Historic Houston Restaurants

[dmil]

I ate at several of the Hamburgers by Gourmet locations. Hillcroft, Montrose, back side of Foley's garage on Milam, and Kirby. Two re-launches were tried after the originals closed. One in a house on Park Place Blvd. east of Reveille and also on NASA Rd.1 in Clear Lake City. They were flame-broiled and my usual was the one with BBQ sauce.

[mkultra25]

On 5/17/2018 at 10:40 AM, uncsig said:

Cortes Deli--Started out on Alabama in a strip center off of Revere. Opened a second location in the "jinxed" location further east on Alabama across from the Menil parking lot (Jenny's Hideaway, Michaeline's, etc.). Then moved to corner of Feagan and Shepherd closing about a dozen years ago. I would kill to be able to eat their migas again.

 

Cortes Deli is certainly sorely missed by everyone who ever ate there. But what really caught my attention was your mention of Jenny's Hideaway, a place that had somehow been almost completely erased from my memory despite having patronized it on occasion in the mid-80s while living just down the street in an old bungalow on Graustark.

[Subdude]

On 5/17/2018 at 7:03 PM, brucesw said:

Wow.  No mention of HBG????  I know it's been talked about several times here on HAIF and last year there was a thread about an attempt to revive the chain down in Clear Lake.  (There's a similar thread to this one in the Dining, Shopping and Entertainment forum, too).

 

The HBG on Kirby (where Castle Dental is now) was the second restaurant I went to when I first arrived in Houston in Sept 1970.  I was hooked immediately.  I think it may have been the original location/first one.  All my new co-workers raved about it.  The one on Yoakum was one of the last ones.  I started work in Montrose in '83 and worked in that neighborhood thru early '95.  I went to HBG on Yoakum often for lunch when i got off.  I can't remember when it was torn down but I know I missed it.

 

We used to go to that location a lot.  I still remember that my go-to order there was the Jalapeno Burger.  

[Libbie]

On 2/22/2018 at 11:08 PM, EspersonBuildings said:

I apologize if I've responded to this in the past (or maybe I just read it a while back).  LC Cafeteria was under Walgreen's on Main @ Walker, not Woolworth's (Main & McKinney)  You could enter from the front entrance on Main @ Walker via an escalator (right next to the entrance to Walgreen's) or from the back entrance on Travis @ Walker (right next to the back entrance to Walgreen's).  It was huge, occupied the entire side (the basement) of the southern half of the block (Walker, Travis, Rusk & Main) directly under Walgreen's.  I came back to Houston in 1998 (gone for 15 years) and by this time it was an all you can eat buffet but only occupied the western half of the original LC Cafeteria, you could now only enter and exit at Walker and Travis.  Don't think it lasted very long after this and years later the entire San Jacinto Building was demolished.  Across the street on Main was James Coney Island, so many eating places on street level in those days!

I remember the L&C. From 1950 or before till some time in the '70s, every Tuesday night the Scribblers Club met there. That was a group of amateur and published writers, including Hughie Call (some old-timers or old-book lovers may have read her). I started going with my mother in the early '60s when I was in junior high. I remember the food as being very good, as well as the novelty of entering a restaurant from a down-escalator, right outside in the open!

[mkultra25]

This new book will likely be of interest to anyone who's reading this topic:

 

New book remembers Houston’s lost restaurants with history, recipes

 

There's a pretty substantial chunk of the book available via the "Look Inside" preview at Amazon, which (to me) made it seem quite a bit more interesting than the solitary lukewarm review that's posted there might otherwise indicate:

 

Lost Restaurants of Houston (American Palate)

[Susan T]

On August 5, 2005 at 2:39 PM, MidtownCoog said:

Weinenschitzel?

They still have those in Flagstaff.

They are building one in New Caney!!

[Susan T]

On August 5, 2005 at 2:39 PM, MidtownCoog said:

Weinenschitzel?

They still have those in Flagstaff.

They are building one in New Caney!!

[Lucian]

 

 Balinese Room    Blue Moon Café,  South Main  crazy good stuffed shrimp        Safari …..   all the small Mom & Pop Cafes & roadside Bar B Q           Ravin Cajun               La Fonda Mexican     Skippy's    Kemah,  Seabrook,  Galveston seafood spots  ……. L

Edited August 14, 2018 by Lucian
pic,menu

[Reefmonkey]

On 12/5/2017 at 6:28 PM, IronTiger said:

That sounds like it might be a liability. Then again, I've heard stories of all sorts of strange restaurants with concepts that wouldn't fly today (and dubious back then).

The Trail Dust was a chain and that was their much-advertised gimmick. Up until a few years ago, there was still one up in Dallas, still cutting off ties. There were several restaurant chains and independents that had this gimmick at one time.

[Subdude]

13 hours ago, UtterlyUrban said:

Back on page 25 of this thread, Cattle Guard Bar is mentioned.  I went there once probably in 1989-1991-ish.  I seem to recal it was on Grey.  Anyone remember?  Google doesn’t seem to be my friend.

 

 

 

I remember the Cattle Guard well.  It was at 2800 Milam.  The place was extremely popular for a short time in the time frame you mention.  

[UtterlyUrban]

8 hours ago, Subdude said:

 

I remember the Cattle Guard well.  It was at 2800 Milam.  The place was extremely popular for a short time in the time frame you mention.  

Thank you very much!   I just streetviewed that address.  It doesn’t look at all like I remember.  I am NOT suggesting you are wrong.  Rather, what I have in my mind looks nothing like those buildings.  I guess that the cattle guard building might have been razed?   

 

Do you recall that as you as you entered the parking lot of the place, that there was an actual cattle guard in the ground that you needed to drive over?  Or, am I just making this all up from some miserable whiskey dream that I had?

[JoJo]

I miss Vargo's and Momma's Café on Westheimer.

Edited November 6, 2018 by JoJo

[Sharon]

On 10/12/2005 at 7:15 AM, EastEnd Susan said:

Oh man! Roast Beef Dip sandwiches at Fat Ernies. The 

 

[cdenker]

This was in the semi-recent past, within last 10-20 years or so.  There was an Italian/Pizza place either on Westheimer or possibly Memorial, probably just outside of the Beltway (Energy Corridor).  I remember they had a collection of basketball player's shoes.  The big shoes, incredible sizes.  They had many dozens of these shoes displayed on the walls of the restaurant, along with pictures of the players.  The pizza was forgettable, but not the shoes.  Does any one remember the name of the place?  It might still be there, but I doubt it...

[Reefmonkey]

30 minutes ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

I'm copying this here from a post a saw on Facebook on Wienerschitznel restaurants that were open in Houston. When the chain was in Houston in the 1960's through the 1990's, their name was Der Wienerschitznel before the name changed to Wienerschitznel.

For some reason or another (I'm going to point to news reporters and journalists who aren't doing their job well, are lazy, or aren't from Houston so they only went by a press release sent to them from the franchisee bringing Wienerschitznel back to Houston), news stations and articles in Houston Chronicle, Community Impact, Houston Business Journal, and Houstonia magazine are reporting Wienerschitznel is new to Houston. That's not the case as many of us old-timers from Houston know.

Wienerschitznel has returned to Houston, opening one of many locations that will serve hot dogs in Houston. The first of these is in New Caney and that location opened Saturday.

This is a partial list of Wienerschitznel restaurants that were open in Houston.
 

Der Wienerschnitzel (Baytown) 1201 N Alexander
Der Wienerschnitzel (Galveston) 712 Seawall Blvd)
Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 1818 N Shepherd Dr 
Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 2014 Gessner Rd 
Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 9019 Jensen Dr 
Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 1303 Westheimer Rd
Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 7535 Bellfort Ave 
Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 2230 Wirt Rd
Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 5850 Hwy 6 N 
Der Wienerschnitzel (Pasadena) 901 E Southmore Ave
Der Wienerschnitzel (Pinehurst) 2420 Mac Arthur

 

Also there's this from an University of Houston yearbook in the 60's showing these locations
 

4510 Almeda (Houston)
3716 Farnham (Houston)
4914 Griggs Rd (Houston)
7801 Hillcroft (Houston) 
8117 Long Point Rd (Houston) 
7018 South Park Blvd (before it was renamed to Martin Luther King Jr Blvd) (Houston)

 

https://digital.lib.uh.edu/collection/yearb/item/18466/show/18435

 

 

Never eaten at one, how do they measure up to James Coney Island?

[skwatra]

4 hours ago, CrockpotandGravel said:

Der Wienerschnitzel (Houston) 1303 Westheimer Rd

That was the Doc's location and I thought that salad place was going there? This article is from December so maybe things have changed, i haven't been by in a while...

https://houston.eater.com/2018/12/19/18148653/sweetgreen-salads-bowls-montrose-houston

 

Edit: I misread Crockpot's post, and thought the list of "previous locations" were all new upcoming locations! Disregard the Doc's/Sweetgreen comment...

Edited May 29, 2019 by skwatra
misinformation

[chrispy]

I’ve eaten at the Wienerschnitzel in College Station and it was terrible. My mother in law lives in New Caney so I pass the new one twice a week. Haven’t been tempted to try it but it has some large crowds checking the new place out. 

As for defunct Houston restaurants: I miss Fiesta Loma Linda and the JCI at Woodridge/Gulf Fwy. Yes, I could drive to the nearest one off I-10 or even Shepherd but that’s not the point. I miss the specific one right by my house. That place was my first job back in 1994 to 1996. 

[mkultra25]

I thought there were more locations still in operation on the west coast, but apparently not. Former patrons of the Galleria location who remember it fondly may shed a tear:

 

https://www.vcstar.com/story/money/business/2019/06/13/worlds-last-farrells-ice-cream-parlour-closes/1438921001/

[hindesky]

On 5/29/2019 at 10:32 AM, Reefmonkey said:

Never eaten at one, how do they measure up to James Coney Island?

I lived in Pasadena and remember the E. Southmore one, recall eating at it a couple of times but that was in the '78 - early '80's. Can't compare the taste. The thing that bothers me about the JCI buildings is their building's design looks like they're closed, at least the S.Shephard one and the now closed one on IH 45 S.

[cspwal]

I just stumbled across a House of Pies on 45 south

https://www.google.com/maps/place/House+of+Pies/@29.6146063,-95.2187061,18.08z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x864099e7aefef195:0x34f8715554b01f0!8m2!3d29.6147289!4d-95.2183624

 

I thought the only two left were on Westheimer?  Is this one part of the remaining chain, or is it a separate former franchise?

[IronTiger]

3 minutes ago, cspwal said:

I just stumbled across a House of Pies on 45 south

https://www.google.com/maps/place/House+of+Pies/@29.6146063,-95.2187061,18.08z/data=!4m5!3m4!1s0x864099e7aefef195:0x34f8715554b01f0!8m2!3d29.6147289!4d-95.2183624

 

I thought the only two left were on Westheimer?  Is this one part of the remaining chain, or is it a separate former franchise?

It used to be part of a larger chain but they started expanding locally in the last few years. For example, a location opened in The Woodlands in a former Black Eyed Pea.

 

By the way, in terms of Wienerschnitzel, there is a separate topic:

 

[Sharon]

On 5/17/2018 at 10:40 AM, uncsig said:

Cortes Deli--Started out on Alabama in a strip center off of Revere. Opened a second location in the "jinxed" location further east on Alabama across from the Menil parking lot (Jenny's Hideaway, Michaeline's, etc.). Then moved to corner of Feagan and Shepherd closing about a dozen years ago. I would kill to be able to eat their migas again.

Shakey's--I've seen a lot of references to pizza places, but don't think I've seen this one mentioned.

The Anchorage--best seafood restaurant in town in the 1970s. Located adjacent to what was the Hilton on 610 at TC Jester. Simply spectacular fried shrimp and fresh seafood flown in from all over the country.

Rainbo Bakery at Astroworld--Mini loaves. Enough said.

Western Kitchen--BBQ at the corner of Greenbriar and Richmond 

Burgerville#2--Times and Kelvin. Had totally forgotten about that one until I was almost through with this list.

And would second the mentions of the Green Parrot, Hebert's Ritz, Kaphan's and Sonny Look's.

We never left Astroworld without one of those mini-loaves of bread!!!

[Sharon]

Someone said Velvet Turtle?  I worked there in 81. I don't think I've ever seen a place quite like it to this day. The chilled bowls in ice for gazpacho and cucumber soup, the presentation of chilled salad forks at the tables, and tableside tossed salad in green goddess dressing, and I have never had anyone remove the shell from a lobster tail like we did there. But let me tell you, the managers were a unique kind of crazy!  I remember an older lady, head waitress named BJ with the old fashioned hair "do" sitting on the end barstool drinking till she slurred her words. And Gordon was the very flamboyant bartender/manager he was hilarious and fun, but pretty strict.  And Marvin Ziegler saw a mouse in the kitchen but didn't even care because he enjoyed dinner so much. Wait.... I may have mentioned that before. If so, sorry. Fun times there!

Edited June 17, 2019 by Sharon

[Robert47]

I really miss Leo’s Mexican Restaurant, originally on Shepherd for many decades, in its final years it relocated to Washington Ave.

[L_Dean]

On 8/8/2011 at 9:42 AM, blueskyseattle said:

I happened upon your post as I was searching to see if there were any old pictures posted of the Del Rio Inn in Houston. Lena Murrel was my Aunt and she owned the Del Rio Inn and ran it until the early 70's until her brother Joe took over. I finally closed in 1975. Lena was murdered in Conroe that same year.

It made me smile to know someone still remembered her. She was a character for sure. I attached a picture of her and Mae Ethel ( her long time friend and employee)The baby is my son born in 1970. The picture was taken in the kitchen of the Del Rio Inn. I was living with her in Conroe when he was born, My husband was in the Air Force and I'll never forget that harried ride to the hospital in Houston. We had to go to Jacinto City but because she didn't want to go alone we made a detour to pick up her friend at the Del Rio Inn. she was so scared I was going to give birth in the back of her new Cadillac!

She was an angel here on earth.

My first job was working at the Del Rio Inn as a busboy around 1972 or 1973. Then I was a dishwasher, then the steam table. I worked there when Joe took the place over. My grandmother, Ruth, was a waitress there for many years and I was in and out of that restaurant from the time I was a young kid. I knew both Lena Murrel and her ex-husband, OC Murrel. Funny to run across this post after all these years. There were some fun characters that worked in that place. 

[mkultra25]

5 hours ago, Robert47 said:

I really miss Leo’s Mexican Restaurant, originally on Shepherd for many decades, in its final years it relocated to Washington Ave.

 

[Robert47]

Oh, man - Southern Select beer!  That really brings back memories.  Both my grandfather and father worked at the Southern Select brewery in Galveston.

[cdenker]

On 4/6/2016 at 2:24 PM, Zenjive said:

Does anyone remember El Yucatan on Hwy 6, about a block or two south of I-10? It was just south of Grisby on the west side of 6. It closed around 2002-2004.

They had hundreds of photos of Pancho Villa on the walls. Tucked away on one of these walls was a small print of what looked like somebody in a panda suit "wrestling" with a nun in a sort of nature scene. It was quite magnificent!

I really wish I had a camera phone back then, because I have yet to find this image anywhere on the internet.

Yeah I do remember that place.  Used to eat there in the late '90s.  Since that whole area was torn down, it's hard to remember what it even looked like.  Don't remember the picture, though.  

[mollusk]

The picture was taken at Leo's, and takes up the entire inner gate fold of ZZ Top's Tres Hombres album.

 

I would occasionally look at it, drool, and whimper while in college in a foreign state.

 

Edit:  There is one big inaccuracy, though... the beer is in a tall glass and has a head on it.  In reality they gave you a short water glass that couldn't build a head for God or green stamps.  Lord knows we tried.  Still stayed cold and tasted good, though.

Edited June 26, 2019 by mollusk

[mkultra25]

On 6/26/2019 at 10:59 AM, mollusk said:

The picture was taken at Leo's, and takes up the entire inner gate fold of ZZ Top's Tres Hombres album.

 

I would occasionally look at it, drool, and whimper while in college in a foreign state.

 

Edit:  There is one big inaccuracy, though... the beer is in a tall glass and has a head on it.  In reality they gave you a short water glass that couldn't build a head for God or green stamps.  Lord knows we tried.  Still stayed cold and tasted good, though.

 

I may have mentioned this here before, but several years ago Austin barbecue purveyor Tom Micklethwait made a film documenting his recreation and subsequent consumption of the meal in the photo. Texas Monthly ran an interview with Billy Gibbons discussing the film that also contained some great behind-the-scenes anecdotes of what went into capturing the original gatefold photo:

 

https://www.texasmonthly.com/the-daily-post/381129/