Lunch At Sam's — Restaurant in Houston

The other day I was at the bank and was hungry and wanted to get lunch so I looked at the Googles to see what was close. I spotted Lunch at Sam's. I thought of my brother, J.

Man, I haven't eaten there in forever. J really loves their burger. I should go have lunch there.

Because I'm a stupid man it took me a minute to realize that I should call my brother and ask him to join me. Not because I needed help eating a burger, but because sharing a meal with someone is bonding and intimate and can allow for connection. He was busy. But we agreed to do it this week.

Hello this week! I messaged J and we met at Lunch at Sam's on North Gessner. He stepped out of his Lexus looking like a Russian Gangster - velour tracksuit stretched over his belly and tennis shoes so white they hurt your eyes if you looked at them directly. I love my brother. I didn't take a picture of him cuz you could tell he DEFINITELY works from home on Fridays and wasn't looking his most telegenic. Although he works in IT, he is the least online person I know. I coulda prolly posted a pic and he'd never see it. But it's also why I can express how much I love him without embarrassment. (None of y'all tell him). I told ya - siblings beez weird like dat sometimes.

Enough of the Family Matters (did I do that?!) We entered the restaurant and stepped back into 1954. The Americana just punches you right in the mouf! And a lot of it is tagged for sale so you can buy you a painting of a sunset or a stuffed goose or deer antlers or whatnot while you eat your burger. I ordered me a Mushroom Bacon Burger and had them add onions and jalapenos. Got a side of fried okra. Went over to the fixins bar and got some raw onion, tomaters and some "secret sauce". Some kinda mayo/ketchup/mystery spice/thousand island thingy. It's good.

Me and the brother did some catching up and reminiscing and all in all had a very nice lunch. I gangster-strolled him back to his vehicle and we hugged and agreed to do lunch again soon.

I'll be honest, y'all. The burger was just pretty good, but lunch today was one of the greatest meals I've had in a long while. Meals aren't always about the food. (Seriously, nobody tell him...

To be entirely honest, going to this Diner wasn't the worst, but not the best I've ever been in.

The location itself is very easy to spot, and anyone often driving down gessner from 290 to clay would know it as the joint with the big burger outside. Put along with its different types of seats, featuring in - building dining room, porch with the plastic seats, or tree-side picnic benches, there is a certain familiarity that one gets in dining here.

The food of course tells an entirely different tale. Today, a friend and i paid a visit to the legendary burger sign restaurant, as we knew it, to try for the first time what it was all about, and ordered, -Two Black Angus burgers(1/2lb), cheese, bacon, mayo, mustard, pickles, lettuce, onions, and mayo on the side, toasted buns -Fries with "secret sauce" -Drink Totalling out at 29 dollars and change. When we got the burgers, they were decently sized burgers, as expected from a .5lb, and the fries were the frozen "krinkle kut" variety one would find in many many other establishments, but well fried to crispy brown and non-sogginess. Lastly the burger the main point of the visit, was frankly lackluster. The meat patty itself felt like it fell apart too easily, while juicy and tasted fine, it wasn't fantastic, with no resistance or taste of a charbroil or sear from it that reminded you this is delicious meat that you are eating. And this was the main point for the 3 star review.

Though my visit wasn't bad, it wasn't great either, hence the 3 star, and while it is a great place to walk or drive by every day, i wouldn't see myself personally coming...

My mother in law lives down Gessner so while visiting from Dallas we decide to try this place because of the rating. There is no way this is a four star place.

We didn't have the burgers and maybe that was our mistake. I had the catfish and shrimp special. It was awful The shrimp were over cooked, the batter tasteless and the catfish was about the thickness of a piece of thin cardboard. Both were poorly prepared.

My wife had the po boy and boy was it poor. The shrimp looked like little balls, the tomatoes were mushy and the bread too soft to be used as a sandwich. It was so bad she didn't eat much of it. The potato salad on the hand was edible, but just barely.

The ambiance in this place looks like it hasn't been changed in forever. The whole place smells a little like a restroom. They used the same air freshener I guess. It looks and feels like a very old place, which it is.

The food was so bad that my wife and went to Chic Fila to get a chocolate shake just to make up for the bad lunch.

I took a look at their grill and deep fryer. They look they have NEVER been cleaned. I would definitely not eat here ever again. Gordon Ramsey To Hell and Back please take a look at this place.

Eat here at...