Houston's: Despite the hugeness of the restaurant, the bar feels crowded at this dark, leathery after-work cavern for suits and their dates. The circular bar near the entrance lacks any sense of intimacy or leisure as the numbing chorus of business-types chortling at their own brilliance sabotages conversation; in fact, that’s the number-one reason to avoid this giant yet empty-feeling establishment. The surf and turf food is fine but overpriced, a facsimile of the fare at every after-work schmoozefest for the neighborhood’s office-choked maw. (The house spinach dip and chips is a really nice surprise.) There’s nothing terrible about Houston’s per se—it’s just not the kind of place that anyone without a tie, an MBA, and a soul-sucking job would want to patronize. Think Denny’s for yuppies. |
