Republic Diner + Sojubang, Plus A Giveaway!

This will be my last blog post for a little while because I'm getting married, oh, next week.

(!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!!)

(Psst, Houston friends, scroll down for an awesome VIP giveaway!)

A few weeks ago I had dinner with my friend Heather at Republic Diner + Sojubang, a restaurant located in Houston's Heights neighborhood.

We figured we had to start off with some soju (a distilled vodka-esque beverage), so we each tried a soju cocktail containing pepper infused soju.

We both went nuts over this drink! It was wonderfully spicy, refreshing, and soul-warming. Think prickly pear margaritas without the tartness of a margarita, and with the crispness of a G&T. Omg LOVE!

For our first round of food, we split the kimchi fries (marinated beef on the side) and pajeon.

Don't those look incredible? And they were pretty darn good. Topped with kimchi aioli, sesame sauce, and scallions, the house cut fries were lively and delightful. I have a feeling the beef brought the fries to an even more elevated level, but the vegetarian version was very satisfying!

The pajeon was easily my favorite bite of food that evening. The hearty pancake was stuffed with scallions and red peppers, and was served with a side of spicy soy dipping sauce. And it. was. HEAVEN. The pancake was super dense yet fluffy, and the various different flavors were so savory and insanely delicious. It was so so good, y'all!

For my entree, I ordered the kimchi fried rice without the bul gogi (marinated ribeye). While I enjoyed the fried rice, I could have used a bit of sweetness to counter the kimchi, which was very present. Our server offered to add tofu to my dish, which was certainly thoughtful of him, but were I to order it again, I'd go without it, as I didn't feel that it really added anything. Regardless, it was a satisfying and flavorful entree, and you can't go wrong with anything that's topped with a runny, fried egg!

Republic Diner + Sojubang is an incredibly inexpensive Korean restaurant in Houston that offers an array of unique, flavor-popping dishes (TRY THE PAJEON AND PEPPER SOJU FOR THE LOVE OF ALL). It's a great spot that I definitely recommend checking out!

Oh, and about that giveaway...

The Houston Press Menu of Menus® Extravaganza, presented by Stella Artois, is one of Houston's largest food & wine events, featuring over 40 area restaurants alongside wine, beer, and spirit sampling.

Here's where the Giveaway comes in:

One lucky Adventures in a New(ish) City reader will receive two (2) VIP tickets to this year's Menu of Menus® Extravaganza, held at Silver Street Station in Houston on Tuesday, April 4, 2017, from 7:00 - 10:00 pm. And a VIP ticket (valued at $95) grants you admission to the event one hour early! To enter, go to the giveaway box below, and log in with your name and email address (this will not be posted publicly). Once logged in, click the "Enter Contest" dropdown, and then the "Enter!" button. One entry is allowed per person, and only Houston-area residents are eligible. The contest starts NOW - Wednesday, March 15, 2017, and it ends on Sunday, March 19, 2017 at 11:59 pm CST.

**Bonus: If you like my Facebook page, follow me on Instagram, and/or follow me on Twitter, you get a bonus entry for each social media follow. Just click the dropdown on "Like Facebook Page", "Follow on Instagram," and/or "Follow on Twitter," then click "Enter!" for each one that you follow! This is applicable for existing followers, as well as new ones.

This is a super fun event (check out my post from last year as well as my post from 2015), so you don't want to miss out! The winner will be drawn at random and announced next week - Good luck! a Rafflecopter giveaway

Leave a Comment asian, drinks, food, giveaway, heights, korean, restaurants, vegetarian

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Pure Barre + Hughie's Vietnamese Tavern & Vietnamese Grille: A Recipe for Health and Happiness

Sometimes the most uncomplicated of events can lead to the most magical of evenings.

(especially if there's wine involved.)

But before I get into that, I have to let you know that I'm spending the majority of September traveling outside of Houston - both for work and for fun - starting this Thursday with a family trip to Disney World! I will report back on the trip (and duh food) ASAP, as I did before during previous visits to see The Mouse, but please know that my September posts may be a little limited.

Okay, back to now!

Last Wednesday, my good friend Heather brought me as her guest to a Pure Barre class in Houston's Heights neighborhood. The boutique studio hosts barre/pilates type classes in a gorgeous space. I don't typically take these types of classes (I'm more into yoga and spinning these days), BUT I am happy to report that I had a really awesome time while I was there! The people there (all women that evening) were all SO welcoming and sweet, and of course it didn't hurt that it was "Wine Down Wednesday."

Pictured above is Heather's signature on a bar that celebrates the folks who have taken 250 Pure Barre classes! Pretty cool, aka she's my idol.

Since we had worked out in the Houston Heights area, we decided to grab food somewhere nearby afterwards. Heather had given a glowing endorsement of the restaurant/bar Hughie's Tavern & Vietnamese Grille, so off we went!

This super laid back dive was bumpin' on that Wednesday night. Heather and I sat ourselves at a table and ordered beers from their Wednesday Special - $2 Fire Sales ($2 cans of selected beers).

I opted for the Buffalo Bayou Sam's Daily, which was light, mildly citrusy, creamy, and refreshing!

Heather and I decided to order the restaurant's Vietnamese eggrolls to start. We asked for them to be made vegetarian (our friendly server informed us they had meat in them), and for the sauce on the side to be something other than fish sauce - so they provided us with a sesame sauce.

The 3-bite sized egg rolls were the perfect size for a starter. They were super crispy, and had great popping flavors, with a filling of different pickled vegetables. Wrapping lettuce and carrots around them added a nice freshness, and the sesame sauce was zippy and delicious! This was definitely a great starter.

For our main course of food, Heather ordered the restaurant's shaking beef, and I went with the spicy lemon grass tofu, with a fried egg on top for good measure.

Having already been a card-carrying lover of the restaurant's food, Heather of course enjoyed her entree - and I absolutely loved mine! Pan-seared tofu with lemongrass, sliced jalapenos, bell pepper, and onion was served with a bed of steamed rice, tofu sauce, and a kale vinaigrette salad. The tofu itself was lightly crisped on the edges and soft on the inside, and the flavors were filled with lemon, smoke, and spice. The vegetables added another layer of heat, and the runny egg brought a nice softness to it. And kale-hater that I am, I actually enjoyed the salad! (Heather was in a state of shock). This dish really was fantastic!

An evening of a good workout, good restaurant food, and quality time spent with a good friend in Houston cannot be beat. I definitely recommend checking out Pure Barre for a fun workout, and Hughie's Tavern and Vietnamese Grille for delicious food and great drink prices. Both located in Houston's Heights neighborhood, they create a recipe for one great night!

Some enchanted evening.......

Leave a Comment asian, bars, beer, dinner, fitness, food, gyms, heights, houston, restaurants, vegetarian, vietnamese

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Houston Restaurant Weeks at Hunky Dory

Hi hi hellooo, my name is Kim, remember me friends?

I should have mentioned this about a month ago, but my Houston restaurant posts have slowed down a bit, and here's why: I was recently promoted at the nonprofit I work for, which has been very exciting!! HOWEVER, I'm way busier now, which means a) I'm going out a little less for my sanity; and b) I'm blogging a little less for my sanity. When I get home from work now, I'm more inclined to chill out (with wine, let's be real) than crank out three restaurant posts in a week, you feel me? BUT I'M NOT GOING ANYWHERE!!

Because, duh, I love food too much.

So. This month is exciting because not only are the Olympic sporting games happening, but the Olympic Houston food games (aka Houston Restaurant Weeks) are also happening! I don't know about you all, but I like to take advantage of Houston Restaurant Weeks at spots that might be a little on the pricier side that I wouldn't necessarily frequent on the reg (because my bank account says so).

Enter: Hunky Dory.

I met up with three of my girlfriends (Kate, Mary, and Laurel) from the Houston Livestock Show and Rodeo Wine Garden Committee for dinner there the other night. I've actually looked into dining at the restaurant before, but they never seemed to have much in the way of veg food options that really excited me. But I was pleasantly surprised to learn they had vegetarian options for all three courses on the Houston Restaurant Weeks menu, and they all looked very appealing!

For the first round of food, Laurel and I ordered the salad, while Mary and Kate ordered the Iberico ham and summer melons.

My salad was comprised of mixed greens, marinated cucumber and avocado, and a creamy avocado dressing. All in all, it was a pretty average salad. The cucumber, avocado, and dressing were placed below the greens, and everything but the dressing seemed to get lost in the mix. The dressing itself was creamy, zippy, and lovely. I just wish there had been more of the other non-leafy ingredients, or maybe even the addition of citrus and/or nuts of some sort. It was fine, but it didn't blow me away, and Laurel felt the same. Kate and Mary, however, seemed to really enjoy their first course!

For the main course of food everyone but me ordered the restaurant's braised and grilled short rib. I went with the chicken tikka masala, made vegetarian.

There wasn't a clean plate at the end of this round, y'all! My friends all enjoyed their shortrib, and I was a huge fan of my food. Root vegetables, and possibly some fruits (?), swirled together in a thick curried tomato yogurt sauce atop a bed of steamed basmati rice. The sauce was earthy, warming, and comforting (you forget that it's 100 degrees outside, promise), and the rice was firm and cooked al dente, which made it stand up against the sauce. The textures (pumpkin seeds were in there I believe?) were fun and varied, and the flavors were wonderful. I was definitely pleased!

For the final round we made sure to order at least one of each of the restaurant's desserts to split: the sticky toffy pudding, eccles cake with cheddar, and dark & stormy.

The sticky toffee pudding was not actually pudding as you might suspect (British people are such tricksters)- It was in fact a sponge date cake, soaked in caramel sauce, served with clotted cream. It was nicely spiced, sponge-y, and quite tasty on it's own, under the decadent caramel. The clotted cream added a nice softness to it though, and brought it all together. This was my second favorite of the three!

Because I don't have a huge sweet tooth, I anticipated the eccles cake with cheddar would be my favorite. While it didn't win that title, it was still very enjoyable. A flaky warm puff pastry stuffed with dried fruit, candied peel, and spices was served alongside a hunk of sharp mouthy cheddar. Cheese and bread, what's not to love?

But my favorite of the three was the dark & stormy, and no not because it had alcohol in it thank you very much (okay maybe a little bit because of that). Rum ice cream was topped with rum caramel (sensing a pattern?), lime, and ginger beer. So basically, what we were presented with was a spiked root (well ginger) beer float, and it was FABULOUS! The swirl of velvety caramel with the smooth ice cream in the fizzy ginger beer was playful, sinful, and outrageous. A squirt of lime added a nice punch as well, and I thought this was my favorite food item of the evening!

Until...

So, funny story- Hunky Dory finished up our meal with some complimentary bunny-shaped shortbread cookies. When our server brought them out, Laurel exclaimed, "WHALES!"

(turn your head sideways, and I promise you'll see it).

But these were SO GOOD. Like, S O . G O O D . The cookies were insanely buttery, crumbly, and melt-in-your-mouth delicious. I'd go back just for these!

Hunky Dory is a fantastic restaurant choice for Houston Restaurant Weeks. The cozy interior is decorated beautifully, the service is great (although at times a *tad* over-attentive, but I'll take that over inattentive any day), and the food is really really good. I definitely want to go back to this great Houston Heights spot!

For the whales, you know?

2 comments british, cookies, dessert, dinner, food, heights, houston, indian, restaurant weeks, restaurants, vegetarian

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My House Fitness + A Giveaway!

This post was done in partnership with My House Fitness in Houston, who provided me with a complimentary workout. I was not monetarily compensated for writing this gym post. All opinions are completely, 100% my own!

(Psst, Houston residents -- Scroll down to the bottom for an exciting giveaway!)

A couple of Saturdays ago, I started my morning off bright and early like this:

Despite me having had a *little* bit of wine the night before, I ended up muscling through (pun totally intended) and having a fantastic workout at My House Fitness!

My House Fitness is a boutique gym that is new to Houston and Richmond. I attended a class at their studio in the Heights. My House Fitness also offers community-centric trainings for every fitness level, as well as nutritional and lifestyle support. Specialists take an individual approach by helping gym-goers with personalizing their goals, providing them with measurable progress, and encouraging them to have fun in a non-intimidating environment.

The intimate space is incredibly laid back and welcoming. Chris Markos, who owns the Houston Heights gym with his wife Lyndsey, greeted me with a smile and great enthusiasm. I quickly found out that the other folks attending the class with me were equally as enthusiastic and super chill. My House Fitness is the opposite of a pretentious gym, that's for sure!

The class I participated in that day was their "Games" class, which was basically one hour of adult recess. And yes, it was absolutely as awesome as it sounds!

On that particular day, we were divided into two teams in a challenge of hangman - meets Wheel of Fortune - meets a circuit training class. We were given a card which had blanks on it that would eventually become a sentence. Several stations were set up with letters or hints face down. To receive a letter or hint, we had to complete the exercise assigned to its station. 10 burpees? You get an R. 30 mountain climbers? I'll take an S, Trebek.

(Yes I realize that's Jeopardy. You get the idea).

And look at that exquisite form I've got going on!

Photo: My House Fitness

Just kidding, please don't, I look like a gremlin. Also, WHERE ARE MY PUPILS.

The game was SO much fun, and while I definitely got a great workout, I was having such a blast that it didn't seem like actual work (though my thighs were whistling a different tune the next day)! And nbd my team (TEAM GRYFFINDOR) won the challenge, and the prize was a week of free small group training for everyone on my team!

Photo: My House Fitness

My House Fitness is a wonderful new addition to Houston's workout scene. I cannot stress how comfortable everyone made me from the second I walked in, what a great workout I got, and just how fun the class was! And even after the hour workout, everyone hung around for a while after to socialize, a definite indication of what a positive environment this place is. If you're into community-oriented, personalized, humble, FUN workouts, My House Fitness encompasses all of those things and more!

Here's where the Giveaway comes in:

I decided to give my week of training to one of you all so you could experience the awesomeness of My House Fitness for yourself. HOWEVER, Chris and Lyndsey are so wonderful, that they agreed to DOUBLE the training! This is such an AWESOME deal, y'all. So, one lucky Adventures in a New(ish) City reader will receive two (2) weeks of small group training (which includes their games class!), twice a week, totaling in four (4) sessions at My House Fitness in the Heights, located at 1507-A West 18th Street, Houston, TX 77008. To enter, go to the giveaway box below, and log in with your name and email address (this will not be posted publicly). Once logged in, click the "Enter Contest" dropdown, and then the "Enter!" button. One entry is allowed per person, and only Houston-area residents are eligible. The contest starts NOW - Wednesday, July 27, 2016, and it ends on Sunday, July 31, 2016 at 11:59 pm CST.

**Bonus: If you go over and like my Facebook page, follow me on Instagram, and/or follow me on Twitter, you get a bonus entry for each social media follow. Just click the dropdown on "Like My Facebook Page", "Follow Me on Instagram," and/or "Follow Me on Twitter," then click "Enter!" for each one that you follow! This is applicable for existing followers, as well as new ones.

Good luck!


a Rafflecopter giveaway

Because you need more recess in your life.

Leave a Comment fitness, giveaway, gyms, heights, houston

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Cane Rosso

Hey guys and gals, guess where I'm going tomorrow?

IF YOU GUESSED SONOMA CALIFORNIA THEN YOU WOULD BE CORRECT.

(!!!!!!!!!!!!)

So I'll be MIA from the blog for a little bit, but you can bet your sweet buns I'll be social media-ing the heck out of everything (you can follow here, here, and on my snapchat - username: newishcityhou).

Okay, now that the housekeeping stuff is done...

This week I had dinner with Jon and our friends Heather and Dan at the newly opened Houston Heights restaurant, Cane Rosso.

Pronounced "Kahhh-Nayy" Rosso, this pizza spot originated in Dallas, but you should probably forgive them of that because the food is reeeallly good (sorry Dallas peeps, LoveYouMeanIt)!

I'd been waiting for the opening of this restaurant for a while - ever since construction of the building started a few months ago (since I live in the Houston Heights nabe, I drive by it basically every day). Needless to say, I had some expectations, which were: 1) the food would be fantastic; and 2) the restaurant would be fancy, because, Dallas <~~(sorry again).

I'll get to the tasty food in a minute, but my second assumption was way off. The restaurant was super casual (Jon glared at me after we walked in since I'd told him he probably shouldn't wear gym shorts, SORRY JON GYM SHORTS WOULD HAVE BEEN FINE), so I rescind my earlier statement, Dallas  friends! <~~(see, now we are friends!) We also absolutely adored our enthusiastic and knowledgeable server, Cookie!

I decided to kick things off with a martini with a twist, naturally. So Cane Rosso gave me another surprise with their unique take on a martini (in a rocks glass, with ice). And I still loved it! I mean, vodka, a twist - what's not to love?

Based on a glowing review by my blogger pal Kylie (who also lives in Houston), we ordered the restaurant's burrata to start off our meal. And boy/girl, were we glad we did! The chilled (another surprise!), gooey, creamy, mild, house-made burrata paired phenomenally with warm, fresh crostini, and garlicky sauteed veggies (we think broccolini). I didn't top mine with the arugula it came with because I was already so blissed out of my mind with everything else. We did have to order more bread since there was so much cheese, but overall this was a fun and delicious appetizer!

For my main course of food, I ordered the bianca pizza and asked them to add mushrooms to it.

(It should be noted that Heather and Dan shared a pizza, and Jon and I ordered separate pizzas because a pizza is not a pizza to Jon if it doesn't have meat on it (Fair.). Also let's be honest, our appetites are way too big to split just one pizza between the two of us.)

Cookie advised us to eat our pizzas with a fork and knife because the crust is super duper thin. And the menu informed us that true Neapolitan pizza is made with very soft flour and lots of water, which creates a "tip sag" - the "hot, wet, gooey center of the pie that will make the tip of your pizza...sag."

My pizza certainly was unique, thin, doughy, and absolutely lovely. Comprised of soft, imported mozzarella di bufala; nutty parmigiano; velvety extra virgin olive oil; sea salt; black pepper; and earthy, delightful mushrooms, it was sheer decadence in a pizza. They definitely mastered the "simple yet complex" paradox with this pie. The flavors were fresh and vivacious, and the mushrooms added a wonderful new level of texture. It paired wonderfully with the bottle of dry aglianico we ordered. I will definitely get this exact pizza again!

Houston is lucky to have this casual, delightful new addition to its restaurant scene. The food has a lovely simplicity to it, and yet you're bound to have a unique culinary experience when you dine there. And be on the lookout for a new location in Houston's Montrose area soon!

PEACE OUT HOUSTON I'M OFF TO DRINK ALL OF THE WINE AND EAT ALL OF THE FOOD FOR SEVEN DAYS STRAIGHT NOW, HELP ME.

2 comments dinner, drinks, food, heights, houston, italian, pizza, restaurants, vegetarian, wine

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Ginger & Fork

You know what I'm in the mood for, Houston? Some schfancy Chinese food.

(I mean, really, who isn't?)

Last week I met up with my friends Kate and Danielle for dinner at the newly opened restaurant Ginger & Fork, located off of Shepherd, just south of I-10 (Houston's Rice Military area? Heights? Heights adjacent? You pick). Houston has a lot of delicious Chinese takeout spots that I frequent (particularly this one), but I've yet to really encounter an upscale Chinese food restaurant.

The white table-clothed restaurant whose quality food sits at a slightly higher price point than most other Houston area Chinese spots certainly fits that bill. But before I get into the food, another characteristic that really sets this restaurant apart from the others are their cocktails.

When we first arrived, we sat at the bar and spoke at length with the incredibly knowledgeable bartender. I told him my taste preferences, and we decided I should order the dragon fire. Not only was this arguably the most beautiful cocktail I'd ever laid eyes on, it was also downright delicious! Made with Tanqueray Rangpur gin, ancho chili liqueur, Bad Dog fire and damnation bitters, fresh lemon juice, and freshly muddled dragon fruit, the drink was light, refreshing, subtly sweet and tart, and had a smooth kick to it. Danielle tried mine and liked it so much, she ordered one for herself! This was one wonderfully crafted cocktail.

After we were seated, we decided to order an appetizer of spicy tofu cubes to split.

The wonderfully crisped, lightly fried tofu cubes were simply tossed in salt and pepper, and served with sauteed onions and peppers - and they were lovely. The tofu was not soggy at all, and the fried goodness encasing the cubes was slightly sweet and perfectly peppery. It was a great way to start the meal!

Before ordering our entrees, owner Mary Li stopped by and enthusiastically talked with us about her restaurant. She and the other employees all were incredibly nice, welcoming, and clearly oozing with passion about the unique and exciting new Houston restaurant.

For our main course of food, we decided to split a bunch of different things: herbivore fried rice, garlic ginger cauliflower, fried crispy egg noodles with vegetables, and spicy eggplant.

The herbivore fried rice was unlike any fried rice I'd ever had in that it had a distinct fresh ginger flavor to it. There was also nothing oily or greasy about this fried rice (which can easily be the case), and the vegetables were fresh and still maintained their texture. I wasn't overly blown away by it, but that's not to say I didn't enjoy it.

The tender garlic ginger cauliflower was swimming in a thicker sauce that reminded me of moo goo gai pan. It managed to be a unique component of the meal, while still reminding me of a dish I used to always order as a child, but had long forgotten. Again, I wasn't falling out of my chair over it, but it was an enjoyable, approachable, and comforting dish.

The final two dishes we had were in hot competition of being our favorites of the evening. The fried crispy egg noodles with vegetables was absolutely OUTSTANDING. It was fascinating and exciting to explore the nest of playful noodles, which lived in a perfect realm between soft and super crispy textures. Combined with the silky, leafy vegetables in a savory, flavorful sauce, the result was truly special.

But what I'm pretty sure ended up being my favorite food offering of the evening?

The OHMYGAH spicy eggplant.

(!!!!!!!!)

The tender eggplant was marinated in a sauce of chili and oils, and the complex, velvety result was absolutely luscious. Sweet, spicy, and utterly decadent, I'm pretty sure even the most devout of eggplant haters would convert to the church of Ginger & Fork after trying this dish! It was absolutely unreal.

Ginger & Fork is a fantastic new addition to the Houston restaurant scene. In a city that seems so filled with unique and interesting food options, it is hard to imagine there being room for more original concepts. But one visit to Ginger & Fork blows that theory out of the water. The methodically crafted cocktails, paired with fresh, delicious Cantonese-inspired food in an upscale setting really is a unique experience, and definitely worth trying!

So...can I please jump through the screen and lick up that sauce??

Leave a Comment asian, chinese, dinner, drinks, fine dining, food, heights, houston, restaurants, rice military, vegetarian

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