editor Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 There's a new(ish) place to eat downtown: Louis' Deli on San Jacinto between Prairie and Preston. The place is a bit divey, but in a good way. The people who run it are super duper nice, and eager to please; something that seems to be in short supply post-COVID. Or maybe it was just my bad luck going to this nice place straight from Campesino Coffee, where the barista I always get could not care less about whether the customers lived or died, or even existed. I've had nicer customer service from both the I.R.S. and the D.M.V. Back to Louis place: "Deli" is in the name, but it's more like a cross between a hamburger stand and a diner. A small diner, since there's only three tables. But most customers seem to get their food to go. I stayed for my cheeseburger. Pretty generous, considering the price. That's a $25 hamburger down the street at the Nash, but at Louis', it's $10 flat. And unlike the place down the street, it comes with a smile from someone who remembers that this is supposed to be the "hospitality" industry. Also, Louis' will deliver, while the Nash tells me it doesn't have the staff to even deliver inside its own building anymore. The meat is seasoned well, which is another thing that's becoming rare, and it's all served very very hot. Have you ever noticed that food in England is served at a much higher temperature than here? It's like that. I'll definitely go again. Nice people, good food. And lots of things on the menu I'd like to try. Here's the menu posted in the window: It's just good, basic food done well, and served with a smile. It seems like 90% of the new restaurants in Houston are trying to be theme parks, rather than restaurants; more interested in social media thumbs than in actually serving a meal. The guy who runs the place says it's been open since mid-February. I hope it stays open for a long time. I know I'll do my bit to help it out. If you ever see an elderly fat guy with a bucket hat at the corner table, say hi. 2 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
004n063 Posted April 6 Share Posted April 6 Was this formerly Louis' Lunch or something? 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
editor Posted April 6 Author Share Posted April 6 56 minutes ago, 004n063 said: Was this formerly Louis' Lunch or something? Dunno. The layout inside makes it look like it used to be a Mexican restaurant. (Lots of brick arches and such.) Google's Street View from October, 2022: March, 2021: The pictures show it vacant from June of 2016 to January of 2020. Since the people running it now say they just opened in February, they must have chosen to keep the name. The older Street View pictures make it look pretty uninviting. At least in 2011 there were stools at the outside service counter. 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Specwriter Posted April 7 Share Posted April 7 This old, fat guy will have to try out Louis'. My hat looks like the one Greg Norman frequently wore on the golf course though. As far as "uninviting" goes, this may not be a bad thing. 🙂 I'm always looking for establishments that serve great food but are not too crowded; busy enough to stay in business but not to the point of compromising the quality of the food and service. 4 1 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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