Little J's

Iiiii wanna know, have you ever seen the rain?

Why, YES, Creedence Clearwater Revival, I HAVE seen the rain. We've all. SEEN. THE. RAIN. It seems as if it will NEVER stop raining here in Houston these days. Yesterday and days before, sun is cold and rain is hard. I know. Been that way for all my time.

......

But I get it, this is actually very good for the drought and farming and the state of Texas as a whole. So as my girl Hillary Duff would say, "Let the rain fall down and wake my dreams."

Just...not on my kickball team please?

Yes, Jon and I are on a kickball team, and it seems that one out of every three games has actually not been rained out this season. On one of those fortunate, rare, dry(ish) days recently, Jon and I joined our team for after-game drinks and food at Little J's, a bar on Washington Avenue.

On that particular evening there was a veteran/biker meetup going on, and the bar was decked out in patriotic decor of special artwork, American flags, and a chalkboard memorial wall filled with names of veterans. I don't know if the motif is always like that, or if it was just for this specific evening. Regardless, it was cool to see, and my former Army Ranger boyfriend was definitely into it.

Little J's is a low-maintenance, no-frills bar. As to be expected, the menu is quite small. Unexpectedly, however, the offerings are unique dishes orchestrated by the talented Bourbon and Bacon team. I put my creative vegetarian cap on and discussed my best options with our friendly bartender. At his recommendation, I ordered the burrata blt (sans the b), and it was wonderful. Served open-faced, the sandwich is comprised of a fragrant basil pesto, fluffy burrata cheese, arugula, herbed tomatoes, and sweet espresso balsamic vinegar atop two large hunks of freshly toasted bread. The sweet/salty/garlicky combination of everything was perfect. For a seemingly simple dish, the end result was anything but. I absolutely loved this sandwich and savored every bite!

Jon ordered a lamb meat taco that was a daily special, as well as their suino Italian meat balls. He didn't go crazy over the tacos, but I went crazy over his salty, hot fries. He was definitely a fan of their meatballs though.

Little J's is super laid back, super unpretentious, and super welcoming. The nice folks there didn't bat an eye at the muddy, sweaty 20- and 30-something kickballers who rolled in at 8:00 on a Thursday night. The bartenders also will host a fun/terrifying game where you flip a coin with a friend, and the loser has to drink whatever shot said "friend" concocts for them. I lost against my "friend" Caleb that evening and would prefer not to discuss what he made me drink. So if you're looking for a low-key, easy-going night on Washington Avenue complete with great food, look no further than Little J's!

When it's over, so they say, it'll rain a sunny day. I know, shinin' down like water...

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