105 Cafe – Conroe, TX

Conveniently located on Highway 105 in Conroe, Texas,  the 105 Cafe has been a popular spot for a number of years. They have been turning out homestyle American breakfast and lunch dishes made with local and organic ingredients to an increasingly loyal bunch of customers. Once you taste the offerings, you’ll be a convert, too.

From brown eggs fresh off the farm, to locally grown organic produce, this place has a refreshing blend of homestyle and slightly offbeat items on their menu.

Our latest visit was for breakfast, and we found some very satisfying meals awaiting us.

Buffalo Chicken Omelette with Black Beans

 

The Irishman Skillet – corned beef with eggs, potatoes, onions, peppers and cheese.

Stop by and give them a try. It wounds trite to say but you will be glad you did.

On the 1-5 scale, 105 Cafe has earned:

Cleanliness – 5
Service – 5
Quality of food – 5
Flavor – 5
Pricing – 4
Overall experience – 4.8
105 Cafe
3010 W Davis Street
Conroe, TX 77304
(936) 539-3447
105cafe.com
Enjoy! We certainly did!

– Ann Cathey

Simple spot turning out homestyle American breakfast & lunch dishes made with organic ingredients.

Food Porn – Episode 7

This episode of Food Porn is brought to you by places we have visited. The food photos were, as they have been in this series, culled from stock photography. I’ve added a little info about each one, though I’m told they speak for themselves.

 

 

Roast Beef Sandwich from WhichWich, Conroe, Texas

 

 

The Wicked with spinach, WhichWich, Conroe, Texas

 

 

Bronco Burrito on a whole wheat tortilla, Galveston, Texas

 

 

3 egg omelet with fried potatoes at 105 Cafe, Conroe, Texas

 

 

 

 

Swiss & Mushroom Burger at 105 Cafe, Conroe, Texas

Fried crawfish at Benno’s on the Beach, Galveston, Texas

 

Cajun Platter, including fried oysters, shrimp and fish, at Benno’s on the Beach, Galveston, Texas

Crock Pot Breakfast

With the weather being cool to cold in most of the United States, I thought these warm breakfast dishes might be appreciated.

There are an amazing number of things that can be cooked in a crock pot or other slow cooker. I bet you didn’t know that breakfast can be prepared in a slow cooker rather than on the stove top. Here are a few recipes that are sure to delight.

These recipes are written more like concepts than with the usual ingredients list due to the many variations that are available for each.

OATMEAL
Instant oatmeal is quick, true, but it’s also just not the same as the real thing. Steel cut oatmeal or whole oat groats are a great way to kick start your morning, but the hour they take to cook can make that difficult.Instead, you should prepare oatmeal the night before for that wonderful smell in the morning. First, toast two cups of oats in a dry pan for five minutes until you can smell them.Then put the oats in a buttered crockpot with eight cups of water, two cups of milk, 1/4 c. brown sugar, and 1/2 tsp salt.Cook on low for eight hours and enjoy!

APPLESAUCE
Fresh applesauce is amazing served with a pork loin or just as a comforting snack, but it may seem a little intimidating to make. Never fear! All you have to do is peel, core, and dice 10 McIntosh apples and put them into a slow cooker with 1/2 cup of water, one teaspoon of cinnamon, and one cup of sugar. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours and enjoy the warm cinnamon smell that permeates your house. Eat warm, cold or freeze for later.

HUNTERS BREAKFAST
I think this concept has been covered before, but this blog is about breakfast and it bears repeating. Layer potatoes (sliced leftover bakers, diced leftover french fries, frozen or leftover tater tots, frozen hash browns), meat (crumbled sausage or bacon, diced ham, or any combination you may prefer), cheese, and diced bell pepper. Do as many layers as you have ingredients for. If your crock pot is half full, use 6-8 eggs, if it’s mostly full use 12-18 eggs. Crack your eggs into a large bowl and whisk them thoroughly with a splash of milk or cream for fluffiness. Salt and pepper the eggs to taste. Pour the egg mixture evenly over the ingredients in the crock pot. Sprinkle extra cheese on top. Cook on low for 8 to 10 hours (overnight). if the smell of a hot breakfast waiting for you in the morning doesn’t make your tummy rumble, you may have a cold. Serve as is or wrapped in a warm tortilla for breakfast tacos.

Give these dishes a try and let us know how you enjoyed them. See if you don’t agree that the crock pot method is a time-saving twist on these breakfast favorites.

–Ann Cathey

Bronco Burrito – Galveston TX

This lovely island surprise is located in an old light blue building on Broadway. Don’t blink or you might miss it, which is apparently what a lot of Galveston visitors do.

Bronco Burritos is a small business that packs a large punch, right in your breakfast noms. The burritos are huge, well packed, and so fresh you will think they are collecting eggs from hens in the back yard.

There were a lot of work trucks parked outside, with electricians and plumbers and landscapers ordering to go, or if they had time sitting down in the tiny dining area to chomp their burritos.

We chanced to visit with some friends who live on Galveston Island a few weeks back. It was the height of the chicken-flu, and the restaurant had postings everywhere (even on the receipts) apologizing for the temporary price hike due to the price of eggs. Very nice of them not to surprise you with it at the very end like some places have been doing. The price difference was maybe 20 cents per burrito, so it wasn’t too horrible.

My partner foodies and I all ordered variation of the Bronco Burrito, the restaurant’s signature menu item. I subbed extra bacon for sausage and wheat tortillas. As you can see, it was still a monster.

The Bronco normally has 2 eggs, potatoes, bacon, cheese, refried beans and chorizo. Not a small meal. You may customize as I mentioned, including things like wheat tortillas, all egg whites, and additional veggies. They also offer burritos with barbacoa, carne guisada, machacado, and migas.

Burritos aren’t the only items on the menu at Bronco. The have a variety of breakfast plates including machacado, pork chops and tamales. The tamales a la carte or on my hit list for our next visit.

Each order is accompanied by a little pot of salsa. Watch out for this. It’s a bit warm for my tastes, but I like spicy salsas. It’s brownish with lots of tomatillo. The heat seems to be mostly from jalapenos, but there could be something more.

To give you an idea of how popular this place is, we visited on a Tuesday, and there were more than 30 orders placed (mostly to go) during our 45 minute visit!

This place get a definite thumbs up, and revisits as often as possible. Remember, however, that they are closed on Sunday.

On the 1-5 scale, Bronco Burritos gets:
Cleanliness – 4.5
Service – 4.5
Quality of food – 5
Flavor – 5
Pricing – 4
Overall experience – 4.6

Bronco Burritos
4917 Broadway
Galveston, Texas 77551
5am to Noon, Monday – Saturday

–Ann Cathey

Food Porn 3

I pulled a few photos from an album I started on Facebook a few of years ago. the food photos were, as they have been in this series, culled from stock photography. They were previously marked with where they were taken, in case you find any of them interesting enough to track down and sample.

The following temptations were photographed at two restaurants in the Conroe, Texas area: Which-Wich and the 105 Cafe. While Which-Wich is a chain of tasty sandwich offerings, the 105 Cafe has been covered in this blog previously. Check it out here [insert link to blog entry].

— Ann Cathey