This year for July 4th weekend, we headed to Houston to visit Ashley, Jason, and Mildred. We lucked out and didn't hit too much traffic on our way there. After unloading the car and cleaning up a "frap" disaster, we headed to Jupiter Pizza and Waffle Company in Sugar Land Town Center. There were tons of unique appetizers, pizzas, beers, and desserts to try. We started off with some meatballs and Sweet Potato Fries 102. The meatballs were delicious with mozzarella cheese cooked inside of them. The fries were yummy too, which says something because I don't typically like sweet potato fries. These were crispy and covered in cheese and bacon. Next, we ordered the Pacific Glow Pizza, which had tomato sauce, fresh mozzarella, bacon, garlic, pineapple, fontina cheese, and prosciutto on a thin crust. The pizza was delicious too! It was a great combination of favors.

We couldn't order just pizza, so we ordered the S'Mores waffle to split four ways. It was the best waffle I've ever tasted. I hope that more places jump on the dessert waffle trend.

On the 4th, we went on a Burgers and Beer tour led by Houston Wave, a shuttle tour company. The tour would take us to BRC, Buffalo Bayou Brewing, and a parking lot for firework viewing.

Our first stop was the BRC, where we dined on beer and burgers. Ashley, Jason, and Mike ordered the Independence Burger, which had brisket, pickled jalapeños, and cheese. I went with the traditional cheeseburger. All the burgers were huge and tasty, complete with a side of well seasoned fries.

Next we headed to the Buffalo Bayou Brewing Company, where we were given these awesome can shaped tasting glasses. Here we got to try several different beers. My favorite was the Gingerbread Stout, which tasted like Christmas in a glass. The much lighter, Summer's Wit was pretty great too. We finished off with fireworks for a great evening.

Saturday night we headed to Hay Merchant for dinner and beers. The menu there is cool because it's constantly changing. I had some delicious chicken fingers with a spicy kick and some great homemade stoneground mustard.

After dining at Hay Merchant, we headed to Petite Sweets, a bake shop owned by BRC. All the desserts were small items so you could easily try a few. We picked the chocolate, funfetti, and lemon cake balls, snickers and pink lemonade macaroons, and a salted caramel Whoopie pie. Everything was delicious, but I think my favorite was the lemon cake ball. It was so flavorful and refreshing.

On Sunday before we headed home, we went to Ruggles Green with Jason. It was located in the Town Square area and was quite crowded. The menu had tons of items to choose from, but we all ended up with sandwiches. I had the ham and cheese panini. The Brie and Dijon mustard really gave the sandwich great flavor and the fries weren't bad either.

On our way home, we stopped at Bucee's in Bastrop. We needed gas and a pit stop. I was also a little curious about this well known gas station and rest stop. It was totally packed so poor Cecil had to stay in the car. I was impressed by the cleanliness and huge size of the bathroom. We also bought some of the famous Bucee nuggets for a treat. I can definitely picture coming back here again.

Our holiday weekend was so much fun. We had a great time with Ashley, Jason, and Mildred and can't wait for the next time we can hang out!

The New Austonian