Houlihan's

I had a very good first experience today for lunch.  I used the $15 coupon they give you as an online member.  There were no hassles.

One girl greeted me very pleasantly and another took my order.  Both were very attentive and had good customer service skills.

I ordered their salmon sand ($13.)  It came with soup or salad, and I chose the baked potato soup.  It came with grated cheddar, scallions, and big chunks of bacon.  In and of itself, it was a meal.  My main--the salmon with chips/fries--was excellent.  The bread was toasted and smeared with butter (like garlic toast) and the salmon was grilled and then topped with more bacon, lettuce, and tomato.  The entire order was recommended by the waitress and was spot on.  I decided not to order from their beer menu as I'm a bit of a beer snob, and the idea of paying $4.25 for 14 ounces of regular old German Beck's was not what I was after.  I didn't care that they didn't have more "organic" items of "veggie this-or-that" as I have absolutely no interest in those weird items.  I love meat, seafood, dairy, and potatoes, so the meal here was great.

The decor was very Irish-themed (even if the wait-staff was anything but), which I really enjoyed.  Check their items out because they do have quite an eclectic bunch of things hanging on the wall.

After today's pleasant experience, I'm prepared to return.

The other day I wrote a review of a locally owned place, where I said that I went in wanting to give a good review and was disappointed when I had to write a bad review. My experience with Houlihan's was quite the opposite: I was expecting to not like it (I generally dislike chains), but was very pleasantly surprised.

As soon as we walked in, we were greeted and seated promptly. After looking at the menu and the decor, I realized that Houlihan's is trying to establish itself at a slightly more upscale level than comparable chains. They had some organic options, some healthy options, etc. So that was cool.

All of the good was very good and well prepared. I started with a side salad, and it was fresh and texturally interesting (with tortilla strips, bacon bits, etc.). I am generally picky when it comes to salads, but I loved this one. My burger was quite tasty and well cooked, and the fries were fantastic--hand cut and dusted with sea salt and freshly cracked black pepper. My wife got the filet, and she really enjoyed it.

I was highly impressed with our server. At first, I thought he was kind of relentlessly efficient (at the expense of being cordial), but then I realized he was one of two servers for the whole restaurant, was dealing with many tables, AND was being the host. Given that, and the fact that he eventually warmed up, and the fact that he didn't forget anything we asked for in the midst of all of this--I am highly impressed.

One more thing--get the mango iced tea. I can drink like a million of them (at least a million).

Really happy that we stopped in, and that they are making me rethink my bias against chain restaurants.

My favorites are the scallops dish, the chicken Asian chop chop and the ribs. Although the scallops dish is unbelievably good, even the large size is not filling enough unless you order other menu items. I've always enjoyed Houlihan's and was very sorry when the one on City Line Avenue closed, which I would go to on my way home from work. I would get their e-mails on Wednesday and they always had different specials for that day only.