Very good Chinese food, in addition to good dim sum. T&S specializes in seafood (duh): I recommend the pepper and salty shrimp. I'm not sure I can recommend it as enthusiastically if you don't want a seafood dish: the non-seafood dishes I sampled didn't knock me over.
I think T&S falls short of the first tier for general Chinese restaurants, but, as a speciality seafood place, I feel pretty good about recommending it.
We've been going to T & S Seafood before they were T & S Seafood.
We went to them when they were Rainbow Seafood North, then when they were Mong Kok. The same people seem to run it through the various incarnations (if I had to guess, I'd say the name changes were probably a tax and/or creditor dodge, but this is purely spec-u-la-tion). They've been T & S, and one of our favorite Dim Sum places, for quite a while now, so we thought we'd see how well they stack up for dinner.
The answer is, pretty darn well. Since they didn't have any Atkins suitable appetizers, and I can't eat rice, I ended up having two entrees: The pork in garlic sauce and the orange spare ribs (the latter is probably an Atkins cheat, but hey, I still didn't go over 20 grams of carbs...). The pork in garlic was very tasty, and definitely one of the better incarnations of that dish I've had. The orange spare ribs were good, but I would have preferred the traditional type of Chinese BBQ ribs that Pao's or Tien Hong serves.
Though a step or two below Pao's and Tien Hong, T & S seafood is still far and away the best Chinese food your going to find on this stretch of Lamar, or even north of 183.
Remember what I said earlier about Eddie V.'s Edgewater Grill being dark? Well, Houston's is the dark champion: dark, dark, not quite as dark as the pit from pole to pole, but still pretty damn dark. Granted, the polished brass and wood fern bar interior, doesn't help much, but you'd think that they were trying to save money on electricity or something.
Houston's problems go beyond that, though. They have a limited appetizer selection. (And, folks, I'm sorry, but beans do not belong in chili.) The salads are kind of pricy, but decently sized. However, the entrees are kind of pricy and not worth it. I had the barbecue ribs: they were okay, but not $19.95 worth of okay. Actually, Chili's St. Louis ribs are both better and cheaper.
The only reason I can think of for going back to Houston's would be if I'm having an affair with someone and don't want to get caught. Otherwise, I think Houston's is overpriced and underperforming.
While the latest dining experience at Houston's was OK, it wasn't nearly as good as the last time we tried it. (Granted, this was five years ago.)
First, the appetizer choices seemed quite limited. I realize that being on Atkins, not every restaurant is going to have suitable appetizers, but even were I not on it, Houston's choices would still strike me as odd. I mean, couscous as an appetizer? Maybe if you're a middle eastern restaurant.
I was also disappointed that I couldn't substitute fries for a salad with my appetizer. However, the salads are pretty big and reasonably tasty (including bacon and optional anchovies), though the lack of dressing choices seems a bit chintzy. (I guess ranch dressing is just too alien a concept for them to wrap their minds around.) For my entree I had the prime rib, which was quite good, though not any better than that served at, say, Louie's 106 or The Outback. Service was good; lighting was dim (they're obviously trying for that yuppie romance demographic).
And though I didn't have any, I note again with displeasure the heretical notion of putting beans in chili. (Not only that, but according to Mike, his chili tasted sweet, which is both inexplicable and inexcusable.)
All in all, it was a satisfactory dining experience, but not an outstanding one, and I think I'd try Chez Zee again before going back to Houston's.
(BTW, the painted sign on the east side of the restaurant says "Houston's" while the neon sign on the south side says "Houstons"; I guess apostrophes cost you extra in neon...)
The fajitas no longer seem like the bargain they were on our previous visit, and at least one order of them got messed up by the staff. On the other hand, the same staff did a reasonably quick job of getting a late-arriving co-conspirator's food out to him. On the third hand, that 17% tip policy showed up again.
Part of my problem may be that Manuel's tends toward interior Mexican food, a style I'm not really fond of.
Atkins or not, I think that Manuel's is a little pricey for what you get. My pork tenderloin seemed on the skimpy side, and prices seem to have gone up a bit from our last visit.
Still, service was reasonably attentive and it's nice to find a Mexican place that serves salads, purity be damned.
The first couple of times I ate here, I suffered...shall we say, severe gastrointestinal distress afterwards. ("So why did you go back?" Hey, once is an accident, twice is suspicious, three times is hostile action.) Either my stomach has become stronger, or they've changed their cooking, because I managed to avoid heartburn this time.
I'm actually pretty fond of all types of barbecue other than traditional Texas style: I was a big fan of the North Carolina style barbecue served by the late lamented Captain Tom's (located where Ross' Old Austin Cafe is now). Red Hot and Blue seems to do a decent rendition of Memphis style 'cue, as best as I can tell: I don't know if the onion loaf is a traditional Memphis style appetizer, or an item stolen from Tony Roma's, but it makes a good dish for a decent sized party.
The combo plates are reasonably large for the money: and yes, you can get fries (and even hush puppies) with them. The meat is generally served un-sauced before cooking (though you can get sauced ribs), but there's a fair assortment of sauces (ranging from sweet to hot) on the table.
The waitresses are reasonably efficient (and some are very cute), and RH&B knows how big an ice tea glass should be (big enough to pick up with one hand, but just barely).
Not bad for a chain: I'd say worth the occassional drive to Round Rock.
(March 2003 update: Apparently, not enough people agreed. The Red Hot and Blue location is now yet another Serrano's.)
Despite being a chain, the BBQ here is actually pretty decent, and I especially like their sweet sauce. The ribs were pretty good, as were the appetizers, while the brisket and pulled pork was merely OK. The amount of food served was adequate and the prices were reasonable. Service was a bit Space Cadetish ("Brain, brain, what is brain?"), but not annoyingly so.
All in all, I think I liked the Red, Hot & Blue dining experience better than Cooper's in the same general area.
See the logs for November of 2002.