The Drinks on Me!
BFs Reconnecting Over Great Eats
By A’Dia G
As a foodie, quality food is important. My experience with food can literally make or break a vacation! Food also brings people together, allowing them to connect or reconnect with one another. Food is how I found myself in Houston reconnecting with my best friend.
Wearing two masks, in the airport during COVID, for four hours and thirty minutes was totally worth it! Houston was my first trip in a year and it was long overdue. My best friend Erik and I had been planning our itinerary for the past three months. The various places to visit between the food spots, street art and places to go kept adding up every time we talked. When I saw his truck coming around to the airport's arrival section playing Go-Go, as a greeting to me, I knew the weekend was going to be great!
Let the foodie experience commence! The first spot on our foodie agenda was the Turkey Leg Hut. Known for their famous turkey leg dishes, TLH is a whole vibe with its day party like atmosphere. Even on a Thursday afternoon, their DJ was bumpin’ all the latest hits and some well-loved throwbacks. The wait surprisingly wasn’t too long. It took us about forty minutes to be seated. Having heard from other friends that the weekend wait is much longer, I decided to make this my first stop after visiting the Graffiti Park. I just love the benefits of an early-as-hell morning flight!
The atmosphere took us back to our college days. Erik and I met as freshman at our alma mater, NC A&T, and we’ve been tight ever since. As we waited for our food at our table, rapping and singing along to the music, we reminisced. The crazy sport rivalries with other HBCUs and the ridiculous gossip- there wasn’t a dull moment on campus. Between the music and our drinks, our food arrived with time passing quickly. Our order included the Hennessey glazed turkey leg with fries and the Cajun Crawfish Mac & Cheese turkey leg with the creole corn. Since I don’t like my food to touch, I had to get the mac on the side. And let me tell you, the food was delicious! Well worth the wait!
Another afternoon, another food stop! Erik had raved about this place since he first came across it. I was on FaceTime with him as he tried the amazingly good-looking grilled cheese sandwich and tomato soup from Twisted Grill Cheese. Now, these aren’t your mama’s plain grilled cheeses. Twisted Grill Cheese offers a variety of these staple sandwiches. From smoked beef brisket to buffalo chicken, there is a choice for any taste preference!
As we ate our grilled cheese sandwiches and shared the mac & cheese bites, we discussed our future plans. What we wanted with our careers, our travel plans and even relationships. Very intense conversations while enjoying grilled cheese sandwiches and the afternoon breeze on the patio. My choice was the Lobster grill cheese. I could've gotten another it was so good. However I was so full from the one sandwich! I was a little envious of Erik’s Avocado and BLT+E grilled cheese. Although I no longer eat pork, bacon still tries to call me back!
Now I have a serious sweet tooth! Knowing this, Erik had agreed to indulge my habit by visiting three ice cream shops. I truly enjoyed all three of the shops for different reasons. The first Creamistry appealed to my inner nerd! They make their yummy products with liquid nitrogen. I was also impressed with their numerous vegan base options. My coconut-based, birthday cake ice cream with extra fruity pebbles was delicious!
Aqua S appeal to my adventurous side. During that time of year the available soft serve flavors were Carrot Orange, Sea Salt and Egg Pudding. Shrugging my shoulders, I decided to try the egg pudding and sea salt combo on a charcoal cone with fairy floss. Now fairy floss is basically another term for cotton candy. The light flavors of the sea salt and egg pudding combo surprisingly complemented each other. The cotton candy with the ice cream was just an added bonus.
Both of us agreed on the last stop. Bae appealed to our inner showoff . The modern but classy décor of the ice cream shop screamed luxury and glam with its black and white scheme. The ice cream flavors and toppings were flashy as well. Pegasus, the flavor of my choosing, was an incredible mix of cinnamon toast crunch and fruity pebbles. Talk about childhood nostalgia! An added bonus were my toppings- gold star sprinkles and a gold leaf. We laughed like children throughout the day as we enjoyed the simple, sweet things in life.
Since the photo was so dark here's a better video showing my ice cream from Bae!
We had matured over the years, and that was not only apparent by the natural hangover-like symptoms we had experienced just from staying up too late. I’m still trying to figure out how less sleep can cause a “hangover” but drinking wont!
The topic of our discussions had matured. We spoke about drive and purpose. These were some deeper conversations to have over food and drinks. However at the same time, we are still us! We would go from rapping along to Moneybagg Yo to talking about real estate and stocks. Our shared love of good food allowed us to reconnect with each other. The time I spent in Houston, being out of the house, gave me a better appreciation for a small getaway. It also allowed me to spend time with my best friend who I hadn’t see in almost two years. Again, the trip was totally worth it!
If you are in Houston, please consider visiting the food spots I mentioned above. During my visit we also explored other parts of the city. Below are other scenic spots, bars and activities in Houston that you should check out:
1. Present Company
2. Electric Feel Good Bar
3. Wonder Bar
4. The Color Factory
5. Houston Museum of Natural Science
6. Pandr Murals Downtown
7. Grafitti Park
8. Waterwall Park
The title wouldn’t be appropriate unless I provided some drink photos. Wonder Bar lived up to its' name with these drinks served out of Patron bottles and disco balls- Living My Best Life and Disco Bull. Also pictured are drinks from Present Company, the Whispering Eye and Pancakes and Sizzurp.