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T-Bone Tom's Steak House Restaurant

MY REVIEW: We went with 2 of our girls for our 26th anniversary. Got there about 7 on a Thursday evening. Didn't wait long but the seating area just inside the front was jam-packed with tables seemingly only inches apart and people trying to maneuver in and out after putting their names on a waiting list. It took 40 minutes to get our food. Hubs ordered the armadillo eggs, chicken fried steak, onion rings and fries, 1 daughter got the steak finger basket, the other got the Paradise burger and some hush puppies and I, seeing nothing on the menu that I was dying to have (at least not at those prices) just ordered the small dinner salad, fried okra and coleslaw. The armadillo eggs came right out - they are about as big as a medium potato and had BBQ and a jalapeno pepper inside and the whole thing was battered and fried. The price on this seemed pretty reasonable - $6.95 and it would easily make a meal by itself. If you eat one or more of these you will have WAY less room for your entree. My salad was small and uninspiring, had some brown pieces of lettuce, one sorry-looking tomato slice and an olive. The coleslaw was ok, not as sweet as some but it was not cold as it should have been or even chilly. The fried okra was good even it was just frozen from a bag. Hubs liked his steak but said it was nothing to rave about and his onion rings and fries were standard-issue frozen, not hand-made. My daughter that got the steak finger basket didn't finish it which is highly unusual for this carnivore daughter. The one that got the burger (which looked delicious and was VERY big with 2 patties) couldn't even come close to finishing it due to snacking on the fries and hush puppies first but said it was very good and she seemed very happy eating what she could of it.

The floor in the restaurant was slick or sticky and horribly dirty. When my daughter set my purse on the floor I almost screamed.

The restaurant was very warm, uncomfortably so and tables are packed together so tightly it was claustrophobic. Our waittress was friendly but most of the work was done by several different young men. I actually felt like giving them the tip as we only saw her a couple of times when she came over to smile at us. We won't be going back, this place wasn't horrible but there are too many other places we like a lot better to waste time and money here.

On a scale of 1-10 (1 very bad, 10 very good)
Ambience - 3 (outdoor seating and live music if you like to be hotter than inside).
Service - 5
Food - 5
Value - 4
Cleanliness - 1

NAME: 3timesoccermom
SUBMITTED: 6/3/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: June 2, 2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: You never hear anything about the burgers. I had the cheeseburger with cottage fries and everything was great. Their meat market roots are evident in the burger. A half-pound of good quality meat---really lean so don't expect a lot of ooze factor. Armidillo eggs (4 per order) are huge, so I ate one and took the others home. A previous reviewer was right, they are just as good the next day heated in the oven.

A minor complaint, don't ask how I want my burger cooked (medium) if you are going to cook it well-done anyways. Still, it was a good burger. But this happened the only other time I ordered a burger, so next time I'm going to make a point that I want it medium or else I'll send it back.

NAME: Steve D.
SUBMITTED: 6/1/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 5/11
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: We decided to hit T-Bone Tom's on a Friday evening to take in the live music. You've got to get there early because parking very quickly becomes a problem. We were able to snag a table for four (girls' weekend down in Kemah dontcha know!) and were very happy with the service and food. The armadillo eggs are simply amazing and a must-have along with your favorite brew. Easy to see why the locals love the place.

NAME: worleyite
SUBMITTED: 5/23/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: May 2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Fortunately I have never encountered the service problems L Bates & Melyssa did. And if I did, I would be pissed too. I'm dissappointed that someone from management hasn't responded on this site.

The wife & I eat there a lot and have always had good service. We do try to avoid their crowded times, however.

Tonight we both enjoyed the excellent fried shrimp, they are always a good bet. Our favorite sides are grilled tomatoes, spinach, potato salad, green beans and grilled potatoes. For appetiser, the armadillo eggs are unlike anything you've tasted before.

NAME: Steve D.
SUBMITTED: 5/11/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 5/11
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: We have lived in the area for over 30 years, we've passed by T Bone Tom's several times a week. So on this particular day our options were the Brazillian Steak House or here, unfortunately we chose T Bone Tom's parking was typical Kemah parking. To start the mixed drinks were not good, the appetizer was good(fried mushrooms), we ordered T bone's with shrimp, the first waitress couldn't understand the order and had to get someone that could after finishing the appetizer we realized that we had been waiting about 30 minutes and still had not recieved our salads, while taking the order of a gentleman setting behind us she realized she forgot the salads a few minutes later she appeared with the salads about 15 minutes later our food arrived. Not only was it LUKE WARM but my fries that I had never touched already had hot sauce on them, I quickly voiced my concern that I felt like the cook had taken a hand full previously served fries and put them on my plate! She got the manager who took another 20 minutes to come, she apologized and asked for the opportunity to have it remade. About 15 minutes later we recieved our food the way we should have in the beginning. I have to say that was the most dissappointing $70. I have ever spent we knew it was through no fault of our waitress so we left her a nice tip that I'm sure she did not expect.

NAME: L Bates
SUBMITTED: 3/22/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: March/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Our first trip and I must say....we will be back. Staff was friendly despite the HUGE crowd; it was Saturday night though. Seating outside had a long wait so we opted for indoor seating. Waited about 20 minutes. They took our drink order almost immediately. I love sweet tea and this sweet tea was amazing! Couldn't resist all the hoop-la about the Diners, Drive-Ins & Dives so we ordered 2 appetizers: Armadillo Eggs & Sausage. The Armadillo Eggs were as good as everyone says - - very, very tasty. Sausage had good flavor but it was only warm; we like our food piping hot.

There were 6 in our party and every order came out correctly the first time. Everyone who ordered a burger raved - 1 Jalapeno Burger & 2 Betty's Mushroom Prololone Burgers (very generous with their mushrooms). Bottom bun on one of the burgers was a bit soggy. I ate the Blackened Catfish and all I can say is A M A Z I N G ! ! Thanks Ashley (our waitperson) for recommending. For my sides I had a small salad (nothing special but good) and the grilled potatoes which were also A M A M A Z I N G ! ! The flavors just burst in your mouth. I totally recommend the Blackened Catfish and grilled potatoes. My husband had the 14 oz ribeye and it was tender and juicy. He said it was delicious.

Not a place if you're looking for a quiet romantic dinner but for any other occassion I would say you can't go wrong. Even with all the traffic trying to get into Kemah and the parking - - it's definitely worth the trip.

NAME: Jar's
SUBMITTED: 3/21/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: 03/19/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: When my family and I walked into this restaurant, we were not greeted right away. No big deal, we sat ourselves and later decided to move inside. Waitress walked us in and after that, never saw her again. When we finally flagged someone down because we were ready to order, we were greeted by another waitress, but with a horrible attitude. We placed our orders and patiently waited for almost 30 minutes and was never offered refills, nor asked if there was anything else we needed. Needless to say, we walked out. I was SO outraged. Not one waitress never acknowleded our prescence. My husband finally brought it to to managers attention (after walking out), but by then it was TOO late. I am glad I didn't spend one cent in this restaurant, I'm sure other reviews such as these were hitting the nail on the head when it described the wait staff as being horrible;every person of that wait staff was.

NAME: Melyssa
SUBMITTED: 3/15/2011   LAST VISIT WAS: march/2011
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: So my husband and I have heard many times about T-Bone Tom's from my mom & dad who recently bought a "relaxation station" close by, not to mention seeing it on The Food Network. Sunday afternoon we arrived for lunch. Have to admit the parking was a bit of a challange but it is for that entire area. I ordered the chicken fried steak with green beans and my husband ordered the 2 meat plate and an order of Armadillo eggs. The 2 meat plate came out with the wrong meat but was promptly corrected so we were able to sample 3 of the meats. All I can say is FANTASTIC. The ribs fell off the bone, the sausage was outstanding and the brisket melted in my mouth. The chicken fried steak was delicious as well. Not a grainy, muscley bite. The armadillo egg order was inadvertantly not placed but again was quickly corrected and packed to go for us. Even as full as we were; we decided to try an armadillo egg while they were still fresh and hot. OMG!!!! That is all I can say. That was the most incredible thing I have ever eaten. So I immdiately sent a picture of it to my friend in Dallas that is an avid stuffed pepper fan. I think we are going to have to bring her along on the next visit. I think I would drive the 6 hours just to get another one of those Armadillo Eggs...even heated up in the oven the next day they were tasty. Great job; we WILL be back!

NAME: Shopqueen
SUBMITTED: 10/27/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/24/10
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: my bf and I been wanting to try armadillo eggs, so finally went after his photo shoot last night.. 1st thing I wanna point out is the parking.. horrible parking for a restaurant that is doing so well.. 2nd we waited for 1 hour for our food and it was served warm.. And the waitress we had last night was horrible, she even got my order wrong, didn't bother to say anything because I didnt wanna wait another hour for my food. we ordered the armadillo eggs, gumbo, calamari,3 meat platter, grilled pork chop. My bf like the armadillo eggs.. Gotta admit it was pretty smart of them, It's the best food we had last night at tbone tom last night the grilled pork chop was horrible, it is super dry, their sausage was not bad, brisket was moist from all the fat, ribs was so so. Gumbo was super duper salty. Our friend who was also there with us ordered a 14 oz tbone tom steak, and it was horrible, they didnt even bother to trim off the fat! Calamaris served is like it was from the leftovers, nothing but bits and pieces of overly fried calamaris. Over experience was bad. I believed they were good at a point of time but their food and service probably went downhill as they got busier but now all I can say is its our first and last time there.

NAME: im_sun
SUBMITTED: 10/17/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/10
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Took my parents here for dinner on tues. Not many folks here yet at 5pm. Had the usual popcorn shrimp dinner and good as always. Now for their meal....Dad ordered toms special steak and it was over half fat and grissle. Not impressed at all with their meal. The manager was told and she took 50 percent off the price of the steak. Still wont bring us back for more... Now for the waitress who served us. The entire time she was supposed to be waiting on us she played and chatted with what we think was her boyfriend who was seated at the bar. Flirtation was heavy on both parts. We felt neglected the entire time and had to approach 2 different waitresses who helped us with different needs. Ive been in management myself and would never stand for help to act like this during a shift. I will never be back as I was a regular with no problems before and am quite embarrassed I suggested this restaurant to my parents.

NAME: virginia
SUBMITTED: 10/12/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 10/10
FREQUENCY: Visited 4-6 times

MY REVIEW: after sawing this local spot on food network, couple of friends stop by for a late chow on a busy saturday night. we sat in the main dining instead of the back yard where the live band was playing. order the armadillo eggs to start the night off. wow, what a genius concept, the egg was huge, lots of meat, excellent flavor, great with a ranch dip. however, the temperature of the egg could be little hotter. they feel like they been sitting under a food warming light for while, but still, excellent excellent snack!

we order various 2 meat dinner plate plus a seafood platter. the brisket and the pig (pork pull off with onions and jalapenos) was tender, moist and had great flavor and texture. the ribs were above average according to my friend, the seafood platter was just so so in my humble opinion.

now the tricky part is the sausage, personally i thought the sausage was great, the natural casing was great, and the inside was not over cooked, great flavor, texture, and the bbq sauce was something to come back for more and more. has a nice sweet taste but a nice chili/spicy kicker towards to the end. however, some people likes the sausage to be packed tighter in the making process, however, tbone tom's sausage was great in my book.

in conclusion, this is a place we will definitely come back and eat again.

NAME: Robert
SUBMITTED: 8/1/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 07/31/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: Wanting to get some fresh seafood before the impact of the massive oil spill off the coast of Louisana really is felt in a big way, we headed to one of our favorite spots for seafood. Even though it's May, the oysters are still plump and juicy. They were grilled (not on the menu, we asked for them) perfectly and served on a bed of excellent dirty rice. And I agree with Happy Camper, their fried shrimp are the most tender I have ever had. They are huge and cooked just right. The fried shrimp here are not to be missed.

NAME: Sandy from League City
SUBMITTED: 5/5/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 5/10
FREQUENCY: Everybody here knows my name...

MY REVIEW: While on our honeymoon, we decided to scan the internet for places to eat in the Kemah area. We came across T-Bone Tom's Steakhouse. What a treasure!!

We decided to make this our first place to visit. We watched the video with Guy Fieri, and were hooked on trying the Tom's special steak and the Armadillo eggs. Wow!!! My husband was thrilled with the steak, and loved the brisket and coating on the eggs. The jalapenos were hot, but we just pulled them out and ate the rest. I have never had anything like them! They were great.

I ordered the butterfly shrimp. I had thought I had eaten great shrimp before, but I was wrong. These shrimp were cooked perfectly, and were so juicy and tender, I was in heaven! The grilled potatoes were comforting and made me feel like I was at home (without the kids..haha).

Everyone that checked into the B&B where we stayed were greeted by us with MAKE SURE YOU GO TO T-BONE TOM'S! We ate there three times, and were wow'd every single time.

Great place!!!!!!!!

NAME: Happy Campers
SUBMITTED: 3/20/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: March 2010
FREQUENCY: Visited 2-3 times

MY REVIEW: I visited this restaurant for the first time today and, after the first few minutes of my lunch, knew that I can highly recommend this wonderful place to anyone. I honestly found T-Bone Tom’s to be superior to many of the chain restaurants we have visited on the nearby Kemah Boardwalk.

My chicken fried steak was one of the best ever. The steak was meaty, well breaded, and the gravy was outstanding. My green beans were fresh and delicious. My wife’s marinated rib eye steak (“Tom’s Choice” as listed on the menu) was also very good. Her blanched baby spinach was, in her words, “awesome”.

As wonderful as our meal was, the high point was the arrival of four strange golden brown ovoids known as “Armadillo Eggs”. These four tennis-ball sized jewels turned out to be jalapeño peppers stuffed with beef brisket soaked in homemade barbeque sauce, coated in bread crumbs, and deep fried. I found their Armadillo Eggs to be outrageously tasty.

The wait staff was friendly and knowledgeable. The food was quite obviously fresh, original, and homemade. We shall surely visit T-Bone Tom’s again.

Helpful hint: Get here early for lunch just after they open at 11. This place got really crowded around 11:30.

NAME: Mainframe
SUBMITTED: 1/10/2010   LAST VISIT WAS: 01/2010
FREQUENCY: Visited once

MY REVIEW: We will be back. The experince at this place was the most rewarding -all the way around. We travel, and have been doing so for 11 years. The service, and we were serviced by at at least 3 servers was most unusual. The warmth from the servers was just that- as if they were the proud owners of the place. And possibly they were. We are also in our late 60's. Nelson and Eleanor- Anacortes, Washington.

NAME: Nelson and Eleanor
SUBMITTED: 12/20/2009   LAST VISIT WAS: December 20 -09
FREQUENCY: Visited once

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