Simit & Poacha — Restaurant in Houston

Had a lovely morning at this not-so-hidden treasure (with WiFi) on 10/30/21. I had the beef and caramelized onion borek which was absolutely delicious. The bread was light and chewy, similar to bao buns I've had in the past. In contrast to bao buns, which have been mostly bread, the borek was PACKED with filling. It had enough carmelized onion for the flavor to definitely be present without being overwhelming. I'm a smaller person and even though I was STARVING, half the borek was plenty. (I'd love to take some of these on a camping trip-they'd be great for breakfast, lunch, or dinner.) Coffee was piping hot. They kindly let me work on school work for close to 3 hours and let me keep my "tab" open so I didn't need to make multiple purchases. All staff members were very kind and attentive, without intruding on my studies or "hovering" like I've experienced at some other places. I felt perfectly welcome and enjoyed the upbeat music which, along with the tasty treats, kept me motivated. I also enjoyed their perfectly flakey baklava which was packed with a generous helping of pistachios. I got a savory, salty, yogurt drink to go. It's a hard to find, refreshing drink that also makes for a yummy, light, "on the go" breakfast. Take one to go to try with and without mint! (It tends to be a love it or hate it kind of thing, but definitely worth the experiment.) The delicious, wide variety of foods is enough to make me want to come back, but the kind, welcoming, upbeat ambiance and phenomenal customer service made me want to become a regular. (If only I lived in Houston!) Please support this exquisite place-you...

I ordered the "Ground Beef Pide". The DoorDash menu describes this with mozzarella (essentially a kasarli kusbasili pide). They prepared a kusbasili pide only. I showed them their Doordash description was inaccurate. ( I've ordered the same item before from DD with them. It was fresh, delicious, in a well packaged pide box.). They agreed to " remake it" but argued that "old management had wrote the description". As they were preparing it I, I saw someone sneeze without covering their mouth. They stuck it back in the oven with a shred of cheese and brought it back, in disorder, in a styrofoam box. It was burnt with unmelted cheese atop. I clarified that this is still not a kasarli kusbasili pide as the menu description says and now moreover they had brought back the same pide (not to mention the sneezing :/) . They claimed they didn't. They were once again argumentative and defensive as I tried to explain. They were inhospitable, unpleasant, defensive, kaba. All they had to do was listen and be sincere in their correction of a mistake. No pride in their product. Very disrespectful to customers. Very unlike the turk kultur I am used to. So...

A small Turkish cafe located on a strip mall with clean and simple interior. Owner is very friendly and patient in explaining the menu to me. Everything is made in-house from scratch. There are two display cases with different breads and pastries.

I thoroughly enjoyed all the food I bought. The Simit and egg was made-to-order, and it was served piping hot. The bread was fresh and it was so good. The seeds added a good texture contrast. The baklava could be flakier and crispier, but the sweetness was just right. The pistachio roll had the right sweetness and texture. The rice pudding was my favorite. It had the perfect sweetness creaminess to it. Yum. The eclair, Paris brest, and zebra were filled properly, not overly sweet, and tasted good. The choco Nutella was my least favorite because the Nutella inside had hardened. A hard pastry with hardened Nutella was difficult to swallow.

I will go back to try their pide, sandwiches, and rest of the items...