Holler for Hollier's

The last few times my mom, sister and I have gone to Lake Charles for Christmas shopping we've stopped at a family-owned restaurant off I-10 (Ruth Street) in Sulphur called Hollier's Cajun Kitchen.  It kind of reminds me of Dorothy's Front Porch, which used to be in Beauxart Gardens.  I believe they have a lunch and dinner buffet but we ordered off the menu.  

 They have seafood, burgers and chicken, among other things.  I got the combination fried shrimp and catfish for about $15.  The shrimp were very good and I particularly loved the breading on the catfish.  It came with six large shrimp, three pieces of fish, two hushpuppies, baked potato and roll.  They also have a small salad bar that comes with your meal.  The potato salad is homemade and very good (made with a lot of mayo).

We were still a little full from our breakfast buffet so I was excited to bring home about half of my meal.  The kids spotted it and it quickly disappeared.  We also got some sausage and chicken gumbo to take home.  My mom and sister took home the seafood gumbo, which my nephew said was the best restaurant gumbo he's had.  I'm told there's also a Wednesday BBQ buffet which is supposed to be really good.  I think we might take the 45 minute trip again soon and bring the kids.  When you leave you can always sit back and relax on the porch rocking chair :)

  

Update

Just a quick update on a restaurant called Rosa's that I reviewed.  Unfortunately, it closed up.  I know it was a small, family-owned restaurant and I hate to see it go.  I really did love the salsa and cheese enchiladas.  For some reason, restaurants just don't make it at that location.  Another update, I didn't do a post on this, but I went to a restaurant in Lake Charles called the Southern Favorites Kitchen.  It is located inside the L'Auberge Casino.  It was not good.  The selection was slim, the prices high, and seriously, my sister ordered the worst meatloaf I'd ever tasted.  Save your money and try something else.  In my opinion the casino doesn't have many dining options.  The buffet for breakfast was outstanding though.  On our way home we stopped at a restaurant in Sulphur called Hollier's Cajun Kitchen.  It will be my next review in a few days :)

It's Willy Willy Good

Many years ago my family went to Los Angeles on vacation and visited it's famous farmer's market.  It was there I had something they called an "Australian Burger".  It was basically a burger but with a fried egg on top of the cheese.  There could have been more toppings, but all I've ever remembered is that fried egg.  It sounds gross, but it is delicious.  The only other time I've ever had fried egg on a burger was at the Red Robin Hamburger chain.  It's not exactly something you can ask for at every restaurant, until I came along a picture in the newspaper a few weeks ago of a cheeseburger, and behold, a fried egg sticking out the sides!  It was from a place called Willy Burger in Beaumont.  So yesterday James and I checked it out.  It is located on Calder, right next to Tia Juanita's Fish Camp (which I've also heard is good, will visit soon).  First off, you should know the parking situation is not good.  There is one long row for Tia Juanita's, and one smaller row for parking in the back of Willy Burger.  I had to make a giant loop around five times to find a spot, but it was right at noon so I'm sure it gets better.  I didn't get a picture of the outside, but it is basically a cute little diner with lots of personality.  The employees dress in white with little white hats you would typically see in a diner.  Everyone was friendly and we walked right up to order.  They have your typical cheeseburger, hot dog, chicken sandwich and grilled cheese.  You can add toppings like my much-anticipated fried egg, and others like bacon, onions and jalapenos.  They also serve fries (regular, sweet potato and parmesan garlic), and onion rings, chili and fried pickles.  Then they have a giant specialty burger menu.  There are ones called a "Hee Haw Burger" (with pimento cheese, fried green tomato, bacon and red pepper jelly), and others called a "Fred Sanford" burger and "Booty Burger" with fried boudain.  They also have tuna, catfish, crab and mushroom burgers if you want a little something different.  For dessert, they have ice cream, shakes and malts, coke floats and even funnel cakes.  They also serve breakfast!  So now for our visit.

You pass by this window with billiard balls stuck around it that overlooks the kitchen.  The restaurant is extremely clean.  You place your order and fix your drink.  There are about ten booths in the front and a cute little trailer on the side where there are a few tables.  This is a picture of the archway to the trailer.  It has pennies stuck on it.  

Even the women's bathroom is cute.  I don't think I have ever taken a picture of a bathroom before.  It is very clean and painted nicely so I thought I would include it just for laughs.

So finally, the food!  Of course I ordered a cheeseburger and added a fried egg.  Remember, I usually only have cheese and mayo, so that's why it's not very tall.   I ordered the french fries.  They are thin cut fries and very crispy.  They were okay but I think I'd order the onion rings next.  You'll see why.

It was an ooey-gooey, melt-in-your-mouth, sensational burger.  The cheese was extra good and the bun tasted very fresh.  James got the onion rings and "Uncle Charlie" burger, which was a burger with bacon, onion rings and BBQ sauce.  I should've taken a picture afterward, because there wasn't even a crumb left on our trays.  The total for our two burgers with added toppings, fries, onion rings and two drinks was $29.67.  The burgers are around $7-$8, which to me isn't bad.  I would definitely go back.

So after all these years, I was glad to finally reunite with my fried egg burger.  If you'd like to check out their menu online, the website is www.willy-burger.com ...

 

Pumpkin Chili Recipe Review

This time of year I always see recipes pop up on Pinterest using pumpkin.  Most people think of using pumpkin in recipes like pies, muffins or bread.  I wanted to try something different so I searched 'Pumpkin Savory Dishes'.  A ton of recipes for pumpkin chili came up.  They all looked good in the pictures, but they all had a bunch of ingredients I didn't have on hand.  I needed something to make quickly and use what I had in the pantry.  So I kind of came up with my own pumpkin chili recipe.  It's very basic, and if I probably had more time maybe I would add some of those extra spices.  Here are all of my canned ingredients.

First I browned my meat with a little salt and pepper.

Once my meat was browned I tossed it in the crock pot and added the can of diced tomatoes undrained, can of tomato sauce, pinto beans drained, kidney beans drained and half the can of beef broth.  I added two tablespoons of chili powder.  I also added 1 1/2 cups of pumpkin puree.  We had a few pumpkins we bought and one that even popped up in our backyard.  My husband cleans out the insides and cuts the outside into cubed pieces.  He then boils them, lets them cool and then peels off the skin.  Then I puree them in a small food processor (wish I had a bigger one) with a little water.  

I left it in the crock pot on low for 4 hours.  It did taste a little bland so I sprinkled some Tony Chacheres seasoning on it.  I served it over rice and added some shredded cheddar on top.  Please note I'm not a very good food photographer.  I just take the pictures on my iPhone, nothing special.  It was very good and considering all the frozen pumpkin puree I now have in my freezer, we will definitely be having this again.

Again ...remember I'm not a good food photographer :)

Simple Pumpkin Chili Recipe:

1-2 lbs. ground beef (90/10)

1 can petite diced tomatoes with sweet onion

1 can tomato sauce

1 can pinto beans

1 can kidney beans

1/2 can beef broth

2 tbs. chili powder

Tony Chachere's Creole Seasoning to taste

1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree

Brown meat with salt and pepper.  Dump in crock pot with diced tomatoes, tomato sauce, pinto beans (drained), kidney beans (drained), 1/2 can beef broth, 2 tablespoons chili powder, 1 1/2 cup pumpkin puree and Tony's seasoning to taste.  Cook on low 3-4 hours.  Serve over rice.  Enjoy!

More Than Just Sandwiches

My husband has been going to Chuck's Sandwich Shop in downtown Beaumont for many years.  The kids and I have had lunch there with him as well.  He says he's never gotten anything he didn't like.  Chuck's is a small, popular lunch stop on Pearl Street.  They are also open for breakfast, which my husband says is good.  You wait in line to order your food and hope to find a table as there are only about ten.  The place fills up fast and seems to do a ton of take-out orders.  The restaurant might be small, but the menu is just the opposite.  They have burgers, po-boys, baked potatoes, chicken and fish baskets, salads, and of course, sandwiches.  We had lunch there today and both of us tried something new.  It took awhile to get our food, but we sat near the kitchen and there were two rows of tickets at the window.  We could see the cook working non-stop to get orders ready.  My husband ordered the Reuben Sandwich, which had corned beef, cheese and sauerkraut.  He had tater tots with it.

I decided on the hamburger and fries.  My hamburger looks a little flat, because I normally just ask for cheese and mayonnaise.  The meat patty was a little smaller than Boss Burger, but it was still good and I prefer a thinner patty anyways.

The prices are very reasonable, and the woman at the cash register is always super friendly.  I always try to be supportive of small, local restaurants so let me know what you think!

Pizza Hut

My daughter got a free pizza coupon at school for Pizza Hut, the newer one off Highway 365, in the shopping center next to HEB.  We stopped in after church Sunday so she could get her pizza, and ordered two mediums for the rest of us.  It is painted in red and black, so you could easily see grease smudges and it looked like the floors and rug needed a good cleaning.  The pizza was okay, and actually looks way better in the pictures. 

Thin crust  

Original Crust

  I asked for the thickest crust they had and the employee said it wasn't available, so I got the original on one.  The crust was fine, but the rest of the pizza was thin and soggy.  I haven't had Pizza Hut in years, but I might stick to the other pizza places before I give it another visit.

Cheese Please

Well this is the first of many Mexican restaurant reviews to come.  Anyone who knows me knows I love Tex-Mex food, especially cheese enchiladas.  I usually make a quick judgement about a restaurant based on this one dish.  Today I visited Rosa's Mexican Restaurant on North 11th Street in Nederland.  I'd been here a few times before and decided to make a to-go order today.  This is a small restaurant along the side of the railroad tracks on Twin City Highway.  I think it was most recently the Railroad Cafe.  It is a local, family run restaurant.  The menu is small, but seems to have all the basic Mexican dishes covered.  They have a $5.99 lunch, where you can pick dishes like tamales, burritos, quesadillas and of course enchiladas.  I got the lunch cheese enchiladas and it comes with rice and beans.  You also have a choice of gravy or queso on the top.  Please don't judge based on this photo because in my opinion, Mexican food doesn't always look appealing.  Plus my beans seemed to have shifted during the drive home :)

I've had the queso before ($3.99 for a small) and it was good, but I really enjoy their salsa.  Their fountain drinks are only $1.99, which nowdays is pretty cheap.  I was also looking at their menu today and noticed they serve breakfast until 10:30, and some of it looked really good.  I'll have to try that out with the family on a weekend.  Overall, the prices are very reasonable, and I love the fact this is a local place.  Since I've only tried the cheese enchiladas, go try something different for me and let me know how you like it.  Comments are always welcome!

Jump 'til You Drop

Earlier this year my son went to a friend's birthday party at Jumping World in Beaumont and quickly declared that's where he wanted his birthday party.  It is located on South 11th Street in Beaumont, in a big building set back from the road that used to be a bingo hall.  So in August we had the kids' birthday parties there.  I was very impressed.  It is very clean and has tons to keep the kids busy.  We went today after a soccer game since we had passes for one free hour of jumping (given to you when you book a party there).  This is just one side of the trampolines.  There is another side like this one, for older kids.  

There are age requirements listed on all the activities, and workers stationed at each one to make sure kids are taking turns and playing safely.  There's also a toddler trampoline, toddler bounce house and trampoline dodge ball court.

My kids' favorites seem to be trampoline basketball and the foam pit (of course)!

They also have very clean restrooms, a drink machine and a snack bar, where you can even get some hot items.  Although you have to pay extra, there are several arcade games and a water ball activity, which is $7 for 3 minutes.  I probably wouldn't have paid the $14 if we had already paid to get in, but we used our free passes.  Plus, the kids laughed the whole time.

Back to the birthday parties, our host did everything.  She cut the cake, served pizza and drinks and even helped pick up after all the gift unwrapping.  It was so nice to sit back and let someone else do the work and just enjoy the moment and take pictures!  It is a little pricey, with a weekend party being $250 for 10 jumpers.  Each additional person is $20, but the package does include pizza and drinks for the kids.  If you're not going for a party one hour of jumping is $11 per child.  When we went today, it being a Saturday, it was rather crowded, but sometimes you look past the cost and crowds knowing you have a happy, worn out kid for the rest of the day.

The Boss

I've driven by Boss Burger on Twin City Highway in Nederland dozens of times but never thought about stopping until I started hearing the talk of how good the burgers were.  It is basically a food truck which seems to be permanently parked at this location.  Yesterday I stopped to check it out.  I went at 11:00 in the morning to beat the crowd and walked right up to order.  They have hamburgers, pulled pork and blackened chicken.  The people working the truck were very friendly.  I got a burger deal for $11.00 which included the burger, fries and a can drink.  I sat at the picnic tables and enjoyed the weather and watched the traffic.  My order was ready in about 8 minutes.  In my opinion the food was definitely worth the price.  You can easily spend this much at a fast food place and not get near the quality.  The burger was very big and the meat was juicy.  So if you have any hesitations about stopping here, try it out!

Fall Decor Deals

Fall is my favorite time of year.  I love the crisp, cooler weather and the anticipation of all the holidays coming up.  It also gives me a good excuse to decorate with sunflowers, pumpkins, and halloween decor.  Last week I went to Michael's in Beaumont.  In my opinion, Michael's offers the most affordable holiday decor out there.  They have some really cute, rustic items this year.  Here are some things I picked up.

They are also having a 60% off Fall Clearance event.  I picked up a flower arrangement that was previously $29.99 on sale for $10.99.
I do love Hobby Lobby, but a lot of people forget about Kirkland's in the Target shopping center in Beaumont.  They are also having a 50% off Halloween and Harvest sale this weekend.  They have some great coupons online, and they also have an extra 25% off clearance this weekend.
Last year I went to a local craft sale at Faith Tabernacle Apostolic Church on Highway 69 in Port Arthur.  They had some really cute crafts and lots of unique fall and Christmas decor at very reasonable prices.  It is this Friday and Saturday.  Get there early because it's always crowded.  They also have delicious barbecue take-out lunches.  So have fun and get some shopping done before the rain hits!