Discovering Hubcap Grill

Shortly after I started working downtown (7 months ago), I heard about Hubcap Grill - home of "the best burger in Houston" - and I knew that I had to try it.  Sadly, I wasn't able to convince any of my regular lunch buddies to go there due to the five block walk. 

A few weeks ago, my mom texted me from the county courthouse, where she was waiting on her husband to be released from jury duty, and I immediately arranged to meet them for lunch.  I had the perfect place - Hubcap Grill.  Their downtown location at 1111 Prairie is between my office and the courthouse (a bit closer to the courthouse).  Perfect!  Hubcap Grill is the most unlikely looking burger place I have ever seen.  It's a tiny, cinder block building that seats maybe 12 people with an attached covered patio with additional (non-air-conditioned) seating, and it's decorated with hubcaps (surprise).  It reminded me of an old fashioned gas station, back when full service was still the norm.

Philly Cheese Steak Burger

I hear that the place is really packed between 11:30 and 1:30, so I was a little worried about dealing with the crowd. But thanks to some long-winded lawyers, we arrived after 2:00 - giving us our choice of the two tables in the main building  and just enough time to enjoy our lunch before they closed for the day at 3:00.  After asking which burger was the most popular, I ordered the Philly Cheese Steak Burger.  It was amazing - a 1/3 lb burger topped with grilled onions and peppers, ribeye shards and Swiss cheese on an in-house baked bun.  Mom and her hubby both chose the Greek Burger - with feta cheese, kalamata olives, onions, peppers, tomatoes - and claimed it to be delicious.  We shared an order of sweet potatoes, which we weren't able to finish after polishing off our burgers, and topped off our meal with bottles of root beer and cream soda.

The meal was definitely worth the long walk - and the exercise was a helpful start to burning off all the calories I consumed.  I'm ready to go back again to try that Greek Burger, so if you're in downtown Houston and you're looking for a great burger and a lunch date... give me a call!  Oh, and if you go to Hubcap Grill, make sure you take cash... they don't accept anything else.  Happy eating!

Discovering Bombay Pizza Company

Two months ago, Kim and I ventured into Bombay Pizza Company for lunch. Bombay Pizza serves Italian cuisine fused with Indian herbs and spices. They're well known for their amazingly diverse variety of pizzas with cracker-thin crust, and have been featured on The Food Network show Best Thing I Ever Ate. 

On this visit, we decided to try The Slumdog - topped with pepperoni, Spanish chorizo, beef, Canadian bacon, mozarella, grilled chicken, jalapenos, red onion and Bombay pizza sauce. We ordered the large - 16" ($19), thinking that we would take the leftover slices home with us. The pizza was delivered to our table after a very short wait.  It was meaty and spicy, and the crust was thin and crispy, and it was so delicious that we ate every bite! 

My second visit to Bombay Pizza was with a friend from work. Gowri, who is from India, turned me on to his favorite dish, which is now my favorite.  Charlie's Blackened Chicken Roll ($7) - spicy chicken, carrots, cucumbers, and yogurt dressing rolled in naan bread and served with your choice of potato or sweet potato fries.  I am such a sucker for sweet potato fries!  If you decide to try this one, ask for a side of the green sauce (cilantro mint chutney) to try on your roll - you'll be glad you did.

Last week, Kim and I went back again (yes, it's getting to be a habit) and I suggested she try my new favorite, too.  I don't think she likes it quite as much as I do, but she said it was pretty good.  Being a good carnivore, she says she prefers The Slumdog.  I am looking forward to many more trips to try some of the other dishes and pizza combinations - Gateway of India sounds particularly yummy. 

Here's a tip: If you do go to Bombay Pizza Company for lunch, go early.  They get very busy and the tables fill up quickly. Enjoy!

Discovering Cafe Express

A few weeks after starting my new downtown job, I ran into my friend, Kim. We've known each other since junior high!  We used to get together for regular lunches back when she was a stay-at-home mom and I worked in Tomball, but that stopped about five years ago when she went back to work. I was thrilled to learn that we work in the same building.  Small world!  We've been meeting for weekly lunches ever since.

Kim had mentioned Cafe Express as a place I should try. When she told me that they had sweet potato fries, I was sold!  The restaurant is a 3 block walk from the office - best visited on a good weather day - and I was impressed with the bright, roomy interior. There were several people working the counter, so we didn't have to wait long to place our orders.

I had the Rustica Chicken sandwich ($8.99) with sweet potato fries (extra $.99).  The sandwich was delicious - grilled chicken, roasted tomatoes, red onion, black olive tapenade, lettuce, basil pesto and vinaigrette on ciabatta bread. The fries were good, but not quite up to my expectations - I got the impression that they were frozen.  My favorite part of the meal was the black current iced tea.  I would go back just to have another glass of that tea... and maybe to try one of their gourmet burgers.  Yum!

Weighing In - A Year Later

It's hard to believe that I started this weight loss journey over a year ago.  During that time, I've tried several different exercise program, and most recently completed Jillian's 90 day Body Revolution. The exercise portion of the program is great. It challenged me and kept me interested. I have never been very good with diets, so I didn't follow that portion of the program.  I'm sure that I would have lost more weight if I had.  I am stronger, though, and now I can breeze through other exercise videos that I used to find difficult. 

Just because a year has passed, doesn't mean I'm finished. Not by a long shot!  I still have 48 pounds to go, and I don't intend to stop until I reach my goal. Rather than run right out and buy a new program, I'm putting together my own using the various DVDs in my library.  When I get it figured out, I'll share it with you. After I've done that for a while, I may look for something new.  P90X sounds like it might be interesting.

You can expect to see continued posts on my progress in the coming months. I might even post a new picture.  Just thought I should warn you. 

My numbers for the week(s):

Pounds lost (-) or gained (+) this week:  -0.4
Total weight loss:  21.8

Inches lost (-) or gained (+) this week:  0

Total inches lost:  33.5

My current motivation:  the Meet My Goals Challenge from Mom In Management. I didn't meet my goals for week 5 or 6, but I'm not giving up.  I'm too stubborn for that!