Vicky L.
Yelp
We visited this new Upper Kirby location with a small group to try out the food and drinks for a good time. The parking is much better than the Heights situation but I sense that it will be much more busier once all the tenants of the building are moved in and open. It is the same concept where you go in and place an order/pay at the counter/bar area, grab a table tracker for the food items to be delivered, and choose a table to sit at.
The drinks are on point, whether it's their ginger hibiscus agua fresca, tea, or frozen libations! Love the boozy slushees, cocktails, ND zero proof drinks. The happy hour deals are even better! As for the food, we had many plates to share with each other...
*Let's start with the good: Smoked Salmon Dip (so appetizing and chips are crunchy), Chicken Karaage (love the flavor and meat quality), Smoked Wings (w/ umami miss blue cheese, good w/ or w/o it), Loro Cheeseburger (good size and beefy flavor), Oak Smoked Beef Brisket Sandwich (tasty shredded beef with crunchy papaya salad and herbs), Crispy Smoked Chicken Sandwich (nicely battered and fried with perfect amount of hot honey hot sauce combination), Crispy Szechuan Tofu rice bowl (nicely fried and crisp tofu bites and light chili pepper flavor), Texas Sweet Corn (simple execution with good flavor and texture from crisp onions), Sesame Rice Noodles (delicious chili vinaigrette and chilled noodles).
*The A-OK: Crispy Thai Pork Ribs (flavor is good but meat is kind of dry), Char Siew Pork Belly (hoisin sauce plus smoky flavor, but more chewy than the typical char siew you would get at my go-to Chinese BBQ places)
*The not so OK: Curry Marinated Shrimp rice bowl (no curry flavor in shrimp, rice not coconut scented but heavily lemongrass and lime scented), Char Siew Pork Belly rice bowl (super dry, super chewy, burnt, and no taste other than sweet char siew mini bites), Oak Smoked Grilled Steak rice bowl (dry, chewy, slightly salty, room temperature fully cooked beef bites).
While I would highly recommend some items on the menu, I would stay far away from the not so OK items, which were very boring, repetitive with flavor if any, and lackluster. Regardless, there are quite an amount of tasty items that are worthy of trying. Check it out and let me know your thoughts!