What can I say? I have eaten at another Pappadeaux location and loved it. This was a very different experience for me. The salad was dry and I could not find the waiter to get more dressing. I like salad though even when it is not properly dressed.

I ordered a seafood platter and was expecting something nice. What I got was enough french fries to feed an entire family. I had hardly any seafood on my plate but I had an overabundance of stuffing. All I could taste was breading with celery. It got nauseating after a few pieces. The platter also came with ketchup and tartar sauce in little paper cups. WHY? This is supposed to be more elegant than this. I may have given this place a better rating if the sauces would have come in metal or glass containers. I will never order the same food as it was worth eating.

This was the salmon and was cooked to perfection. I would recommend ordering this dish although it would be better to go to another location.

The Alaskan King crab turned out to be the best my friend ever ate. This place is now his new favorite spot.

I did enjoy the trio dessert. It is hard to mess up a prefab dessert though as it is only thaw and serve. How hard can that be? The banana pudding was on the runny side but was still good. I also had to find my server to ask for a spoon which he forgot to bring.

The cheesecake was also very good! I was happy that at least my fork from dinner was still on the table for me to use

Overall  I was very upset that although we spent $160 my food was no better than Long John Silvers. My friends also spent over $100. The service was also very poor. We sat for over 30 minutes before our waiter asked us what we would like to drink. He never asked me if he could refill my water. It was amazing how vastly different my experiences have been. Is it possible they were having an off night? Somehow I do not think so. Overall a waste of my time and a waste of my money. I did enjoy the company of my family and friends.

Perhaps I should give them another try. If I do I am going to ask for a different waiter and get a different type of dinner. This place is popular and perhaps really just had an off night.

26835 Cypresswood Dr
Spring, TX 77373

This is a terrific donuts shop. In the middle of Spring. It is popular and very busy. Everything is made fresh

Not only do they have donuts but they have Kolaches that are just so good. I am not sure what I like better the donuts or the Kolaches . The sausage is something you should try!

Melt in your mouth! Oh so good!

Just look at the sausage Kolache! Yum is all I can say!

Sometimes it is better to let the pictures speak for themselves. Just know I have not got anything bad from this place so far.

This year I was going to roast my turkey as I usually do. I made a trip to HEB central market for groceries for my thanksgiving dinner. If you have never been to central market it is quite an experience! Here is a link to check it out or yourself. I walked in and noticed they happened to have roaster ovens on sale. Believe me when I say I have everything in the kitchen I could possibly want or need and then some. This was something I did not need to add to my collection or was it? I was torn! I walked away from the display and thought I will get everything I need first and think about it. Perhaps I will forget about it or realise it is something I really don’t want.

So off I went into the store to grab what I needed from my list. As I was at the end of my trip and moving towards the registers when yet another display practically jumped out in front of me. This time instead of black roaster ovens stacked neatly they had red ones. They were screaming at me to get one. The store also had $10 off coupons taped to each box to further sweeten the deal. I was even more conflicted than before. I decided to throw caution to the wind and put one in my cart.

I started feeling guilty of yet another item coming into my already packed kitchen. I was hoping my husband wasn’t going to call me a hoarder which I most certainly am not. For those of you who have been in my house and know me don’t even say anything lol. So now I own this new roaster and it is being put to good use today with my turkey. It feels great that my oven is free for all the other things I will put in it today. I think the bird will turn out delicious and I will have a new way of doing my bird from now on. We will see how it turns out and I will post about it then.

Go check out my central market post here http://www.hauntedchef.com/2011/12/08/central-market/

The Kindle version of “On Haunted Ground” by Lisa Rogers is being offered for a limited time for FREE on amazon! Be sure and get your copy! Our paranormal team investigated this property and are featured in the book. I Would love to hear your feedback. I really enjoyed reading her story

http://www.amazon.com/On-Haunted-Ground-Cemetery-ebook/dp/B007SNRWYO/ref=tmm_kin_title_0

2020 Fm 1960 Rd E
Houston, TX 77073

When I pass this sign I want to pull over to grab a bite. I love this place for several reasons.

Reason number one is the fried green tomatoes. OMG they are the bomb awesome! I go here just for these tomatoes which are given for free. They used to walk around with hotel pans full of them as well as stewed tomatoes, okra and other goodies which they no longer do for whatever reasons. Now you get a little thing full of fried green tomatoes and okra. I am still happy even though they changed. I will take whatever green tomatoes I can get! 

This photo shows another reason I get hungry passing this place. They have a man who walks around yelling fresh hot rolls and throws them at you sometimes from across the room. If you don’t catch it don’t worry, he will throw you another one. These rolls are really yeasty and just plain good!

The salads are cold, crisp and really good! Imagine a meal for around $10 that includes thrown rolls, fried green tomatoes and a terrific salad all before you get your main entrée! The question is will you have room for it all?

This dish is the chopped sirloin with gravy, onions and peppers. This night he also threw on some mushrooms for me. Also look at that loaded baked potato! Yes it was all really good. I just love comfort food.

They have specials all the time. This particular night they had a half rack of ribs with the sides for under 12! Not only is the food good and comforting but it is comforting to your wallet.

3815 Westheimer
Houston, TX 77027
(713) 386-1700

This is the grocery store to compare all other grocery stores to. If you are ever in Houston you must make the trip to check it out. The time to go is on a Saturday right before noon when all the vendors have representatives in the store. Do not eat prior to going and do not plan on going out for lunch afterwards either. Why? All those vendors are there for you to sample what is on the shelf. The experience will probably take you over 2 hours to go through the whole maze. It is just like going to a food show but for the public.

You walk in and about every 10 feet or so is a vendor showing off their yummy produce or products. They may offer a strawberry shortcake and then a few feet away is a full Carmel apple. Some vendors offer sample bites and others full plates of food. Imagine a full plate of strawberry shortcake! Grab a cup of coffee then off to sample cheese. This is a grocery experience like no other.

I don’t love this store for just the Saturday vendor offerings. They have over 700 varieties of produce marked by place of origin, 100 varieties of saltwater/freshwater/shellfish, a butcher helping you with 60 varieties of sausages and marinated meats, oer 600 items in the bulk section, over 700 kinds of cheese, more than 2,500 wine labels and hundreds of beers from all over the world. Just look at the breads in this photo and realize this is a small portion of the bread section.

This picture is one case of their cheese. The cheesemonger is usually walking around wanting to educate you on cheese and helping you sample.

This is just one aisle of wine with a peek at the case in back which is filled with different varieties of cold beer.

This is their olive bar. Look at all the different bins of olives! At the end of the maze is where you can find the olive bar as well as a salsa bar, soups, sandwiches and prepared items in cases just in case you don’t feel like cooking. You can grab it to go or eat it here.

This is definitely a destination spot for foodies! I could go on and on gushing about this store. Can you tell I love it here?

The Chocolate Bar
River Oaks
1835 W Alabama St
Houston, TX 77098

I give this place two thumbs up! You need to be aware that the parking lot is very small! If you cannot find parking right away you just have to wait for someone to back out. Just wait it out because is worth the wait to get in! It is located right next door to another magical shop called candylicious. Both of these shops are places where everyone becomes a kid again.

You walk in the door to find chocolate everywhere! One side of the store is all packaged chocolates. This side also has cases where they will help you pick out individual chocolates. Everything tastes better dipped in chocolate to chocoholics! Walk around to the other side of the store you will pass the ice cream cases to find the cases with cakes. They are huge! Some cakes are $10 for one slice or $75 for the whole cake. One cake weighs 177.60 ounces  (11.1 pounds)

The selection of ice cream is really interesting. They will let you  sample some to see what you would like to eat.

 The sample of Cape Cod Crunch ice cream was enough for me to stop. It is is really amazing! It was loaded with broken chocolate, almonds and cranberries.

Ice Cream Flavors

3204 Seawall Blvd
Galveston, TX 77550

 http://www.islandfamous.com/thespot/

This place is right on the seawall in Galveston. You can park on the seawall or in one of 2 parking lots on the side going around to the back of the building or the other lot across the street in back. It will keep you entertained for hours if you are trying different margaritas, people watching or eating a burger

They have wheelchair access and plenty of places to sit in or out of the buildings.

You go inside to order your food and then you go seat yourself wherever. They give you a paging device to let you know when to go get the food. Comparable to a Fuddruckers burger they also have a burger bar for you to get your toppings. This is how you get your burger with a side of waffle fries.

Here is the yummy onion rings I ordered this night which were especially good!

This is what my burger looked like after I went to the topping bar. This burger was really good! They could have cooked it less to make it more juicy but still it was good. There was no waiting which is a huge plus for me when I am hungry.

7040 N Eldridge Pkwy
Houston, TX 77041

We went through the drive through to try what some call the best burger in Houston. At lunch time this place has a line out of the door. I was excited to try it knowing it is such high demand. When I opened the box this is what I saw. The bun is obviously handmade and just look at all those crinkle cut fries.

Guess that we paid???? A combo meal for $5.67 and then you build your own burger just like you can at a higher priced place like fuddruckers! So we went around the building, went inside and got all the extras we wanted including cheese on those fries.

The meat was seasoned just fine, the flavor was good but it was dry. The star of this meal was that homemade bun which added flavor and appeal for me. The crinkle cut fries were also seasoned well. The burger was really good especially for that price!

If I did a comparison between all of the burgers I would not put this on the top of the list however. The meat was overcooked where the juices were not running down my arm. I really need that magic to happen for me to put it towards the top. For the price however, you cannot beat it! This is one place I can go back to again and again!

1448 Louetta Rd
Spring, TX 77388

I should stop apologizing for reviewing chains! Some people have never had the opportunity to check out Panera Bread.

One of my favorite foods items is bread and bagels happen to be a terrific member of this family. Not only does Panera have bagels but other pastries as well as breads.

When I order bagels I usually get a dozen which includes 2 containers of cream cheese. The honey walnut cream cheese is my favorite with sweet bagels and is their best seller. The vegetable cream cheese is also really good with the savory type of bagels. I have tried all the cheeses and they are all yummy.

They have an in store cafe where they offer sandwiches, soups and salads. They also have a convenient drive through!

My favorite soup is the broccoli cheddar and they usually run out! I wish they would plan better how to accommodate all the people who want to eat this soup in a day. All the other soups are all good, especially the potato which has a nice bacon flavor.

I usually order a half and half which consists of your choice of a half of a cafe sandwich, a half of a cup of your choice of soup and includes a baguette. When you are in a hurry and fast food seems the only solution this is a much healthier option.