My brother-in-law accepted a really great job offer back in the fall. IN TEXAS.
This is amusing on one very obvious level. My sister lived in Colorado for many years. Her best friend is a Colorado native. One thing we know about Coloradoans, they LOATHE Texans. This may sound silly, but one of the first thoughts that went through my sister's mind was "oh, crap, what's Amy gonna think?"
Well, they are alive and well in Houston, specifically the Clear Lake area. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Houston like myself, the Clear Lake area of town is where NASA is located. I mean, really. I think it's pretty groovy that on a day to day basis, my sister is now traveling down Space Center Blvd and NASA parkway, etc. The other surprising thing is that Houston is coastal. Now, before you all think I'm stupid, let me explain. I'm a map geek. And, while I've always realized Houston is near the water and right across the water from New Orleans, I never realized that Houston has contact with salt water. It's freakin' awesome!
The first night we were there, Katherine and Darren kept talking about taking us to "the place under the bridge." After I realized they weren't referring to a soup kitchen, I was intrigued. It's a cool place called Outriggers and it is, in fact, under a bridge and right on the water.
It is a casual place with an awesomely seafood heavy menu. Mom and I ordered the same thing: the shrimp/avocado appetizer, which was just the right size dish I needed that night. It was spicy grilled shrimp served on top of 2 avocado halves, which were seated on shredded lettuce. All was drizzled with a terrific remoulade. My dad ordered an oyster Po-Boy, which was the one dish of the night that didn't score any points. Dad said it was way too much batter and not enough oyster.
My sister ordered shrimp tacos and my brother-in-law went for the Tilapia Veracruz. His dish looked wonderful, but I was so busy with my shrimp remoulade, I forgot to bug him to give me a bite! But, the star of the night was what my Wunderkind ordered...crawfish. According to Katherine, it seems to be crawfish season in Texas. She said everywhere you go, you see people even steaming and selling them on the side of the road! Of course, I immediately asked my baby-child if she was interested in having "crawdads" since she devours them each year at the Crawfish Festival in our neighborhood. I was quickly reprimanded by Katherine..."we" call them crawfish. Well, you know what happened next, right? I refused to call them anything but crawdads. After all, they ARE crawdads.
The only thing I wish I'd thought to ask was what type of spice, or level of spice they cooked their crawdads with. They arrived at the table, and it was evident that they had a pretty good coating of spices on the shells. Nonetheless, my baby was undeterred. I peeled them for her and she made it through about 8 of them before the cumulative effect of the spices got her. I asked the waitress for milk and was shocked to learn that they have no milk. I actually asked her, "So, wow, you guys don't make White Russians here, huh?" Her reply? "Oh yes, we just make them with creamer." <<Insert gag reflex here>>
They were incredibly good and the pound we ordered was only $6.99. Needless to say, we had plenty to take home. Next day, we ate them right out of the fridge and they were still just as good. They were so tender, well flavored, so so good! Truth be told, as we were all standing around my sister's kitchen island doing some late night snacking, I pretty much ate all the leftover crawdads. Nobody else got in the game...oh no, too slow!
Well, they are alive and well in Houston, specifically the Clear Lake area. For those of you who are unfamiliar with Houston like myself, the Clear Lake area of town is where NASA is located. I mean, really. I think it's pretty groovy that on a day to day basis, my sister is now traveling down Space Center Blvd and NASA parkway, etc. The other surprising thing is that Houston is coastal. Now, before you all think I'm stupid, let me explain. I'm a map geek. And, while I've always realized Houston is near the water and right across the water from New Orleans, I never realized that Houston has contact with salt water. It's freakin' awesome!
The first night we were there, Katherine and Darren kept talking about taking us to "the place under the bridge." After I realized they weren't referring to a soup kitchen, I was intrigued. It's a cool place called Outriggers and it is, in fact, under a bridge and right on the water.
It is a casual place with an awesomely seafood heavy menu. Mom and I ordered the same thing: the shrimp/avocado appetizer, which was just the right size dish I needed that night. It was spicy grilled shrimp served on top of 2 avocado halves, which were seated on shredded lettuce. All was drizzled with a terrific remoulade. My dad ordered an oyster Po-Boy, which was the one dish of the night that didn't score any points. Dad said it was way too much batter and not enough oyster.
My sister ordered shrimp tacos and my brother-in-law went for the Tilapia Veracruz. His dish looked wonderful, but I was so busy with my shrimp remoulade, I forgot to bug him to give me a bite! But, the star of the night was what my Wunderkind ordered...crawfish. According to Katherine, it seems to be crawfish season in Texas. She said everywhere you go, you see people even steaming and selling them on the side of the road! Of course, I immediately asked my baby-child if she was interested in having "crawdads" since she devours them each year at the Crawfish Festival in our neighborhood. I was quickly reprimanded by Katherine..."we" call them crawfish. Well, you know what happened next, right? I refused to call them anything but crawdads. After all, they ARE crawdads.
The only thing I wish I'd thought to ask was what type of spice, or level of spice they cooked their crawdads with. They arrived at the table, and it was evident that they had a pretty good coating of spices on the shells. Nonetheless, my baby was undeterred. I peeled them for her and she made it through about 8 of them before the cumulative effect of the spices got her. I asked the waitress for milk and was shocked to learn that they have no milk. I actually asked her, "So, wow, you guys don't make White Russians here, huh?" Her reply? "Oh yes, we just make them with creamer." <<Insert gag reflex here>>
They were incredibly good and the pound we ordered was only $6.99. Needless to say, we had plenty to take home. Next day, we ate them right out of the fridge and they were still just as good. They were so tender, well flavored, so so good! Truth be told, as we were all standing around my sister's kitchen island doing some late night snacking, I pretty much ate all the leftover crawdads. Nobody else got in the game...oh no, too slow!
I'm so glad you loved the stuffed cabbage. It's still not as good as my grandmother's, but close enough :) That said, you have a great blog here..enjoyed reading about Outriggers! Looks and sounds delicious!
ReplyDeleteThanks Lisa! Let me tell you; that recipe is awesome. I think cabbage is highly underrated and stuffed cabbage probably even more so. I hope people who are doubting Thomases will try it!
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