Bootsie's

Conrad and I were a little bored on Sunday. We laid around the house for most of the morning - and finally decided to get out and go to lunch. We decided on downtown Tomball because there are some stores and some walking and things to do- we figured we could get out for a few hours.

Bootsies's a ROCKIN' resturant in downtown Tomball. It's owned by head chef, Randy Rucker- who is Tomball born - and I believe, a 4 star chef. He decided to open up a restaurant a year or so ago in his hometown (and ours) and it's named after his mom, who can be found there most evenings as the hostess.

Randy is AWESOME. He cooks with only fresh ingredients - and his menu changes daily. You never know what you'll get when you go in. I'm not an adventurous eater, but I do love vegetables and not the ones that have been cooked into sludge. I love greens and black eyed peas, cauliflower, squash, eggplant, all of it. So I love going there and seeing what he has fresh that day. Conrad on the other hand is much more into the different things Randy has like quail, rabbit, turtle -that kind of stuff. On any given day Randy has a mixture - and the few times I've seen him in the resturant not cooking, he has his nose in a gourmet cookbook, looking for new stuff. On Tuesday's he closes the restaurant and has a ticket only menu called the Heritage Dinner - and you can buy a ticket and be a part of it. You never know what you'll get. Here is a sample menu: it's usually a small 6-9 courses with beer and wine they choose for you.

[ canapé service ]



pork chicharrón with powdered apple and kimchee
van sorman flavored éclair with chicken liver mousse

[ amuse-gueule ]
wild rice cake with gelled molasses and bay laurel
southern charcuterie service…$10 supplement
gulf oyster drills with seaweed, sunchokes and brined coriander blooms
early spring vegetables : raw, juiced and lightly cooked
east texas woodear mushrooms with fried breadcrumbs, broccoli stems and dried sardine bouillon
farmhouse egg with hay-smoked louisiana caviar and caramelized white chocolate
gulf sheepshead with turnips glazed in dashi and juniper from new mexico
corned belly of pork with marmalade made from mustard seeds and raisins
texas whitetail with carrots, black olive and parsnip granola
lemon-lime mousse with buckwheat, fennel and brown butter


SO- you can see this is a place you go to for anniversaries or special occasions, right? WRONG. It's VERY affordable. Conrad and I can usually get out for about $30 if we have dessert ...there is no way we could get that kind of food, in Tomball or really anywhere, for that price. We LOVE it. Such a treat to have in our own backyard. It's getting rave reviews in The Houston Chronicle.

Here's what we had for lunch today!

That's Conrad's fish n chips. OH and at Bootsie's you ALWAYS get a gourmet presentation (i.e. the butcher block plate) ... I don't like fish. But I tried his and OMG. I wanted to rip that plate right up from under his nose. It was GOOD and the batter was amazing. It came with a side of chipotle dip and OMG I just wanted to bathe in it. I never thought I would like fish n chips but I may order it next time, if it's on the menu. Sorry for the blurry pic. Conrad was rolling his eyes at me when I whipped out the phone for picture time. He thinks I'm crazy - I take pictures of my food all the time. I just said, "HEY, Memories, Conrad!" ...

This was my super delicious patty melt. I took a bite before I remembered to take a picture... sorry. I was smelling the onions and just was overcome ... They had some sort of carmalized onion relish thing going on and I wanted to run back there and lick the pot it was cooked in. It melted in perfect with my cheese. I also don't know what kind of bread this was, but it wasn't the normal rye or whatever you get with a patty melt. It was SO MUCH BETTER.

If you are ever in the Tomball area, stop by there - they are open everyday for lunch, on Sat and Sun they are open for BRUNCH and the evening hours are I think Thur-Saturday .... if you try to go for dinner on Sunday-Wednesday they will be closed and you will cry a LOT once you get there and realize that. Tuesday nights are the Heritage Dinner - and you know, ticket only, first come/first serve.

Happy eating!

Kah