Pappadeaux isn't even good seafood in Denver, definitely shouldn't be making any kind of Houston list. Glad someone said it Houston doesn't have a good seafood scene???? What??
no.....it’s just that we’ve not only been outside the loop, we’ve been outside the city, state and country.
Ugh. Alright. What are you looking for? Our Oysters are second to none, as is our redfish, flounder, etc. What are you looking for? Shellfish? Our high-end steakhouses have it shipped in daily. What are you looking for? Because I guarantee I know more about food here than you do.
Can wholeheartedly confirm this. Their Gumbo is LEGIT, and their boudin balls are the best I've ever had.
JMO... Killen’s Steakhouse makes probably the best crab cake I’ve ever had locally. Brennan’s has a great gumbo (high end) as does Monument Inn (not high end, but still nice). Monument Inn also has a really good selection of fish (their blackened mahi and snapper with Monumental sauce are great).
I enjoy the oysters around here because I grew up eating them, but gulf oysters pale in comparison to almost all of the world’s finest oysters. France especially, but British Columbia, Washington state, New England, the Canadian maritime s........Scotland.......all of these places have amazing oysters whose differences are more akin to the terroir and varietals of fine wine whereas gulf oysters are more like boxed wine. They taste like oysters, and lots of bang for the buck. But nothing truly special. I don’t get redfish in a restaurant because it’s all farm raised in Texas. I never personally order flounder, but my son likes to order the whole flounder at Cajun Greek in Galveston, and I have to admit, it’s not bad. My personal favorite of the Texas big three inshore species is speckled trout, and along with reds and flounders, I catch all of those myself. Some things that I “want,” I don’t expect to get in Houston like the seasonal fresh herring in the Netherlands or the raw crab in a fresh papaya salad in Thailand. Or even decent chili crab like in Singapore. But I know that even though wild salmon isn’t local, it’s almost always frozen before eating for safety reasons. Why can’t I get wild caught salmon in Houston that’s even a quarter as good as Blaine Wetzel’s salmon in Lummi island? Same thing with scallops. They are almost always frozen before they are even brought to shore. Why can’t anyone here make scallops taste as good as they do along the New England coast? Although I will admit that back when Ronnie Killen only had the one little restaurant along the railroad tracks in Pearland, he made a pretty good scallops appetizer. Or why can’t I get a trigger fish ceviche that’s even half as good as what I’ve had on the Mexican riviera. Granted....I did catch the trigger fish, so I knew how fresh it was. Or smoked whole fish like they have in the markets in Edinburgh..... the list goes on for me, and I’ve already babbled enough. Seafood has generally been a disappointment for me in my hometown of Houston. Unless I catch and cook it myself. Which I pretty much do in a weekly basis. So I’ll ask you.......what’s the ONE seafood thing I should try here in Houston? Shoot for some place obscure that I probably haven’t tried, and I’ll try to make a point some time of giving it a go. Please refrain from suggesting any “high end steakhouses.” They almost always disappoint me. I’m pretty particular about how I cook my steaks, and their seafood always strikes me as a bit fussy.....rather than simple.
Actually.... https://themightyrib.com/the-junkie-top-10-discontinued-fast-food-items/ 8. Long John Silver’s: Peg Leg Back in the 70’s and 80’s, LJS pretty much branded the restaurant as pirate-themed. Just about every kid that walked in was greeted with their very own cardboard pirate hat. I don’t recall if they handed out eye patches, but I do recall the peg legs. They were simply fried chicken drumsticks, but were nonetheless still fantastic. I’ve always liked their batter more than other places anyway. Along with the crispies, this is one that would be great to see again.
If the OP lived in Southwest Austin, I would strongly recommend Evangeline's on the west side of Brodie, between William Cannon and Davis Lane. Took my significant other's brother-in-law, a Cajun himself who makes killer seafood gumbo, to eat there for lunch a few years ago. He loved it. Of course, this was after he had consumed maybe six bottles of Turbodog ale, one of Louisiana's best exports. ;-)
I can tell you that people complaining about the quality of seafood in Houston, have not spent much time in other large cities across the USA.... because it is really far worse in most places.
pappadeaux is friggin awesome. Own it and dont sweat it. somewhere along the way is became façonnable to crap on pappadeux. Completely unfounded and I will punch anyone that doesnt like their gumbo and etoufee. Landrys group/ goode company cant even come close its sad. Hot garbage by comparison...Babins.. vic anthony more like vic yawnthony compared to pappadeaux Not liking pappadeux is try hard and fresh as carmen electra. If you think otherwise you are lame.
I agree with New Orleans and Boston and San Fran....... not that impressed with Seattle or Portland, but that is more likely a taste/cooking style issue.
Ate their just a few days ago. As the crow flies, it’s just a few miles from my bay house.....although we have to go all around Moses Lake to get there, so it takes almost 30 minutes. I failed to get the fried chicken gizzards, but I did have the oysters shrimphooley. And although I did pretty much bad mouth gulf oysters (I judge oysters on how they are fresh and raw and completely unadorned), I do enjoy the occasional roasted ones. Although not necessarily seafood places, I’ve had really good hearth roasted oysters in Houston at places like State of Grace, La Lucha, and Eunice.
