Go Fish Galvez

Okay, okay, it wasn’t that bad.

In fact, one of the dishes we ordered, the Shrimp Scampi, was actually quite good—eight, count ‘em, eight! Jumbo Gulf shrimp sautéed in olive oil, white wine, shallots, garlic, and fresh herbs, served atop angel hair pasta in a creamy, garlic butter sauce and topped with parmesan cheese. What’s not to like?

Except for the fact that …

Fisherman's Wharf

• we were first seated at a table by a window with a nice view of the harbor, only to find the blinds drawn against a glaring setting sun,
• in the stiflingly hot, extremely loud (thanks to several large, probably inebriated groups) Elissa Room Read the rest of this entry »

Slightly embarrassed (not really) but undeterred, my little foodie warriors and I so craved more of the Oyster Bar Trash and Shrimp Cabo appetizers at Willie G’s that we decided to make a return trip two days later.

Maceo spices

This time our salivary glands were really working overtime so we decided to enlarge the line-up slightly by ordering the dinner-sized version of the Shrimp Cabo and adding one more hot appetizer of fried calamari and a fresh house salad.

The two known quantities easily lived up to our lofty expectations, and the fried calamari—so fresh, crispy, and delicious—was to die for. When we were all done, the plates Read the rest of this entry »

It all started as a single-minded quest for grouper.

Search for a Living Fossil

Actually, this whole short saga reminds me of a book I once read in elementary school called Search for a Living Fossil, a story about the discovery in 1938 of an ancient fish, thought to be long extinct, that just happened to turn up one day in a fisherman’s boat somewhere off the east coast of Africa.

The name of the fish in question was—is—a coelacanth, an intimidating handle for even the bravest adult, much less the child of eleven I was at the time. Ever the pragmatist, I quickly opted to throw in the towel on this linguistic challenge and select a simple pronunciation reasonable to me—”KO-luh-kanth.” Read the rest of this entry »

OMG (as we say so succinctly in Internet-speak)! Or, better yet, how about a good old-fashioned WOW!

Willie G's bar seating

If you happen to be in the vicinity of the Strand and find yourself in the mood for a light yet sumptuous dinner, there’s only one place to go: Willie G’s at Pier 21 on the old downtown Galveston waterfront.

And while I’m at it, let me make this really simple for you and tell you exactly what to order. Got a pencil? Good! Here we go:

First, a nice bottle of wine. Get off on the right foot. Don’t be silly and waste time poring over the wine list. Read the rest of this entry »

That would be me. (Had you fooled, didn’t I, with the raggedy old blue work shirt, denim peddle pushers [Google it, young'uns], crew socks, and cheap Target athletic shoes? Ha!)

Trube House with corner entrance

But it’s not the tricks I’m interested in; it’s the Trube.

And that would be Trube as in Trube House, at 1627 Sealy Avenue, that glorious Gothic Revival built by Alfred Muller in 1890 for John Clement Trube and just one among the many countless architectural treasures that abound throughout Galveston.

They are everywhere, grand and modest, restored and disintegrating, fanciful and plain. These homes fascinate me endlessly and make walking the streets of this sublimely interesting old burg Read the rest of this entry »

Speaking for all civic-minded Galvestonians (and who better than me, I ask you), I demand an answer forthwith on the resolution of this blight upon our seawall.

Flagging ship

Or, put another way, where’s the money, Fertitta?

I’ve not seen a single article in the paper about this issue since the last one months ago stating that Mr. Fertitta was going to roll his considerable capital resources into fixing up this listing old hulk, turning the entire pier into a quasi-amusement park (as is his P.T. Barnum wont), and in general removing an ugly reminder of a storm everybody would like to forget. Great idea (I was going to say “capital idea” but that would have been too punnish). Heck, if I had the cash, I’d do it myself. Read the rest of this entry »