2/101 #44 Go to a Hole-in-the-Wall Restaurant Recommended by the Houston Press

Before I start in with my restaurant review, I have to give some props to Molly W. for recommending this item for my list. I had a lot of fun looking over the Houston Press and their recommended restaurants. In some ways, I was yet again reminded how uncool and out of the loop (literally) I am now that I live in the 'burbs. But I also found that some of the best "little known secrets" of Houston are places I know very well.

That said, my BFF-K and I decided to make some time to have dinner together on Friday after work. (Thanks JP for picking Bunny up from school for me). I asked her if she'd be interested in helping me scratch this item off my list and she was game. So I found a handful of restaurants that were recommended by the Houston Press and in the general area where we wanted to go and let her pick.

Here are some of what seemed to me to be the most interesting choices:
$ - Taco's a Go-Go
$ - BB's Cajun Cafe
$ - Frenchy's Chicken
$ - Pizzitola's BBQ
$$ - Daily Review Cafe
$$ - Irma's (she had already been there)
$$ - Last Concert Cafe
$$ - Max's Wine Dive
$$ - Polonia Restaurant (I still remember Alex's grandmother's Pierogis... I still want to try this place!)
$$ - Ponzo's Italian Food

I think I might list these places on a new 101 list - like 101 restaurants I'd like to visit. But for now, we'll focus on Ponzo's, because that is where we ended up.



You might wonder why we decided on Ponzo's. Was it because of an enticing menu, an incredible review, or irresistable music that starts up as you visit the website? Well it was none of the above. K remembered it was right next to Dog House Tavern, a bar we have enjoyed in the past. So we chose it to just go ahead and give it a try AND because we knew we wouldn't have to drive to our next destination, hehe.

First we met up at The Maple Leaf Pub, a bar we can both get to easily from work so we could avoid parking troubles at Ponzo's, which is located in a strip in Midtown in Houston. We had a drink and a shot there while we enjoyed the rather stream-of-consciousness discussion provided by an acquaintance of hers whose name already escapes me.

When he heard we were going to Ponzo's he was incredibly enthusiastic. He insisted we have the hot pastrami sandwich - there were no if's, and's, or but's about it. We sort of shrugged him off because we knew we'd probably split a pie but finished up our drinks and conversations and all parted ways.

K and I went to Ponzo's and as we discussed options at the counter with the owner, she asked K, "Oh - are you K?" Turns out he-who-cannot-be-named (because I forgot, not because he's evil Voldemort) had called ahead and insisted that she could not have anything except the pastrami sandwich. We laughed and I said to get it, and I'll get the Freedom Pizza that we wanted to split, and then I can taste both and do a review on both of them on this blog.

The owner did us a solid and made us an 8" pie which is not normally an option for the Freedom but when you know important people like what's-his-name, you get favors, know what I mean? She told us we could go next door to Dog House and have some drinks and they'd bring our food over.

So we went over to the Tavern, found a comfy booth, started drinking and talking, and waited. And waited some more. Eventually we were starving so K went over to see what the hold-up was. They had the food ready and were about to bring it over.

K brings it back and we tear into it. She eats half of her pastrami sandwich (which is slightly more than what she normally eats for a regular dinner - the thing was pretty huge) and I eat a couple of slices of the pie. She tries some of the pizza and... ok I also had another slice! It was pretty enjoyable.

The freedom pie has extra virgin olive oil, fresh sliced tomatoes, and a touch of oregano. Very close to a margherita pizza. MMMMMMM. Some of you may think, "Sheesh - couldn't you have tried something a little more interesting so we could see how good the pizza really is? But the thing is, the other pizzas on the menu weren't real options for us. The deluxe had a bunch of things I'd take off (olives, sausage, and K hates bell peppers and onions). The Beachcomber is something my JP would eat (Ham, Canadian Bacon, Pineapple, cheese) so I thought if the place was great I'd bring him back. After taking off what we don't like, the Garden would have been like the Freedom plus mushrooms. The Sicilian looked delicious but we didn't want to wait 45 minutes for that bad boy. And finally the Big Boy had way too much meat on it for my taste.

So let's review the Freedom pizza: The cheese was thick and melted, the oregano flavoring it well, and generous slices of tomatoes covered the pie. It was very tasty.

BUT.

The crust was a cross between a thin crust and hand-tossed. I'm a lover of a good pizza crust so I like a cross between hand-tossed and pan, so the crust left me wanting a little.

The oregano was dried oregano. If I'm going to eat a pizza that has nothing but tomatoes and spices, I want the spices to be fresh, not dried. So while it was tasty, it wasn't as aromatic and flavorful as I would have preferred. Maybe I'm not being fair. I mean I DO eat pizza from Center Court in Pearland on a regular basis and people drive from inside the loop to P-town for these pies. So the pizza quality bar was set pretty high for Ponzo's.

So then, how about the Pastrami sandwich? It was pretty delicious, actually. The bread was nice and flaked just right for a hot Italian sub - just a little. The pastrami was piled on high and the cheese was melted throughout. But hot pastrami sandwiches aren't my bag so I had a bite, enjoyed it, and wrapped it up.

What I liked best about the pastrami was it gave K tummy troubles. We were roommates for over a year and a half and she saw me in a variety of post-meal digestive conditions, some of which she can use for blackmail. We won't get into details... and you're welcome. But after living together over that time and after 12-13 years of friendship, I have only known the girl to pass gas one time. However, based on what that pastrami was doing to her, I was pretty sure that if I could hang for the long haul that night, I might witness a replay, hehe.

In conclusion, after sampling both a pie and a sandwich, I think we both walked away feeling the pizza was yummy but not mind-blowing; the pastrami was definitely something for a fan of hot meat subs (in other words, guys); the rest of the pizza options were for either lovers of onions and peppers or meat lovers, so they might knock the socks off of those fans but it was just enjoyable for us, really.

However, no matter what kind of pizza pie fan you are, the one thing that can't be beat at Ponzo's is the customer service. The owner was funny, engaging, accommodating, and incredibly sweet. You can order a pie by calling from the bar next door and they will deliver it to you there - they deliver too to homes too. It is definitely a hole-in-the wall that, if you are in the area, you should at least give a try if nothing else for a lesson in good customer service.

But if you really want a good pie it is worth the drive to come on down to Pearland and try out Center Court Pizza and Brew. Seasoned crusts, fresh ingredients, rich and decadent specials or your standard pepperoni, delicious subs AND fabuous pastas - it's the best pizza I've ever had and I guarantee you'll love it too. Trust me!

1/101 #65 - Travel to Florida to visit my niece J

January 6th through January 11th 2010 I accomplished #1 out of 101 things I want to do in 1001 days. When I figured out I need to do about 1 thing every 10 days I realized I might be paying a lot of money to charity in the end... especially if I don't get some serious inspiration to write those books.

That said, here's my recap of my first accomplishment:

My mother, my daughter (Bunny), and my husband (JP) traveled with me to FL to visit my brother, sister-in-law, nephew, and our new baby niece J. J is sooooo beautiful. My brother and SIL definitely make pretty babies. My nephew was super cute as a baby too, but I think his baby sister is just a tad prettier because her eye lashes (which are like half an inch long almost) are dark and therefore her eyes are very defined.


J is a sweet smiley little girl most of the time. She has some tummy troubles that make her cranky but she was a typical newborn - she smiled and coo'd a lot, slept quite an awful lot, spit up a little, cried a little more, but overall made everything feel right with the world when you held her.

My nephew on the other hand drove Bunny crazy. He is 8; she is 3. It was like watching an out-of-body experience of my brother picking on me when I was little - with a bigger age difference. JJ (my nephew) can be really subtle and his antagonism flies under the radar. Then Bunny will scream at him to stop, or tell him NOOOO!!! at the top of her lungs and she would get in trouble. I guess it was all too much drama because Nana (my mom) stayed at the kitchen table on her laptop about 90% of the trip. Gulp! My brother and I got into it at one point, and later I wondered if we both weren't reliving our childhood where he thought his harmless antagonisms (you know, holding his finger a hair-length away from my arm repeating, "I'm not touching you, I'm not touching you!") were just funny and of course my anger and vehement opposition to his actions was a ridiculous overreaction. Ridiculously funny to him - because I'd be the one getting in trouble for hitting him or yelling at him "for no reason."

But my bro and I hugged and apologized and it was quickly over so that was good.

A lot of that surely came from cabin fever. It was record-breaking cold in the south so there was nothing to do - all the things we'd want to see were outside where no one wanted to be! Who wants to go up to Disney World when it is 30 degrees outside? Or to the beach for that matter? So we had 5 adults and 3 kids in an average sized American home together and I think we all started feeling a little too confined!

Sadly, we, our spouses, our kids, and Nana all tried to go do a family portait the last day of the vacation. Here are some things I learned from THAT experience:
1) When you don't expect them to, newborns will be surprisingly cooperative during a portrait session
2) When you expect them to be cooperative, three year olds will be surprisingly uncooperative during a portrait session. They might cry and whine and cling to their mothers during the nana and grandkids photos. And they might even scream bloody murder until they are coughing and sputtering themselves into hysteria if mom tries to walk away to get their attention off of her, making the three year olds feel abandoned or at a minimum, really ticked off.
3) You shouldn't plan family portraits around optimal hair days when they involve kids. The adults should be able to just get over it if the humidity and/or cold is going to give them a bad hair day and instead should take the picture as early into the visit as possible so the visiting 3 year old will not be exhausted and homesick and therefore overly clingy to mother.
4) Fathers who snore like bears should not sleep with the 3 year olds the 2 consecutive nights before the portrait session because the child will not be rested enough and will therefore be more likely to throw a tantrum.
5) Even super pouty faced pictures can make for cute portraits.

I also learned that I have never given my sister-in-law enough credit. She is an incredibly understanding and loving person in ways I've never taken the time to notice before. No matter how many tantrums or how many fights between our kids we had to interrupt, she was always patient and loving - with both of them. She focused on the most positive aspect of both kids and encouraged the best in them. She saw the situation as it was and reprimanded each accordingly - not more excessive than necessary nor too lenient either. Getting away from the family with her on a run to Target was one of the highlights of my experience on the trip. We had good chats and she reassured me that this is a hard time in Bunny's development but she is completely normal - all mothers of 3 year olds go through this at some point, and by 5 it really will get better if you can just hang in that long.

So cheers for my SIL T. Cheers for my bro and her for having us. Cheers to my nephew JJ for trying to be nice to Bunny and cheers to my niece J for the torturing she will give JJ in the future - Bunny will be sure to give her pointers!

Cheers to my JP for going on the trip and for bonding and enjoying time with my nephew in ways I don't enjoy (shooting nerf guns and playing Wii video games). Cheers to Nana for not having a nervous breakdown.

I look forward to the next visit. But I think on that one I will go with just DH and Bunny, and we'll go when the weather is warmer and our activities can be focused on wearing the kids out so they don't even have time to get on each others' (or any of our) nerves!

THE LIST

Here's my list. If it goes into effect on 1/1/2010, it must be complete by 9/27/2012. Let the journey begin...

Health/Fitness/Beauty
1. Drink only water for a whole week
2. Run a mile
3. THEN run 2 miles – without walking!
4. Have my makeup done professionally at a makeup counter in the mall
5. Eat nothing fried for 30 days
6. Go for a 30 minute walk every single day for 30 days
7. Bring my lunch to work every day for a month
8. Attend one Healthy Living In the Park event at Discovery Green
9. Lower my BMI by 4 points
-1 pt achieved on 2/4/10
-2 pts achieved on 3/11/10
-Fell off the wagon and started back at zero on June 1, 2010
10. Work out with weights 3 days a week for 6 straight weeks
11. Remove facial moles and gain 5 years on my appearance, hehe
-Removed one mole March 12, 2010
12. See the dentist twice in the same year
13. Get a consult for my TMJ
-Done 4/28/2010
14. Spend at least 3 hours at the Houstonian’s Trellis Spa
15. Go to bed every night at 9:00 for 5 straight days

Intellectual/Cultural/Historical
16. Do the Houston Museum District walking tour
17. Visit the Holocaust Museum in Houston
18. Write at least 20 stories of vacations or crazy family moments for a future novel
19. Read a book by someone with whom I disagree
20. Watch 3 foreign films with subtitles
21. Take “Bunny” to see the Nutcracker
22. Write and illustrate a children’s book and publish it on Blurb.com
23. Go to Dim Sum with BFF-R and at least try every food she asks me to try (as long as she is eating it too).
24. Write a book about “Real Stories from HR” and publish it on blurb.com
25. See a play at Alley Theater
26. Take “Bunny” to see a show at the Hobby Center
27. Read a novel from the Modern Library Best 100 Novels list that I’ve never read before
28. Read a classic that I own but have never bothered reading
29. Read 5 books from Oprah’s list that I’ve never read before. (1/5 completed as of 2/8/10)
(2/5 completed as of 4/30/10)
30. Go see a performance at Miller Outdoor Theater
31. Get a library card
32. Take “Bunny” to at least one children’s event at the Public Library

Financial/Organization/Responsibilities
33. Pay off THE loan
34. Pay off my credit card
35. Pay off both car loans
36. Clean out and reorganize every closet in my house at least once
37. Get an official will on file with an attorney
38. Write a letter to my congressman/woman
39. Get to work before 7:30 every morning for a whole week
40. Have my car windows tinted
41. Actually complete every chore on my chore list in the same week at least once
42. Pick up my bedroom every night for a whole month (sad, but this is the messiest room in our house)
43. Clean out my work email inbox so there are no more than 25 emails in the inbox for a whole day

Entertaining/Hobbies
44. Go to a hole-in-the-wall restaurant recommended by the Houston Press - completed 1/15/2010
45. Spend a day at the movie theater. See whatever is starting when I arrive and then theater hop seeing whatever is starting next.
46. Host a game night with at least 3 other couples
47. Scrapbook each of “Bunny’s” birthday parties either digitally or traditionally
Completed 3/14/10
48. Go camping in my backyard
49. Play a round of disc golf with “JP”
50. Go to target/shooting practice
51. Take “Bunny” to go pick her own strawberries
52. Take pictures of “Bunny” on the beach
53. Watch at least 5 Academy Award “Best Pictures” I’ve never seen before.
Slumdog Millionnaire - 3/20/10
Avatar - blog post pending
Additional contenders: The Hurt Locker, Million Dollar Baby, and Chariots of Fire to start.
54. Go tailgating at a Houston Texans game
55. Make cake balls and let “Red” taste test them
56. Go camping at enchanted rock
57. Spend a morning or evening in a deer stand with “JP” (no hunting required or allowed)
58. Have dinner with “JP” at The Grove
59. Go out dancing with my husband at least 3 times over the 1001 days
60. Camp at Rock Springs with “JP” and the F’s
61. Finish crocheting at least one of the 2 blankets I started for “bunny”
62. Watch the Sacha Baron Cohen movies Borat and Bruno
63. Go to a concert
Completed 03/06/2010
64. Go to the Japanese Tea Garden in Hermann Park

Relationship-building/Travel
65. Travel to Florida to meet my niece J - completed 01/06/2010
66. Go on a trip alone with my husband for at least 4 days
67. Go to GNO at least 6 times per year
(2010 - Jan, Mar, May...)
68. Visit J&J in Minnesota
69. Visit Canton and Mrs. P
70. Visit my dad and step-mom in AZ
71. Call someone I haven’t talked to in at least a year
72. Start recording your memories of your life for “Bunny” and future kids
73. Start journaling in the book of memories of raising “Bunny”
74. Write a letter to “Bunny” on her birthday this year and every year forward.
75. Visit the closest national park to me
76. Go on a girl’s trip without “JP” or “Bunny”
77. Go on a picnic with BFF-K and our kids
78. Visit BFF-M in Oklahoma
79. Have a second child
80. Bring my husband lunch one day for no special reason
81. Take the trash out for my husband before he gets home one night
82. Go to a baseball game or other event with BFF-K and our kids
83. Send a letter to someone I’ve neglected and let them know how important and wonderful they are.

Personal/Balance/Spiritual/Introspective
84. Stay off Facebook for a whole week.
85. Stay off the Houston site (you know which one) for a whole week.
86. Write down every dream I have for a week
87. Take a day off from work and live in solitude for 6 hours. Meditate. The only external communication allowed is to journal any notable thoughts
88. Write a letter to myself to open in 10 years with a copy of this list, any hopes and dreams, and any challenges I hope to have overcome by then.
89. Take 5 photos a day for a month a create a book about them – chronicle it as “a day in the life of Action Jackson”
90. Go to church at least 4 times – Easter and Christmas do not count

Community/Doing for Others
91. Make someone a birthday cake from scratch
92. Donate blood at least 4 times in 1001 days
(Donated on 2/16/2009, ...)
93. Bake a treat for a neighbor
94. Crochet a scarf for someone at an old folks’ home who doesn’t get visitors.
95. Join the Christmas Caroling at the hospital
96. Do Christmas Caroling around the neighborhood and/or in an old folks’ home – include “Bunny”
97. Support http://BatterUpForALS.org through at least 2 fundraising events
98. Babysit a friend’s kid(s) for free
99. Help my mom organize and run her garage sale
100. Give my mom some hard labor by either cleaning her house or yard.
101. Donate $5 to ALS Research for each task I don’t complete at the end of 1001 days

"Action Jackson reporting for duty!"

This used to be a silly way I’d answer my phone, only when I knew who was calling, of course. I remember a time when I was full of enthusiasm and energy. I haven’t felt that way in a long time, at least not on a consistent basis, and certainly not since a couple years after my name stopped being Jackson. I had set goals as a kid and ambitious as I was, I accomplished them before I was 30. I also had a baby, so my career ambitions took a sharp right turn. I found myself not feeling like I had much to offer in small talk, unless I was at a play date or a mom’s night out. I have a great husband, so no dating or anti-spouse talk; I have a stable job and good boss but most people aren’t interested in my profession, so no career talk. My family is my world but that isn’t juicy enough for most small talk.

I have been feeling downright B-O-R-I-N-G. Then I heard about the lists people were making – 101 things to do in 1001 days. I read the creative and simple things people put on their lists as well as the stretch goals. I started my own list and suddenly I feel much more alive! I have something to work toward!

That is what this blog is all about. I need some accountability – that is where you come in. Read my stories as I check things off my list. Give me feedback – especially good stuff. ;-)

But here’s my introductory disclaimer: I’m posting my list on here as I build it. Once I reach 101 I’m not taking anything off (I reserve the right to mix things around a bit or swap goals as the list is developing, hehe).

I’ll blog as I go so I have some accountability in making some progress. And MAYBE I’ll inspire another mom/wife-in-a-slump to add some spice to her life too!