Sweet El Meson in the Rice Village
Sometimes things just refuse to go the way you plan.
I’ve been looking forward to the fried chicken at this place called Number 1 Chicken Rice & Seafood for half a year. It’s in Houston, so I have two time windows each year, each a couple of weeks long, to plan my voyage. Last winter we hit the place less than an hour after they closed (which was like 8 pm, I think), this June we were even more determined. According to Aaron’s sources, they open on Sunday between 6 and 7 pm. Strange, but okay. We camped out at the museum for over an hour because the museum is relatively near Number 1 Chicken, and we didn’t want to take any chances. At 6 we drove into its parking lot. The OPEN sign wasn’t lit up. Aaron checked the schedule posted on the door: they’re closed on Sunday. Fine. I’m not meant to eat Number 1 Chicken’s fried chicken. Surely there must be other fried chickens somewhere along Alameda. Following Varun’s advanced GPS system that didn’t allow us to type in anything unless the car is stopped (for safety reason, even though the one who punched the buttons wasn’t the driver), we drove to a few more possible-blogging-material spots, one of them no longer exists. And all of them were closed. We weren’t even meant to eat on Alameda?!
Accepting fate, we gave up on Alameda and headed back to the Rice Village, Aaron’s “hunting ground”. Between Picky Varun and Picky Mai, we settled into El Meson. Cuban.
Here we were in this pretty good-looking Latin American place with frescos of flamboyant girls in flamboyant flamenco dresses and a generous bowl of Andes Mint at the front desk, from which we took (quite) a few as we walked in. The guys were wondering if they have free chips and salsa here (you know, like at the usual Tex-Mex resto in your neighborhood strip mall). We were hungry. Well, they do. The chips and salsa came out after we ordered. I was a bit sad that I couldn’t get the paella (minimum order of 2 people, and yet another thing that didn’t go my way that day), so I got two tapas plates.
If you have a sweet tooth like me, and I don’t mean just a liking for dessert but a liking for sweetness in everything from meat to noodle soup(*), El Meson is for you. The plantains are one thing, but the cinnamon pineapple that goes with the crab cakes ($9.95) and the honey-glazed pork belly ($9.95) are sweet enough to be desserts. The crackling skin offered a nice textural contrast, but slices of poached apple didn’t help toning down the sugar.
I liked the plantains in Varun’s Pollo Salteado ($15.95, grilled chicken sauteed with onion and pepper in sherry sauce, served on rice and black beans with a side of grilled plantains), but Varun found them too sweet.
For dessert, we took “some” more Andes Mint. 😉
Address: El Meson
2425 University Blvd.
Houston, TX 77005
(713) 522-9306
Dinner for 3: $65 – For more pictures of our food, see Photon Flavors.
(*) There are many noodle soups with a sweet broth. Not sweet like your banana cream pie but when you taste the first spoon, you’d go “wow this broth is sweet!” Examples are Lao and Cambodian noodle soups (such as hu tiu). One of my favorite ingredients in the Korean mul naengmyun (cold buckwheat noodle soup) is the Asian pear, which is sweet. But it’s nothing new really, all broths need some kind of sweetness, either from bone marrow or from mushroom.
I appreciate, cause I found just what I was looking for. You’ve ended my 4 day long hunt! God Bless you man. Have a nice day. Bye
1Wow that was odd. I just wrote an very long comment but after I clicked submit my comment didn’t show up. Grrrr… well I’m not writing all that over again. Anyways, just wanted to say wonderful blog!
2I am not really good with English but I come up this real leisurely to read .
3Way cool, some valid points! I appreciate you making this article available, the rest of the site is also high quality. Have a fun.
4Hi, I think your site might be having browser compatibility issues. When I look at your website in Safari, it looks fine but when opening in Internet Explorer, it has some overlapping. I just wanted to give you a quick heads up! Other then that, fantastic blog!
5Hey There. I found your blog using msn. This is a very well written article. I’ll be sure to bookmark it and return to read more of your useful information. Thanks for the post. I’ll definitely return.
6whoah this blog is wonderful i love reading your articles. Keep up the great work! You know, a lot of people are hunting around for this information, you could aid them greatly.
7whoah this blog is wonderful i love studying your articles. Keep up the great work! You recognize, a lot of people are hunting round for this info, you could help them greatly.
8Woah! I’m really digging the template/theme of this website. It’s simple, yet effective. A lot of times it’s challenging to get that “perfect balance” between usability and visual appearance. I must say you have done a very good job with this. In addition, the blog loads extremely fast for me on Safari. Superb Blog!
9Thank you for every other fantastic post. Where else could anyone get that type of info in such an ideal manner of writing? I have a presentation subsequent week, and I am on the look for such information.
10As I website owner I conceive the content material here is rattling great, appreciate it for your efforts.
11Fantastic website. Lots of helpful information here. I’m sending it to several friends ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you in your sweat!
12Admiring the time and energy you put into your site and in depth information you provide. It’s awesome to come across a blog every once in a while that isn’t the same outdated rehashed information. Wonderful read! I’ve bookmarked your site and I’m including your RSS feeds to my Google account.
13It’s in point of fact a great and helpful piece of information. I am satisfied that you just shared this helpful info with us. Please stay us up to date like this. Thank you for sharing.
14I am glad to be a visitant of this complete weblog! , appreciate it for this rare info ! .
15Do you mind if I quote a few of your posts as long as I provide credit and sources back to your weblog? My website is in the very same area of interest as yours and my visitors would certainly benefit from a lot of the information you provide here. Please let me know if this ok with you. Thanks!
16Yeah bookmaking this wasn’t a risky determination outstanding post! .
17I see something truly special in this site.
18This design is wicked! You definitely know how to keep a reader amused. Between your wit and your videos, I was almost moved to start my own blog (well, almost…HaHa!) Great job. I really enjoyed what you had to say, and more than that, how you presented it. Too cool!
19When I originally commented I clicked the -Notify me when new feedback are added- checkbox and now every time a remark is added I get 4 emails with the identical comment. Is there any means you can remove me from that service? Thanks!
20I like this web blog so much, saved to my bookmarks. “Nostalgia isn’t what it used to be.” by Peter De Vries.
21I visited a lot of website but I think this one holds something special in it in it
22As I website owner I think the content here is really great, regards for your efforts.
23I regard something really special in this website.
24Hello! Would you mind if I share your blog with my twitter group? There’s a lot of people that I think would really enjoy your content. Please let me know. Cheers
25I was looking at some of your blog posts on this internet site and I believe this web site is really instructive! Keep on posting.
26I’m not sure exactly why but this blog is loading incredibly slow for me. Is anyone else having this issue or is it a issue on my end? I’ll check back later on and see if the problem still exists.
27I am now not positive the place you’re getting your information, but good topic. I must spend some time learning more or working out more. Thank you for great info I used to be searching for this info for my mission.
28Perfectly composed content material, regards for selective information. “The last time I saw him he was walking down Lover’s Lane holding his own hand.” by Fred Allen.
29Excellent web site. Lots of helpful info here. I’m sending it to a few buddies ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you in your sweat!
30There is clearly a bundle to identify about this. I suppose you made various good points in features also.
31It’s actually a nice and useful piece of information. I’m glad that you shared this helpful info with us. Please keep us informed like this. Thanks for sharing.
32Magnificent site. A lot of helpful information here. I’m sending it to a few pals ans also sharing in delicious. And of course, thank you in your effort!
33Hey there! I’m at work browsing your blog from my new iphone 3gs! Just wanted to say I love reading your blog and look forward to all your posts! Keep up the outstanding work!
34You are my breathing in, I have few web logs and occasionally run out from to post .
35Great write-up, I am regular visitor of one’s blog, maintain up the excellent operate, and It is going to be a regular visitor for a long time.
36Some genuinely prime content on this internet site, saved to my bookmarks.
37excellent issues altogether, you simply received a brand new reader. What might you recommend about your post that you made a few days ago? Any positive?
38Very nice post. I just stumbled upon your weblog and wished to say that I have really enjoyed browsing your blog posts. After all I will be subscribing to your rss feed and I hope you write again soon!
39I’d have to verify with you here. Which isn’t something I usually do! I take pleasure in reading a submit that may make individuals think. Additionally, thanks for allowing me to comment!
40Youre so cool! I dont suppose Ive learn something like this before. So good to seek out any individual with some unique thoughts on this subject. realy thank you for beginning this up. this web site is something that’s needed on the net, someone with a bit of originality. helpful job for bringing one thing new to the web!
41Just a smiling visitant here to share the love (:, btw great design and style.
42My programmer is trying to persuade me to move to .net from PHP. I have always disliked the idea because of the costs. But he’s tryiong none the less. I’ve been using WordPress on various websites for about a year and am nervous about switching to another platform. I have heard good things about blogengine.net. Is there a way I can import all my wordpress posts into it? Any help would be really appreciated!
43Hey very cool blog!! Man .. Beautiful .. Amazing .. I’ll bookmark your website and take the feeds also…I’m happy to find a lot of useful information here in the post, we need develop more techniques in this regard, thanks for sharing. . . . . .
44Its excellent as your other blog posts : D, thankyou for posting.
45I cling on to listening to the rumor talk about getting boundless online grant applications so I have been looking around for the top site to get one. Could you advise me please, where could i find some?
46Its wonderful as your other blog posts : D, regards for posting.
47Some genuinely good info , Gladiolus I discovered this. “We must learn our limits. We are all something, but none of us are everything.” by Blaise Pascal.
48Wonderful goods from you, man. I’ve understand your stuff previous to and you are just too fantastic. I actually like what you have acquired here, certainly like what you’re stating and the way in which you say it. You make it enjoyable and you still care for to keep it sensible. I cant wait to read much more from you. This is really a great website.
49Have you ever thought about adding a little bit more than just your articles? I mean, what you say is important and all. Nevertheless just imagine if you added some great visuals or videos to give your posts more, “pop”! Your content is excellent but with images and video clips, this site could definitely be one of the very best in its field. Great blog!
50