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Where: Cali Sandwich & Fast Food, 3030 Travis, 713-526-0112

What $13 gets you: The freshest food at the best value in all of midtown.

Figuring out how to drop $13 at Cali is no easy task. After all, the giant sandwiches cost a mere $2 apiece. That’s right, $2. Meaning $13 at Cali can comfortably feed six. Take that, McDonald’s!

I went a different route, ordering takeout for me and my gal. Our favorite entrees are the grilled pork and egg rolls with vermicelli ($4.60) and stir-fried tofu and vegetables with vermicelli ($4.60). But these are best eaten at the restaurant, somehow losing their appeal on the traffic-choked ride home. And, anyway, what’s the point of getting takeout when you have to reheat? So instead I got two grilled pork sandwiches ($2 apiece) an order of spring rolls ($4) and a durian smoothie to split ($2).

At Sushi Jin restaurant on Memorial, they get their hamachi via Air Japan from the Tokyo fish market. It sounds incredible, but as the market for seafood becomes increasingly globalized, Tokyo has become everybody’s Central Market for fish.

Each morning, tens of thousands of tons of seafood from every ocean on the planet converge for a few hours at the Tsukiji, as the Tokyo fish market is known, to be quickly auctioned to the highest bidder and whisked away by jet.

This week’s review of Brasserie Max and Julie prompted a wave of choucroute nostalgia. A story about looking for the best choucroute in Alsace is included in my book, Are You Really Going to Eat That? In it, I describe the choucroute at a Michelin two-star restaurant named Le Cerf in Marlenheim, about 20 miles north of Strasbourg. Chef Michel Husser calls his creation Choucroute à notre façon au cochon de lait de Kochersberg et foie gras fumé, which translates to “Choucroute 'our way' with suckling pig from Kochersberg and smoked foie gras.” Go check it out. Le Cerf is also a hotel if you need a nap after dinner. -- Robb Walsh

Every time I drive by the pig-mobile in front of Logan Farms Honey Hams at 10560 Westheimer, I swear I hear somebody squealing my name. So I finally broke down and took a look inside. Who knew that these spiral-cut ham franchises had classy dining rooms and steam tables loaded with ham steaks, sweet potatoes, collard greens, biscuits, pecan pie and the rest of the Southern cafeteria repertoire?

The list of ham sandwiches above the cash register was long and complicated. I went for the “Pig Po-Boy.” It’s a fully dressed bacon, lettuce, and tomato sandwich with country ham on a poor boy roll. The 6-inch version goes for $4.50, the 9-inch version sells for $5.50. Obviously, I went with the big pig. -- Robb Walsh

Where: Pronto Cucinino, 1401 Montrose, 713-528-8646

What $13 gets you: Just about whatever your heart desires – in this case, ¼ roasted lemon-garlic chicken breast, garlic mashed potatoes, green beans, and two rolls.

In the land of Pronto Cucinino, the man with $13 is king. Some snobs might turn their noses up at this casual, counter-order Italian bistro, but that just means you won’t have to wait in line behind them for a decent meal. The atmosphere is warm and inviting, with a brick fireplace where they roast their specialty lemon-garlic chicken. There’s also the added convenience of special parking for take-out.

Latino fast food chicken is getting to be a crowded category around here. There’s Pollo Campero, Pollo Riko, Pollo Bravo, and now Pollo Feliz, The location at 9310 Westheimer looks like a slick fast food outlet and they have a pretty impressive cartoon character too. Evidently the chain originated in the Mexican state of Sinaloa with a secret marinade and a hardwood grilling method.

They grill the chicken whole, but serve it cut up. Eight pieces (a whole chicken) with corn on the cob (soggy) charro beans (excellent), a baked potato (too much cheese), tortillas (decent), salsa (muy picante), and rice pudding (gloppy) cost me $17. The white meat was a little dry, but the dark meat was very tasty. It’s a lot healthier than fried chicken and you don’t lose too much in the flavor department because of the strong woodsmoke flavor.

You can get smoky grilled chicken a little cheaper at the big blue taco truck on Gessner at Long Point, but the cartoon character there isn’t nearly as slick. -- Robb Walsh

This is the fourth edition of the book that the late Sharon Tyler Herbst began writing more than 19 years ago. It offers more than 6,700 common and uncommon cooking terms – not only in English, but in other languages (French, Spanish, Italian, Portugese, Chinese) which an English-speaking cook might encounter.

This isn’t a cookbook that tells you how to put a recipe together. But it will help you decipher any recipe’s more obscure directions from ingredients to cooking techniques.

Where: Gabby’s Barbecue and Ribs, 3101 N. Shepherd, 713-864-5049

What $13 gets you: A sampler plate ($9.99), a soft drink ($1.69) and your own police detail (priceless)

I’ve never been to Gabby’s on a weeknight without seeing at least two cops inside. This joint must be giving the po-po some kind of a super deal, or maybe HPD just loves the BBQ sauce. I personally find it a tad runny and vinegary, but that’s really my only complaint.

Oyster season doesn’t open until November, and the half shell oysters don’t get really sweet until Christmas. But grilled oysters are good to eat all year long. Especially when they are made with oysters that were frozen on the half shell back in the middle of the winter when the oysters were plenty plump.

Fork over your $12.95 at Jimmy G’s Cajun Seafood Restaurant (307 Sam Houston Parkway, 281-931-7654) and watch the counter man line up your dozen on the gas grill and turn the fire up high. Jimmy G’s flame-grilled oysters are topped with parmesan cheese and basted with garlic butter. Okay, they stole the recipe from Drago’s in New Orleans, but those are some damn fine oysters. -- Robb Walsh

We’ve loaded up the latest batch of photos from our contest for Houston-area high school students. You can check out the gallery here.

Be sure to come back and vote in the comments section of this post. Winners get bookstore gift certificates and become eligible for a $1,000 college scholarship.

The theme for September is "Back to School." A very broad theme, indeed. Use your imagination and get snapping.

Click here for more information. – Keith Plocek

I had never heard of the Gulf fish called tripletail before Bryan Caswell started serving it at Reef. It turns out to be a really weird fish. It has fat squat body and looks something like a miniature grouper. And it likes to float on top of the water lying on one side looking like it’s dead. It sure tastes good though. – Robb Walsh