McCormick & Schmick's.........highly rated, but unimpressed.

Let me start by saying this is not a photo of the fish from the restaurant.  The fish was so "average looking" that I never took a photo of it.  This is a pricey place that tout's itself as a high end restaurant with high quality food.  This is my first visit and I have to say that I was not as impressed as I thought I was going to be.

When our friends invited us (and there were 4 couples), I was excited, because I have always wanted to go, but never really did.  As I studied the menu, there were so many awesome sounding choices.  Now, I had not had steak in a very long time, but the fish sounded so inviting that I decided I would order it.  Since this is an "Al a Carte" type place, the one thing that caught my attention was the lobster mac-n-cheese.  Now, Pappas Steakhouse has an off menu item that you have to know about to order.  They have a crab mac-n-cheese that truly is heaven inspired.  So here was lobster mac-n-cheese; who would turn that down....not me.

I love Mahi Mahi, it is a nice thick fish and usually has great texture; this was going to be blackened.  It came out, it was a very thin piece and very small.  Because of this, the chef overcooked it and it was dry and really lacked flavor (not much blackening).  Because everyone was eating and happy with theirs, I didn't feel like making a big deal of it and sending it back and waiting (hindsight.. I should have).  The mac-n-cheese I think was the most disappointing.  I expected to get this creamy luscious mac-n-cheese with chunks of lobster in it.  What I got was mac-n-cheese (very dry) with an orange sauce on it.  What I think they did was make mac-n-cheese and the pour their lobster bisque soup over it.  It too really lacked flavor and wasn't appealing at all.  On the other hand, one my friends ordered the truffle mash potatoes that were out of this world.

Everyone else seemed to like the food they ordered, so it was just mine that wasn't good.  Now, my dessert sort of redeemed the night; apple walnut pie drizzled with salted carmel with carmel ice cream, and it was soooo good.

I did decide that I would give the restaurant another try at some point, so I will update when and if I do.

Thanks for reading and good eating to you.

Rudy's BBQ......brisket like, well....I make it

Rudy's BBQ, 21361 Gulf Freeway, Webster, TX  77598.  We decided to have a quick lunch before getting the keys to our new house today; sort of a Texas celebration lunch.  We ordered the jalapeno sausage and the brisket "moist."  Now, I have to tell you, like I did on the last review, I am very hard on BBQ joints.  But, this brisket is not "competition," and if you ready my previous blog, know what that is.  This is EXACTLY how I cook mine.  It was full of flavor, nice smoke on outside and the meat was SO tender and falling apart.  This only comes from babying it and treating it with tender loving care, smoking for hours, then wrapping in foil and cooking it more so the meat soaks and cooks in it's own juices.  I have to say, that I am going to have to rate the brisket "moist" 9.5 out of 10 and highly recommend you go and get it.  The sides were good also, I had cream corn and roasted red potatoes that were great.  We were also given samples of the turkey and the spicy "chop."  The turkey was outstanding and I will get it next time instead of the jalapeno sausage.  It was disappointing as it was dry and tough and I give it a 5 out of 10, unlike the last one at my last review which was super moist and divine.

The spicy chop was full of flavor (and I am not a sauce person), but they take their moist brisket and chop it up and then add their signature sauce to it.  It was good too.  The atmosphere and decorations in the store were inviting, the employees helpful, knowledgable and friendly.  We will make this our "go to place" if I don't have any of my own on the smoker (which I need to get back up and running).

Here's to good BBQ and happy smoking.

A little bit of Chicken Fry, cold beer on a friday night........

Chappell Hill Bakery & Deli,  8900 Hwy 290 E, Chappell Hill TX 77426.  We stopped here on our way back from Austin, TX (no we went NO WHERE NEAR UT!!!) for lunch.  It is a quaint country restaurant & bakery an hour outside of Houston.  Once you exit the car, you will know you are in BBQ country; an amazing smell.  I had the 2 meat BBQ plate.  I am going to put a disclaimer here.....  I think my brisket is amazing, but it is not "competition" brisket.  Competition is done at low temp for 10-15 hours, has a perfect pink ring inside and a heavy smoke on the outside.  I don't cook this way, but still feel mine is great.  That said, I had the brisket and jalapeno sausage plate.  The brisket had the perfect pink ring, smoke on the outside and was tender.  It was not moist nor did it have much flavor, I would give it a 7 out of 10.  The jalapeno sausage on the other hand was fabulous.  It was juicy, flavorful and had the right amount of heat and spice.  I wish I had ordered just that and double the amount.  I would give it an 8.5 out of 10 and highly recommend it.

My wife ordered the Chicken Fried Steak.  This was....well, let's just say we were in nirvana and had an out of body experience.  So naysayers will say, "you have been in frenchie-land for 3 years" that is the only reason you like it.  No, no, no...it was perfectly seasoned, perfectly battered (which was a nice light batter fully coated), had a nice crisp crunch to it and wasn't greasy at all and along with the gravy.....Oh My My My My....GOSH.  I was mad I didn't order this myself and was only getting a few bites.  I will make sure I go back when I need my fix for Chicken Fry; I give it a 9.5 out of 10.

Overall, I recommend you stop by anytime you are headed out 290 and headed to Austin or further.