The hubby suggested Pappa's for dinner last Friday, during a rare and precious weekend without any kids. He had been craving it since a recent layover in Houston - he killed time between connecting flights with oysters and beer. I happily agreed, since this is a place that never disappoints, yet I rarely think of it. \n\nThe wait was quoted at 50-60 minutes, but we quickly found a couple seats at the bar. In nearly no time, we had a couple of good beers and a dozen oysters were being shucked in front of us. Yum... so big and meaty, with a really clean taste. There's no room for wimpy horseradish here, either, just the really good, strong stuff. \n\nWe were seated pretty quickly afterwards. Kudos to the staff, for immediately moving us (corner table, drafty and too close to wait station) to the inner tables, by the oil lamps. It's a dark, kind of romantic atmosphere. The service was excellent, very friendly, timely and efficient. Overall, I always like the ambiance. \n\nAh, the food. Hubby usually goes for fried fried with a fried, which has a good beer batter. I went for the single crabcake on a bed of crawfish. I'd order the double cake, but I can barely finish one! It's so good though. Topped with fried sweet potato garnish, the crabcake is thick, buttery, and full of lump crab meat. The light breading (probably panko) is very complimentary, and the crawfish... oh my, I could eat a pound of crawfish by itself (which is no longer on the menu, sniff sniff) but this crawfish is shelled and lightly sauteed in a buttery sauce with a hint of lemon. I will admit, it was a littel saltier than usual, this time, but not overly salted. I also had their wedge salad, but had to send first one back when it came with the carrots I had asked them to omit. The replacement salad came with croutons (which the first did not have), which I just picked off. It was a decent wedge salad - it's hard to screw that up. \n\nThis rich dinner left no room for dessert, but if there were, I would have gone for the key lime pie. Theirs is very good. Or maybe the bread pudding... yummy! \n\nA very nice outing with my sweetie. Every meal I've had here, including happy hour, has been great, whether it is a simple dinner or special occasion. We will definitely be back.
places reviews