Category: Restaurants

Thank goodness it’s Thursday! Does anyone else feel like this week has been so long…maybe it’s Daylight Savings Time and losing an hour of precious sleep or maybe it’s the lack of sunshine here in Houston. Fingers crossed there will be some sunshine this weekend because of course we will be back at the Rodeo for the final weekend. Enough about the weather, this week we are taking you to a new spot in Houston that is so bright and colorful inside, you will forget the dreary days outside.

Blanco Tacos & Tequila is tucked inside of the Houston Galleria next to a lot of new fantastic restaurants, so it is perfect for a day filled with shopping and then wrapping up with happy hour. That is what we did as pals, and it couldn’t have been better. The only downside to this new great spot being in the Galleria is the parking, but never fear, there is valet parking right outside the door of the restaurant- but it will cost you a pretty penny.

Blanco Tacos & Tequila is for sure one of our new favorite places for happy hour! The deals are great and the tequila is better!. Here’s the lowdown – Happy Hour is from 3-6pm; food ranges from $4-$8, which is a great deal! Cocktails and beer are both $5 – talk about a great happy hour. The menu says that happy hour is only in the bar area, but we were able to sit at a table and get the good prices. Make sure you ask your waiter to clarify before being seated.

So what do we think you should get?! Absolutely try multiple things because we loved everything we tried. The margaritas were soo good and easy to drink and you can’t go wrong with a classic marg, but better than that was the red wine sangria. It tasted like a juice box which of course can be dangerous, but we could have sipped on that refreshing treat all day long. The food was also delicious and the portions were very generous for being on happy hour. We of course could not decide what to get so we tried quite a few. Everything they have is classic mexican food like queso, guacamole, nachos, and tacos. My favorite item we ordered was the guac. So fresh and the perfect mix of avocado and spice. The queso was also yummy and had guac, sour cream, and pico de gallo to mix in with the cheese. We always love when there is an added bonus to a staple in our diets. The nachos were the size of a small hill and loaded with all sorts of tasty toppings. You really can’t go wrong with any of the drinks or food! We want to go back to try their dinner options because the menu looked INCREDIBLE. If you’ve already been, let us know what we should try next!

Peace & Pinot,

The Perfectly Paired Pals

Harold’s Restaurant and Tap Room

Harold’s is a staple for us. It’s a place we can always count on and we’ve been there countless times over the past few years. On multiple occasions we all showed up for happy hour and ended up staying for dinner. The location is so easy for everyone to get to, right in the heart of the Heights.

First thing to take note of here is that there are two different menus, one for the Tap Room and one for the restaurant and terrace. Let’s start with the Tap Room. This is the long bar on the bottom floor, right when you walk in. Down here, they have pizzas and other fun bar bites. Our favorite snack down here is the artisanal pretzels and our fave drink…… the tie your knot sangria. It’s so so good. Don’t want to oversell it, but it might be the best Sangria in town. The pizzas are also something that are only offered downstairs. You can never go wrong with pizza. During Happy Hour, their cocktails are $6 (including the sangria), beers are $5, and glasses of wine are $5. They also have a selection of wine on tap and that’s what dreams are made of.

You can still get Happy Hour upstairs at the bar or on the terrace. The drinks are the same and the snacks are mostly the same, with the exception of the pretzels and the pizza. Here is where you used to be able to get the best appetizer that ever was. The fried mushrooms. I’m not even a big fan of mushrooms and these were so amazing. They came stacked high in a bowl full of cheese fondue!! LITERALLY AMAZING. If I’ve made you sad because you can’t have these anymore then I apologize. I do have good news though. They just changed what they deep fry and put in a bowl of cheese heaven. Now it’s the Chicken Fried Cauliflower on the menu. It’s $9 and a great addition to your order. The hush puppies and their honey butter have blessed our sweet little southern hearts with their presence and they should be a part of every order during rodeo season. The cheese board has a significant amount cheese and when we ran out of toast, our waitress gladly brought out more. For free. That’s a big deal. The service is also amazing. We were on the terrace on a cold night recently and they legitimately brought all the outdoor heaters and put them around our table. Kindness and good customer service go a long way and they’ve got it down.

We also recommend the restaurant because all the food is just comforting goodness with an upscale twist. If you’re looking for a fun little evening with your friends or significant other, I recommend walking in some of the antique shops and boutiques on W 19th before heading into Harold’s. Grabbing a glass of Sangria and an order of hush puppies, then heading into the restaurant for supper.

Peace & Pinot,

The Perfectly Paired Pals

Location: The Classic All Day

Preferred time: A late happy hour that turns into dinner

The Perfect Pair: Black and White Hummus and a bottle of the Colomé Malbec

The Classic All Day is a relatively new eatery in town located right on Washington Ave. It replaced Benjy’s, (don’t worry the Benjy’s in Rice Village is still open) as a new concept from the restaurateur Benjy Levit. He is also behind Local Foods, a lunch and dinner staple for us. Each place reminiscent of the other, but with different vibes. The Classic has a retro feel. The best way for us to put it into words is that we felt we needed a special occasion to go to Benjy’s for dinner, which is part of the reason we always just went there for happy hour, but Classic feels like it could be for a special occasion dinner OR a wonderful place to casually show up if you didn’t feel like cooking. The dishes at The Classic, although they have flavors from all over the world, feel homey and comfortable. You can order anything from a classic burger to Mushroom Casarecci to Steak Frites.

The Pals went to the Classic for a happy hour that turned into staying for dinner… classic. For starters, we ordered the Black and White Hummus and the Crispy Brussel Sprouts. The hummus was wonderful! The pickled veggies on top really brightened it up and made it feel like a full fledged snack. The pita bread that it came with was also sooooo good. It also seems to have come with enough Pita. We hate when the ratio is off and it seems that it always is! Does anyone else hate it when there aren’t enough crackers, chips, or bread pieces to even finish the dip!?! It’s the worst and we’re so glad it didn’t happen here. Plenty of pita for all the yummy goodness. The brussels sprouts were fantastic. We know not everyone is a fan of brussels sprouts and until about 2 years ago we pretty much were stubbornly avoiding them at all costs. Now, we are obsessed and have them any chance we get. Bonus: ordering them at a restaurant is great because your house won’t smell from you cooking them! Okay, so back to their brussels sprouts. They are covered in yummy goodies like honey-balsamic, gruyere cheese, and pomegranate seeds. They are a little sweeter than anticipated, but we recommend you order them because they rock.

Drinks. Of course we are going to talk about drinks. They have tasty cocktails that range from $9-$12, beer, and wine by the glass, 2 glass bottle, or bottle. Happy hour runs from 4-7pm.  The variety of drinks on their happy hour is great. They have glasses of wine, bottles of wine, beer, and cocktails all at reduced prices. We did end up ordering our bottle of wine off of the wine list and not the happy hour due to the two bottles on happy hour not fitting what we were looking for taste wise and we did want the full bottle. We will have to go back and order the Gin and Juice on the happy hour though, we are so intrigued!

For dinner, we split the classic burger.It was delicious and perfect for us to split after the shareables for the table. Delicious. It hit the spot for sure. We are big fans of a classic burger and this fit the bill.

Peace & Pinot,

The Perfectly Paired Pals