texan1510 / Emily

So I heard that Late Night Pie got new digs, and I was super excited about it. So excited that I forgot about their history of bad service. Surely if they were relocating, something had changed.

Their new place is right next to Harry’s on Tuam. It has more seating, a better bar, and an entire game room. True to form, Late Night Pie hasn’t updated their website or their menus to reflect their new address yet. It’s been at least two weeks.

They have two awards proudly on display – Best Late Night Hang-Out and Best Bathroom Graffiti, both from Houston Press. That pretty much sums it up. Notice they didn’t receive any actual restaurant awards. You know why? Because they continue to have terrible service. In fact, it’s so consistently bad, that I suspect it stems from terrible management.

Tonight, my order, a Popeye and Olive pizza, took FOREVER to make. Apparently they burned the first one, so they had to start over with another. They gave it to us for half price, which was nice of them, I suppose, but I’d rather they have not screwed up in the first place. Not to mention the fact that the kitchen staff was rowdy and glared me down when I asked for a side of marinara.

I honestly think if they kept normal hours they’d go under, but because they’re the only pizza place open late, they’re not in direct competition with places like Star or Dolce Vita. I’ll probably be back eventually, but this place continues to leave a bad taste in my mouth, despite the delicious pizza they serve up.

The menu here is geared toward healthy eating, in case you couldn’t tell from the name.

They have some unusual selections, such as the exotic burger—your choice of kangaroo or ostrich meat. They have buffalo burgers, too, which isn’t as out of left field. They also offer sweet potato fries, whole wheat spaghetti, and flourless desserts.

I wasn’t quite that adventurous, though. I ordered the tilapia, which was dusted in spiced flour and grilled. It was served up with house tartar sauce, which was quite good, and I’m assuming made with healthier stuff than Kraft uses. I had a choice of two sides and went with fries—I chose Idaho, instead of sweet potato or onion—and edamame, which was sprinkled with lemon pepper. Everything was quite good. The ingredients were fresh, and the flavors were clean and simple.

I’ll definitely be returning here. I plan to try the kangaroo next time.

This place offers kind of a unique dining experience. First there’s a salad bar with all kinds of tasty things – sundried tomatoes, fresh mozzarella, grilled bell peppers, plus various cold meats and cheeses. When you’re done with that, you flip over cards on your table (red to green) and waiters start coming by with different cuts of meat. They carve it right at your table.

They offer fifteen different cuts of meat. I think I tried seven and I left stuffed. Everything was cooked perfectly. The highlights were the rib eye and the fillet mignon. The garlic beef and bacon-wrapped chicken weren’t bad either. Nothing was over seasoned; their cooking philosophy seems to be all about letting the flavor of the meat shine through. All the beef I sampled had a nice crust on it and was completely tender in the middle.

Both the salad bar and the meat service are unlimited, and you can flip the card on your table to control the pace of your meal. There are also unlimited side dishes: mashed potatoes, fried bananas, and polenta. I tried the papaya cream for dessert.

I had a small heart attack when I saw the check—it’s probably tacky to put an actual number out there, so I’ll just say it was three digits for two people—but I wasn’t the one paying and I wasn’t the one who picked the restaurant, so oh well.