We went to the Houston's on Park Ave, near 27th St. I like the look of the place and the couch seats are great.
We started off with their famous spinach dip which is delivered nice and hot with warm chips. It's so yummy. The salsa and sour cream that comes with it is good but unnecessary. The chips were unevenly salted so some pieces were good and some were way too salty.
You can add a Ceasar or traditional salad to any entree for $5 which is a really good deal because you still get the full size. Lon got the Ceasar which is good but doesn't really taste like what Ceasar should taste like. I didn't taste any anchovy and the dressing is much lighter, closer to a vinaigrette.
Before we were done enjoying the dip and salad, the entrees came which was a little annoying because we had to shove everything aside to make room for my hickory burger and Lon's Cedar Plank Salmon (which was a special). The Hickory burger comes with Canadian bacon, bbq sauce, a pile of shredded cheddar, and some chopped onions, on a beautiful sesame bun. You can choose your side. Of course I got fries which were awesome! I ate mine and some of Lon's. =P The meat was cooked correctly and I did enjoy the burger but it didn't live up to my expectations. The pile of cheddar sitting on the top half of the bun was cold (straight out of the fridge) so I asked the waitress if she could melt it. She was happy to accommodate but when it came back, it was just one slice of melted cheese on my bun. What happened to my mound of cheese? That was really disappointing and when Lon asked the waitress what happened, she said that it was because the mound wouldn't have melted evenly. Being a culinary person and being able to see the salamander in their open kitchen, I'm not buying that excuse. We don't blame the waitress; we liked her a lot but I'm still kind of upset about my missing cheese even now, almost a day later. Aside from that, all that stuff on my burger didn't really add much. I didn't taste the Canadian bacon or much of the cheese, and the meat was too small to compete with the giant bun. They do give you a really good bbq sauce on the side and the fries help to compensate. Lon's salmon was cooked perfectly with a good mustard rub. Good but not amazing, but again the fries were so good!
I would definitely go back to Houston's because I like the atmosphere, service, and the seats. The prices vary drastically so I would go back to have any of their sides, appetizers, sandwiches, and salads but I don't think the entrees are worth it.
On our way home, we stumbled across an ice cream shop called La Salle. The guy behind the counter was really nice, generously offering samples of several different flavors of sorbets and ice creams. The sorbets are made with real fruit and the ice creams are super rich and flavorful. Lon was curious about the pretzel cone so we ordered one to share with dulce de leche ice cream. The sweet and salty balance was delicious. I didn't like eating the cone but loved licking the salt off the cone while eating the ice cream. We were too full to have more but we'll definately be going back there.
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