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I dined at Houston's last night with two business associates. Totally not my choice. I was comfortable enough with one of my dining companions to lobby for Bon Ton but due to the rain, the other party did not want to head downtown. (Colossal pain in the ass.)

We arrived about 7:30 and there was a wait. We hit the bar, and I was surprised to see a wide range of excellent wines by the glass. They had The Prisoner, which I had enjoyed the previous week at Iris, so I ordered a glass. I was pleased that rather than serve me the bottom of a god knows when opened bottle, the bar keep opened a fresh bottle for my pour. Huge kudos for not bending to the will of the corporate machine. As such, I grabbed the bar tab and tipped generously. My one compadre went with an Abita Amber and DC had what he declared a very excellent martini.

We had lots to discuss, so we weren't all that worried but the wait was a tad longer than promised. (Hostess said ten minutes but it was really like 30.) Regardless, it went unnoticed. As we were escorted to our seats, I realized the decor is very 1980s but it totally works. Dark with wodd paneling and lighted arches, the restaurant is a bit tough to navigate but it totally works for this location.

The waitress was appropriately grating, Both perky and obtrusive as well as ridiculously suggestive, "How about we start you off with some wood grilled artichokes?" Ummmm, about we are doing business here and sucking off artichoke leaves is a complete nonstarter. When we told her we were ready to order our meal, rather than an appetizer, she was totally thrown off her game and disappeared for 5 minutes.

I wasn't all that hungry and nothing on the menu looked all that appealing so I decided to go out on a limb and order the Thai Steak Salad. This was surprisingly good. The quality of beef used was quite high and there was abundant flavor from fresh mint, very fresh and ripe tomatoes and a great marinade on the beef. Overall, I was definitely somewhat shocked at how this dish worked.

DC #1 had the special redfish topped with crabmeat. He thoroughly enjoyed it as well. The idiot who wanted to come to Houston's, aka DC #2, ordered a f-ing cheeseburger. Are you kidding me? I hate dining with non-foodies. He proclaimed the burger the best he's ever eaten. Wow, what a gastronomic accomplishment to appease the palate of a man whom I am sure has subsisted on tv dinners and frozen pizza for the better part of the last decade.

The waitress brought our check without inquiiring as to whether we wanted dessert. The bill came to about $90, which seemed reasonablr as I suspect the corporate drones who run the place want you to load up on appetizers, desserts and sodas.

I'd go back however, there are just so many better options in this city. But if I lived in say Cleveland, I would submit my will to feeding the corporate machine and probably enjoy it.

Bam, I understand what you were trying ot say, and for the ost part, I agree on your take on Houston's, but, don't knock Cleveland, they have some pretty good restaurants there.

the wines btg at both locations are usually extensive and generous, having sucked down my fair share of Duval-Leroy at $8 btg. st. charles at one time had a nice oyster app and smoked salmon plate, but that was when it was Gulfstream and not sure if these made the transition back to Houston's.
for eats, which is at most once a yr, I like their chili (sats only) and their couscous and black beans. the thai salad is indeed a winner.

Turbodog wrote:Bam, I understand what you were trying ot say, and for the ost part, I agree on your take on Houston's, but, don't knock Cleveland, they have some pretty good restaurants there.

You're right about Cleveland having good food by non-"food city" standards. I was there some years ago for over three weeks on business, living in a nice hotel, and walked to dinner. The best stuff seems to be in a district called "The Flats." I had several very good dinners in that area.

Jonathan

Houston's is the ultimate conundrum. You want to hate the place, but then they serve something like the Thai salad and you think, "This isn't so bad." Then you look around and realize your in an upgraded Shoney's (well maybe not that bad),

As stated, there are to many other options.

I got a real good friend who works the line for one of Besh's restaurant and unhappily took a job at Houston's for extra money (they would let him work exactly when he wanted with no argument) and he was very bummed about having to work at what he viewed as a ****ty chain restaurant. He was shocked when he started because they make everything from scratch, and everything to order. It was funny to hear the surprise in his voice, as he was honestly impressed. I don't know if I've ever been to a Houston's, certainly not as an adult, but the next time I'm in Metairie I may give it a shot over Zeas

One thing I noticed while looking at their menu that I didn't like was that they say 15% gratuity is "appropriate & expected." I'll ****ing decide whats appropriate and I don't give two s**ts about whats expected. I rarely tip under 20%, but don't tell me what's expected. Sorry.

Jesse wrote: One thing I noticed while looking at their menu that I didn't like was that they say 15% gratuity is "appropriate & expected." I'll ****ing decide whats appropriate and I don't give two s**ts about whats expected. I rarely tip under 20%, but don't tell me what's expected. Sorry.

That's for the Oprah fans.

What a country, what a business. Only in the resaurant industry is it "appropriate and expected" that the customer pay 15% of it's employee wages. It would seem under these circumstances that the waiter would be a sub contractor, free to dictate hours and how they run their service, but in reality especially in chains, we know that not to be true.

Shep wrote:What a country, what a business. Only in the resaurant industry is it "appropriate and expected" that the customer pay 15% of it's employee wages.

Actually, you are paying much, much more than 15% of their wages. If restaurant is paying $4/hr, in a dinner shift they cover $20. The waiter will bring home about $150.
That makes it like...650% paid by that accumulated 15% per ticket! The customer pretty much pays it all.