Kosher Food and Drink

I’ve been fortunate enough to take another trip to Houston, which as I’ve previously noted, has one of the more impressive kosher food scenes I’ve seen in a “smaller” Orthodox Jewish community. This was a great opportunity to get to visit a few of the establishments that I didn’t quite have time to get to the last time I was in town.

The subject of this review is Prime Grill and Bar (5621 Beechnut St Suite B, Houston, TX 77096; (281) 888-2890; no website; under HKA supervision; meat). Prime is located near the Meyerland part of the Jewish community in a shopping center. There’s plenty of parking.

Inside is an appealing “sports bar” style ambience, with an open kitchen, plenty of tables, a few booths, and a small bar area. There’s some music playing, and some TVs going. The coherent style and clean surroundings were really appreciated. This is definitely a place you could take business associates and not feel embarrassed about it.

We went when it first opened at noon, so we were the only ones there. The server quickly seated us, brought us some menus, and took our drinks requests (just water). The service was pretty good, on the whole; the server came back to touch base, make sure we had water, and otherwise make sure the experience was solid. (I did have to flag them down for a check, though.)

The menu is a mix of American and Mediterranean. While I am not a big fan of fusion menus, I will say that Prime seems to have pretty strong offerings on both sides of the coin; picking an entree was tough. I also noticed that they have a strong “party menu” of larger quantities at surprisingly reasonable prices.

My wife eventually elected for the brisket sandwich (new offering!) and onion rings; I opted for the schnitzel lunch special with the fries and the falafel balls.

I had a nibble of the brisket, and I thought it was very good. Very tender, and seasoned such that the taste of the brisket was center stage. The temptation to ruin pulled brisket with too much barbecue sauce was avoided, it seems. The onions were also cooked just right; that said, my wife didn’t pick up on any avocado flavors.

The schnitzel was fairly conventional (thin breading, fried crisp), but very crunchy. I picked up notes of a pickle brine, which was a nice touch, and distinguished it from some other schnitzels I’ve had.

On the sides front, the onion rings were crunchy, but in my opinion, under-seasoned. A little more salt would have gone a long way. I think this is a place where they would get a lot of bang for the buck with a small recipe tweak (assuming it wasn’t just a case of forgetting the salt).

The fries were something of a disappointment; a bit limp and not terribly distinguished. I give them credit for apparently making them in-house, and they’re not the first place I’ve run into who regards them as an after-thought. (Sometimes, store-bought is better if you’re not going to spend the time…)

The falafel balls were an unexpected treat. They were crispy, seasoned well, and had a really perfect texture. Admittedly, a good falafel ball is the sine qua non of a decent Mediterranean joint, but these were executed really well, and I might grab a falafel the next time I’m there.

I didn’t walk into Prime with high expectations, but I was very impressed when I walked out. The pricing and quantities were a good value, and the quality was higher than I expected. It was also just a really pleasant place to eat lunch. I think I’ll be back, and if you’re in Houston, I’d encourage you to give them a try.