On a recent visit to Houston to visit my sister, we agreed that I had to have a classic “Houston Steakhouse” experience.  After all, Texas is cattle country, and they sure do pride themselves on the quality of their beef.  B & B Butchers was not too far from where my sister lived at the time, so it was a good choice for us to try out.  Plus, the reviews were pretty high.  Can’t argue with that, right?

The restaurant is located at the site of a former bakery.  In addition to the actual steakhouse restaurant, it also features a butcher shop and a deli on the side.  We didn’t visit either of those, and they are not visible from within where we were at the restaurant.

Not long after you are seated, they bring you a nice basket of bread and a side of whipped butter.  That is pretty standard for a white-linen type of place.  The bread was good, although I don’t know what kind of bread it actually was.

Their appetizer special was bacon wrapped jumbo shrimp.  While I wish that the bacon was a little more crisp, the dish overall was delicious.  It was served in a butter herb sauce that was subtle enough to keep your focus on the taste of the shrimp and the bacon.  My sister also ordered a crab cake, which was a solid crab cake.  It definitely tasted like a fancy steakhouse crab cake, but there was nothing particularly unique about it.

For my entree, I got the ribeye club cut.  I had never had a “club cut” before, so I was expecting a long and marbled slab of fatty steak.  At first, I was shocked at getting what looked like a tiny filet.  When the shock wore off, I actually enjoyed my steak very much.  It wasn’t quite as tender as a filet, but it had full-bodied flavor.  It was also surprisingly filling, despite the size.  The steak was served with what I think was a house-made steak sauce and truffle “fries.”  To me, steak fries are more like potato wedges instead of fries, but they did taste a lot better than most potato wedges do.  I appreciated that the potato was soft all the way through, since steak fries have a tendency to taste raw in the middle.

I enjoyed my meal at B & B Butchers and would definitely eat there again if my travels bring me to Houston.

For more information on B & B Butchers, visit their web site at http://bbbutchers.com/