Overheard at Booth 4: Birraporretti's

Birraporetti's

walked in without reservations, which was a bit of an issue.  still, it was before the rush, so they were able to get us a table within 5 minutes (even if it was the table for two right in front of the host station, where all those with reservations stood around staring at us while we ate)

the food was well-worth that price as well, and for being downtown Houston and for being in the times of great inflation, the prices were not exorbitant.   we shared the mushroom caps appetizers, which were very delicious, with the perfect blend of cheeses.  my wife had the personal pizza and I had the crab cakes, which were done to delicate perfection with a flavor that was so wonderfully seasoned that it was a simple joy to eat them.

definitely a place to make a reservation, so that you can have a quiet table to enjoy your meal, away from having to hear some lady ask the hostess if they were short staffed.  

the hostess, not skipping a beat, replied, "no ma'am, we are fully staffed.  we're just short on tables."

Overheard at Table 4: Fish City Grill

 

 

Fish City Grill, Beryland Mall, Beryland TX

 

Cajun, and y’all know what that means… spicy.

Some of you Cajun food lovers might actually consider it not as spicy as you’d like it, but seriously, why does everything have to burn?  Breaks Rule #1 of Food.

OK, so we walk in, and the host is so stoned that for a moment he seemed not to understand why we were there.  I was thinking, man what is the deal with the weed in Beryland?  ALL these restaurant workers are so baked!

He was able to find his way to our table and our waiter was sober (thank the Lord) and while he couldn’t count off all the appetizers or describe them in any detail, he made a great attempt to do so, which, in these days, is better than nothing.

We had the Smok’n Hot Shrimp, which, if you’ve ever had Bang Bang Shrimp from Bonefish, this is the plate for you.  Spicy but no burn, just a delightful sting.

My wife thought the Garlic Caper Chicken was passable.  I had the Andouille Chicken and of course, immediately wondered why I do this to myself.  Andouille always sounds good, but the burn … lawdy!  (Sidenote: I took the majority of it home and had it for breakfast: pan fried and mixed with two eggs over easy helped to curb the burn and left me full and satisfied for the next day)

My wife had the bread pudding.  She offered to share, but this happens to be my fasting month, for which I’ve given up both breads and processed sugars.  So I got to enjoy the delicious aroma and the watch the wonderful steam pouring forth from that volcano of delicious syrupy goodness.

Overheard at Table 2: BJ's Brewhouse

BJ's Brewhouse, Beryland TX

Went to BJ's Restaurant and Brewhouse after dropping off some jewelry to be repaired at the nearby Jarrod's.  Friday night, 6:00pm, the place was already bustling.  The obviously bored hostess told us it'd be a 20 minute wait.  She was spot on about the time, but when we asked to change our seating from 2 to 3 (because we decided to ask our son to join us), she appeared tremendously irritated.

When she finally took us to be seated, she showed us a table.  My wife asked if we could have a nearby booth.  She slapped the menus down on the table and said, "I'll guess I'll see what I can do" and walked off.  We sat.

After 5 minutes, she brought another family to the booth.  I told my wife, "I suppose that's a 'no,' then."

The waiter was much more friendly, but that's because he had the glassy-eyed looked of the pleasantly stoned.  He did seem a bit perplexed that we only were drinking water, though.  We ordered the Avocado rolls and a soup, a burger, and Mediterranean tacos.

Avocado rolls: tortillas well-crisped, and yes there was definitely avocado, but they were mushy.  Among us we determined that the unpleasantness came from lack of texture.  Texture, not many understand, is an important element in food.  Some more chunky tomatoes or carrot slices would help.

The burger was decent, although a bit on the greasy side.  I was quite pleased with the Mediterranean tacos, even though the yogurt sauce was more like water than what you normally expect with your gyro-style dishes.

When our waiter came to bag our food, he was surprised when we asked for the check.  He thought he'd already given it to us.  He might do well to lay off the doobage until after his shift.

All in all, it was food.  Decent price.  Service a bit dicey, but frankly, that's about as good as it gets these days.