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Fuel for the Body and Car! The Bouboudakis family no longer owns this little oasis of food and fuel, but the Greek recipes live on! Imagine the convenience of filling your tank and grabbing a plate of Beef Souvlaki! 5 bonus points for the first GAS/RESTAURANT on the blog. Who would even notice? When you drive by this place on Richmond near the Galleria, there is little to lure in hungry diners. The station sign says "Shop & Deli", but that makes me think of microwaves and wilted hotdogs on slimy rollers. Ekko's has an actual, fold-out menu! People Encounter... Plus Chess! There were only three tables outside and one was occupied by Kevin and Terry. I decided not to waste my People Encounter Time with restaurant owners or servers. I had a lot more fun jumping in and playing chess with my new friends... than learning about the history of gyros. I must give 3 bonus points to Kevin and Terry, for allowing me to mess with their chess pieces. Kevin looks like he might slap my hand any minute. And Terry is giving me a tense sideways glance. Good Sports! But in truth, Kevin and Terry were incredibly good fun. They even wrote down some great suggestions for future dining adventures. Terry also offered some useful information about dining with Groupons. Kevin on the other hand seemed a little puzzled and asked more than once, "Now why again do you do this blog?" Kevin is one of those people who makes me ponder why I do the silly things I do. I mostly shrugged and answered something about how the blog forces me to explore... and chat with people... which I don't ordinarily do when I dine. 3 bonus points for a People Encounter that provided me with some dining advice and encouraged me to rethink my goals in life. Hmmm? Just how much time do I waste on this dining blog? Interior! Ekko's was hopping inside! There were people paying for gas, buying lottery tickets, ordering food and even eating at a couple tables tucked into corners! I love a restaurant that has window washer fluid for sale. And I love a gas station that has framed food awards, newspaper articles and maps of Greece! 4 bonus points for the best of both worlds! The Food It was crazy busy inside, so I could hardly chat with Jamal the owner. But Marco, brought our food outside to the table and graciously posed with Cheryl for a blog photo. 2 bonus points for their cooperation! I ordered the daily special of Beef Shish Kabobs, Pita and "Greek Potatoes"...which seemed to be French fries. Cheryl ordered the Gyro sandwich. The pita was spongy good and the tender beef was especially tasty with the Tzatziki sauce. The fries...were fries. I would give our food 4 points with maybe an extra .5 for being served on real plates! Authenticity? I'm afraid I must give a minus 2 points for meeting no Greeks and hearing no Greek music. Can't have it all! Food with a View I do love dining outside...even when it's almost 90 degrees in Houston. Here are all the things we got to experience as we nibbled and chatted. 1- bus stop! Hissing of buses and folks loading up at the bus stop. 2- Sirens! Excitement zooming right down Richmond! 3-People gassing up with throbbing tunes on their radios. 4- Non-stop roar for 20 minutes while a fuel truck loaded the pumps! 5- Fumes? Luckily we didn't smell any. 6- Police excitement! I acted like an 11-year-old Harriet the Spy and slipped inside to buy some gum to do some eavesdropping. But the policeman and the counter clerk halted their intense conversation until I left. Wish I had a bigger story there. All together, I will give Ekko's 6 bonus points for dining amusement! TOTAL OF 23.5 POINTS FOR THE EKKO'S EXPERIENCE!
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Exotic Foods The smells of so many different kinds of food, filled the air of downtown Houston. There were so many food booths, but I could find no new countries represented. We had some Argentine food and Columbian food and even some gelato. Good food, but no new countries to add to my list. I needed some Swedish cuisine or some food from Ghana! Even Brazil would have worked. As you can see from the photo above, I'm less than thrilled about some fat on my Columbian sampler plate. And the food's expensive and you have to buy those tickets... In other words, Houston's I-Fest is not my favorite way to enjoy international foods. However... Where else can you enjoy a tango and a dragon dance within minutes of each other? And where else can you hear the sounds of drumming in one ear and a pan flute in the other! Fashion! And where else can you pick up some awesome fashion tips like these?
I didn't earn any points for my dining blog, but I was reminded about why I love Houston! |
The Dining Blog
This is a blog about Dining Adventures. Sometimes, I talk about food. Below, you can read how this started. On July 4th 2011, I set a goal to try 50 culturally diverse restaurants in one year! (I knew that was possible, living in the Houston area) I spent the year pulling in friends and family to join me, on some unusual dining adventures. I met some curious people, tried some scary foods and explored places and cultures I never would have otherwise. Even though I met my goal, I learned too much to end my adventures in dining. I have continued blogging about memorable dining adventures of all kinds, near and far... and all the discoveries and funny things I've learned along the way! Locations and types of dining adventures, are listed further down. Archives
November 2023
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