Local Foods - Houston, TX

Restaurant:
Local Foods

Location:
Kirby
2555 Kirby Dr
Houston Texas 77019
The Village
2424 Dunstan Road
Houston Texas 77005

Hours:
Kirby: M-Su 10a-9p
The Village: M-Su 10a-8:30p

Ambiance:
A friend and I went to Local Foods for a little food and conversation earlier this week. Local Foods, as it says so in the name is a local Houston restaurant, serving up a gourmet selection of sandwiches and salads prepared with fresh local ingredients. Local Foods has 2 locations, one at the intersection of Kirby and Westheimer, and the other in Rice Village. The restaurant environment is very casual cool, reminds me of Adair Kitchen; with the hip, old country decor. Just like Adair, you grab a menu as you enter and are given an order number after you've ordered.

What I Ate:
My friend recommended the " Crunchy Chicken." which is a chicken sandwich with nut crumbles, provolone cheese, buttermilk ranch, pickles, and a tomato. Having the option of 2 sides, I went for the Cabbage Slaw which was mixed with what tasted like a peanut vinaigrette, and watermelon. The Crunchy Chicken was Ah-mazing, once you bit into the sandwich and as the ingredients met with the buttermilk ranch and crunch, everything was perfection. I was so into the sandwich that I didn't get much of the slaw, but it was good. I saved the watermelon for last, it was so refreshing in these 90 degree weather.

Tilapia with Mango and Beet Salad

Here's the story. Young girl gets home from work, turns music on and starts jamming out. She realizes, she kind of wants to make food, so she proceeds to check the fridge for food. In the midst of her search, while still dancing to her favorite tunes, she comes up with an idea. An idea so broad, she isn't even sure what it is. She looks around the fridge and pantry for ingredients that would satisfy her creation. As she becomes stuck with a missing ingredient, she improvises. And BAM! a new recipe arrives. Enough of my storytelling, let's get to the recipe.

Ingredients:
Tilapia
1/2 Onion
1 or 2 Mangos
Vinaigrette(home made or from the store)

Directions:
1. Bake the Tilapia as desired. I usually put a little lemon, pepper and salt and top it with white onion
2. Chop up the beets and Mangos into small square pieces
3. Set aside
4. Make a vinaigrette with onion or use one from the store
5. Mix Vinaigrette with Mango and Beets
6. Store in the fridge
7. Once everything is ready, you can serve

Spring Paleo Feast at Ruggles Black

Ruggles Black opened their doors to a group of local influencers on March 31, 2015. The group consisted of local food, fashion and lifestyle bloggers. They invited a select group of us out for a taste of spring. And, oh boy did spring taste good.

The evening began with a little mingling, in which guests, some familiar and some not, shared knowledge and excitement about this tasting and Houston's booming food scene. A smooth and light class of The Calling Chardonnay  was poured to start as the bloggers went around the restaurant taking pictures and meeting and interviewing Chef Bruce Molzan. As mentioned before, Molzan was former Chef at Ruggles Green and Corner Table before his venture out into Ruggles Black. The restaurant is aesthetically pleasing and hip; it was crafted by Molzan and partner Neera Patidar.

To follow, all guest received a refreshing glass of “The Long Drive Cocktail”; a refreshing cocktail that tastes as refreshing as an icy glass of green tea.  In other words, you couldn't tell there was any liquor in this drink, which to me equals to a perfectly crafted drink. What followed? Chef Bruce Molzan “The King of Paleo” presented his delicious Paleo treats, made with local ingredients from farmers. The food was paired with select Hoopla wines from Nappa Valley. We all received a surprise visit from the son of Michele Satta, a famous winemaker in Bolgheri, a tiny town near Tuscany, Italy. I had the chance of chatting with Giacomo as I shared my thoughts on the Satta “Piastraia” and Satta “Castagni.” My descriptions of the tastes were exactly what both wines were intended to taste(who knew little old me knew how to taste wine). Back to the food, why don’t I just let you see for yourself?

• The Long Drive Cocktail; Deep Eddy Sweet Tea and Deep Eddy Lemon Vodka served on Basil Crushed Ice. So refreshing, can't taste the liquor.

• Pan Seared Brussels Sprouts from Gundermann Acres. My absolute favorite, so fresh and extremely tasty!

 

• The Angry Shrimp, coconut curry. Not a fan of "fishy" tastes but the sauce was delicious

Fried Oysters with Caviar. My second favorite dish, the creamy sauce with the Caviar went perfectly with the oysters

Mahi Mahi Paleo Tacos. My other favorite; so light and flavorful!

Roasted local Beets and Pork Belly Salad (beets were from Gundermann Acres and pork was from Black Hills Ranch). I love love beets! I've never had pork in a salad but they went well together.

Paleo Fried Rice with Sweet Potato and Coconut Encrusted Snapper

Pistachio Snapper

With Chef Bruce Molzan

With Giacomo Satta, son of Michele Satta