Nobi has gone a long way towards tilting the scale towards a great bahn mi.  The bread is fresh with a crisp outside and a soft inside.  The grilled pork is well seasoned and cooked just right.  The veggie “slaw” (for lack of a better term) is fresh and tangy.  The sandwich has good balance and is definitely a great find for Galveston county.  While one might encounter better if one ventures into the heavily Asian areas of west Bellaire Blvd, this is definitely the best in the area and worth a regular stop for a quick fix.  My only request would be the addition of some cilantro, but the lack of it did not overly detract from the sandwich as a whole.

Nobi has a simple, but rather full menu for it’s location.  Located in a small strip center that is anchored by a Shell station, Nobi provides a fast food atmosphere with quality handmade fare.  Their iced coffee is good and, while I cannot attest to the taste of their entrees, the appearance and scent of a neighboring table’s lunch has me thinking about trying some next time.  Their shrimp spring rolls were rather plain and lacked the vegetables, fresh basil, and flavorings that I am used to in spring rolls.  I’d pass on them next time in favor of their egg rolls, which I would gladly eat my fill of if they came “all you can eat.”

Nobi is family run and has very friendly and helpful staff.  They are more than willing to answer any questions for those new to their cuisine.  While many other Vietnamese sandwich places have counter staff who, while friendly, have limited English and may be intimidating for an English-only patron, Nobi’s staff are very easy to understand and are not intimidating.

Stop by and support this great eatery!  Who knows, maybe with a little interest we can get Nobi to expand into the tapioca tea market?  (Nothing better than a bahn mi and an iced espresso with coffee jellies!)

Nobi Asian Grill

3640 FM 528 – in Shell shopping center at 528 and Blackhawk

Price:  About $3 a sandwich, 6.99 for entrees

Food Quality:  ****

Service:  *****

Ambience:  ***

Notes:  The best sandwich in Friendswood!  Buy two and save one for later!

Chile Con Queso

Ingredients:

1/2 onion diced (about 1/2 cup)

3 jalapeno peppers diced fine

2 tablespoons of butter

2 tablespoons of flour

1 1/4 cup of milk

3 cups of shredded cheese, (preferred Queso Asadero or Queso Quesadilla.  You can mix with cheddar if you like)

2 roma tomatoes, seeded and diced

Salt to taste

1. Melt the butter in a saucepan on medium-low heat, and then cook the onions and peppers for about five minutes or until onions are translucent.
2. Whisk in the flour and cook for about 30 seconds.
3. Add the milk to the pot, and cook on medium, whisking constantly until sauce is thick, about five minutes. Stir in tomatoes.
4. Turn heat down to low, and a 1/4-cup at a time, slowly add the shredded cheese stirring into the white sauce until completely melted. Repeat. (Key to smooth sauce is adding slowly and allowing each batch to completely melt)
5. Add salt to taste.

Not so much.

It has a distinct difference both in taste as well as in body.  The flavor itself is just as strong as Starbuck drip, along with the overcooked bean taste that defines Starbucks in general, but with a stale “instant” taste.  The body is thin and more like water than the full body of a decent cup of coffee.

Now I haven’t had much instant coffee (ok, this is my first instant coffee), but I can say that this is the “best instant coffee” that I’ve ever tried.  Will I switch to it over regular coffee?  No.  Will I carry it around for a quick Starbucks fix?  No.  Might I keep it around to help doctor up bad church coffee once in a while?  Maybe.

Overall, I’ll stick with the brew and leave the powder for tiramasu.

So, where can you go for good seafood in Friendswood?  Haven’t found that place yet, but just up the road in Pearland you find Floyd’s, which is well worth the stop.  Everything that I have had from Floyd’s Cajun Seafood has been wonderful.  There food is well prepared and well seasoned and served in overly generous portions.  Yet, despite the large portions, the pricing and atmosphere make Floyd’s a great place for a family to enjoy a great meal.

The menu is typical Cajun fare along with the traditional fried seafood platters that have been clogging arteries for decades.  As I said before, everything that I have tried has been great and I look forward to eating my way through the menu.  The crab stuffed jalapenos are an excellent starter, stuffed full of moist and tender crabmeat.  The gumbo, which I consider to be  the true measuring point of cajun cuisine, is well prepared and filled with seafood or chicken and sausage – take your pick!  A bowl of gumbo at $5.99 makes a filling and affordable lunch.  The seafood in the gumbo is cooked perfectly, with no hint of rubberiness that comes with overcooking.  I ordered the jambalaya once and was served enough to feed my entire family – and I’m a big eater!

The only challenges I see with Floyd’s is there website, which leaves some to be desired (it doesn’t even list their Pearland location), and their service, which can sometimes be slow.  Neither of these are enough to keep me from returning again and again.

Floyd’s Cajun Seafood

1300 Broadway St in Pearland, next to the Pearland Skate Center (They have another location at 528 & I-45, I have not dined there and cannot attest to the quality of their food)

Price:  About $8 for lunch

Food Quality:  *****

Service:  ***

Ambience:  ****

Notes:  Go hungry and leave full!  Make sure to try the crabmeat stuffed jalapenos!