roflhouse

4412 Washington
Houston, TX 77007
713-880-5111
www.laurenzos.net

071510 — I went with my girlfriend to Laurenzo’s for dinner around 9pm after watching the highly entertaining Despicable Me at Edwards Westlayen, luckily I checked that they close at 10, so I was prepared to get a late dinner. When I arrived I was greeted by valet parking attendants, but luckily there were a few park yourself spots in the lot. As we approached the door I couldn’t help but notice the heft of the front door and the amount of muscle needed to pry that thing open. A forceful yank and we were inside and greeted by a gentleman that showed us to our table pretty quickly.

As we were handed menus, I had a general idea of what I wanted, it was a toss up between the prime rib that they are apparently so famous for, or the cheesesteak sandwich. The waiter came over and took our drink orders and returned pretty quickly, then left for about 10 minutes before returning to take our entree orders. I made a quick last minute decision and went for the medium order of prime rib cooked medium rare with some fries on the side. My girlfriend opted for the prime rib quesadillas, I also ordered a mixed green salad on the side. The salad was quick to make it to the table and the entrees were even faster, I was just barely halfway done with my salad before the main entrees came out to join us at the table. A nice pink prime rib with these tasty fries I had heard so much about. There was nothing spectacular in terms of presentation with either of our dishes, but I wasn’t hoping for much. As I cut into my prime rib and dipped it into the au jus, the first bite was just decent, the prime rib instantly made me reminisce about steak and ale of the past. Sorry Laurnezo, your prime rib as presented is just eh. The fries were easily the star of the dish, the season of the fries coupled with the flavors of the au jus was a definite win. Now I move on to my girlfriends prime rib quesadillas, she was feeling rather full, so I decided to taste her dish with lowered expectations, a quick dip into the au jus and I struggled with why their prime rib in two separate presentations, tasted so completely different in terms of texture. On my dish, rather thick and chewy, in the quesadillas, soft and tender. We waited around for another 10 minutes before a “manager?” came by to clear the table and prepare a togo box for the quesadillas, another 5 minutes passes before the waiter asked us if we needed something else. I wanted to try the selection of sorbets which tonight, according to the waiter, was a “strawpangne and mangorne”. I later decoded it and recognized the Strawberry x Champagne as one flavor and Mango as another. Epic mumbling is epic. Total bill came out to $70 with tip and we walked out full and a bit confused at the level of service and lack of consistency with the prime rib.

I’ll definitely have to come back to try the ox tails and the cheesesteak, but for now, the fries are not enough to make me want to come back.

3/5: Solid attempt at a restaurant for the Washington crowd