This week’s Food & Drink edition focuses on What’s For Brunch? The Leader • Saturday, March 17, 2018 • Page 1B
Brunch, the most important meal of the week First taste: Snooze, an A.M Eatery By Ozzie C. Davis For The Leader
Although brunch is often thought to be a weekend activity, thankfully with a place like Snooze in the neighborhood, which is open for brunch daily, your breakfast/lunch options just improved dramatically. Snooze, an A.M. Eatery, henceforth simply known as Snooze, opened their first store in Denver, Colorado in 2006. I know what you are thinking, Denver is already famous for its omelet, but Snooze does much more than just omelets. The Heights location, which is the company’s fourth Houston location, opened for business January 24. Snooze as a company strives to source locally and has noteworthy programs of partnering directly with Central American coffee farmers. Since I was able to research Snooze on a Saturday morning with the other C. Davis’s on a family brunch date, we were able to do it at their most busy hour. Be forewarned, that it is highly likely that you will wait in line, especially on the weekend. From my two hours of dining research, the line starts
stacking up at 8:45 a.m. on Saturdays give or take fifteen minutes, so plan accordingly. I even polled a few patrons and the average wait time for the weekend varies from 20 to 40 minutes; some have reported longer wait times extending beyond an hour. Outside the front door there are games while you wait such as cornhole and nice aesthetics and seating so you will be as comfortable as possible. Without further ado, allow me to take your mind on a delicious journey that begins at the coffee bar, winds to the alcohol bar, and staggers to the breakfast table. Snooze has all the coffee options that one would expect from a top notch breakfast joint. What I mean by this is that although I know we can get lattes and cappuccinos from other places, at Snooze, I can see the barista make it from the espresso machine and steam the milk themselves. O.C.D.’s Recommendation - Latte with Cinnamon Although it may be frowned upon by your employer, Snooze offers a full bar open at 6:30 a.m. Not only do they
Browns that truly are some of the best I have ever had. For those among us who aren’t looking for the breakfast scene yet still want to check out Snooze, there are many options of sandwiches, salads as well. I still would recommend a side of pancakes or hash browns with your dish since you only live once. The Duo Benny from Snooze with a chile verde and steak and eggs egg benedict.
have local beer options, but also very creative breakfast cocktails that are sure to please all tastes. O.C.D.’s Recommendation - Boss Hog, which is bacon infused Noble Bourbon and House Bloody Mix From what I can tell, there are two types of breakfast people, those that prefer hearty and those that prefer sweet. I am entrenched in the hearty camp and my bride is obvious-
ly sweet. My kids’ taste buds aren’t sophisticated enough to matter yet so they are in breakfast purgatory. If you are craving pancakes or French toast, this is your place. If you are craving Eggs Benedict, this is also your place. O.C.D’s Sweet Camp Recommendation - Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes The Pineapple Upside Down Pancakes are what put Snooze on the map. When you
Photo by Ozzie C. Davis
go, you must order them as a main course or as a side. Or both. O.C.D.’s Hearty Camp Recommendation - Chile Verde Benny Feel free to do a Benny Duo and try multiple benedict styles. But the Chile Verde is slow cooked pulled pork or barbacoa beef topped with green chili hollandaise, pico and cotija cheese. All breakfast dishes are served with Hash
Downfalls: fluctuating wait times can vary depending on the day. It is best to go early before the early afternoon crowd. Parking is currently a problem for the Heights location, Montrose neighbors also chiming in on this topic. The highly popular spot provides parking, but not enough. Patrons utilize on-street parking within nearing neighborhoods, but not always correctly or respectfully – causing neighbors to get involved and talk with management. If you plan to go, consider carpooling or even a ride share program.
Sweet Cup Gelato & Sorbet expands with second location, manufacturing facility By Christina Martinez
Christina@theleadernews.com
Sweet Cup Gelato & Sorbet is growing. The local business has expanded and opened their second location in Garden Oaks/Oak Forest at 3444 Ella Boulevard this year, and are opening their first manufacturing facility this spring to keep up with product demands and whole sale offerings. Before the business and brand were put into place, owner Jasmine Chida made gelato at home as a passion project. She went on her honeymoon with her husband to Italy and fell in love with the gelato she found in the European country. “I came back to Houston and just couldn’t find that Italian gelato I fell in love with,” Sweet Cup owner Jasmine Chida said. “I started making it at home, for dinner parties with friends and it sparked a business idea.” That business idea fruited value and in 2012, Chida opened her first concept in Montrose at 3939 Montrose Blvd. - showcasing her traditional Italian gelato and sorbet with her personal spin on each recipe. What sets Sweet Cup Gelato apart from the rest is variety and offerings. Since 2012, Chida has crafted over 200 recipes – she joked that she stopped counting after 200 – and each of these recipes are rotated through the seasons. “You can mix and match and we have a wide variety of flavors, dairy free options, gluten free options, and everything is made with locally sourced products – organic when we can – and we don’t add in any artificial additives,” Chida said. “We make all of our waffle cones in-house, too.” Of the 200+ flavors, Chida said she prides herself in adding customer flavor requests and working with the seasons on ingredients that are available. Seasonal flavors are also
is a good challenge. The manufacturing facility will be great – not only will it give us the capacity to store more flavors and make more product, but we can also open it up to our communities and offer classes, field trips and we feel like this would be a great resource for both of our neighborhoods we serve.” With Sweet Cup’s focus on moving into the manufactur-
ing facility, the Montrose and Ella stores will scale down from their current 24 flavor offerings to now offering 18. After the transition, both locations will be ready to offer their 24 rotating flavors again. Moving into the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest neighborhood has been rewarding for Chida. “I love Montrose for its innovation and creativity – it’s like a food meca there,” she said. “What I love about Garden Oaks and Oak Forest is that it has that great sense of community. I love the fact that they are a tight nit community, they love and support the community and appreciate small businesses. Having that sense of pride in local business is really warming – and very rare – and Garden Oaks and Oak Forest are all about that.” While interviewing Chida,
artist Rosa Garcia was working on a mural that pays homage to the Garden Oaks/Oak Forest neighborhood. You can find tributes to Patrick Swayze, local restaurants like Doyle’s, Gatlin’s and even MytiBurger. Chida chatted with each neighborhood’s homeowner association to get feedback on her mural and said, “we couldn’t fit everyone, but it’s our way to appreciate this community.” Sweet Cup Gelato is located here in the neighborhood at 3444 Ella Blvd. and sister location at 3939 Montrose Blvd. Find them on Facebook at Sweet Cup Gelato & Sorbet or online at www.sweetcupgelato.com. This was a paid-for article as a part of The Leader’s advertorial program. Schedule your advertorial today 713-686-8494.
Photos by Christina Martinez Above, Sweet Cup Gelato & Sorbet’s Guava Creamsicle. To the right, the H-Town Blue Moon in a homemade waffle cone, pictured in front of the new Garden Oaks/Oak Forest tribute mural.
a fun project of Chida’s – her most recent flavor partnered with BB’s Café and using their King Cake recipe for the King
Sweet Cup Gelato & Sorbet has a Montrose location at 3939 Montrose Blvd. and their newest location in Garden Oaks/ Oak Forest at 3444 Ella Blvd. Find them online at www.sweetcupgelato.com
Cake Gelato offered for a limited time. She’s even got a rodeo flavor coming soon that showcases barbecue flavors
from a local BBQ restaurant. Sweet Cup also has a few signature flavors like the Vanilla Bean Tres Leches, Texan Kulfi and the H-Town Blue Moon. You can find some of these flavors in Central Market and Whole Foods, and at the Montrose and Ella Boulevard location when in stock. Currently, all gelato and sorbet are made out of a small kitchen in their Montrose shop. Keeping up with demands, Chida is currently building out a manufacturing facility at the old Ruthie’s Bar in Montrose to serve both of her locations and whole sale offerings. “We started our whole sale line in 2015 in Whole Foods Market; 2016 in Central Market,” she said. “After that, we started expanding and outgrowing our kitchen space in Montrose and for the past year have been working on our manufacturing facility. The fact that we are growing
the benny flight
celebrate brunch at urban eats H ighlighting local fare and shining that love through their menu is what Urban Eats is all about. Just in time for brunch, try the Benny Flight that features our Carnitas Verde Benedict, Salmon Benny and Brasserie Eggs Benedict. The Benny Flight is available for Easter Brunch, Saturday & Sunday and comes with a carafe of Mimosas or Bellinis. All three of these benny’s are available individually on
the regular breakfast and brunch menus. Urban Eats, located at 3414 Washington Ave., features an eclectic cuisine inspired by family recipes. Dishes are made in-house, sourced locally, and delivered in three unique dining experiences: a full service bistro and bar, fast-casual eatery, and specialty market. Enjoy dining on the patio and terrace, both are open with full service from the bar and kitchen.
www.feasturbaneats.com | 832-834-4417