This past week, I was pretty excited to check the fabulous and new ALICE blue off my foodie bucket list. Located in the Heights on 19th Street, this new restaurant is in the former Shade space and opened earlier this summer. From the outside, the designers changed up a few colors here and there, but it looks pretty much the same.

Also, I find myself unconsciously calling it Alice & Blue, does anyone else have that issue?

One major switch was moving the main entrance from the street to the side alleyway and adding in a lounge area inside the former entrance. The bar is pretty cutie and segregated from the rest of the restaurant by some decorative paneling. It would be an adorable spot to meet for a glass of wine or cocktail and people watch on 19th Street. I’m a big fan of this change and definitely plan to take advantage of their happy hour specials.

My partner-in-crime for this eating extravaganza was the delightful Nikole, owner of Pretty Little Things Boutique in Kingwood. Immediately, we were both impressed with the atmosphere and the dinner menu.

Twinning in everything we ordered, we each got a Paloma cocktail (grapefruit and tequila) and split the Squash Fritters. Everything on the appetizer menu looked fantastic, but we went for the squash one because we reasoned there was no way we could make that at home. We have never been more right. The dish was served with 5-6 bunches of shredded and fried squash. The layers of flavor were so incredible the description that simply says “cilantro and sumac yoghurt” is a serious understatement.

Not to be upstaged, our main entrée the Eggplant Agnolotti also blew our minds. We knew it was pasta of some sort, but were pleasantly surprised with agnolotti turned out to be homemade mini-ravoli’s stuffed with eggplant. The pasta was sitting on a bed of whipped goat cheese (kinda had the consistency of sour cream) and was mixed with diced sweet peppers and scallions. Again, the seasoning was out of this world. It was sour, bitter, spicy, savory all that the same time. I’m on a mission to find this recipe and recreate it at home. If anyone has any suggestions, I’m all ears and want to eat it every day of my life from here on forward.

We skipped dessert, but shout out to ALICE blue for having a dessert menu and a liquid dessert menu. Definitely, my kind of spot.

Heading into ALICE blue, I had received some mixed reviews. Some people found it overrated and overpriced (entrees start at around $18), but I was very pleasantly surprised at their vegetarian options and attention to detail that they took with every dish. The portion sizes were fairly European (aka small), so don’t expect to take home any leftovers.

Overall, I really liked ALICE blue and was very impressed with the creativity in each dish which makes me want to come back and try more. I’m always looking for reasons to spend more time in the Heights and given my new obsession with the eggplant agnolotti, you’ll probably definitely find me back at ALICE blue soon!