Black's Bar and Kitchen

Review by Herb on August 29, 2005

Review by bigpig on August 30, 2004

Come on. We waited to sit, then for our drinks. All for an oversalted, small portion of crab. We'll take our hard earned cash elsewhere.

Review by cbeck1970 on May 19, 2004

A simple memory reflex; that’s all it took to get me into Black’s Bar and Kitchen. The smell of mesquite wood wafting from pores of the building drew me in and, Bam! I was back home in Texas again. Can this get better? It surly can. My first moments inside were spent praising the Holy Grail I had discovered– Shiner Bock Beer on draft; heaven, heaven, heaven. Needless to say, I’ve visited this place several times.

With an owner that hails from Texas, Black’s professes to serve Gulf Coast fare – they don’t. But, don’t be discouraged. The menu is a mix of simple ingredients pared in eclectic combinations making the cuisine both familiar and exotic at the same time. The Rib Eye Steak with Spinach and Black Beans is dressed up in an addictive Chimicherrio Sauce, an herb and garlic based glaze. My dinner guest was kind enough to give me a bite of her Tortilla Crusted Mahi-Mahi - delicious. The claim to fame at Black’s is the pan seared diver scallops paired with whipped potatoes – absolutely nothing to write home about in this dish; oh well, you can’t win ‘em all.

The Raw Bar menu announces the standard Oysters on the Half Shell with Happy Hour Special Prices. If you are not “so-over” the Martini craze yet, then the Black’s drink menu is for you; the prices are a bit high, but I’ve yet to have a Martini that didn’t pack a wallop, and they are available during Happy Hour at reduced prices

Review by rebekah767 on May 4, 2004

Review by Laurelolo23 on March 1, 2004

This was the one and only time that I have ever had a meal that was TOO salty. Usually I wish that the kitchen has a heavier hand with the salt, but in this case, my salmon has amazingly salty. The one saving grace for my fish was that I ordered the salmon rather rare, just grill marked and hopefully still a little cold in the middle. And it was! I love good service; when one can communicate to the server the temperature at which you would like your food, and then having the kitchen either a)not too busy to pay attention to a single order, b)able to read the modifier to the ticket and c)able to cook perfectly to temperature. It was enjoyable precisely because I actually had to cut my fish it was so wonderfully raw in the middle--so many restaurants are worried about some legal problem stemming from food service its nice to find a place that cooks to order. My boyfriend's food (a pistachio-crusted flounder) was also extremely salty, but he liked the excuse to drink more beer.
Black's presentation is lovely. While based largely upon a Southern-style of cooking for sides(succotash with fava beans and Applewood-smoked bacon, smashed potato and parsnip cake with the above mentioned bacon--there is lots of bacon, and I love it!), the sauces are very French inspired; beet reductions, butternut squash-creme fraiche coulis, and the like. All the plates are composed to be very striking and visually appealing, no problem in that area. Perhaps too many hands salted the bunch...
Black's is known for its seafood and it never disappoints. Prime fish, super-fresh, meaty delicious oysters and a fantastic mussels appetizer are examples of that. For their bar however, the bartenders really do a spectacular job. A fine selection of small batch bourbons and scotches has recently been added, much to my delight--and I had a very good Manhattan. Since its not a martini or a cosmo, most bartenders seem to have forgotten how to make them, but the "Knob Creek, heavy on the vermouth with a bit of cherry juice," was the sweet kick-in-the-pants I was looking for!
An enjoyable, if expensive, evening meal out.