Follow those tracks!

I learned an important lesson while living in Germany.  When you never drive and just use mass transit, your entire way of thinking as to how to navigate the city completely changes.

One day at the Linde office on Bodenbacher Str, the Project Manager, an affable Englishman, and excellent engineer ,offered to take me home in his car.  I was just a lowly engineer and was not allowed to have my own car.  So I just used the buses and trams to get around.

We got in his car and we drove off.  At the exit of the complex he asked "So, which way?"

That's when I realized.  I didn't know.  By this time I have traveled back and forth every day for the last 6 months to work and home.  But I didn't know how to get home by car.

I asked for his map and started to franctically figure it out.  Turn here.  Right, no left!

The way was awkward and twisting.  Certainly, not the most efficient GPS generated route.

Then we landed on a street and I recognized the tram tracks.  "There! Follow those tracks!  I know where I am now!"

And sure enough.  We made it to my house.

By mass transit, I could jump from tram to bus with the greatest of ease, finding myself anywhere I wanted.  But by car?  Forget it.

Breakfast in Germany

I was the Gedeckzweimann.  This is a picture of my breakfast almost every morning while living in Germany in 2005 and 2006.

Gosh, I loved that Dell Axim PDA!

Kipper, spinach, bacon and new potato salad

Kroger deep discounted their canned kippers so I picked up a can to see if I could make a meal out of it.  I have never had them before but my wife had.  She explained to me that they were a very English thing.  Brits would have them for breakfast.

I found a nice recipe that also included the other very English food:  Rashers. These are sort of a combination of Canadian bacon and American bacon.  However, I used baby spinach leaves and only needed half the amount required by the recipe.

The meal was a big hit.  There was no great fishy smell or taste from the kippers...until the next day.  The fishy smell and taste would infuse itself into everything. So, make sure you eat it fresh.  If you eat leftovers, like I do, you have been warned.

Waldo's Coffee House

Originally posted September 4, 2012

"Would you like that heated?"  I winced inside.  The death call for a croissant.  I knew then it would not be fresh.

Waldo's is literally a house.  A house that was converted into a coffee, uh, house. It's located right on Heights Blvd on the east side of the esplanade (or maybe it's just a wide medium) where joggers and dog-walkers like to run up and down.

The place was, well, homey.  Tranquil.  I was relaxed....until a worker started hammering a sign on the door post of an adjoining room. "This area closed" for who knows what reason.  But I supposed, hammering doesn't always occur.

The floor looks to have been kept in its original worn condition.  More patina, I guess.

There is a certain polish missing in the place.  I'm looking at a torch lamp that is leaning to the left.  There are stacks of leaflets over by the restrooms.  The choice of artwork needs more work, needs a more discerning eye.

Outside, the neighbor has a pickup truck with one wheel missing.  But that may be temporary.

Croissant Brioche French Bakery and Cafe

Originally Posted August 29, 2012

Today I went to the limits of where I can go without running into time constraints.  I'm out at the Rice Village area at the Croissant Brioche French Bakery and Cafe.  And I am not disappointed.  If this place shows one thing it is that if you build it, they really will come.

I am surprised (but....maybe shouldn't be).  I mean, the name.  Look at the name.  The word CROISSANT is in it.  So immediately expectations (although, guardedly) go up. 

And the place is busy.  You can tell the place is popular on a regular basis.  They've jammed lots of tables into the dining area and for spill-over there is outside seating.

There is a medium amount of a "roar" as people talk.


The only thing that irritates me is the number of retirees that come here.  I've discussed this before so I won't get into it again.

The flooring is a red tile with patina to give an old world look, I guess.  The glass counter is filled with nice muffins, tarts, carrot cake, etc. The place is decorated nicely with a couple of high shelves lined with many curios, quite a few of them being clay and ceramic chickens.  I guess we're to feel like we're in a country French farm.  Just a guess.

Rustika Cafe and Bakery

Originally posted August 29, 2012

Rustika.  I guess the idea is to be...rustic.  But there is nothing rustic about the place at all. 

The cafe appears to laid out well.  When you enter, there are the cakes and cookies immediately to your left.  I guess you could say the whole display from cakes to cashier is cadenza shaped. I'm sitting near the door facing a wall that looks like the outside wall of a sidewalk cafe.  Because in Houston opportunities to sit outside are so few we have to pretend.  How sad are we?

And as usual, when I order the croissant the whole deal is killed with the "would you like that toasted?" question.  I'll say it again.  Croissants are not toast.  This croissant is soft and chewing.  The texture is not pleasing.  As usual. It is a sad thing that I am disappointed many more times than I am pleased.

Another thing that just chaps me is the fact that servers do not listen.  She asked me what I wanted.  I said "I'd like a plain croissant and a cup of coffee." 

"Ok, plain croissant and Dr. Pepper"

Huh?  "No.  Cup of Coffee" I exaggerate the words since this person is not listening to me.

I've taken years and years of voice lessons.  There are few people in this world that can enunciate better than I can.  If I enunciated anymore people would look at me strange.  But for some reason these guys don't listen.  They only listen for what they expect to hear.  They expect people to say "coffee" or "small coffee" not "cup of coffee" and even fewer to say "small cup of coffee" which I usually say.  Because if I just say "coffee" it is always followed by "small or large?"  And I get tired of the many choices I'm offered. So, I cut to the chase.  Or try to.

Besides cakes and cookies, there is a back rack of loaf bread with functional decorations of various things such as coffee and such.  The idea of leaving the loaves in the pan is rather different and novel.  I like that.  But the selection is small.  I can't tell whether this means that most were sold earlier in the morning or they just don't sell many.

The section labeled "pastries" had a few others besides the croissant.  I just hope the other pastries are better than the croissant.

Some of their desserts look good. They have an apple empanada that I'd like to buy to eat after dinner.  But the place isn't convenient for me to pick up on a whim.

Black Walnut Cafe

Originally posted August 24, 2012

I am presently at their new location on Memorial.  I guess the outside decor is the latest fashion.  Greeting you as you walk up to the entrance are three large vegetables: red bell pepper, asparagus top and, what I would almost bet is a black walnut.

This is a restaurant.  So, the aim of the decor is different, I guess.  It's not homey. It's not hip.  It's maybe modern, I guess, but not avant guard. There's lots of large wood paneling, high ceilings with mechanically driven wood two-blade fans.  I don't know if you've ever seen these fans, but there is a central motor and set of pulleys and belts distributes out to spin the fans.

Smooth Jazz music plays constantly.  No indy bands.

There's a coffee bar (but not like an Italian coffee bar) and next to it is a gelato freezer next to a dessert cooler.

I'm handed a buzzer like those used at Cafe Express or Chuy's.  But I just ordered a croissant and cup of coffee.  How long should that take?

Although, I was never asked "would you like that heated?"...it was heated.  No fresh croissant here.  I'm sorry, a croissant is not toast.

As usual, with few exceptions, the coffee is good.  But I'm easy to please when it comes to coffee.  Having lived off of gas station coffee for most of my life, I'm probably not a good judge of the stuff.

They hand me a cup and point down the way to where the insulated hand-pump carafes are located.  These things are a modern convenience...but for a classy place like this... c'mon, there's a COFFEE BAR HERE! Can't you guys whip me up a cup from that?  I guess I have to physically sit... at the coffee bar to get THAT cup of coffee.

I've never been to any of the other Black Walnut locations.  But this place here seems...institutional.  Like Starbucks now is.