We must have gone there 6-8 times as a kid in the sixties. We'd take out of town visitors there mostly as I recall: my aunts and uncles from Idaho and Louisiana and Mississippi. We also took some of my dad's better friends in business from Ohio and the east coast. Always looked forward to that trip!
San Jacinto Inn Was having dinner with a buddy at a new seafood place here in Denton - Hoochies!! - got to talking about the San Jacinto Inn. He remembered it as well. I lived in Houston from 71 - 94. Used to go there regularly. My Dad came to visit in the 70's and he remembered from when he was a young man in the late 20's or early 30's. There were 25 of them in his group and the head guy paid for the meal with a $50 bill - it cost $2 each for all you could eat. And oh you could eat..... all the oysters on half shell (I remember one visit I had 5 dozen before I went on), all the boiled / peeled shrimp you could eat, crab legs, fried chicken, biscuits, jam...... wow - what fond memories. All of this was brought to your table and they kept it coming. Long as you wanted. The old Inn was damaged and they built a new one in front of it, hence the reference there was one in front of the other. Alas - eventually it was closed down late 80's / early 90's - what a grand old restaurant and many, many fond memories - right next to - of course - the San Jacinto Monument and the Battleship Texas. Never found a restaurant like it since. Don't think I ever will. Last I remember the tab was only like $9 - 10 each.
San Jacinto Inn I know all too well this discussion. Back in the late sixty's my Grandmother, Lila Tucker, was the General Manager of the San Jacinto Inn. I remember my Mother and Father would take us kids there every weekends. While we visited, my Grandmother would order a Seafood Platter and it was so much food, it fed all of us. I frequently stayed with my Grand Father/mother on the weekends. I would make the homemade famous biscuits with Pearl from the kitchen or I would peel potatoes, shuck oysters with Larry. My cousins and I would play on the battleship or we would play hide in seek in the Cave Restaurant late at night when it was closed. The food was unbelievable. I too have never found a restaurant close to the food or service. Who knows how many people I baked biscuits for!
We were big fans of the San Jacinto Inn and often went there with my cousins when I was young, and just kept on going. Good lord, the food was great! And as has been said, they just kept bringing it to the people. -
My family would go to the San Jacinto Inn and to Angelo's Fisherman's Wharf. The chief difference was that at SJI you'd get fried chicken as well and - what a luxury! - the boiled shrimp were peeled for you.
Yep that was the drill. I remember going when I was a kid. Another place closer to town that used to do the same thing was Angelo's Fisherman's Wharf on South Main.
I used to get excited every time someone mistakenly bumped an FFB thread. This time, I knew better. He's never coming back.
I remember it very well. i believe there was a high-water mark from a hurricane (Betsy?) on a post outside.
san jacinto inn went there when i was in the merchant navy(english) in the mid 70's .The food was great as much shrimp as you could eat and i seem to remember eating a load of crab claws.
about ten months ago i was doing door to door sales on in baytown in a neighborhood on the bay while the sun was going down behind the san jac monument. beautiful
so 3 people on this page alone signed-up just to talk about this place...on a Houston Basketball forum must have been one hell of a joint
Thats exactly what I was thinking ...shame theres nothing like it anymore ..really theres no good food joints like that ..that i know of
It closed in the 80's. You might be thinking of the Monument Inn at the end of the road at the Lynchburg Ferry.
not really. Monument Inn is ok, the area around it is fairly nasty, and when the wind is from the North, sometimes the stink of dead fish in the channel can be over-powering.
