A Crepe, a Cone, and a Cutlet

MONTGOMERY/CONROE, TX – Friday’s are great! And the recent mild temperatures proved to provide the perfect weather for a day of Montgomery and Conroe outings starting with a sweet breakfast with friends coming up from The Woodlands, to meeting new friends at a new ice cream shop on Hwy 105 in Conroe with even more sweets, and later for a savory breaded pork cutlet paired with noodles from Principal Kristy Starkey’s (a secret crush) Montgomery ISD's Career and Technical Education (CTE) Center, also known as The DEN, made by Chef Dennis Kozak’s students, and sold for $5 dollars per bag. Every time I attend a dining session there, I always drop a 20 and buy four bags to give away as gifts. I highly recommend sitting in on one of The DEN’s breakfast or lunch sittings, and I continue to commend the MISD culinary students as their cooking abilities continue to improve.

The associated full-service diner at the CTE Center, ‘Café at the Den,’ is really a great setting for breakfast or lunch. Each time I go, I continue to be amazed, and meet with my friends Sandy and Bob Schreiner, who journey from the southern part of the county, whom I met via Chef Dennis’ moonlighting job at HEB Creekside just south of The Woodlands, and make an excellent and interesting pair for conversation. I recently met with them at The DEN for Coffee and Crepes, which made for a wonderful start to the day. The crepes of course are sweet, perfectly made by the students, leaving diners to fill the unleavened bed with their choice of wonderful sweet toppings, before wrapping and enjoying. Coupled with coffee, the grand atmosphere, students checking on their patronal charges as well as staff saying ‘hello,’ there is no reason why you shouldn’t try Cafe at the Den, when they are in season. It’s a wonderful program, really, and there are so many other aspects to the building that I need to check out. I can always use a blood pressure check, or a manicure. Heck, I might even be a practice patient for the EMT program with all my vast medical knowledge of not only being a writer, but as a professional patient as well.

Following breakfast I checked in at the newspaper offices doing a little work before I headed to my next invite, Bruster’s Real Ice Cream, on Hwy 105 heading into Conroe from Montgomery. Franchise Owner Greg Martinez, and his family also has locations so far in The Woodlands, Spring, and should be opening in Tomball soon. Bruster’s has a wonderful assortment of sundaes/splits, cakes/pies, blasts, shakes/freezes, and specialty items. The chain was founded decades ago back east, and Greg fell in love with the place when he was in college. The cool thing with Bruster’s is their in-house production, with a dedicated dairy supplier, as well as their small-batch methods using extended pasteurization. And let me tell you, the difference in the taste is remarkable. Bruster’s is a game changer for the area ice cream market, and they even offer several sugar free options, which for me is a Godsend when I’m craving for a shake or cone. Bruster’s even sports a mobile ice cream truck for non-profit and school events, donating 20% of the proceeds. The menu is constantly changing with seasonal rollouts, and regional offerings. With their small batches, I’m sure schools and organizations can even work with Greg and his team for school color ice cream flavors or other quirky ideas. With Bruster’s, the sky is the limit when the enjoyment of ice cream is at stake. Of course they have their core flavors of vanilla, chocolate, strawberry, and chocolate chip; with their top specialty flavors being Cheesecake and Double Pudge Brownie. Spumoni comes with pistachio and almonds, topped with chopped cherries, while there Cayenne Chocolate Chunk, has a dark chocolate spice about it infused with cinnamon and chocolate chunks. Genius I say. Regular visits are required to enjoy the full assortment of flavors, and quirky ideas they come up with.

Following my ice cream haul, I went back to the Historic Montgomery MCN offices for more research, a quick nap on the Chaise Lounge, which is quite comfortable I might add. A food/drink columnists’ work is never done I tell you, and following my 120-winks, I was ready for a late lunch/early dinner. I went over to the N. H. Davis Museum, running into the President and Czar of Montgomery History Billy Ray Duncan, who is helping me with my series on highlighting pieces of history from the Montgomery Historical Society’s museum collection. We soon found ourselves over at the Old Montgomery Steak House, where owner Wayne Kung, a fellow Desert Storm Vet, and his staff welcomed us.

Before, as I left the car, I saw an extra bag of The DEN noodles in my car that I hadn’t yet gifted, so I took them into OMSH with me, with the intention of a kooky request. As BRD and I entered the restaurant, diners stood and started clapping and cheering for Montgomery celebrities that entered the facility, while the staff rightfully genuflected, lauding us with praise and adulation. LOL! Well, that’s how it played out in my mind, but in actuality we just walked in and sat down at the nearest table, since Billy’s Rays gait ain’t the best out there.

We were served by Tiffany, a fresh Montgomery transplant from Fort Worth, and some say she is so devastatingly cute, that if you’re distracted by her beauty, you might miss your mouth when drinking your tea. So be careful. Anyway, we sat down and got our drinks. BRD ordered, and then I started with my one-time request made from one crazy Montgomery food columnist, a bed of MISD’s The DEN garlic butter noodles, topped with an OMSH Fried Pork Cutlet. WOW!! What a great combination. That cutlet was perfectly breaded and seasoned, crispy as all get out, with the meat being tender and juicy, and the noodles al dente and capturing the flavor from the garlic and butter.

Thanks to Chef Isidro and OMSH management for accommodating my odd request. I love restaurants where I can go in and tell the server exactly what I want, because I’m truly not a big eater, and there are times I can’t take leftovers for some reason or another. I can go to Ms. Mary Bowers’ ‘Vernon’s Kuntry Katfish’ and order two pieces of catfish and crispy fries or rice with gravy; where I was just recently I was served by Addison, +Buster’s daughter (who loved my Mom BTW), Mary’s grand, and I gave her a $50 dollar tip. Also, Tiffany got a Grant as well.

I scouted Conroe Lake House last week on a beautiful Wednesday evening, because I was thinking about doing a restaurant review. I really wasn’t hungry, but I was parched, so I stopped and sat next to the water with a great view of the Lake Conroe Dam in the evening sun. I gave the waitress my card and showed my credentials and told her my intentions. Evidently their point-of-sale system doesn’t accommodate customer requests or they don’t have a ‘Misc’ button, because I only wanted one boudin egg roll, and two grilled shrimp. So I bailed and the waitress missed out on a $50 dollar tip, and now I’m not really interested in the place, especially with a parking lot that is only half-paved.

The next big thing at the CTE Center’s, ‘Café at the Den,’ is their Titanic Themed High Tea, on April 10th. Please follow the ‘Montgomery ISD Career and Technical Education’ Facebook page for further announcements, or call (936) 276-5100 to make reservations.

Bruster’s Ice Cream: brusters.com/locations/Conroe/442

OMSH: oldmontgomerysteakhousetx.com