New Affordable Lunch Menus
Lunch Menus Under $11
BlackFinn American Grille: 1910 Bagby / 713.651.9550
Next lunch break stop into the new BlackFinn American Grille and choose from a $7.99 and under lunch menu. If it’s a pasta kind of day, try Blackened Chicken Alfredo Pasta or Sausage and Peppers Pasta. For a lighter lunch have the Pick 2 with your choice of: soup of the day, an appetizer salad or half any signature flatbread. BlackFinn also boasts daily Monday – Friday lunch specials.
Freebirds
For a fast and customizable lunch fly into any of Freebirds World Burrito's 15 locations. Mix and match ingredients for the perfect burrito. Build a Hybrid or Freebird sized burrito with your choice of steak, carnitas, chicken or veggie for less than $7. Choose from flour, cayenne, wheat or spinach tortillas, add rice, choice of beans, spice it up with habenero sauce or cool it down with ranch, plus pile on the freebies. Add queso, guacamole or sour cream for $0.79 and a side of chips and salsa for$1.99. Some assembly required for a meal all wrapped up for less than $11. There are 15 Freebirds locations in Houston from The Woodlands to Beaumont and more opening soon.
TQLA: 4601 Washington Ave. / 281.501.3237
Stick a fork into the fresh fiesta flavors at TQLA for your mid-day meal. Try the TQLA signature Chile Lime Shrimp Salad adorned with chile lime fried shrimp served over a crisp romaine and spinach mix, tossed in tequila mango vinaigrette or a cup of tortilla soup and a field green salad for $11. For a hardier appetite, sink your teeth into Crispy Shredded Chicken Tacos or Beef Picadillo Enchiladas for just $9 each.
New Prix Fixe Lunch Menus under $20
Samba Grille / $19
Samba Grille: 530 Texas / 713.343.1180
Take business out of the office and into the dining room at Samba Grille. The new Samba Prix Fixe Lunch menu has many choices to satisfy everyone’s taste. For $19 per person the bold South African and French flavors will add flair and fun to any meeting.
Choice of soup or salad:
Gazpacho Black bean soup – cilantro, manchego crouton, crème fresh
Cesar’s salad
Samba salad – mesclun, tomatoes, sweet red onions and hearts of palm with tamarind dressing
Choice of entrée:
Panko glazed grilled chicken – chicken breast with papaya relish and black quinoa
Shrimp-n-grits – jumbo shrimp and coconut grits in a rocoto pepper sauce
Sunfish – sunfish, maracuya buerre blanc, roasted potatoes, sautéed spinach and crispy bacon bites
Steak-n-frites – chimichurri flank steak, yucca or French fries
Choice of dessert:
Tres leches
Cappuccino tres leches
Apple empanadas
Philippe Restaurant + Lounge Introduces a $20 three-course menu
1800 Post Oak Blvd. / 713.439.1000
First Course - Choice of:
Buttermilk Fried Calamari – with espellette mayo
Carrot Soup –with ginger and cumin
Second Course – Choice of:
Coq Au Vin –braised chicken with lardons, oyster mushrooms and foie gras mashed potatoes
Tuna Confit Sliders – with egg and tomato on olive oil brioche with a spring mix salad and fries
Third Course – Choice of:
French Cowboy Churros – cinnamon churros with a spicy chocolate sauce
Apple Tart – ‘ala mode’ with a house made vanilla ice cream
Information provided by Studio Communications
Chevron Marathon "Deals" on January 15th
Ready. Steady. Carb out! With only a few weeks left until the Chevron Marathon on January 15th, athletes will be scouring the city for the best places to fuel up on starches for race day. Many local restaurants are offering some special "Carb Loading" deals for runners the night before and after run.
FREEBIRDS-Shepherd
3745 Greenbriar
FREEBIRDS-Sawyer Park
1923 Taylor St.
$1 off any $5 purchase or more if they present their BIB number. Available Saturday and Sunday Shepherd and Sawyer Park locations only.
BlackFinn American Grille
1910 Bagby
The midtown eatery is giving you all the carb you need for the big run with 50% off all Pasta Dishes the night before with Bib or Registration # and $2.50 Mich Ultra Drafts. Following the race on Jan. 15, runners are invited to dine in and receive 50% off Brunch items—just show them your BIB race number.
The Counter
4601 Washington
Complimentary Veggie Burger (value $8.50). Must present BIB registration number. One per table. Available Saturday and Sunday.
TQLA
4601 Washington
Runners looking to carb-load prior to the race can find a wide selection at TQLA on Washington, prepared by Chef Tommy Birdwell. The restaurant will be offering marathon runners 20% off their entire bill (excluding happy hour specials and alcoholic beverages) on Saturday, Jan. 14 and Sunday, Jan. 15 only. Chef Birdwell will also be featuring a special Marathon dish—Fettuccine, with grilled chicken, asparagus, roasted corn, red and yellow peppers, sweet potatoes, smoked tomato cream and queso fresco.
Information provided courtesy of Studio Communications
TQLA Houston
TQLA Houston - We Are Official Tequila Groupies!
TQLA Houston
We Are Official Tequila Groupies!
How much do you love Tequila? Well it seems like all they do at TQLA Houston is pay homage to their love for the agave happy juice (duh, look at the name)! If that is not obvious by looking at the decor, talking with the mixologists, or even just looking at the vast amount of tequilas offered at the bar; you would figure it out by attending one of their Tequila Dinners. How do you describe a fabulous night filled with one of your favorite spirits, that is coupled with a great menu, with the added pleasure of meeting new friends, plus great conversation, and leaving with a feeling of ultimate joy as you end the night utterly fulfilled and saying to yourself..."Was this one of our favorite dinners of all time"? Tell you what we would call it...The Bomb Diggity! Oh where do we start!
With the entrance adorned with upside down Tequila bottles and a bar that seemed almost limitless and piled high to the sky with any Tequila your little heart desired, we knew we were in for a treat. Shown to a private back area of the restaurant, we quickly took our spots for TQLA's Don Julio Tequila Dinner. At each setting, placed across the official Don Julio "tasting mat", were four beautifully placed glasses of Tequila. The Tequila's ranged from the Blanco (famous in the U.S.) to the Reposado (famous in Mexico) and let's not forget the Tequila of all Tequilas...the Don Julio 1942. The Tequila seminar was not only educational but we had a blast understanding the difference between 100% agave tequila and "the rest". "The rest" are those that are comprised of at least 51% agave and the remaining portions are traditionally made up of 49% sugarcane. They are still officially "Tequilas", but are not considered premium tequilas. As our speaker, Jorge Rantis, says, "The best Tequila is the one you enjoy the best!"
We are not biased when it comes to Don Julio as we do enjoy other brands, but we WILL be sticking with 100% agave Tequilas from now on.
It was interesting to learn that Tequila must be made and produced in one of these five regions in Central Mexico: Jalisco, Nayarit, Tamaulipas, Michoacán and Guanajuato. Of those, Jalisco accounts for 90% of tequila production. If it is not made in one of these locations, it cannot be called Tequila! Good examples that follow this rule: Cognac vs. Brandy and Champagne vs. Sparkling Wine. As the Don Julio bottle states, "Know Your Tequila".
The dinner and the cocktails were spot on and everything, and we mean everything, was phenomenal. The mixologists at TQLA Houston really know how to make a great cocktail. In addition, the cocktail and courses were paired nicely; each playing off of one another.
Here is the lineup:
Paloma made with Don Julio Blanco and paired with Lobster Tamale with corn cream, shrimp and cucumber salsa
If you completed a check list of all the things to include on freshly made seafood tamales, you would get this little corn husk filled tamale. The corn cream that it was served with it should be bottled and sold, because the favors and silky texture sent our senses into overload.
Spicy Pumpkin Martini with Don Julio Reposado and paired with a Grilled Texas Quail with agave chili glaze, sweet potato mash, and pecans
This course would have pleased even the quail, because it was done so well. The quail was grilled perfectly, and if you are a quail lover you know how hard that is to find when dining out in the city. Most restaurants can produce tasty quail, but many times they are over-cooked. The sweet potato mash was delightful; however, if they would have left off the chili agave glaze, we would have been a little happier. The glaze seemed to overpower the dish a bit. But, it was still an enjoyable course.
Fresh Cranberry Margarita made with Don Julio Blanco and paired with a Petit Filet with green chili wild rice, tequila apricots, and blackened tomatillo sauce
Our entire table said “PERFECT" in unison as we cut into our filets, and continued to talk about everything from its temperature to the taste for the next 15 minutes… Ummm...filet heaven??? Yep, that's exactly what that was! The wild rice accented with tequila apricots was a treat as well. The apricot provided the right amount of sweetness to the distinct nutty favor of the wild rice.
Spanish Raindrop made with Don Julio Anejo and paired with Pumpkin Brioche Bread Pudding with homemade vanilla ice cream and canela anglaise
*Make sure you check out the video below to see how the Spanish Raindrop is made
The bizness! Every time we think that we can't find another delicious twist on bread pudding, we get surprised. The secret here was the use of the Brioche; I once heard it referred to as yeast most elegant achievement. The eggs, milk, sugar, and butter along with the yeast make Brioche part bread and part cake. Now top that with ice cream and canela anglais and you get a hunk of yummy love (Elvis would be so proud).
For those that do not know, Don Julio has recently released a new Tequila. Tequila Don Julio 70 originated from Master Distiller Enrique de Colsa's special reserve and is being launched in honor of the 70th anniversary of the year Don Julio González began perfecting the art of Tequila making (1942). Instead of tasting the Don Julio Anejo, we actually got an opportunity to taste this lovely spirit. It is sold out in Houston at this time (sold out in the first week), but it will be back. At a lower price point than the $90-110 bottle of Don Julio 1942, the 70 year anniversary will only hit you for around $70.
So we had an evening where the menu was very well thought out and the drinks paired perfectly to each course. We learned all we could ever think we wanted to know about Tequila, and got to taste them as well. We shared a table with the perfect couple and after we all loved the same stuff and kept finishing each other sentences; we knew they were our foodie kindled spirits. Since we are not quite ready to remove the question mark and call it our best dinner of all time; we can say with all certainty it was the most fun we've had while dining in a long time! And as Swanky Girl told the Don Julio Reps the night of the event..."Don Julio is like poetry in your mouth", which they loved! So, don't be surprised if you see this in an ad or on a billboard in your city!
~ Urban Swank
