This Guatemala-based fried chicken place has three Houston locations and I keep hearing how fantastic the chicken is. Rumors have been told to me that people MAIL the chicken to their friends because it’s so good.

???

Welcome to another week of Houston Revealed. I can’t believe it has already been 2 1/2 months. And we definitely have a lot of sharp eyed Houstonians who see all the great details in our fair downtown. Congratulations to our latest winner, Nancy Zamarron, who was the first to identify last week’s picture. City Hall!

Here is this week’s entry. Where was this picture taken?

If you think you know email us the answer!

Good luck!

I’ve been seeing a lot of big scrotums (scrota?) hanging from the undersides of big ol’ trucks driving around Houston these days. Which makes me think, doesn’t this just confirm the truck/penis symbolism? If you’re putting balls on your truck to show that your truck is, in fact, a huge phallus to you, it seems to me that you’re openly admitting that your big truck compensates for a certain shortcoming elsewhere…

Even though I have been misquoted and the subject of their venom, I would like to congratulate the Houston Press on 15 years of service to our fair city. Without it, I’m not sure how I would figure out what to do with my discretionary time and income.

Did anyone catch the review of the Montrose Diner in the current issue? Holy cows! Is the place really THAT bad?

And speaking of food

The Art Car Parade is just a week away and to kick it off, here is a teaser (complete with podcast.)

Dave, Manny and I headed out to Gallery 101 for the Orange Show Art Cart Buildoff. You can get the scoop by listening to the podcast, but in a nutshell, we are filming the three winning teams in the contest. Each won a monster go-cart from Yerf Dog Go Karts and a $500 budget to create their “art cart.” They have 24 hours to complete the project and we are created a DVD about the event.

1 2

5 6

[all photos by Davad Sneed, except #6 by me]

1-Settling in for a long shoot
2-Hanging with Isaac Cohen (car artist)
3-Kae from Red Bull
4-Manny gearing up for a long night
5-Manny and I discussing a shot
6-Dave and Manny interviewing teams

Alright! It looks like the Houstonians are back into the swing of things. David Ting-Jui Chang correctly guessed the photo for Houston Revealed #8 as being one of the George R. Brown Convention Center doors with the image shown as the Four Seasons Hotel. The key here is to remember that the locations for Houston Revealed are DOWNTOWN.

And listen… David as well as any of our other winners can certainly keep playing in order to qualify for one of our prizes. So if one of you earlier winners wants to take a stab at Revealed #5 and #6… then by all means, go for it!

Continuing forward… here is this week’s photo:

What building is this from?

If you think you know, send your answer via email to us before next Wednesday.

Digit and I were craving some Italian this weekend and decided to check out the 4502 Highway 6 North Napoli Flying Pizza & Italian Restaurant.

Good lawd it was good - yummy portabella mushroom apertif with Marsala sauce and chopped tomatoes, served with fresh toasty bread for soaking up every last drop.

I indulged in a creamy shrimp and veggie dish, served on top of a sheet of pasta. Digit lucked out with the most phenomonal chicken breast dish ever - filled with ham, cheese and probably crack because it was pretty crazy-addictive.

Although fresh-faced high school servers/busboys can be pretty annoying, I felt like we were well-taken care of and certainly will be back to gorge ourselves like nobody’s business.

Rock on Napoli. Rock on.

Since 1989, the Torres family has been serving up great Tex-Mex food at reasonable prices. The newest addition to the La Tapatia family is no exception. Located at 14025 Westheimer Road, Tapatia #8 features the menu that has become a Houston Tex-Mex tradition. From $3.85 burritos, to the $9.95 Camaron (shrimp) dishs, Tapatia serves up some very tasty (and inexpensive) food. Tapatia #8 is open the standard chain hours: from 8:00am - 3:00am Sunday through Thursday, and 8:00am - 5:00am Friday and Saturday.

Contrary to the resteraunt’s website, Tapatia #8 does have a happy hour. If you love margaritas, on Wedensdays, Tapatia #8 offers $2.95 margaritas from 11am until 11pm. Combine that with a burrito (or two), and some Pastel de Tres Leches, and you’ve got yourself a great dinner.

Some of the menu items I’ve tried are (those designated with (d) are dinners, including mexican rice, beans, and/or guacamole):
Camaron (shrimp) Burrito: $5.95 - Good. The shrimp are a bit salty, lending an interesting twist to the experience (also availible as dinner).
Pastor (marinated pork) Burrito: $3.85 - Inexpensive, filling, and good (also availible as dinner).
Flautas de Pollo (Chicken Flautas): $6.55(d) - The Flautas de Pollo are excellent, though I usually order mine made with flour tortillas (as opposed to corn). The ranchera chicken filling is wonderful.
Parrillada Tapatia (for two) $24.95(d) - Combining Shrimp, Chicken and Beef Fajitas, Quail and Mexican Sausage, this dinner for two brings together the ultimate fajita experience. While the quail is farm-raised (doesn’t quite have the “wild” taste of free-range quail), it is still quite good. The sausage is excellent, and true to form the fajitas are wonderful.
Fajita a la Mexicana: $9.95(d): Chicken or beef fajitas, cooked in a spicy Mexicana sauce, served with rice, beans, pico de gallo, and guacamole.
Pastel de Tres Leches: $3.95: The Tres Leches comes with a story. When I first tried the Tres Leches, I didn’t know what it was. Lacking the words to accurately describe it to me in English, my waitress explained it as “like cake, only better.” I decided to give it a try, and was presented with a large square of cake with a creamy (almost cream-cheese looking) frosting on top, soaked in an almost syrupy milk. Everyone I introduce to this desert treat has the same response… “Wow, it really is better than cake!”

If you ever find yourself on the west side of town, near Highway 6 and Westheimer, drop in and give Tapatia #8 a try. Tapatia #8 is in the old Marco’s/Blue Macaw location, in the same shopping center as Big Daddy’s Bar-B-Que, Monsoon Indiana Cuisine, and Cheers 2 U. Enjoy!