14915 North Fwy
Houston, TX  77090

Let me begin by saying the service at this place is horrible! I thought I was going to like the food better but I didn’t. The food was better than edible but really just ok. This was a big disappointment for me because I had been looking forward to dining here. Some acquaintances had given me the impression that it was an upscale italian restaurant. When I went through the doors I thought why would anyone have the impression it was upscale. The menu prices were higher than some italian places but the atmosphere was very casual. The tables are covered in paper and have crayons for kids or adults to doodle.

The waiter was quick to come over and before I knew it he had written his name on the table. He was so fast I didn’t even hear him say his name.  My initial impression was that we were going to have good service that night. He also brought wine and bread with a plate of seasonings for us to pour olive oil over it. He then asked for our drink orders and if we were ready to order. I told him that I needed a few minutes to go through the menu and was surprised that he came back as fast as he did. He sat our drinks down and again asked for us to order. I told him I had not yet gone through the whole menu and wanted his opinion on what was good. He went through a few items I had not noticed on the menu and then left us to ponder what we may like to try.

Guess how long he was gone? 30 minutes! He gave us so much time that we were able to study the menu in detail. We had decided what we wanted and put the menus down. We kept looking for him and noticed it seemed like he had half the restaurant because he was the only one running around. New people were coming in and he would give them the same treatment he had given us. I kept picking up the menu to look because I was bored. I then became upset so I started to count the people in uniform who were doing various things without helping customers. I counted 8 but there could have been more in areas I couldn’t see.

 The bread was gone and drinks empty by the time he came back. So we placed our order and he took a few glasses to refill. He did not come back to the table until the food was delivered and he came without the drinks. My daughter had to ask for her drink by the time the entrée came before he went to get it. As the evening progressed I even had a girl ask me to move my feet so she could sweep!!! hahah!!! Can you imagine. Now lets move onto the food

The bread that was brought to the table was ok as was the dipping oil but not as good as it had looked.  There was no other loaf of bread delivered to the table although in all fairness we didn’t ask for more. We ordered tomato florentine soup which is a mix of tomatoes, garlic, onions, dill, fresh spinach and cream. This was really good! I should have stopped here because I would have had a little bit of a different opinion of the place. We also ordered a house salad which was served family style. It had mixed greens, diced tomatoes, artichoke hearts and dressing. The salad was just like I thought it would be… salad. It is hard to mess up a salad.

I love chicken piccata. so when I saw it on the menu I knew that was what I wanted. Their menu states is lightly breaded chicken breasts sautéed with mushrooms, artichoke hearts, prosciutto and capers. To be finished in a lemon and white wine pan sauce and served over angel hair pasta and fresh baby spinach. I saw 2 capers on my plate. Seriously. Where were they? I could not taste the lemon at all. The sauce just tasted like a butter sauce but I couldn’t identify even the white wine. Did they accidentally leave it out or did they run out of ingredients? The dish was ok but not what I would call piccata. I was so disappointed!

We ordered tomato basil chicken which is grilled chicken breast, basil, garlic, tomatoes and angel hair pasta with marinara sauce. You could almost not see any marinara and it tasted dry. Would not order again. It was ok don’t get me wrong but you don’t want to pay for dry pasta

The last thing we ordered was baked ziti which was ricotta, mozzarella cheese baked with bolognese sauce. Now this dish had all the wine. You could almost not taste anything else but wine. It was alright but I would have liked the flavors to be more blended.

I asked to see the dessert menu and thought about ordering. The next thought I had was that at best it was most likely prepackaged food and written up as wrong as the rest of the things on their menu. I was not going to give them any more money than I had already given them for the night. I may have liked the dessert the best though but I will never know. I will not be going back to this location.

Interstate 45

Spring, TX 77388

The food quality for casual dining is really decent. The prices are surprising for the amount of food they offer as well. There is always at least a 30 minute wait or more at this location.

I have eaten at several Cheddars locations in both Oklahoma and Texas. Some are better than others for service. The food has all been the same. I believe that the quality of the design and mood of the place along with the quality of food brings people in no matter how long the wait is. When food is good people are willing to wait for it.

This particular location has a serious problem with service. My family has resorted to asking for particular servers instead of just being seated. It seems they are so busy that they need everyone to work even if they are absolutely horrible. Instead of letting the bad staff go they just keep them on. One night we were seated for 30 minutes before someone came over to get our drink orders. They explained they didn’t know we were sitting there. She was rude the rest of the night. We still continued to go to the location after this and saw her working. I watched a group of people call the manager over to complain once and heard them say they would never be back. I have had this very thought when leaving.

I like the food and am willing to pay the price of waiting and bad service just to be close to home on occasion. If you go be prepared for the wait. If you get someone who is good remember their name and ask to sit in their section the next time.

Shenandoah location
18035 Interstate 45 S
Shenandoah,TX 77385

Tex-mex with Elvis! I really like this place! The creamy jalapeno dip is something different on the table normally served with chips. It is addicting! That is not the only sauce they have here either. They actually have over 7 different sauces with different heat levels. One of my favorite dishes is chicka chicka boom boom. Hand pulled chicken with boom boom sauce that is made from cheese, mexican green chiles, tomatillos, green onions, cilantro and lime juice. The heat level varied from day to day depending on who is making it. I have made may way through the menu but have not tried everything yet. I am open to eating anything here though. To help you with making your food choices through the menu they offer specials to try different things every day.

From what I understand the very first Chuy’s was opened in 1982 in Austin, Texas. It became a hit and began to grow. Usually chains do not do the same justice to food as one really amazing place. This is not the case with Chuy’s. They really know Tex-Mex. They hand make their tortillas in an area where you can watch. Everything tastes this fresh.

The Shenandoah location as with most locations I have been to usually has a line of people waiting to be seated. Why? Because when you have good food people are willing to wait for it! Come ready to sit on the patio and perhaps enjoy a margarita.

Meers is really ….The Meers Store! This place is located on highway 115, 1 1/2 miles north of the Wichita Mountain Wildlife Refuge in Oklahoma. To get there take I-44 to Hwy 49. Travel West 4 miles to Hwy 58. You will then turn to the North for about 5 miles to the turn-off to Meers just follow the signs. Now turn to the West for 4 miles and you will be there

There is more than burgers but wow are they ever good? Meersburgers are made with 97% lean grass-fed Longhorn beef from Longhorn they raise themselves.

On their menu it says:

Our famous burgers are cooked medium well done and are served with mustard, dill pickles, tomatoes, purple onions, and green leaf lettuce. We use American cheese because our burgers are American burgers. We have been fixing them this way since the beginning, for over 50 years and this is the way our cowboys like them. 99% of our customers like them this way so this is why we respectfully call this burger (and your hats off boys) the COWBOY BURGER.

Some folks like mayo on their burgers instead of mustard but call burgers with this a SISSY BURGER! Other folks like ketchup on their burgers instead of mustard. We call burgers with this a YANKEE BURGER! Cowboys believe ketchup belongs on fries, not beef.

A few folks out there want all three—mustard, mayo, and ketchup—on their burgers. The poor fools are simply confused.

We don’t care how you want your burger fixed. We will fix it any way you want it. We cook your burger to order. Try one with bacon, jalapeno or both. However, if you order something other then a cowboy burger, please be patient; our cooks rarely encounter sissies, Yankees or confused souls.

Please note that there is one thing we simply cannot bring ourselves to do; We cannot fix an open-faced burger. The secret to our success is the blending of flavors that occurs when steaming hot Longhorn beef is placed on fresh onions, pickles, tomatoes and leaf lettuce (and mustard!). You can’t get the flavors to blend well any other way. This is our secret recipe, the secret to our success!”

The place is just really great! I have gone in and sat right down to order and there have been times I have waited for 2 hours. People come from all over because the place has been written up numerous times. It was known as one of the top 10 burger joints in the USA and I can understand why.

I have had fried green tomatoes, fries and fried pickles which are all good

This place is not just for the burger. You must…. I mean must get the homemade peach cobbler with homemade vanilla ice cream. OMG it is just good stuff. You will leave hurting from eating every bite too. You can work it off by going into the wildlife refuge to waddle around and take pictures of buffalo. Then top it off with a trip up Mt. Scott for sunset if it happens to be that time of day. Wow what an experience is all I can say. Memories are great!

It is a cash/check only place.

Lankfords Grocery & Market
88 Dennis St
Houston, TX 77006

Just got back from eating lunch at Lankfords Grocery & Market in Houston which has been open since 1930s. Guy Fieri with Diners, Drive-Ins and Dives (love this show!) went in and brought attention to this midtown place. My husband ordered the Double Meat which he said was really good but was more meat than he expected. He is wanting to go back and try a regular burger the next time. The photo of the burger was my husbands. I ordered the Firehouse burger and asked to get the sauce on the side. This was not as hot as what I though and yet my mouth burned for a good 30 minutes after I got done eating it. The burger was really good however the meat was overdone and dry. I can say it was one of the messiest burgers I have ever had but it wasn’t because of juices from the meat. I wonder what I would thought of the burger if it was juicy? I am willing to go back and try it again. It was not the best I ever had but it was also not the worst. You can check out Lankford’s by going to their website as well

http://www.lankfordgrocery.com/

19075 I.H. 45 South Suite 480
Conroe, TX77385

I eat at this location about twice a month. There is always a line which moves really fast. The staff as this location have always been wonderful and the food also comes out really fast! Someone is helping by assigning a table if they are really that busy. The food is fresh with the vegan and spicy selections clearly marked. I happen to love the spicy food. In some cultures if your nose is not running it is an insult to the chef. Spicy will make your nose run and your taste buds tingle. You can opt to get lo mein noodles instead of rice with your meal. The sauce on the noodles is enough to flavor the noodles or rice.

I have not eaten everything on the menu yet because I really like what I usually order. I highly recommend the Caramel Chicken with it’s refreshing slaw of carrots, red onions, cucumber, and cilantro which is then tossed in a simple dressing made with rice wine vinegar. They have just brought it back out not long ago. This dish will be what I normally order until it is gone again. I had my Caramel Chicken with lo mein noodles instead of rice for a change of pace. All I can say is yummy!

My kids love to get the Honey Seared Chicken with lo mein noodles which also is good but does not have the layered flavors of the more complex dishes. I am hoping they bring back the Korean BBQ with chicken which was also very flavorful and spicy!

1410 Seawall Blvd,
Galveston, TX 77550

A few weeks ago I was in Galveston on an investigation. We decided to stop at Denny’s. IHOP and Denny’s are places my group can go to in the middle of the night to talk about what happened and grab a bite to eat before heading home. Places can be clean or dirty, the help is decent or bad and the food is ether good or bad. Well this night we hit rock bottom.

For starters we waited forever for a table. We were seated next to the women’s bathroom which was apparently dirty. The waitress did not come for 20 minutes so the manager took our order and gave it to the waitress. We watched a manager chew out several employees a few feet from our table but not our waitress. Why he didn’t do this in the area back is beyond me. The manager was holding a large drink from whataburger! Why? Is the food that bad here that he cannot even eat the free food I am sure he gets?

When the food finally came out I was surprised that it was decent. This still didn’t explain that whataburger drink that the manager was carrying around in front of all of the customers. The food was cooked properly and everything tasted ok. Still the behavior of the staff and the cleanliness of the place left such a bad taste in our mouth. Our cups ran dry with nobody came to check on us until we were getting up.

When we got up to leave and pay at the counter we waited for another 15 minutes. One of the waiters was standing looking at us talking to a customer at the counter the whole time. There was a new group of people that had come in when we got up to leave. They stood next to us in an almost empty restaurant waiting the whole time to be seated. That same waiter at the counter was looking at them too. I never saw him come to help them. Actually when we paid that group of people were still waiting and had not been helped yet either! As soon as I could I logged into urbanspoon to give a review and could not find this particular location. I will never eat at this location ever!

I have eaten here many times not only because it was on the way from work but it happens to be a good place to eat. For those outside of Texas it can be difficult to describe what an ice house is. This is a place where you go get a beer. It is comfy as in plastic outdoor chairs, outdoor decking, fans and everyone is in jeans. The middle of the tables have paper towel holders to catch all the juices that run down your arm. The food is quick but good. Last weekend I got a bacon burger and it was really good. If it doesn’t drip down your arms it is probably not going to be memorable. This one ran!  Drip, drip, drip….. yum!

Champions/FM 1960
4561 Fm 1960 Rd W
Houston, TX77069

Woodlands, Texas location

2520 Research Forest Dr
The Woodlands, TX 77381

This is one of the best places I have been to in the Houston metro area. Everything has tasted wonderful. So far I have tried and loved the fried ravioli, chipotle chicken pepper pasta, black walnut lemon chicken, lasagna and a burger. The tomato sauce is apparently from scratch and was incredible. The atmosphere is also nice. Upscale casual is what I would call this place. The focus is on fresh and unusual ingredients. I am looking forward to going back again and again!

When you enter there are menus waiting to be picked up. You can sit in the entrance to decide what you want or walk to the back where you place your order. There are usually dishes made up for you to see what they look like before you order. You seat yourself and get your own drinks. When your order is ready you go back to the back to pick it up. In the middle of the Black Walnut is the bar and dessert area. There is an assortment of pastries and gelato for you to pick from if you have any room after your meal.