Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant and Lounge- A Unique Experience

Restaurant: Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant & Lounge
6800 SW Freeway Houston, Texas 77074
Buffet or a-la-carte: A-la-carte
Date of visit: 8/31/2013

Photo Credit (http://blogs.houstonpress.com/eating/Lucy%20022.jpg)

Background: 

Salam/Hello everyone. Welcome to another unique review! Today I will be reviewing Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant and Lounge. This is, in fact, the first time I am trying any sort of African food. Classes at the University of Houston began last Monday and I was at my Chemistry Lab class. With no food with me from home, I immediately thought about going to here, since I couldn't the last time I was at UH for some work earlier this month. Ethiopian cuisine is very similar to Indian cuisine, except that their spice level was completely different. They have a similar type of curry called "Wat", except that it is cooked completely differently than the normal curry. First, chopped onions are slowly cooked until its moisture goes away. Then the fat, the herbs and spices, and finally the meat are added and slowly cooked in a pot. Another similarity is the bread they eat. Indians mainly eat naan bread, and its Ethiopian counterpart is called "injera". Injera is like a flatbread but made from a Ethiopian millet or teff. It is very spongy compared to naan because it is yeast-risen. Very interesting to be honest. So finally after waiting for a while, I finally head off to the restaurant.

Let The Experience Begin!
Lucy is located right after the intersection of US 59 and Hillcroft Ave. It has a very dark setting. Outside, it is all black windows, but inside, there are tables, a bar, 3 TVs, and a traditional sitting area. Most of the light inside the restaurant came from the Sun. I also noticed a disco bar on the roof, so I am guessing that at night there are parties. Not the best place to go for Muslims for dinner because there would be a lot of drunk people there. There is also Ethiopian music playing in the background, and some of the songs were catchy. The waitress noticed me, and politely greeted me. She then directed me to the table, and gave me the menu with free water. I told her that this was my first time eating Ethiopian food, so she was happy and had told me to take my time ordering.



Let's Eat!

I ordered the Alitcha Wat, which is, according to the menu is "Chopped beef and ribs, simmered in a mild and flavorful onion, garlic, ginger and herb sauce." It comes with enjera and salad. Quite interesting to be honest. I did not order soda, as I did not feel like it. So I stuck to the water. While waiting for the food, I was watching the A&M-Rice Game. I noticed that the waitress was the only one that was waiting the tables, and there were people sitting at other tables. Despite that, she did a very good job making sure that the customers get their food and are satisfied. It isn't easy to have one waiter/waitress working with more than one table occupied. For example, at the table opposite me, one of the customers had requested something on her meal. With a smile, she said yes and did the work, and that made the customer really happy. She even helped one of the customers stand up and give her the crutches because the customer had a broken leg. The wait for the food was the longest out of all the restaurants I have reviews on this the blog: 19 minutes and 30 seconds! I ended up paying around $16.18 (tax included) and tipped. Anyways, the food came and I began to dig in. 

Menu: Quite interesting to be honest. There is a lot of really interesting things to try. One thing that I do not like is that the qintot (combo) plates are $26.95 each! Why so expensive???? (Ethiopian cuisine experts- please help me out!) This restaurant is also vegetarian and vegan friendly. Alcohol is served, but not used in cooking. Link: http://www.lucyhouston.com/ordereze/Menu/0/Menus.aspx

Alitcha Watt with Enjera, Salad, and Water

The Verdict:

While the service was really good, the food had its ups and downs. I took a bite of the injera and it felt sour. I didn't know bread could be sour. I always thought that bread, regardless of type, would be in between sweet and sour. But then again, I am new to this cuisine. The Alitcha wat, however, was delicious! The beef was very tender and had flavor. The accompanying sauce was flavorful and fitted perfectly with the beef. When I took the wat with the injera, the taste was completely different. The sauce had made the injera turn from sour to delicious! I soon learned that the injera is supposed to be eaten with the wat, NOT by itself. The salad, however, was very disappointing. There was too much dressing on the salad. I couldn't taste the lettuce and tomato. at all. All was washed down with a glass of water.

Conclusion:

Lucy is a decent place to eat. Their injera might be sour, but it is meant to be eaten with the wat. Their wat is simply amazing, with the right spice level and quality. I will only advice you to avoid the salad and get just the injera. A word of caution. This place is best during lunch on all days and dinner on weeknights. This is because during Friday, Saturday, and Sunday nights, it turns into a party place. It mostly resembles a club. Do not stay away from this restaurant however. Lunchtime is functions as a proper restaurant, and you can also reserve the restaurant for a special occasion where there would be no alcohol or clubbing, like a graduation party or a wedding reception. Now I know there would be some religious person out that will bash me about how I am "doing haram by eating at a restaurant that serves alcohol". The truth is that the quote that I just typed is completely false. In Islam, if you are at a table with halal stuff being served, and another table with people that you do not know has alcohol on it, then you are not sinning. Plus, the owners are non-Muslim, so they have no restrictions on serving alcohol. Also, it is absolutely OK for non-Muslims to serve halal meat. Regardless of the presence of alcohol, I will come back and try new things. If you want to try something that is unique and not normal like the food you get at home, then this place should be considered.

Grading:

Service: 10/10 (Hardworking, friendly waitress = impressive) 

Food: 8.5/10 (Everything was good except the salad. I will not deduct points for the injera)

Waiting Time: 10/10 (19 minutes 30 seconds. Longest so far, but still within the time limit)

Total: 28.5/30 = 95% (A)

Pricing: $$$ out of $$$$ (The extra $ is for the $26.95 qintots)

Restaurant Information:

Lucy Ethiopian Restaurant & Lounge
6800 SW Freeway Houston, Texas 77074
Phone: (713) 334-0000
Website: http://www.lucyhouston.com/ordereze/default.aspx
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ILoveLucys123
Timings --> Mon: Closed; Tue-Thu & Sun: 11 AM - 11 PM; Fri-Sat: 11 AM - 2 AM
Caters: Yes

Feel Free to Comment Below!

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

Elevation Burger- A Halal, Healthier Version of In-N-Out Burger

Restaurant- Elevation Burger
3819 Kirby Dr, Houston, Texas 77098
Buffet or a-la-carte? A-la-carte
Date of visit: 8/12/13

Background:

Salam/ hey everyone! Today I will be reviewing Elevation Burger. Elevation Burger is a burger chain, with locations in Florida, Maryland, Maine, New Jersey, New York, Pennsylvania, and Texas. There are restaurants outside the United States too, with locations in Saudi Arabia, Kuwait, Bahrain, Dubai, and Qatar. This will review the Houston location. The main goal of Elevation Burger is to provide a healthier alternative to popular burger chains like McDonalds, Burger King, and In-N-Out Burger. They use 100% halal organic meat, and are also vegan friendly.
Literally the only reason I got to review this restaurant was because I at the University of Houston for some work regarding my next semester's classes. As everything in UH was closed due to the summer intersession break, I could not eat on campus. I also had a tight budget, so M&M Grill was unfortunately ruled out. I had originally thought of trying Stanton City Bites near downtown, but it was closed on Mondays. So Elevation Burger it was! After finishing the work, I left for the restaurant.


Let The Experience Begin:
The restaurant is located at a congested area of town: Upper Kirby. Parking my car was extremely difficult with many people cutting through the restaurant to avoid being stuck in traffic. There were instances where cars were honking at me because I was backing out to straighten my car to avoid the possibility of a parking ticket, and nearly hit them :O Can they not wait for two extra minutes for the light to turn green??? After five minutes being stuck, I finally went into the restaurant.
The restaurant has a very casual ambiance. There are window-side booths that viewed the Galleria and surrounding strip malls. There were also normal tables and an outdoor patio. Diners were casually talking and everyone seemed so relaxed. I went up to the cashier and decided to order from the menu board.


Let's Eat!
Well this is how the ordering works. First you decide which burger you want. Second, you decide whether you want a normal bun, lettuce wrapped, or no bun. Finally, you have the liberty of choosing whatever toppings you want on your burger. I ordered the Elevation Burger with Mayo, lettuce, caramelized onions, and tomatoes. I also got fries and water. All at a price of $9.94 (tax included). The waiting time was good: only 10 minutes and 3 seconds. One thing I liked was that there were bottles of ketchup on the table for the fries. There was no TV inside the restaurant, so I looked outside and hoped to see a Ferrari or Lamborghini

Menu: Below is the normal menu. But there is also an online ordering menu. Note that bacon is haram, but cooked separately from halal meat

Normal Menu (Photo Credit: http://hungrypilgrims.files.wordpress.com/2010/10/img_2228.jpg)

Online ordering menu (varies by location)- http://houston.elevationburger.com/

Elevation Burger and Fries

The Verdict:

When I saw the burger and fries, my first thought was "OK this is DEFINITELY like In-N-Out" The portions were definitely the same. Well the food was above average; however, there were some problems. First the good stuff. The meat and cheese were absolutely mouthwatering. The melted cheese reminded me of the delicious grilled cheese that is present whenever I eat a philly cheesesteak. the meat was fresh and organic, as the restaurant claimed to be. The meat was cooked medium well to perfection. The tomatoes were fresh and delicious. Now the bad. There was barely any mayo or caramelized onions. Although it was delicious, I counted only four pieces of caramelized onions, and this was after eating 75% of the burger! I could taste the mayo after eating more than half the burger! I've never had that little mayo before. Secondly, the lettuce wasn't fresh. I am assuming that the lettuce used was iceberg lettuce. Iceberg lettuce is not always fresh, so I would recommend them to start using romaine lettuce as it gives more taste and is, in fact, healthier. Lastly, the fries were slightly undercooked. They were half soggy and half crispy and had barely any seasoning on them. Maybe they can come up with their own unique seasoning for their fries to improve their taste, and also put the fries in the fryer for some more time. Overall, one thumb up for the meat and cheese, and one thumb down for the fries and the lettuce.

How did I judge the burger? Well one half of the burger had the meat, onions and cheese, and the other half had the vegetables and sauces. So I took bites off each half and determined how they tasted.

Conclusion:

Elevation Burger is definitely a place for health nuts who are looking for healthy alternatives to McDonalds or Burger King. It is also perfect for vegetarians and vegans. So if any of those apply to you, then the vegetarian and/or vegan burgers are perfect for you. But if you are a normal burger person, where you like meat and toppings together, then avoid the lettuce and order other vegetables or just get the meat and cheese. With regards to the other burgers that I have tasted and posted on this blog, this ranks below Famous Hamburger and M&M Grill. Regarding the fries, give them a pass. There are other places in town where you can get fresh, crispy fries. I will only recommend this because you would have the liberty to choose whatever toppings I want. Had this not been the case, I would have not recommended this place. I will be back and try different toppings with my burger.

Grading:

Service: 9/10 (no problems)

Food: 6/10 (Good: Meat, mayo, onions, tomatoes and Cheese. Bad: lettuce and fries + lack of mayo and onions)

Waiting time: 10/10 (10 minutes 3 seconds)

Total: 25/30 = 83.3% (B)

Pricing: $ out of $$$$

Restaurant Information:

Elevation Burger
3819 Kirby Dr, Houston, Texas 77098
Phone: (713) 524-2909
Website: http://www.elevationburger.com/EB.php
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/ElevationBurger (National); https://www.facebook.com/ElevationBurgerKirby (Houston)
Twitter: https://twitter.com/elevationburger (National);  https://twitter.com/ElevationKirby (Houston)
Timings --> Mon-Thu & Sun: 10:30 AM - 10 PM; Fri-Sat: 10:30 AM - 12 AM
Caters: Yes

Feel Free to Comment Below

Cheers!
Zain Mohammed

M&M Grill- A Gem near the Medical Center and Universities

Restaurant- M&M Grill

6921 Almeda Rd Houston, Texas 77021
Buffet or a-la-carte? A-la-carte
Date of visit: 8/10/13

UPDATE #2: They use Oscar Meyer Turkey Bacon as of 11/25/14. They don't even cook separately, despite me trying to talk to them and convince them to either get either a halal turkey bacon or even a cheap grill to cook it separately. The owner was like "It's not like it's pork". Sorry I didn't announce earlier as I had mistakenly thought I had written this down. I won't be coming back unless they email me saying that they have started cooking separately or they announce it on their Facebook.


UPDATE: This restaurant no longer serves breakfast as of 9/6/13. Timings have changed to Mon-Sat: 11 AM-11 PM

"ORIGINAL POST"

Background:

Salam/Hello guys! After celebrating Eid and indulging on food at the local mosque during the night, I AM BACK! Today I will be reviewing M&M Grill. M&M Grill is a very unique restaurant. It has a fusion of Mexican, Mediterranean, AND American cuisine. In fact, this is the first halal restaurant to have halal burritos, enchiladas, and fajitas. This is a popular hangout for University of Houston and Rice University students and people who work at the Texas Medical center. I have heard from a lot of people at the University of Houston that this was their favorite restaurant, better than ALL the restaurants that are on campus.
The best time to try came when my cousin from Dallas came over. I was over at another cousins house in Katy to spend the day with them because it had been a while since we last met them. The other cousin had just moved from Colorado, so he was wondering what good restaurant Houston has. I had suggested to them to try this restaurant, although it was a LONG drive from their house. Thankfully, my awesome cousins said yes. So we went off on a lengthy drive, hoping that it would be worth it.

Let The Experience Begin!

M&M Grill is located next to a mosque near the intersection of Almeda Road and Old Spanish Trail. According to the GPS, it was 15 minutes from the University of Houston and 10 minutes from Rice University. Very convenient for me as I hardly eat from the restaurants on campus. One problem I noticed was that the parking space was limited. The parking lot was full, so we had to park in the median. The reason? When we went inside, it was PACKED. By packed, I mean all but one table was taken. Most of the people there were college aged kids. My impression was "Boy I am gonna have such a good time". We had to wait around five minutes for a table to be free. There was a TV showing the Texans-Vikings preseason game. And the line got bigger, and bigger, and bigger. Despite this, the cashiers were very friendly and helpful. I got the menu out and thought about what to order.

Let's Eat!

I opted for M&M's famous creation, the Loaded Double Cheeseburger, as suggested by my friends. Along with that, I took Chili Cheese Fries, and Water. My cousin ordered the same as me, but with regular fries. His wife ordered crispy tacos, and my visiting cousin ordered a regular cheeseburger. My sister ordered the buffalo chicken burger. The pricing was reasonable. The average price per person was around $9. We finally got a table and we sat down and talked. The waiting time was very good: 19 minutes and 14 seconds. This is considering the fact that there were 5 diners on the table. The kitchen was really busy and the cashiers were busy taking orders. Now the way the food is bought is different than most restaurants. On the receipt, there is a number. That number is the order number. When the cashier calls out the number, that means the food is ready. The only exception is if you order a fajita plate. If you order the fajita plate, then someone from the kitchen will come and personally deliver it to you. The reason for this is because the meat is simmering in a plate when it is delivered to you, and MAN IT SMELLS GOOD! The table next to me ordered it, and I could smell the meat for about 5 minutes. The cashiers were professional and friendly. They did the service with a smile on their face and politely addressed every customer that was ordering. They even let you take as much time as you need to decide what you want to eat. 

Menu: Note, Bacon is made with turkey. Also, some secret dishes include Saudi Quarter/Half Chicken Kabsa and Mixed Grill. Regarding the pics of the food, I couldn't get everything as my phone had died during the process :(
The menu can be found on these links below. Note that the Breakfast ends at 10:30 AM

Appetizers and Drinks (note the timings have changed)
Sandwiches, Burgers, and Plates
Breakfast Menu

Loaded Double Cheeseburger with Chili Cheese Fries

Taco

The Verdict:
All I can say about the food is WOW. JUST WOW. The food was nothing that I had ever tried before. This was one of my best meals of all time. The humongous burger was very juicy and FRESH. Every ingredient was fresh and made the taste very rich. The chili cheese fries were also amazing. The balance between the fries, cheese, and chili were perfect. The cheese was very flavorful and the chili was cooked perfectly. Everyone on the table enjoyed their food too. Everyone said that they would come back even though the drive is very long. This would be perfect for me whenever I feel hungry and at the University of Houston whenever I do not have food from home. Overall, two thumbs up.


Conclusion:
Well, all I can say is that M&M Grill has been added to the list of my favorite restaurants in all of Houston. I will definitely come back here as many times as I possibly can to eat here. Awesome food, awesome service, nuff said. Oh, and also a very interesting menu. I can't wait to try their Mexican food, which would be a great thing because most Mexican restaurants are haram (forbidden) due to the use of pork meat and pork products such as pinto beans and lard. If you ever visit Houston, I strongly urge you to take some time off your normal routine, and visit this place. Trust me, you will leave the restaurant a happy customer.


Grading:
Service: 10/10 (Very professional and friendly)
Food: 10/10 (Absolutely mouthwatering)
Waiting time: 10/10 (19 minutes 14 seconds)
Total: 30/30 = 100% (A)
Pricing: $$ out of $$$$


Restaurant Information:

M&M Grill

6921 Almeda Rd, Houston, Texas 77021
Phone: (713) 747-8226
Website: none
Facebook: https://www.facebook.com/MMGrill
Twitter: https://twitter.com/mm_grill
Instagram: Yes
Foursquare: Yes
Timings --> Mon-Thu: 6 AM - 10 PM; Fri: 6 AM - 11 PM; Sat: 11 AM - 11 PM; Sun: Closed
Caters: Yes

Feel free to comment below!
Cheers!

Zain Mohammed