinate amount of time for our food to come. The hollandaise sauce had completely drowned the croissant the eggs were sitting on, evidence of how long it had been waiting to be delivered to our table. In addition, the croissant they used was so tough on the bottom I could not cut it with my knife. Anne’s burger was dry and way overcooked, and the advertised cilantro mayonnaise was just plain mayonnaise with a little cilantro sprinkled on top. My grits were very good, as were Anne’s fries, but not nearly enough to salvage the meal. Poor service and poor food lead us to give it a Red Light: Don’t Bother.