CityCentre Cuisine Crawl

Have you ever participated in a pub/bar crawl? It's a group event involving visits to various pubs or bars, usually for a cause, over the course of a day. I have done a bar crawl once before and I don't remember it fondly. I have no problem with the concept itself, however, there were three things working against me at this particular crawl.

1.) It took place on a HOT summer afternoon in Georgia.

2.) The theme (or whatever) was Big Ten Alumni. My conferences are Big XII via my alma mater (Sic 'Em) and the SEC via grad school (Gig 'Em).

3.) I totally wore the wrong outfit for the occasion.

I participated in my first cuisine crawl a few weeks ago. As the name implies, it's a crawl with food instead of drinks. Although, in this case, there was plenty of both. 🙂 This crawl was organized by Ms Independent, a local meet-up group. The founder, Erin, puts together different social events for members of the group ranging from workout classes to brunches to conferences. This was one such event. The venue, City Centre is an outdoor shopping, dining, and play area. I don't venture there very often because parking is a nightmare but it is well suited to a crawl because there are so many places to eat and drink in walkable proximity to one another. There were five stops. Let's get into it!

First was Radio Milano, where we enjoyed craft cocktails and tasty eclectic bites outside normal business hours. After chatting with the bartender about the poptails I had made that morning, he brought out a creamy frozen cocktail (bottom left picture) for me to try. It. Was. Delicious. We lingered at Radio Milano for quite a while and were lured back after the crawl by the promise of more [FREE] customized cocktails and treats. Who can say no to that?

Second up was Straits. This stop was the briefest of them all. We sampled three types of curry with three different, complementary rices. My favorite was the green curry in the middle and the jalepeño rice. Straits features Singaporean cuisine and we got to very quickly hear from the chef behind our meal. The vibe at Straits was very casual and the aesthetic was crisp and clean. I can picture a nice lunch or happy hour there.

The third spot was Grub Burger Bar. I am quite familiar with Grub and first dined at the original location in College Station, Texas a few years ago. I had no objections to a refresher on their offerings, though. 🙂 Pictured are the Guacapolte burger and the Pesto Turkey Cobb salad, which includes a turkey burger patty. The manager, Steve, came out and talked us through each dish while also explaining their concept and that Grub is actually an acronym for Good people, Real food, Unique vibes, and Big flavors. Who knew? Well, maybe you knew but I didn't. We did not taste any of Grub's famous spiked milkshakes but just know that they are delicious if you haven't tried them yet. If you're not into shakes, Grub has a full-service bar as well.

Our fourth stop was Seasons 52. Are you tired of reading yet? Stick with me because I stuck with this crawl despite almost getting tired of eating. Almost. Dessert is just a few lines down. The offerings at Seasons 52 were beautiful, flavorful, and surprisingly light! Pictured are a flatbread, lamb, a mule, and scallops.

Lastly, we ended on a very sweet note at Fellini's for gelato, cannoli, and authentic Italian cookies. Fellini's is super authentic--as in most of the staff does not speak English! We spoke (through an interpreter) to the chef, who is from Sicily and learned some of his go-to places for good Italian food in Houston. One is, of course, his own kitchen. I am a bit embarrassed to say that I ate my desserts so quickly that I neglected to take pictures. Just know that everything was extremely rich and tasty. I highly recommend this place.

This was a fantastic type of food experience that I recommend everyone take part in at least once. The types of food were varied. I can't believe the amount of food and drink presented for the cost and, as all my friends and family know, I love a good bargain. Ask any questions and let me know about your crawl experiences below. Thanks for reading!