I would assume you’ve caught up with the previous posts if not – this is a continuation of my stay and experience in Houston during my trip.

I tried out new places and enjoyed most of what I ate. Here’s my two cents;

•The Burger Joint 

This happened to be opened the night we attended the comedy show. It was still open close to midnight. I had bad cramps on this particular night and so I decided to try their sweet potato fries and one of their signature smoothies. The food wait time was not that long either.

This combo hit the spot. My stomach was happy I must say. They had a variety of food options that you could choose from. We did order take out, however their dine in space is really pretty and has the perfect set up for hangouts. It has nice aesthetics for pictures too. 

It’s a sort of open space kind of structure perfect for warm weather and if I must say on this particular night we enjoyed the warm weather and calm Houston atmosphere mixed with banter from the other customers.

•Safari Restaurant 

I had been having a very strong craving for plantains ever since Janet mentioned we would be going to an African restaurant. Interestingly I also had the desired picture in mind of how I imagined the plantains would be. I don’t think I’ve ever been this happy for a met expectation. 

This place was opened throughout the holidays. We ate here on New Year’s Day.  Even on this day they operated normal hours which was until 2am. 

I had mackerel with plantains. When I tell you my plantains expectation versus the ones on the table matched, I’ve never known such joy. I had to get a second plate.

The others got –Abacha (sometimes called African salad-made from soft cassava flakes mixed with various ingredients including oil bean, shredded vegetables and spices) , Jollof rice that came with spinach and goat meat and another got Jollof rice with plantains and assorted meat. My taste buds didn’t really blend with Abacha. Though Janet and her brother said it tasted like the one they had back home. 

I would visit this Nigerian restaurant over and over. If you’re looking for authentic Nigerian food, I’d highly recommend trying Safari Restaurant. Aside from the food they served local drinks with great Afro beat playing in the background. 

•The Post Market 

Tip: If you want to experience the roof top, I’d suggest coming during the day when there’s free entrance otherwise if you don’t mind paying a few extra dollars to access it – the evening works too.

After strolling in and out of almost every food stand, we settled for barbeque chicken skewers and sarsa chicken which came with a side of rice for Janet while I got barbeque pork that came with rice, salad and plantain chips at the Filipino food stand (Soy Pinoy). I really loved their vinegar sauce which had a sweet and sour taste and blended perfectly with the meat. Plantains were my least favourite, I thought they would make them the way Safari Restaurant did. They had other eye-catching food on their menu. Don’t get me wrong, the other Mexican, American based stands had equally mouth watering food, but you know a decision had to be made, plus I wanted something different. 

•Southwest  Farmer’s Market 

This soon became our go to spot for West African dishes, mainly Nigerian ones. They had take outs ranging from Beef Suya to Asun (spicy goat meat). This is a great African store. Some of my favourite non-food items were; dettol soap, Ribena and Lucozade juice. I also tried their Malta-Ginseng, Malta is a carbonated, non alcoholic Nigerian drink but then it is mixed with ginseng which is a Korean dietary drink. I thought this was a nice combination.

•Sabo Suya

Just a heads up: I do not know if it is just during the festive season but I would suggest calling in to make your order before 7pm.

The night we purposed to eat here, we arrived just after 7pm but they were out of almost everything we wanted. I was really looking forward to trying Suya for the first time but they had none left. I was frustrated that despite their closing time being 10pm their food was out by 7pm. Coincidentally when we looked up Southwest, it was on the same street. It was our night hero.