Proctor in Admiralty

Outback Steakhouse and Pappasito's Cantina - Chain Restaurants Oh My.

Meal: Dinner – 7 oz filet, vegetable medley, mashed potatoes

Restaurant: Outback Steakhouse, Houston Texas.

Meal 2: Lunch – Fish Taco and Beef Enchilada

Restaurant: Pappasito's Cantina, Houston Texas

Ok, so I am a bit of a food snob and the thought of a chain restaurant usually sends me running in the other direction.  In addition, I am big into supporting local businesses and also eating locally sourced foods.  However, while in Houston, I ate at two chain restaurants, so I figured to combine both meals into one post.

Outback Steakhouse – When I think steak in the Lonestar State, the last thing I imagine is Outback Steakhouse.  Not that it is terrible but when you are in a place known for beef, the last think you want is what you can get pretty much anywhere – and that is truly why people tend to like chains; the predictability of it.  Well, I had dinner at Outback because I wasn’t choosing the restaurant and it was my first time in an Outback in at least 5 years.  Upon entering the restaurant I noted a sign proclaiming that Outback was voted the #1 Rated Zagat Best Steak 2009.  Wow, thought I…then the fine print…within the full-service category National Restaurant Chain survey..ok, I can live with that one but I never like seeing superscript in advertising.  It seems a bit disingenuous to me.

In truth, the steak was decent though overcooked.  I ordered medium rare (described as a slightly warm red center) but it came out on the far side of medium (warm, pink center).  The mashed potatoes and vegetables were not worth eating.   Service was generally fine. The waitress failed to enter the order for one in our party and apologized profusely, bringing over the manager and free desert for the aggrieved party.

 

Pappasito's Cantina – Pappasitos is part of the Pappas chain of restaurants scattered throughout Texas and the Southwest and includes the Paddadeaux seafood restaurants, barbeque and burgers joints along with the Tex-Mex version, Pappasitos.  Privately owned by the Pappas family, the chain is based in Houston but is expanding its reach as far as Atlanta and Chicago.  Lunch on my last day in Houston brought us bowl after bowl of freshly cooked tortilla chips, and salsa and a very nice combo plate of a grilled fish taco and  beef enchilada with rice & refried black beans. This one was a winner though I am sure I don’t want to know the number of calories and fat intake of that meal!

Oysters, butter, garlic and cheese...what's not to love?

Meal: Dinner - Grilled Oysters and Seafood Gumbo, Magnolia Seafood Salad (mixed greens tossed with spicy creole mustard, topped with shrimp, crab meat), bread pudding

Restaurant: Jimmy G’s, Houston, Texas

Funny thing, almost every time I go to Houston, I wind up having a meal at Jimmy G’s, a Cajun restaurant near George Bush / Intercontinental Airport.  It may be that much of my business tends to be in that part of the sprawling metropolis but for one reason or another, someone always suggests Jimmy G’s and I always readily agree.

I was first turned on to Jimmy G’s and especially their grilled oysters by a former colleague, MJ, where one night we proceeded to eat several dozen of those artery blockers – take a oyster on the half shell, baste it with butter and garlic and throw it on the grill until the edges of the oyster begin to curl, sprinkle parmesan cheese over the top and serve away with lots of crusty bread to sop up the butter/garlic /oyster juices that puddle on the serving dish. YUM!

On this particular visit, we had a dozen or so oysters and then I had a cup of their great seafood gumbo and the magnolia seafood salad plus because in a moment of weakness, I ordered and thoroughly enjoyed their bread pudding.

Grilled oysters are certainly not unique to Jimmy G’s in Houston as I have enjoyed them at Uncle Bubba’s on Wilmington Island in Savannah, Georgia and at Drago’s in New Orleans.  In fact, it was at Drago’s that the Long Range Planning Committee of SEALI (the South Eastern Admiralty Law Institute) and friends (all officially dubbed The Long Rangers) consumed dozens upon dozens of grilled oysters with a lot of crusty bread to boot, and that was only as an appetizer!

Writing all of this has me salivating and now that we are officially in the “r” months, I am thinking this weekend might be a good time to buy some oysters and try to replicate the Jimmy G’s/Drago’s experience.  I wonder if I can get some Turbo Dog around here?

Breakfast, Lunch and 50 Random Songs

Meal: Breakfast and Lunch Buffets

Restaurant: Oakley’s Restaurant, DoubleTree Hotel Houston Intercontinental Airport

Last week brought a trip down to Houston and with it, a decision on how to post about breakfast options within the confines of a hotel.  I have decided that each meal on the same trip does not require a separate post and so I have consolidated the experience here.

I stayed at the DoubleTree years ago when it was a Hyatt and not much has changed.  The restaurant is adequate but certainly nothing exciting.  I ate breakfast there every day of my trip and had lunch there on two occasions.  Both are presented in a buffet style and I will say that the cream of broccoli soup was very good but the rest was uninspired.

Flying Continental Airlines to Houston, I was pleasantly surprised to be provided with a small snack box containing a package of crackers, some boursin cheese, beef jerky and a Kit Kat.  I have gotten so used to receiving nothing on small commuter jets that it was a big surprise (nothing but pretzels on the way back – so not sure how/when the snack box comes out).

Working during the flight, I flipped on the iPod and decided to carry out an experiment I saw on Facebook.  The premise is to set your iPod to shuffle and then record the first 50 songs played in order to showcase the truth about what you listen to rather than what you want people to believe you listen to.  Of course, the size of your music library will greatly influence the results.  In my case the 50 random items came from a library of 7029 tracks.   As I worked away, I took a moment to jot down each song and artist – not the album or other data.  The following are my results and although I found myself listening to several new songs, there were some oldies too and it is fairly representative of my music tastes.  I hope you don’t laugh too much!

1. I’m Scared                                         Duffy
2. Townes’ Blues                                   Cowboy Junkies  
3. Goode’s Field Road                            Drive-By Truckers
4. Motherless Child                                Eric Clapton
5. What’s Your Favorite Color?                Living Colour
6. The Grind                                           Aerosmith
7. Say Hello 2 Heaven                            Temple of the Dog
8. Mountain Dew                                    The Pogues
9. The One That Got Away                      Pink
10. Voodoo Child (Slight Return)               Stevie Ray Vaughn
11. Spiderwebs                                        No Doubt
12. Do Do Do, Da Da Da                          The Police
13. Martha My Dear                                 The Beatles
14. So Cruel                                            U2
15. Columbia                                           Oasis
16. Tenth Avenue Freezeout                      Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
17. Dream On                                          Depeche Mode
18. Detours                                             Sheryl Crow
19. I’m Not Over                                       Carolina Liar
20. Having a Party                                   Bruce Springsteen & The E Street Band
21. One Particular Harbor                         Jimmy Buffett
22. Evangeline                                         Mathew Sweet
23. Hey Baby                                          No Doubt
24. Oh Atlanta                                         Little Feat
25. Strawberry Wine                                The Band
26. Get Real Paid                                    Beck
27. Bent                                                 Matchbox 20
28. The Kids Are Alright                           Mathew Sweet & Susanna Hoffs
29. The Purgatory Line                             Drive-By Truckers
30. A Blessing And A Curse                     Drive-By Truckers
31. In Limbo                                            Radiohead
32. Sporting Life Blues                             J.J. Cale & Eric Clapton
33. Always Touched By Your Presence     Blondie
34. You Really Got Me                             The Kinks
35. Many Waters                                     Ziggy Marley & The Melody Makers
36. Thrill Of It                                           Robert Randolph & The Family Band
37. If I Should Die Tonight                         Marvin Gaye
38. Summer’s End                                   Foo Fighters
39. Borrowed Time                                   John Lennon
40. Lifetimes                                            Sheryl Crow
41. Weary Blues                                      Madeleine Peyroux
42. A New Flame                                     Simply Red
43. Girl, You Have No Faith In Medicine     The White Stripes
44. Jesus Online                                      Bush
45. Silvergun Superman                            Stone Temple Pilots
46. Up And Away                                     Dave Matthews
47. Time To Kill (Alternate Mix)                 The Band
48. Can I Get A Witness?                         Edwin McCain
49. The Golden Age                                  Beck
50. When I Dream of Michelangelo            Counting Crows