Wednesday evening I received an email media invite to Christie’s Steak and Shrimp Seafood Restaurant to try their new lunch menu items. I was concerned that I had been sent the invite by accident. I’m not actually media, am I? I blog and I use social media a lot to promote myself and others. Hmmm. I don’t know.

So I took a chance and went to the restaurant for the lunch. Christie’s Seafood restaurant has been a part of the Houston scene since 1917. Here is an excerpt from Christie’s website:

For almost a century, the Christie family has served the same incomparable food that made its founder, Theodore Christie, famous. Originally from Constantinople, Theodore immigrated in 1905 to New York City where he worked in hospitality and as court interpreter. In 1917, he relocated to the Texas Gulf coast where he decided to try his hand at cooking, opening a concession stand on the waterfront. There, he concocted a fresh fish sandwich , buttered and toasted po-boy bread with a lightly fried fish fillet with shredded lettuce and tomatoes  that remains unequaled.

In 1934, Theodore moved the restaurant to the Houston Medical Center where business was booming. He quickly began selling 10,000 fish sandwiches a week! His next innovation was the Seafood Platter, a sampling of broiled or fried shrimp, scallops, oysters and fillets of fish plucked fresh from the Gulf of Mexico.

The Remolaude sauce that accompanies the Fried Shrimp is a traditional recipe from 1917. It is homemade mayonnaise and garlic whipped until smooth. 

Other restaurants have imitated Christie’s fried butterfly shrimp, but ours is the original, said Maria Christie who carries on her family’s tradition in the kitchen.

Christie’s food is so outstanding, Jim’s daughter, Roula, got her start as a radio personality as a result of delivering French Fried Shrimp to the KRBE on-air DJ, Paul Cubby Bryant.

Here I am again. When I was a child my parents brought the family often to Christie’s when it was in the Medical Center, and for special occasions when they moved to Westheimer in the late 60’s. I remember playing with the white tablecloth on the table. We weren’t used to white tablecloths (I have 3 brothers!). I remember the big stuffed Marlin on the wall. It was so much bigger than me and I often wondered if it could swallow me whole (and if not me then at least my little brother…).

Well, it turns out that I had been invited to the lunch! Wow! What a special treat! The food was gorgeous and delicious. I’m so sorry the pictures don’t show it BEFORE everyone had gone through the line.

So, I know you are dying to find out what I had.

To start out I tried the blackened shrimp sliders. Now, you may have already read my blog from last year about Christie’s and good memories. Christie’s fried shrimp is the best you will ever have. Their tartar sauce can not be duplicated (they make their own mayonnaise), nor can you buy anything that equals its deliciousness. So the blackened shrimp sliders were good (large tasty shrimp) but not as good as their fried shrimp.

I tried the Tarama. Tarama is Mama Christie’s whipped Greek Caviar dip. It was amazing. Forget the crackers, give me a spoon!

The fried calamari were cooked just right. I could tell they were fresh, nothing chewy here. The marinara sauce with them was perfect.

The sweet potato fries with the chipolte ranch dressing were good. I’m not a fan of chipolte normally so when I tasted it I had to ask what it was. If I had tasted the chipolte, I’m afraid I wouldn’t have been very enthusiastic about it. Here, the sauce balanced out the sweetness of the potato fries in a perfect way.

I’m not a fan of salmon. That said I tried the Salmon Royale with Cajun chardonnay cream sauce. I’m afraid I asked for extra sauce, I mean, chardonnay cream? Come on, double up on that! Well, I’m reporting that the salmon was perfectly flaky with great seasoning and wow, the sauce made it wonderful.  

There was a cheese and fruit display that really was the centerpiece to the room. And the little flaky philo-pastry cheese puffs were a delight.

Not last nor least was the lump crab, avocado, and mango stack salad. YUM! I’m a huge fan of Gulf blue crab always, I love mango and avocado. This salad had giant chunks of tasty blue crab, the mango was diced, the avocado was perfect and plentiful. In between were diced red and green sweet peppers and red onion. There was a sweet vinaigrette that added a bit of acidity and balanced the whole act.

I think the crowning point of this experience was meeting the lovely Christie family. Mama Christie and her four children, Alexandra, Kathy Christie-Dasigenis, Roula, and Terry Christie. It was such an honor. All these years of loving Christie’s and I got to meet the family. They are rock stars to me! I can’t help but think how thrilled my parents would have been, too.

Mom and Dad this one was for you!