The Grove

We've been wanting to go check out one of the Houston farmer's markets for a while now. The two main ones are usually already closed by the time we got up and ready to move on a Saturday morning after a long week, but a couple Sundays ago we decided to go check out the one at Discovery Green. It didn't turn out to be much of a farmer's market - more like an outdoor craft show with a couple baskets of vegetables - but we did try a crepe after lunch from one of the tents, and that was really great.

Anyway, for lunch/brunch, we ate at the restaurant right there at Discovery Green - The Grove. The place is really cool - huge, somewhat open kitchen, really modern and natural decor, nice almonds to start the meal, and just slightly overpriced food. Kimmy was in the mood for brunch, so she ordered Eggs benedict, which were really good - nice thick bacon and the eggs were poached well - a classic.

I went with the Fried oyster BLT. A little lettuce and tomato, homemade tartar sauce, that same thick cut bacon, and a mound of fried oysters about 2 deep over the whole sandwich - amazing. I guess I've never had oysters and bacon before, but it definitely took me back to the smell of oysters fried in bacon fat we experienced at the Bivalve Throwdown a few moths ago. There was a disappointingly large portion of cold marinated black-eyed peas on the plate. They tasted really good, I just didn't need a gross of them.

Honestly though, the best part of the meal for me was my drink. They make a "clear and spicy" bloody mary there that doesn't compare with any I've ever had. It's made with tomato water. I don't like gimmicks, and this might seem like one, but tomato water is officially off my gimmick list. It has all the flavor of tomato but without any of the color or texture of the usual tomato juice. They use chipotle vodka, which adds some spice - in addition to the raw jalapeno and cherry tomato skewer sitting on the rim of the glass. And then it's topped with a few drops of basil oil that float on the top and just add more of a fresh taste. Seriously amazing drink - I'd like to go try some of their other cocktails sometime too.

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