My cousins have been talking about this chain of restaurants ever since they went to Houston for a family wedding. I was not there, but they keep talking about it to me as if I had been. My anticipation for Yard House was high.
The restaurant is on the corner of Santana Row, a ritzy area with high end shops and some decent eats. Yard House is the latest addition to these shops, further straining the parking lots at the nearby Westfield Valley Fair Mall and the parking lots behind the Row. Originally, the wait for Santana Row was ridiculous. On a friend's birthday, we had stopped by on the off chance that perhaps there was an easy table for a Wednesday evening. Two hours was nowhere near an "easy" acquisition of a table.
Coming again during my day off before finals, the wait for lunch was none, and I was seated at a table near the door with Sri and Takuro. The lunch specials seemed to be a good deal, but I was in the mood for something heftier, so I had the Surf and Turf Burger with the Belgian Beer Sampler. The Surf and Turf is served with cheese, grilled asparagus, and lobster (clearly one of my favorite foods), while the Belgian sampler consists of six imports that do not change over time (in contrast to their Traditional sampler). The burger was excellent at medium, with a nice juiciness. However, the bottom bun got a bit soggy easily, and while that doesn't deter me, it may prove unsettling for other eaters. The combination of lobster, asparagus, cheese, and beef was nice, in a more portable "surf and turf" fashion than a proper steak and lobster tail. The beer sampler is something of a treat. I personally like to try lots of drinks in order to find the one I like, and this sampler was a good "entry" into the Yard House collection. It had a nice selection, with a muscat-infused beer proving to be my favorite of the bunch. The traditional sampler that Sri had contained a stronger variety of beers, including an IPA I didn't care for much, but overall had a pleasant quality in its choices.
Coming again during my day off before finals, the wait for lunch was none, and I was seated at a table near the door with Sri and Takuro. The lunch specials seemed to be a good deal, but I was in the mood for something heftier, so I had the Surf and Turf Burger with the Belgian Beer Sampler. The Surf and Turf is served with cheese, grilled asparagus, and lobster (clearly one of my favorite foods), while the Belgian sampler consists of six imports that do not change over time (in contrast to their Traditional sampler). The burger was excellent at medium, with a nice juiciness. However, the bottom bun got a bit soggy easily, and while that doesn't deter me, it may prove unsettling for other eaters. The combination of lobster, asparagus, cheese, and beef was nice, in a more portable "surf and turf" fashion than a proper steak and lobster tail. The beer sampler is something of a treat. I personally like to try lots of drinks in order to find the one I like, and this sampler was a good "entry" into the Yard House collection. It had a nice selection, with a muscat-infused beer proving to be my favorite of the bunch. The traditional sampler that Sri had contained a stronger variety of beers, including an IPA I didn't care for much, but overall had a pleasant quality in its choices.
On my second coming, I split the Truffle Fries and a lunch combo of Crab Cake Hoagie and Clam Chowder with Nick and Joy, while sampling several beers before settling on the Imperial Rasputin, a delectable dark stout with coffee tones. Starting with the truffle fries seems to always be a good choice. The fries smell strongly of truffle and aren't overly doused in oil, though they are heavily seasoned with garlic and parmesan. I enjoy the fact that they use matchstick fries over the standard "chip" cut. It makes it easier to palate, and with some mayonnaise or their awesome garlic aioli, these fries are a perfect starter for the group. The Hoagie had nice slices of fresh avocado as well as a slice of tomato. The crab cake had strong seasoning, and the lovely cheese melted right into the breaded crevices. I removed the tomato, as per my usual dislike of crunchy vegetables, but the whole bite was still very refreshing. The clam chowder with gratuitous pepper was very creamy and perfectly thick. It was definitely more of a clam chowder, than a potato chowder, as often happens with this soup. I thought it was a plenty good deal for lunch (half sandwich and soup).
The third time, I came with my cousins Mai and Linh, and my brother. We shared another round of Truffle Fries (which I still adored), and then I had the Bearnaise Sliders. The Sliders were the standard seasoned beef from the original Surf and Turf burger, though accented with onion strings. Served alongside these sliders is a large and (un)healthy portion of bearnaise sauce, which when lightly spread over each slider accents the seemingly ordinary burger aspect. It was a nice serving size as well, with plenty of meat, and plenty of fries to go around. Another upside to Yard House's service is that you can replace the standard fries with truffle or sweet potato fries for a bit extra added cost.
I still haven't had the opportunity to try their desserts as I've usually been super full after an appetizer, an entree, and a beer. Update coming whenever I'm hungry enough to come again :)
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