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!

Discovering Downtown

Back in January, I walked away from my 17-year career with BJ Services (now Baker Hughes) and did something I had sworn I would never do again. I took a job in downtown Houston. What can I say? They made me an offer I couldn't refuse. 

Even though my commute is only 10 miles further (each way), I decided very quickly that I did not want to drive in Houston traffic. Taking The Woodlands bus allows me to work, read, or even nap during my commute; it costs about the same as gas + parking; and I arrive feeling relaxed rather than stressed. The only downfall is that my bus stop is half a mile from my office, but I look at that as a way to get a jump start on my daily exercise and, when the weather's bad, I can walk in the tunnels.  Win!

I'm starting to learn more about all the things Houston has to offer, and it's high time I shared.

Market Square has regular outdoor concerts, movies and other events that are free, and you can enjoy delicious Greek food (gyros!) from Niko Niko's during the show. My son and I attended a Fondue Monks concert there in March and had a blast.

The Park Shops (across from my building) offer a wide variety of shopping and eating for busy downtown workers. They have gift shops, clothing, electronics, beauty parlors and a workout facility - just to name a few. There are so many different restaurants in the Park Shops that I haven't managed to try them all yet. A few that I have tried:  Chick Fil A (always good), Ninfa's Express (smaller menu, but just as good as the big restaurants), Potbelly Sandwiches, Quiznos, Subway (all the chain stores are consistently good), Au Bon Pain (slightly fancier sandwiches), Wok & Roll (another chain and not bad at all), Chicken Kitchen (great salads), Otto's Barbecue (yummy), and The Mediterranean Grill (okay, but can't compare to Niko Niko's). So many choices! I just checked the directory and there are still more than a dozen restaurants that I have yet to try. So far, my favorite at the Park Shops would have to be Chicken Kitchen. I love their southwest chicken salad with cilantro dressing. Yum!

On Wednesdays in June, there's a City Hall Farmers Market where you can purchase locally grown fruits and veggies, and prepared lunch items. It's a little far from my office, so I haven't checked it out yet, but it sounds wonderful.

Then there are the tunnels... miles and miles of tunnels under downtown Houston... but I think I'll save that for another post.