For those of us down here near Clear Lake, it might be easier to drive to hobby and then fly to San Fran. OK...perhaps that's a bit of a stretch........but Bellaire past Gessner is a long ways for us. I do it every once in a while, but I can't afford to make a habit of it.
I hear ya, but it's the area for the most authentic Chinese food in town. But you are closer to better Cajun food!
pei wei's owned by PF Chang's and is a derivative of PF's. Personally, i'd just go to PF. Is it more expensive? Maybe..maybe not. But something about their food just don't taste as good as PFs. As for pei wei being asian food...eh...it's more like asian 'fusion'..fusion being americanized.
Haven't been to Pei Wei's yet (though they did just open one near W. Gray and Waugh close to me), but P.F. Changs constantly amazes me. Everytime I go t P.F. Changs it is packed and there is a decent wait. I went to one in South Denver a few years ago and there was an hour and a half wait and people were still putting their names on the list - thanks but no thanks. It decent for generic Americanized Chinese food, but is still too expensive. How do they do it?
lettuce wraps... wow... that's traditional north-eastern Chinese cuisine... so traditional they don't even serve it that much in restaurants in China. impressive!
what the pho... haha... i laughed aloud when i read it again. i'm gonna hafta use it sometime, don't worry i'll cite fox mulder. except most people think it's pronounced phO not pha... so i'm really gonna have to pick my spot when i use it.
Easy to figure out if it is good or not. Just answer this: Pei Wei is: a. > b. < c. = General Joe's Chopstix.
Pei Wei is better food than General Joe's, but it's also more expensive, so it's a toss up. My fav dish at Pei Wei is Orange Peel Chicken with white rice... delicious
The new Pei Wei in Austin is pretty decent. Good prices for A-town, but may be a little high for Houstonites. I've only had the chicken pad thai, which is pretty decent. Not as good as Madam Mam's, but it's alot closer to my house and there's parking. Wohoo, I love pad thai!
Food is more expensive in Austin than in Houston? The lack of upscale restaurants in Austin leads me to believe that isn't the case.
Austin actually got some good restaurants that are decent priced. One that comes to mind is Piccolo's near campus/the drag. God I miss Austin.....can't believe I typed/said that
My wife is Chinese and we took my mom & grandmonther to FP Chang like a year ago. My mother thought it was the best Chinese food she had ever had while my wife thought it was the worst. So much for it being authentic. I like Sing Sing on Bellaire just inside Beltway 8. A bit pricy but much better than all those americanized buffets.
I only said the food was awful. I never said Pei Wei served traditional or authentic chinese food. In fact, I don't even know where they claim to be a chinese restaurant. You won't find miso, soba and pho in your typical chinese household yet it's on their menu. Pei Wei's isn't a traditional asian restaurant, and I personally don't like most of the dishes there. However, I do like the lettuce wraps. I don't care if it isn't genuine chinese food, they can claim it's authentic Cuban food for all I care. It's still good.
I just got back from the Clear Lake Pei Wei. I didn't think they were open yet, but we decided to check it out anyways. The signs on the door said "Training in Progress" so I walked in to see if we could still eat there. They said everything was free today, so my wife and I got over $35 worth of food for free! It was pretty good stuff. I noticed a lot of the same dishes that PF Changs has. If you're in the Clear Lake area today stop by for a free meal. I think you're technically supposed to have an invitation to eat, but we didn't so I don't think they're very strict about it.
What more do you need? If you head that way, eventually people just start throwing Chinese food into your car.
