Shamrock Inn
I stumbled into this strip-mall Irish pub for Guinness and thought a brief word was warranted.
This is a congenial hole-in-the-wall place once you get inside (doesn't look much from the outside). The very nice bar and fixtures apparently transplanted from the old closed Shamrock Hilton. This includes some old china and even an old gravy boat with "SH" stenciled on it.
I noticed a pretty good order of food come out and the menu looked a bit above average. (Standard stuff but with a few Mexican touches like Tilapia Veracruz.) The chef peered out of a serving hatch looking like he wanted something to do. A lady said "this has the best burger in town, he grinds his own meat daily." That got my interest as did "the Mozzarella sticks are not frozen, he cuts them off a big block of cheese to order." A chef with a dash of mania on a mission: good to hear.
I decided to order 4 different fried appetizers. catfish, zucchini, mozzarella stick and onion rings. what came was a mammoth portion and I have to say very good. The marinara sauce was surely home-made. I tasted a tad of peppers in there (the Mexican touch). Fresh cilantro. The standout was not the cheese but the zucchini (a freshly cut and battered quarter section still al dente). Nothing like the standard ZS. And the catfish. This was not frozen I think. Too juicy for that. Very tasty.
Unfortunately their Guinness tasted like line-cleaner for the first 2 pints and not that great after that. But this is a rather nice little neighborhood bar. I did pick up on subliminal "chatter" that some vast change had just occurred (perhaps a long-time bartender leaving) which had the regulars skittish.
I think it would be worth checking out the food here. Standard but very tautly executed and a few surprises on the menu (a pretty good-looking cheese steak) and had I had more appetite I would have tried more of the fish like the tilapia. That juicy (humble) catfish tender was superb.
Interesting find. A bit of history and chef-mania. Which I like.
bb.
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Shamrock Inn
9161 S Gessner Dr, Houston, TX 77074
