Brennan's. Meh.

Finally getting around to my post on dinner at Brennan's.  Super famous and longstanding Houston tradition.  I had not been yet after 3 years here though. Everyone raves about it so I was fairly pumped about going.  That and free liquor.  What's not to like?  I'm thinking because this was a banquet menu and about 200 people were being served that some of the luster was missing from the food and service.  We got seated late thanks to a late dinner speaker and from there the service just fell off a cliff.  Everything was super slow and seemed sort of disorganized.

The menu started with turtle soup.  after you get your bowl they come around with sherry and give you a splash.  I couldn't tell that it added anything.  Bottom line, I wasn't real impressed with anything I ate so I think I need to go back in a non-banquet scenario and try again.  Everyone raves about the turtle soup.  It could have been anything.  I didn't really note anything that made it unique or special.  It was just kind of average spicy soup.  Sort of had a chicken tortilla edge to it.  Next was a salad.  it was fine. Had goat cheese which I am always in favor of.  ate all of that I think.  Entree choice was either a fish Pontchartrain or a beef tenderloin.  I went with the fish.  It was a serving of rice (which I wanted more of, it was good) topped by a slab of some white fish and a fried oyster, dollop of jumbo lump crab meat and a shrimp I think.  Small shrimp and over cooked.  But the crab and oyster were good.  It was in some spicy sauce that was not bad.  Dessert was Brennan's famous bananas foster.  So- yeah I'm not really a banana person. I have a very small and particular window for criteria that has to be fulfilled to eat a banana.  We didn't gt to see them make the dessert.  It was getting late so the servers just ran around throwing bowls in front of everyone.  Mine had a lot of sauce, ice cream and bananas that were too ripe for me (black along the middle which I don't do.  like at ALL) so I ate the ice cream and that was it.  Coffee was good.  Wine was good.  Speaker, also meh. He talked for an HOUR.  We didn't finish until nearly 10 at which point my bespoke office buddy and I jumped up, thanked our host and ran, RAN out of there.

 

This *really* did not photograph well

Since I didn't eat a typical dinner at the restaurant I will reserve a rating and recommendation or not until a future date.  For a banquet, however, I will give it a 3 on food.  Setting was nice.  I liked the place the food was just super underwhelming.  Really a bummer and not worth staying out late for (and then effectively ruining my entire week b/c I never got caught up on my sleep).