Yes I have, Rick76. I never got to the original location but always heard great things about it. I thought it was the best gumbo I’ve ever had tho it was surprisingly thin and watery. I had the seafood platter, which was way too much food for me. It’s one of the down home cajun places I was going to recommend to skinsfan.06 even tho its 35-40 minutes from downtown Houston.

Skinsfan – Floyd Landry and Bret Floyd were two of the original principals in Landry’s; the original group split up about 25 years ago and none of them have anything to do with Landry’s Inc, as I understand it. Floyd’s was originally on Durham, just north of Washington, on the near west side, about 2-3 miles from downtown Houston. They sold that to their employees a couple of years ago and its now known as Mardi Gras Cafe. If you use the search feature on b4-u-eat and enter floyd, it still pulls up the Mardi Gras. That’s the closest to downtown Houston ‘down-home’ cajun place I’ve been able to think of but I’ve never been.

I had a waiter trainee on my visit to Floyd’s in Webster and it took forever to get my food and I was getting rather agitated and thinking it was due to his incompetence, but reading the reviews on b4-u-eat, apparently that wait is characteristic of the place. I don’t think Floyd was there the day I stopped in.

Rick, since you’re from OH I guess there’s not much point in asking if you’ve been to Ragin’ Cajun or Big Woodrow’s? How about any of your friends?

Oltheimmer,

Have you tried Floyd’s Cajun Boat (I am not entirely sure of the name) off of I-45 South at NASA Rd 1. The restuarant does look like a boat, but the food is very good. Floyd is usually wandering around talking to everyone waiting for a table. I know several Louisiana transplants who enjoy going there.

Rick

Both my wife and I have had BBQ all over TX and all over the US and of course there are some amazing places everywhere (there are also some dumps too). But the singe best BBQ we’ve ever had is William’s Smokehouse in Houston. WOW!! What an amazing experience. Super nice folks too!

quote:

Originally posted by skinsfan.06

Hey guys, new to the forum. In any event, I am going to HOUSTON in the fall for an NFL football game and was wondering….where should I go to get the "authentic" TEXAS BBQ (not this commercial restaurant chain stuff). I don’t care if it is a whole in the wall, as long as I can get some good QUE. What is the best BBQ in the Houston area. I will be staying near downtown. I also heard that there is a good Cajun/Creole restaurant there called "Papadeaux". Has anyone been there? I know, my trip is several months away, but I wanted to get some info. early. Thanks in advance. [;)]

A few thoughts on Cajun/Creole.

I was looking at the categories on b4-u-eat and saw Treebeard s downtown. http://www.treebeards.com/ I ve heard of these places for years but never been so can t make a recommendation. I think it s pretty pricey.

Brennan s of Houston http://www.brennanshouston.com/ is owned by the same family that owns Commander s Palace in New Orleans. This would be a short cab ride from downtown. I used to go occasionally, mostly on the company dollar, but haven t been in many years. I m sure it s still one of the finest dining options in Houston. Very, very expensive.

I see Goode Co. Texas Seafood is listed as Cajun. I wonder why they call it Texas Seafood [?] I think of it as more southwestern than Cajun and have liked everything I ve ever had there. http://www.goodecompany.com/goodeRestaurant.aspx This is one of my favorite seafood places but it s slipped beneath my radar and I haven t been in a few years. All the Goode Co. Restaurants are kind of pricey. It s not a coincidence they are all located convenient to some of the priciest enclaves in Houston, River Oaks, West U, the Memorial Villages.

I m working on some other Cajun/Creole recommendations that are more down-on-the-bayou plus bbq. There s one place I ve been wanting to try for years but never gotten around to, Big Woodrow s on Chimney Rock, just a block or so from Magnolia. I ll try to get over there and report back.

Skinsfan – I noticed the Treebeard’s website calls it southern but I’ve always heard it was cajun; the menu lists several cajun dishes; however, note the hours, this is a downtown lunch spot during the week only, the reason I’ve never been there and you won’t be able to unless you’re in town on Friday or Monday. Forget the comment about priciness — I had gotten it mixed up in my memory with Trulucks Stone Crab.

I think Papadeaux is pretty damned good. I quit going there, but only because I found a great hole-in-the-wall Cajun seafood place that was closer and much cheaper. It is called Cajun Town Cafe. They have outstanding grilled fish with a choice of sauces. The fried shrimp and oysters are wonderful as is the fried catfish.

There is a location at Little York at Bingle, and another one at Greens off I-45 (near Bush Airport), but I have not been to the one at the Greens location.

You might also consider Williams Smokehouse. I am not sure if it is reviewed here or in the latest edition of Roadfood.

quote:

Originally posted by skinsfan.06

I also heard that there is a good Cajun/Creole restaurant there called "Papadeaux". Has anyone been there?

As you may already have noticed, you’ll get varying opinions on Pappadeaux on this website, especially since it is a chain.
Some, like me, love the place and others have said that they have been disapointed with their meals there.

http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=5373 http://www.roadfood.com/Forums/topic.asp?TOPIC_ID=3563 .

Nevertheless, it’s one of my favorite places to eat. Although they’re aren’t any in the Washington, DC area (where I also live), there is one in Albuquerque, which I travel to often for my job. I usually have one meal at Pappadeaux on each trip (along with visits to the Frontier, the 66 Diner, the Bobcat Bite on the outskirts of Santa Fe, and other roadfood places). The place is pricey (for a three-course meal with taxes and tip, one person can easily spend 40-50 bucks), but the portions are huge and the seafood is flown in fresh daily. Because the portions are so large (and to save a few bucks), instead of ordering an appetizer and a main course, I will generally order two appetizers, usually the Oysters Pappadeaux and the crabcakes. The Oysters Pappadeaux are steamed oysters served on the half-shell and covered by spinach, crabmeat and hollandaise sauce, and they are fabulous. The crabcakes are also delicious, and I know crabcakes, being from the Chesapeake Bay area. If you go, try to save room for dessert, too. My favorite is the sweet potato pecan pie a-la-mode, which is every bit as rich and decadent as it sounds.

http://www.pappadeaux.com/

Oh, and by the way . . . GO ‘SKINS!

Another vote for Goode Company.

I agree about Goode & Co. The duck is great. Asked for slaw on a pork sandwich one time and was told I was the first to ever ask for that…standard in NC BTW.

Ott’s is another place I would recommend. Their bbq sauage is out of this world. Ott’s is the Bush family fav and pictures abound.

I found the Luling outlet on Richmond to be very overrated. I thought that the brisket was tough, but the ribs were excellent. My understanding is that this location is a shadow of the original City Market in Luling. I will try to make it there during my next visit to Central Texas to compare.

I liked Goode Co. It hardly seemed touristy to me….most of the folks that were there when I was there were dressed in business attire — seemed to attract quite a local lunch following from that set.

I know that the sample size is small — just one meal at each, but my recommendation would be Goode Co. over Luling City Market in Houston.

Tourists go to Goode Company even though it is good. Best BBQ is Luling City on Richmond. It also has a clone (the guy used to run Luling but wanted his own place) on Eldridge near Memorial in a strip center called Houston BBQ Co. I will admit that the Chopped Beef (blocked chopped, not the bad stuff) Sandwich on Jalapeno Cheesebread at Goode’s is one of the best but for Ribs, Brisket and Sausage go to Luling or Houston BBQ Co.

I second the Magnolia Grill rec. Their duck special was very good.