There's really not a lot to say about Kreuz Market different from our last visit. The prime rib this time was a little on the dry side, but everything else was still excellent. Well worth the drive, but do note they close up the place at 6:30 PM on Saturday.
Best fried fish ever. I don't know what fish she uses (I don't think it is catfish), but it was perfectly cooked on the inside, dusted lightly with a nice seasoning mix, and coated with a just-right crust. Her fried shrimp are pretty good, too. (Lola, in response to a question about the spice level: "It's properly spiced, but it's not hot. I don't know what that hot stuff is, but it's not Cajun.")
If there is any justice in the world, someone will loan Lola enough money so she can expand her place, and her menu.
I want to like this place. It's obviously a shoestring, Mom-and-Pop (or maybe just Mom) operation trying to do the best they can, and just scraping by on the skin of their teeth. And there is indeed much to like about it. The food is pretty darn good and cheap to boot. I liked my pork chop plate just fine (even though the menu never mentioned it was a fried pork chop, and the "salad" is just chopped lettuce). And Lola herself is a friendly and engaging proprietress worthy of your patronage.
However, some caveats:
That said, I think Lola's is well worth a visit to. Given the shoestring nature of the enterprise, and the fact it's all but invisible on the web, I also suggest you hurry if you want to see it stick around.
I liked the appetizers (especially the crab cake, which had a very high crab/filler ratio). The sushi also seemed reasonably good.
I was less thrilled by my main course, the paradise duck (a "Chef O Special"). The duck was well cooked, but the plum sauce, I felt, was too subtle to really do anything with the duck, and the whole plate felt like it was somehow out-of-balance. It just didn't grab me.
I think that's part of the problem with Ka-Prow: many of the more standard dishes (pad thai, curry dishes, etc.) are priced at the same level as Thai Kitchen, which is fine. But the chef's specialities, the fusion dishes that seem to be at the heart of the menu, are $14-$15 (or more, for market price fish dishes). I just didn't feel like I got $14 worth of entree, fusion or no fusion.
Ka-Prow left me with a favorable impression, but more for the appetizers than the main course. The crab cakes were very good, nicely flaky and a good size for the price. The Tom Kha Guy soup was also excellent, every bit as good as that served at Thai Kitchen, and both the dumplings and sate seemed credible efforts. Sushi was also good, at least for the unagi and rainbow roll.
However, I was quite disappointed with my Pad Ka-Prow, which was rather undistinguished. Also, despite my requests and its designation as the hottest thing on the menu, it wasn't nearly hot enough.
As far as Thai/Asian combinations go, I like it better than Imperial Asia, and I'd be willing to come back to try more sushi or another entree, but it's slightly off-putting to find out one of the restaurant's signature dishes is a real dud.
Memorial weekend. Lawrence was visiting his folks in Houston, and the rest of us did other things.
See the logs for June of 2005.