Kosher Food and Drink

Everyone likes a fancy, expensive restaurant, myself included. Give me some epic ambience, flawless service, and exquisite food, and I’ll be the happiest camper out there. I doubt I’m alone. But… I also think most of us can’t make a habit of those kinds of meals, even if only due to circumstance and cost. Simpler fare, at the lower end of the market, is what a lot of us have on a more day to day basis.

Back when I was a new project manager, I remember learning about the concepts of grade and quality. Grade is where you fit in in the market – think price points, menu items, service paradigm, and the general ambience of your establishment. Quality, on the other hand, is how well you execute and meet expectations. If you’re a hole in the wall restaurant that outperforms on delivering great food quickly, you might be low grade and high quality. If you’re a fancy restaurant that has an unclean dining room and poor service, you might be high grade and low quality. Teasing out these quality differences at grade is what every restaurant reviewer should be doing.

This review is of Sweet Spot (5263 Beechnut St, Houston, TX 77096; (713) 998-4600; sweetspottx.com; under HKA supervision; dairy), a small kosher cafe in the Bellaire neighborhood of Houston. I was in Houston on business recently, and found myself with a bit of time for breakfast in the midst of morning meetings. While I considered going to the nearby Bagel Shop Bakery, I decided I wanted to try something new.

Finding Sweet Spot was easy, and there is parking available right outside of it. There’s a bit of seating outside, but there’s also plenty inside.

Sweet Spot a mashup of a mid-tier cafe/bakery/candy store/ice cream shop. There’s a couple walls of candy, with the gelato/bakery/breakfast counter on the third wall. This sounds busy, but synergizes quite well in their implementation. I have to admit, the temptation to buy some candy after breakfast in the store was pretty high, and I can only imagine kids demanding as such after a meal. I guess I’d just broadly define the ambience as “fun”. I thought it was a rather enjoyable place to eat, albeit the music could have been turned down a touch.

The menu is not super deep, but it’s very broad. that I think everyone will find something. You want coffee? They’ve got the Lavazza line-up, hot and cold. You want breakfast? Well, there’s crepes, eggs, and breakfast sandwiches. Sweet tooth? Bakery items, gelato, and tons of candy. The prices are pretty reasonable, and even have a couple of relatively cheap items (like the eggs).

It was just me, so I ordered the croissant with egg omelet and gouda cheese, as well as an iced mocha Frappucino-esque drink. The food came out in a reasonable time frame, with the drink first. I set up shop at one of the tables, and no one seemed to think it was particularly odd.

I was quite impressed by the food. The iced mocha was aesthetically great, with whipped cream and a drizzle of caramel, and the texture was perfect – not too liquid-y, and without the grittiness of under-blended ice. It also tasted delicious, putting me in mind of the Starbucks version back when that was still certified kosher. Despite being what I think is a superior version of the beverage, at $4.75, it’s priced slightly under what you’d find at Starbucks.

The croissant sandwich was also very good, albeit not flawless; the slice of gouda (I’m not sure how we call that “fresh”) wasn’t fully melted. The egg omelet was executed competently, and the croissant itself was toasted for a nice crunch with minimal char. The fruit on the side was plump and ripe – I wound up munching on it in my car on the way to the office. There wasn’t a lot of effort in the plating, but I wasn’t expecting any at this price.

I didn’t know what to expect walking in, but I was pretty happy walking out. The food is tasty, the prices are reasonable, and it’s a pleasant enough spot to spend some time in. They’re also open to 8PM, which is music to my ears as someone who’s a breakfast-all-day lover.

Sweet Spot is a quality establishment, at least based on my meal. I highly recommend it if you find yourself in Houston looking for a delicious kosher breakfast, some gelato, or even just a nice cup of coffee.