The Del with Houston Food Bloggers Collective

I jumped at the chance to be on the Houston Food Bloggers’ Advisory Committee primarily because I wanted a say in where we would be eating, ha! I always like to be in the forefront of any food decisions. Our first meeting was at Houston’s new restaurant The Del. It was a great meeting and turns out we have more things to discuss than just where to eat next.  We expected to sample a few light appetizers during the meeting, but the Del’s chef was more than gracious and brought several of their menu options out for us to try.  In short, this spot has a great laid back atmosphere and great food too.

Loved this photo of me pretending to work with wine etc. Photo cred: Kim from http://www.adventuresinanewishcity.com/

Setup: The Del is close to the San Felipe and Voss intersection.  I would describe the Del as a “neighborhood restaurant.”  The kind of place that people that live nearby will frequent because it is convenient and the great food.  Inside includes a bar that I imagine will become a “Cheers Bar.”  Right outside of that is a large screened in area that has TV screens and fans so it’s great for watching sporting events.  In Houston, a covered patio is the way to go.  Just to the right of that area, is an open deck with large outdoor couches, giant Jenga and a bean bag toss game.  Another group there had a few adorable kids with them, so I would say this place is a great for families.

Food: The food just kept coming and coming! We tried so many dishes and I can say I would really eat most of it again.  My favorite dishes were the crab cake, the ribeye with a side of parmesan risotto and the s’mores parfait.  What made the crab cake stand out for me were the addition of the cauliflower and peppers on top.  It looked gorgeous.  The ribeye was perfectly cooked and seasoned well, but that parmesan risotto was to die for.  It’s creamy and flavored well.  I just wanted to take a bowl home and curl up with it while watching tv.  For dessert, I just love anything s’mores related, so I will admit that I am a tad biased here.  The s’mores parfait was a cold dessert, with crushed graham cracker at the bottom, a nice helping of chocolate pudding, topped with marshmallow sauce. Perfection.

The Del just happens to be close to home for me, so I definitely will be back to try some other items and kickback on their patio!