Freebirds World Burrito

Freebirds is a chain restaurant with several locations in Houston. You order at the counter and there are so many choices to make.  I ordered a burrito and the first thing I had to do was choose the size and then the type of tortilla.  I chose the Freebird which I think is the second to the smallest.  I then had to choose my ingredients.  I chose steak as my meat.  I added refried beans, Spanish rice, onions, cheese, and Pico de Gallo.  There were so many ingredients to choose from.

The counter where all the ingredients are chosen.

My order

Here is my burrito with chips and cheese dip on the side.

Death Sauce - Jeff tried it.  He said it wasn't that "hot".

There is a lot of art on the walls to enjoy such as peace signs and John Lennon.  It took me a minute to understand their decorations.  Silly me. 

The food was very good and not bad as far as price goes.  I have paid more for far less food. I may be back some day.

T-Bone Tom's Meat Market

We learned about this place after seeing it on Diner's, Drive-In and Dives.  You can check out the segment from Diner's, Drive-Ins and Dives here.  We wanted to visit it on our last visit to Houston, but we ran out of time.  This weekend we decided to give it a try and I am so glad we did.

The restaurant itself is cute, in my opinion. Here is a wall with Guy's photo from the show along with other photos and signatures from Guy.

You can purchase advertisements that go on the back of the chairs.  I thought this was one cute.

 We started out our meal with one of the appetizers that appeared on the show.

Armadillo Eggs

 What are Armadillo Eggs?  They are pickled jalapeno peppers that are stuffed with BBQ beef.  They are then put in flour, then I think an egg mixture and then rolled in Panko. They are then deep fried.  You can see the process on the video from the show.

I ordered the country fried steak sandwich and a side order of coleslaw.  I shouldn't have ordered the coleslaw because it was way too much food for lunch.

 You cannot see the bun in this photo, but it is under the steak.  It is a toasted bun.  You build your own sandwich.  Tomatoes, lettuce and onions are provided along with the gravy.  This is delicious!  I dipped my fries in the gravy.  Oh, my, it was so good!

The coleslaw was creamy.

 Jeff ordered the Schooner Platter.  It had shrimp, catfish, oysters and a shark egg.  The shark egg, I think, had crab, no shark.  He had a salad and roasted potatoes as his side.  Texas toast was served with it.

Schooner Platter

Jeff said this was the best shrimp and catfish that he has had since being in the Houston area.  He thought the food was great!

We both really loved this place and highly recommend it.  The service was great.  Our ice tea was never half empty.  The prices were good.  They have a steak that I would love to try. If we get a chance, we will go back.

Goode's Armadillo Palace

My husband and I have made three attempts to eat at this restaurant. They are closed on Sundays and Mondays.  The restaurant has been closed for private parties on our previous attempts.  I called ahead this time to be sure that they were open.

The first thing you will notice when you arrive is the big armadillo outside the restaurant.  This is a popular spot to have pictures taken.

 The inside of the restaurant is decorated with Western decor.  Some say it is even like a museum with the guns, snake skins and saddles.

 

The wall near our table was lined with wood.

Wood Wall

We started our meal with an appetizer.

Green Chile Empanadas

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Green Chile Empandas: Small flaky pastry turnovers stuffed with slow simmered pork, Anaheim chiles and vegetables

We enjoyed the appetizer.  The dipping sauce was good.

Our side salad

The salad had sugar coated pecans which was a surprise.

Bacon Cheeseburger

I ordered a bacon cheeseburger. The bread was toasted.  The burger had a nice flavor.  It was supposed to come with fries, but the waitress thought I was substituting a salad for the fries.  I said that was fine, but when the bill arrived I was still charged full price for the salad.  I didn't say anything because I couldn't finish all my food anyway.  I do think the confusion came into play because they had several servers who waited on us.  One probably thought I wanted to substitute the salad for the fries and the one who rang up the bill didn't realize I didn't get fries.

Venison Chili

Jeff ordered the Venison Chili. The menu describes it this way: Made with venison from Broken Arrow Ranch out of Ingram, Texas. Y’all will find that there are no beans, chili powder or ground meat in this one! Served a la carte with grated cheese, diced onion and saltines.

Jeff said the chili was really good.  It is priced at $9.95 which seems a little pricey for a bowl this size though.

Country music is played in the restaurant.  On weekends, they do have live music and I imagine it gets pretty loud.  I am glad we ate before the live music began.

We enjoyed the food, but I doubt we will go back.  There are many more places to try in Houston.

Teotihuacan Mexican Cafe

We ate here on a Sunday afternoon.  The waitstaff was very nice and fast.

I ordered a Teotihuacan Burrito.  It is a large flour tortilla filled with beef or chicken fajita, chile con queso and beans . topped with red gravy and cheese. served with rice, pico de gallo and guacamole. I chose the beef.

Teotihuacan Burrito

Jeff ordered the El Eduardo which is a small version of the chicken teotihuacan burrito and one beef fajita quesadilla.

El Eduardo

We both thought the food was good.  We will probably not eat here again only because there are so many other Mexican restaurants to try.

Orleans Seafood Kitchen

We ate here on a Saturday afternoon.  This is a restaurant where you stand in line and order your food.  You pay at the counter and are given a beeper so that you know when your food is ready to be picked up.  I am not fond of these type of restaurants, but it is a money saver and time saver.  Customers do not have to wait for a waitress to take their order or to bring them their bill and then take their payment.  Waitstaff does not come to the table, so there is no need to leave a tip.  I guess when I look at it that way, it is not so bad.

This is a seafood restaurant, but they do have items for land lovers.  Since I am allergic to shellfish, I was happy with their selection for people who do not want fish.

Jeff ordered the seafood platter which included shrimp, stuffed shrimp, catfish, craw fish and he ordered an extra crab.  He enjoyed the food.

We also ordered onion rings and fried pickles.  The fried pickles are cut long ways and they had a Cajun seasoning in the breading.  I thought the fried pickles were really good.  The seasoning along with the pickle was a great combination.

Seafood Platter (on left) Onion Rings and Fried Pickles (on right)

I ordered the Old Fashion Cheeseburger with fries. I was really surprised at how good it was.  I didn't expect it to be on an onion bun.  The fries were seasoned with the same Cajun seasoning that was used on the onion rings and pickles.

Old Fashioned Cheeseburger and Fries

I really enjoyed eating here and would love to eat here again.

Willie's Grill & Ice House in Katy, TX

We ate at Willie's Grill & Ice House when we were in The Woodlands, TX last summer. It was one of my favorite restaurants.  I was not quite as impressed this time around, but I have learned that places I love the first time I visit are sometimes disappointing the next time.

This is a place where you stand in line and place your order. You do not pay at the time you place your order.  A waitress comes to your table and reads back your order and then brings your food.  You pay the waitress.  I don't see a lot of time savings in this way of ordering or any money saving on the restaurant's part.

We started out with fried pickles are our appetizer. I enjoyed these.  The chips had a nice breading and are served with a ranch sauce.

Fried Pickles

Jeff ordered the catfish/shrimp combo.  He said it was good.

Catfish/Shrimp Combo with Fries and Coleslaw

I ordered the 1/2 slab of baby back ribs.  It is is served with coleslaw and fries.  The ribs were good, but not as good as when I had them at The Woodlands.  The coleslaw was very creamy and good.

Baby Back Ribs with Fries and Coleslaw

I enjoy the food at this restaurant and if I was a resident of Houston, I would go back.  However, since we are just visiting, I will explore other restaurants.

Capt. Benny's

We were interested in eating at Capt. Benny's because the restaurant is shaped like a ship. I really didn't think the food would be that good, but I wanted to try it.

The outside of the restaurant.

We ate here on New Year's Day.  It was pretty empty at 2 p.m.

Inside

I ordered the chicken tenders since I am allergic to shellfish.

Chicken tenders with fries, coleslaw, garlic bread and hush puppies.

 I really enjoyed the meal. It was $7.99 and I felt I got more for my money than at Long John Silver's.  The hush puppies have jalapenos in them, I think.

Captain's Platter

Jeff ordered the Captain's Platter which includes fried shrimp, scallops, catfish fillet and stuffed crab. It also comes with fries, hush puppies, garlic bread and coleslaw.  Jeff didn't like the shrimp as it is breaded with corn meal.  He thought the rest of the food was good.

I really enjoyed eating here.  I thought the decor was fun and the waitstaff was very friendly. I would like to eat here again.

Pappa Burger

I have been wanting to try Pappas Burgers since we were in Houston over the summer.  We are located nearby this time, but it still took us three tries to actually eat here.  The first two times we tried to eat here, the line to get in was just too long.  We finally made it on the third try because we arrived as soon as they opened on a Sunday.

Inside Pappas Burger

 I ordered a cheeseburger. Fries are included.

Cheeseburger and fries

 I have to say that I was disappointed in the food.  The cheeseburger was okay, but nothing special.  The fries were very limp. If I hadn't been looking forward to eating here so much, maybe I would have thought it was better. The waitstaff was okay.  There were 14 of them standing around waiting for customers while we were there.  I have no plans on returning.