Houston Street Food - Part 1 - Ivan Teh

Houston Street Food - Part 1

Houston Street Food is considered to be one of the best in the United States Of America, and the city is known as the 'dining out' capital, due to the wide variety of food and reasonably low prices at most restaurants here. Being located near the south of the North America continent, Houston, in the state of Texas, is known for its Rotisserie, Barbecue, Latin American cuisine, and Tex-Mex cuisine.

Barbecue Pork Ribs

Food in Houston can be found in kiosks within malls, in cafes, mid-range eateries or fine restaurants. Surprisingly, food trucks aren't that common in Houston due to difficulty in getting operating licenses. The wide diversity of food available means no one meal is considered 'typical'. Ingredients that are commonly used include beef, bread, rice, corn, potatoes, chili, tomatoes, onions, beans, molasses, sugar, chicken, avocado, lime, cheese, pumpkin, pecan nuts, blueberries, strawberries, lettuce and catfish.

Rotisserie and Barbecue are extremely popular in Houston, and the state of Texas is traditionally considered one of the foremost pioneers of barbecue. The 2 most popular styles of Barbecue in Texas is the East Texas style, where meat is sauce marinated and slow cooked over hickory wood; and Central Texas style, where meat is dry rubbed with spices and slow smoked through indirect heat over pecan wood or oak wood.

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Similar to the Full English Breakfast, the Full American Breakfast / Scrambled Eggs Breakfast is popular in Houston, Texas, United States Of America, eaten during breakfast hours throughout the week. The Full American Breakfast / Scrambled Eggs Breakfast consists of a medley of grilled or pan-fried ingredients, including some or all of the following; crispy pork streaky bacon rashers with smoky meaty salty savoury fatty flavour, tender smoked pork ham with meaty salty savoury flavour, crispy hashbrowns with starchy salty savoury flavour, fluffy soft scrambled eggs with milky eggy sweet flavour, juicy tomatoes with vegetal sweet smoky flavour, snappy juicy grilled sausages (pork, chicken, or beef) with smoky meaty savoury salty herbal flavour, soft baked beans in tomato sauce with vegetal earthy sweet flavour, or crisp sautéed spinach with vegetal sweet salty flavour. The unique American addition is a stack of fluffy soft buttermilk pancakes dressed with sticky maple syrup and creamy salted butter on the side, carrying bready floral salty sweet flavour. The uniquely Houston addition is the inclusion of juicy strawberries or blueberries, which are abundant here, lending fruity sweet flavor.

Full American Breakfast / Scrambled Eggs Breakfast

Full American Breakfast / Scrambled Eggs Breakfast

Full American Breakfast / Scrambled Eggs Breakfast

A classic American dessert, the Apple Pie is a tart with a double crust (top and bottom) pastry, filled with apples, usually Granny Smith Apples. Apple Pie is usually served across the United States Of America with Ice Cream, usually Vanilla flavour, and whipped cream. In Houston and throughout Texas, Apple Pie is served with strawberries and blueberries. The saying 'As American as Apple Pie' is used to refer to something that is typically American in nature.

Apple Pie

Barbecue Wings / Buffalo Wings are popular in the United States Of America. While both use unbreaded deep fried chicken wingettes or drumettes, the difference is the sauce used for coating. Barbecue Wings have a sweet, savoury coating of sugar / molasses and tangy barbecue sauce, while Buffalo Wings are coated with vinegar, cayenne pepper, chili, and butter. They are served with celery sticks, carrot sticks and blue cheese dressing sauce, which is consumed by pouring over the wings, rather than dipping.

Barbecue Wings / Buffalo Wings

Barbecue Pork Ribs are typically associated with the East Texas style of barbecue. It feature pork ribs (baby back ribs, spare ribs, or rib tips) basted in a thick barbecue sauce. East Texas barbecue sauce is traditionally made from fresh tomatoes, tomato ketchup, salt, brown sugar or white sugar, apple cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, cumin powder, black pepper, and chili powder. It has a tangy sour sweet savoury herbal spice flavour, with a thick sticky texture. The Barbecue Pork Ribs are marinated with this barbecue sauce and slow cooked (usually over hickory wood) till the meat is infused, resulting in a tender fall-off-the-bone texture with bold smoky meaty savoury tangy sour sweet herbal spice flavour.

Barbecue Pork Ribs

Barbecue Pork Ribs

Barbecue Pork Ribs

The Beef Steak Strip Loin is a common choice for meals in Houston, and features a strip loin done according to your tastes.

Beef Steak Strip Loin

The Beer Bud Light is a low-calorie light beer, formerly known as Budweiser Light, brewed by Anheuser-Busch in Pleasantville Area, Houston, Texas, United States Of America. It has a pale golden straw colour, with aromas and tastes of barley, spring water, corn, and wheat. The body is clean, crisp, and light, with grainy bitter sweet flavour, and a fast finish.

Beer Bud Light

Beer Bud Light

Beer Bud Light

Beer Ziegenbock is a locally brewed Houston beer, styled as 'brewed by Texans for Texans'. Ziegenbock is only available in Texas, and has an amber colour, a grainy aroma, a sweet, smooth taste with a slightly bitter finish and little complexity. Ziegenbock actually means 'Billy Goat' in German.

Beer Ziegenbock

Biscuits And Gravy is a popular breakfast dish, and features biscuits made from all purpose flour, white sugar, baking powder, salt, butter, honey, and buttermilk. The biscuits will have a soft crumbly texture with buttery honeyed floral sweet savoury flavour. The gravy is made with cooked sausage (beef or pork), butter, all purpose flour, milk, salt, herbs (thyme and/or rosemary), and black pepper. The gravy will have a creamy thick texture, with milky savoury salty sweet flavour. Biscuits And Gravy is a regional dish of the South, and is a soulful comfort dish.

Biscuits And Gravy

Biscuits And Gravy

Biscuits And Gravy

The Bread Roll, also known as a Dinner Roll, is a small oblong individual loaf of bread, served as a side to a meal. While ingredients used to make a Bread Roll can vary widely, some of the more well known and common ingredients include all purpose flour, yeast, chicken eggs, butter, salt, white sugar, water, milk, cinnamon, and honey. The Bread Roll will have a soft fluffy chewy texture with bready sweet savoury flavour, and if toasted, will carry an additional smoky aroma with crisp edges.

Bread Roll

Bread Roll

Bread Roll

Bread Roll

A classic American street side / diner food, Burger And Fries typically consist of a ground beef patty (hamburger patty) between 2 hamburger buns, along with lettuce, tomatoes, dill pickles, onions, American cheese, and served with thin strips of potatoes french fries. Condiments include tomato ketchup, sweet chili sauce, mustard or mayonnaise. The versatility of Burger And Fries means any combination of ingredients can be termed a burger, so long as they come between 2 hamburger buns.

Burger And Fries

Buttered Corn is a common side dish served along with meals, and features corn stripped from the kernel, and quickly tossed in butter. Sometimes, bacon, bell pepper / capsicum, onions or tomatoes are included for flavour.

Buttered Corn

Buttered Corn

Buttered Corn

Candy from Houston. Hot Tamales is a red-coloured spicy cinnamon gummy candy. Milk Duds is a round milk chocolate and caramel candy. Junior Mints is a round candy containing mint filling inside a chocolate shell.

Candy Hot Tamales, Milk Duds, Junior Mints

The Cheese Platter in Houston features made in American cheese, such as American cheese, Monterey Jack cheese, Maytag Blue cheese, Cream cheese and Colby-Jack cheese.

Cheese Platter

Cheesecake is a dessert cake made with soft fresh cheese (cottage cheese, cream cheese, or ricotta), chicken eggs, white sugar, salt, vanilla essence, lemon zest, sour cream, and butter, set over a base made from crushed biscuit crumbs (graham cracker, shortbread biscuits, or digestive biscuits). The Cheesecake will have a dense soft firm texture with the base being crumbly grainy, carrying cheesy milky floral biscuity sweet flavour. While it can be served chilled and eaten on its own, it's also commonly paired with thick fruit compotes or sauces, such as strawberry compote or blueberry compote, lending a fruity sour sweet flavour. For greater indulgence, a dollop of fluffy whipped cream or creamy vanilla ice cream, both with milky sweet flavour, may be added on top.

Cheesecake

Cheesecake

Cheesecake

Cheetos is a brand of cheese flavoured cornmeal snacks made in United States Of America. There are over 20 different versions of Cheetos, but the spicy versions are more popular in Houston.

Cheetos

Chili Con Queso Beef is a dish of melted cheese and chili, served with ground beef as an appetizer or side dish. Chili Con Queso Beef originated from the Mexican state of Chihuahua, using the Mexican cheese Queso Chihuahua. The small dog Chihuahua was named after this Mexican state.

Chili Con Queso Beef

A common breakfast item sold in many small cafes, the Croissant Ham And Cheese is popular with locals.

Croissant Ham And Cheese

The Egg Omelette is typically round or oval in shape, served either with an open face style or a closed folded style. The more common fillings include some or all of the following ingredients, such as tender pork ham, gooey cheddar cheese, bouncy sautéed mushrooms (button, portobello, or cremini), crisp sautéed spinach with vegetal sweet salty flavour, crumbly cheese with milky sweet salty flavour (feta, cottage, cheddar, monterey jack, or parmesan), or juicy tomatoes with vegetal sweet smoky flavour. The egg omelette has a fluffy gooey crisp texture, carrying eggy sweet savoury salty cheesy peppery spice flavour.

Egg Omelette

Egg Omelette

Egg Omelette

Tex-Mex cuisine is unique to this region. Fajita Beef Chimichanga is a deep fried burrito of grilled beef wrapped in a flour tortilla and covered with melted cheese. Refried Beans consists of mashed beans that have been baked, or fried just once, making its name a misnomer. Guacamole is a popular condiment, made with mashed fresh avocado, onions and salt. Sometimes, lime juice, tomatoes or chili is added.

Fajita Beef Chimichanga With Seasoned Rice, Refried Beans And Guacamole

Fajita Beef Chimichanga With Seasoned Rice, Refried Beans And Guacamole

Fajita Beef Chimichanga With Seasoned Rice, Refried Beans And Guacamole

The Herb Roasted Chicken is slow cooked Rotisserie style with fresh herbs, which imparts a lovely flavour to the meat while keeping it moist and tender.

Herb Roasted Chicken

Herb Roasted Chicken

Hot Chocolate in the United States Of America is typically a thin but flavourful cocoa drink, which is less sweet and dense than the variety of Hot Chocolate from Europe.

Hot Chocolate

Hot Chocolate

Lemonade is a simple but refreshing drink made with lemon juice, sugar and water. It is often home made, although street kiosks and fast food outlets also sell this.

Lemonade

The classic Mexican Margarita is a clear cocktail of tequila, orange-flavored liqueurs (grand marnier, triple sec, cointreau), fresh lime / lemon juice and salt, served over crush ice.

Margarita

Mashed Potato, also known simply as Mash, is a common side dish to accommpany a meal. It comprises boiled or steamed potatoes with their skins removed, mashed together with milk, butter, salt, and black pepper, optionally dressed with spring onions. The variety used for Mashed Potato is usually a high-starch low-moisture potato, such as Russet potato, Idaho potato, King Edward potato, or Yukon Gold potato. The Mashed Potato should have a thick creamy smooth texture with starchy savoury buttery salty flavour. It's typically served with a rich brown gravy which lends salty savoury flavour.

Mashed Potato

Mashed Potato

Mashed Potato

Condiments that usually accompany a Texas meal include Mayonnaise, Mustard, Tomato Ketchup, Barbecue Sauce, Hot Sauce (Tabasco) or Ranch Sauce.

Mayonnaise, Mustard, Tomato Ketchup

Condiments served as part of a Mexican or Tex-Mex meal typically include Salsa Tomato, Jalapenos, Sour Cream and Guacamole.

Salsa Tomato, Jalapenos, Sour Cream

Nachos are a popular Mexican snack made from fried flour tortilla cut into chips. There are many variations of Nachos, and they are usually served with several condiments and dipping sauces.

Nachos

Nachos

Nachos

Popcorn was popularized in United States Of America, and as large regions of Texas is used to grow corn, Popcorn is plentiful here. In Houston, Popcorn is typically sold in bags, and is normally lightly buttered or salted. While Popcorn is often consumed as a snack by most, it is sometimes eaten as a meal by the poor due to its affordability, high dietary fiber and fat which provide them with energy. Popcorn is also used as a Christmas decoration in North America, threaded on strings on hung on trees / walls.

Popcorn

Pulled Pork is a Southern style of barbecue where pork shoulder is marinated with an East Texas barbecue sauce (fresh tomatoes, tomato ketchup, salt, brown sugar or white sugar, apple cider vinegar, worcestershire sauce, cumin powder, black pepper, and chili powder) with optional yellow mustard and thyme, and then slow cooked, which results in the meat being tender enough that pulling it causes it to fall apart, hence the name. Pulled Pork has a tender chewy texture, with bold smoky meaty savoury tangy sour sweet herbal spice flavour.

Pulled Pork

Pulled Pork

Santa Fe Chicken Soup is named after the city of Santa Fe, which was formally part of Texas, but now belongs to New Mexico. Santa Fe Chicken Soup is a thin but robut soup / broth consisting of chicken chunks, onion, garlic, celery, chicken stock, tomatoes, jalapeno, beans, white rice, cumin, salt, pepper, chili, corn, coriander and cilantro. Santa Fe Chicken Soup is normally slow cooked, and has a bright reddish orange colour, with a rich, deep taste.

Santa Fe Chicken Soup

Santa Fe Chicken Soup

Seasoned Rice is a savoury rice served as a side dish to a meal, and is made from white rice, butter, onions, chicken stock, salt, pepper, cayenne pepper, soy sauce, garlic powder and parsley. Sometimes, vegetables such as celery, peas, carrots or corn is added.

Seasoned Rice

Soda from Texas. Sierra Mist is a lemon lime flavoured soft drink, while Dr. Pepper is a local Texas soda which has a taste like bark, akin to drinking a syurp mixture or a medicinal mixture.