Shrimp, fish, crab... cinnamon rolls? In this episode of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd”, Shepherd visits two of his favorite places to get coastal seafood. Both are doing things in their own distinct way. One has perfected the fusion of Texas and Cajun cooking. The other serves up cinnamon rolls even before you get your crab-stuffed jalapenos or smothered, blackened redfish.
While the cinnamon rolls are a diner favorite at Monument Inn, Shepherd credits all the food he ate during his first meal there, as a key reason he ended up moving to Houston.
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“Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” is your guide to the best food in Houston. Watch new episodes Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.
Monument Inn Restaurant
4406 Independence Parkway South | LaPorte
Monument Inn first opened in 1974. In 1990, Ann and Bob Laws purchased it. Since then, they’ve seen success and setbacks, but none have significantly slowed them down.
The husband and wife both have roots in the food industry. Bob Laws owned a catering company in the motion picture industry. Ann Laws was director of operations for a chain of five Texas restaurants.
Just six months after the Law’s bought Monument Inn, it was destroyed in a fire. Just ten weeks later, they reopened in their current location along the Houston Ship Channel.
In 2008, the restaurant’s downstairs private rooms flooded during Hurricane Ike. The same thing happened in 2017 during Hurricane Harvey. Both times, the Laws remodeled in just over a month. That quick recovery has been good news for customers who fill the LaPorte dining room week after week.
According to the Monument Inn website, they serve 80,000 pounds of shrimp and nearly 25,000 pounds of catfish, crawfish and fresh fish annually.
At this restaurant, you won’t get a traditional bread or chip basket. You’ll have warm and sweet cinnamon rolls to tide you over until your meal comes. The restaurants in-house bakers can make more than 1,000 cinnamon rolls on a busy Saturday.
BB’s Tex-Orleans
12 locations in Houston and surrounding areas
BB’s Tex-Orleans a true success story in the Houston restaurant business. Since 2007, BB’s Tex-Orleans went from a single restaurant to a dozen in the Houston-area.
It started when Brooks Bassler, who attended the University of Houston as a high jumper, founded the first location at Montrose and Westheimer. The menu was inspired by Bassler’s grandmother who he called Maw Maw.
According to the BB’s website, Bassler also turned to family recipes and did research on po’boy shops throughout New Orleans.
What he ended up with is Southern Louisiana-style cooking with a Texas twist, which is why they say the local restaurant chain is the “home of Tex-Orleans cooking.”
More “Eat Like a Local” picks featured in this episode
- Eugene’s Gulf Coast Cuisine: 1985 Welch Street | Houston
- Christie’s Seafood and Steaks: 6029 Westheimer | Houston
- Goode Company Seafood - Memorial: 10201 Katy Freeway | Houston
- Goode Company Seafood - Westpark: 2621 Westpark Drive | Houston
Bookmark the Eat Like a Local website, so you can find more restaurants serving up great food near you. We’re adding restaurants to the map every week.
Watch new episodes of “Eat Like a Local with Chris Shepherd” Saturdays at 10 a.m. on KPRC 2.
More “Eat Like a Local” episodes