Well, I was able to do two out of the three planned outings for this On the Menu.
The meetup with my childhood friends got rescheduled (fingers crossed it is included next column), but I was able to have lunch with my mom and dinner with my friend visiting from New York.
This time around, I visited a recommended steakhouse, tried a 2-year-old chicken spot and finally got to pig out on some sushi.
Is there a place you think I should try? Send a suggestion to john.oliva@caller.com.
Ol’ Steakhouse Co.
4307 Avalon St.
I know I’ve eaten at Ol’ Steakhouse Co. at least two times before visiting on July 14 — once for my grandma’s birthday probably 16 years ago and again last year when my in-laws were visiting.
Back in May, I mentioned how sad I was that Nolan’s didn’t have meatloaf permanently on its menu. I received an email from a reader recommending I visit Ol’ Steakhouse to try its meatloaf. But I forgot it was a daily special and only available on Thursdays — I went on a Tuesday.
It’s fine; I survived, don’t worry.
I met up with my mom on my lunch break to dine at the steakhouse near Antique Row.
We were greeted shortly after coming in and sat in the middle of the restaurant. Several people were enjoying their lunch as we looked over the menu.
My eyes immediately went to chicken fettuccine, but I had to remind myself I’ve already given critiques about that pasta twice and should try something else. Also, my mom was paying so I decided to splurge and try the gorgonzola salmon. She ordered the daily special — beef tips and rice.
I’m sure you’re thinking, “Why didn’t you order a steak at a steakhouse?” Well, I don’t care much for steaks. I’ll eat them, but it’s not the first thing I look for on a menu. I don’t enjoy the fat or tendons.
While we waited on our food, we talked about work, family and a vacation I’m taking in a couple of months. We also talked about the atmosphere inside. The music was a nice, low volume, and it was busy for lunchtime; every server seemed to be touching tables every second.
Our food came out and I wasn’t sure what to expect from the gorgonzola salmon. I had to Google what gorgonzola butter was, and learned that gorgonzola is a type of blue cheese. I’ve had blue cheese crumbles here and there, so I figured it would be a fun taste.
The taste wasn’t so much fun as it was different. It was very distinct. When I eat salmon, I usually have it seasoned with a garlic pesto, so a blue cheese flavor was odd. I’m trying my best to describe it, but it’s hard to pinpoint the words. It tasted sharp and earthy.
I ate it all, but I don’t think I would order the gorgonzola salmon again as the taste threw me off.
My mom was served a Crock-Pot of beef tip stew. That thing was huge. We both knew she wouldn’t finish it, but my stepdad and younger brother would gladly when she took it home.
She felt her meal was lackluster. She said she wanted to try something new but felt she could’ve easily made it at home, just seasoned better.
My mom paid for the meal, which was $50.02. She tipped $10.
I wouldn’t mind visiting Ol’ Steakhouse again, just hopefully on a Thursday to finally try that meatloaf.
Birdies Wings and Bar
7514 S. Padre Island Drive
My husband’s friend told him to check out Birdies Wings and Bar, and since he loves chicken strips so much, we decided to visit it.
Similar to my critiques on pasta, I’ve reviewed chicken strips quite a few times. So, I knew I wanted to pick something different.
We made our way to Birdies on July 15 for an early dinner. When we walked in, a host greeted us and sat us at a table in a corner. The music was nice, there were quite a few people inside and the FIFA World Cup semifinals were playing on multiple TVs.
I skimmed over the menu and figured I would get a grilled chicken sandwich, but then I saw a chicken and waffles plate. I’ve only ever had chicken and waffles once, and that was visiting my in-laws in Pearland. There’s a brunch spot near their house and we decided to try it out one day. It wasn’t the best, and it was ridiculously overpriced.
I decided to give it another go and ordered it. My husband got a four-piece chicken tender basket.
Our food was brought out about 10 minutes later, and it smelled delicious.
When I first tried chicken and waffles, I just poured the maple syrup on both and ate them together. I tried that again, and it tasted just OK. But I tried dipping the chicken strip in ranch and picking up a syrup-covered piece of waffle to try together, and my mind was blown.
It was a mixture of sweet and tangy, which equaled decadence in my eyes. It was so delicious that I’m getting hungry again just thinking about that plate. My husband enjoyed his food as well; he just felt the honey mustard was too mustardy.
Our meals came out to be $33.52 and we tipped $10.
As we finished our food, we were already planning on our next visit. I will be ordering the chicken and waffles again for sure.
Umiya
4101 S. Padre Island Drive
The only sushi I’ve ever eaten are California and Philadelphia rolls, because those are the main ones they have at H-E-B. But I’ve always enjoyed them.
My husband on the other hand doesn’t care for sushi, so I haven’t been able to explore other rolls and try new sushi.
One of my best friends moved to New York City last year and she was down in Corpus Christi this month, so we were able to spend time together. After sipping some coffee at Adelpho’s downtown and spending hours in Half Price Books with our other friend, we decided to go eat dinner at Umiya on July 16.
We all drove ourselves to the restaurant, and we all quickly found out how packed it can get because the parking lot was stuffed. Two of us had to park at the old La Playa while the third parked in an alley behind Umiya.
To our surprise, we were sat immediately at a booth. We all decided to get the all-you-can-eat dinner and waited for our server to take our order.
Now, we were sat right away, which was great, but it took at least 20 minutes for our first order to come out, which just consisted of appetizers. For each roll afterward, it took some time also. I do realize it was busy, but we saw other tables getting their food more quickly than ours. The server would swing by to apologize for the wait, as did a manager (twice), but it did irk us a tad.
I started off with crab puffs and had six different rolls during our dinner: a Momo roll, a crunchy spider roll, a Harbor Bridge roll, a Padre Island roll, a Mango Delight roll and a Hawaii roll. All were delicious, but my favorites were the Momo and Hawaii rolls. They stood out in taste and texture.
The former came with kani tempura, mango, avocado, snow crab, eel sauce and yummy sauce. The latter had shrimp tempura, avocado, cream cheese, kani, crunch, masago and eel sauce.
I was tempted to get some dessert, but I had to force myself to finish my last sushi roll. My meal came out to $37.02 and I tipped $10.
Both of my friends enjoyed their sushi as well, and we all said we’d come again — just at a slower time to avoid waiting on our food.
John Oliva covers entertainment and community news in South Texas. Have a story idea? Contact him at john.oliva@caller.com.
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This article originally appeared on Corpus Christi Caller Times: Tangy and sweet flavors at Birdies Wings and Bar | On the Menu
Reporting by John Oliva, Corpus Christi Caller Times / Corpus Christi Caller Times
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By John Oliva, Corpus Christi Caller Times | USA TODAY Network
