Tag Archives: Houston’s

As Memories of Houston’s Fade

24 Feb

During our time in Arizona, we found Houston’s, a restaurant that can be described as upscale and casual. This caught our attention because Nashville was home to the first Houston’s. It was founded by people who had worked at other restaurants in the city and was one of the most popular places in town. It was a great place to go on a date or to hang out with friends in the bar.

The success of the Nashville location led to an expansion into other cities, and, before long, there was a chain. At some point, the ownership moved the headquarters to Beverly Hills and decided to close the original location. A lot of people believed that the owners had come to the conclusion that Houston’s was too good for Nashville. After all, hanging out with movie stars must be better than hanging out with country music stars.

For old times sake, we decided to have dinner at the Houston’s in Scottsdale. The atmosphere was similar to what we remembered, and I ordered my old favorite.Menu

However, we were disappointed in the food. It was not as good as we remembered, and, frankly, there are a bunch of restaurants in Nashville that are better.

It has been ten years since Houston’s left Nashville, and the city has changed considerably during that time. It has grown into a truly cosmopolitan city with a diverse population. That diverse population has differing tastes, and there are restaurants for everyone. In fact, Nashville has become a foodie destination, and some of the nation’s more prominent chefs have created restaurants within its borders.

I have no idea how long this restaurant trend will last, but, after revisiting Houston’s, I have come to a conclusion. The owners had it backwards. Houston’s is not too good for Nashville. Instead, Nashville is too good for Houston’s.

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The Honeymooners – An Offer We Couldn’t Refuse

20 Jul

Day 4 of the honeymoon was supposed to be a day of rest. I promised Necole that we would have some pool time, and this seemed like the right place. The weather was warm and the pool chairs looked comfortable. However, plans changed when one of Necole’s friends suggested a winery for us to visit. Luckily, we were able to get a midday tour and tasting.

We drove to the Inglenook Chateau, owned by Francis Ford Coppola, and it was what one would imagine when they think about a winery. Of course, our idea of a California winery comes from Falcon Crest, the old television series. Walking up, I expected to see Jane Wyman at any moment.Honeymoon 017

The tour guide took us through the wine making process at Inglenook. He also took us through its history as one of the area’s great vineyards until it fell into decay under corporate ownership. Coppola saved it with money from The Godfather and has spent decades bringing the estate and wine to its former glory.

After the tour, we tasted fantastic wines and spent a few dollars shipping some of it home. The tour and tasting whetted our appetites, and the guide suggested the Rutherford Grill, which sat across the street. When Necole and I sat down, we both commented that the restaurant reminded us of Houston’s, a place that used to be in Nashville.

Later, I found out that the Rutherford Grill and a lot of other restaurants in California are owned by the Houston’s corporation. It began and was headquartered in Nashville until the owners decided that they were too good for us. They would probably find it interesting that Nashville has one of the nation’s best food scenes and has dozens of restaurants better than the ones they own.

Anyway, I am getting off track. We returned to the hotel and made it to the pool. I got under a cabana and took a nap while Necole got some sun. It was late in the afternoon, and we learned from experience that the Sonoma temperature changed quickly as the sun goes down.

Soon, it was time to eat again. As you can tell, we did a lot of eating on this honeymoon. This time we wanted some casual and laid back, so we went to Mary’s Pizza Shack on the plaza. It was as good as any other pizza, but my focus wasn’t on the food. My mind kept going over the history that was around me.

I had read that this plaza was an important part of the Bear Flag Rebellion, when California declared its independence from Mexico and asked to become part of the United States. That’s the simple version. Like all things, reality is a bit more complicated. I won’t use this post to provide a history lesson because that’s not what I was thinking about while eating pizza.

I was thinking that President James K. Polk, from Columbia, Tennessee, wanted to bring California into the fold and used every means necessary to get that done. I was also thinking about Peter Burnett, native Tennessean and California’s first governor. I was wondering if the people of California realize the role Tennesseans played in the history of their state.

After dinner, we went back to the hotel and found ourselves wanting more. With this in mind, we went to Carneros, a place that was recommended by one of my Twitter friends. We sat at the chef’s bar and watched them work in the open kitchen. Necole had an awesome creme brulee, and I had a so-so cookie concoction.

The day was great, and I realized that the Tennessee guys who moved Houston’s could not have gone to California if some other Tennessee guys had not gotten it in the first place.

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