Event: Morton's the Steakhouse Dowtown Grand ReOpening

"The Best Steak Anywhere" is the tagline of the Famous chain Morton's the Steakhouse.  The name Morton's evokes the image of Chicago, Art Deco stylings, fancy steaks, bourbon, red wine and so forth.  Hard to believe that Arne Morton, one of the co-founders of the chain, was originally an employee of the Montreal Playboy Club.  Morton made a hamburger that got the attention of his future business partner, Klaus Fritsch, which Fritsch dubbed a "million dollar hamburger!"  The first location opened in Chicago in 1978 and things took off from there.

As a kid growing up in Louisiana, I used to wonder if the Morton's Frozen foods--which seemed so fancy compared to Swanson's--was related to the steakhouse.  Turns out Harold Morton is no relative of Arne Morton, and that brand of frozen foods was later bought by ConAgra and folded.

New Dining Area, Wine Storage, Menu at Morton's Downtown

Anyhoo, The Landry's Family of Companies in Houston acquired the two Morton's Steakhouses in Houston back in January of this year.  The two locations had gotten a little long in the tooth and both locations (the Galleria and Downtown) went through a major facelift beyond new counters, carpet and paint.  Fastforward to October 2012 and both locations are up and running, providing top notch service and many delicious dining options.  I had the pleasure of attending both grand reopenings (Galleria was a few months ago), but due to a digital camera fail, I lost my photos!  Thanks to Downtown having their grand reopening recently, I now can share with you some delicious dishes available as appetizers or Happy Hour snacks which Morton's has added to their menu!

I'd been to both Morton's back in the 1990s.  And while they were nice, they seemed to be resting on their laurels a bit.  New paint, new owners, energized staff, new carpet, refreshed purpose and commitment to the concept have given the downtown location a refreshed feel and make it a great choice for a steak, seafood or other great food.  The black lacquer and brass are shiny again.  The glass is clear and fresh looking.  The countertops shine and you feel like you're in a high end bar during the Jazz Age, but with Yuppie and Hipster clientele.

Lambsickles, dessert samples, bruschetta, tender beef sliders, pulled pork
sliders, jumbo shrimp, tuna tartare and Bullit Bourbon!

The tasting menu for the evening included sliders made with pulled pork, braised tenderloin and spiced beef, Jumbo cold boiled shrimp, filet of beef tenderloin, tuna tartare with avocado on tortilla chips, two kinds of bruschetta, and grilled seasoned thin cut lamb chops that I fondly call "lambsickles"--served with mint jelly!  All of the beef bites were served with a creamy horseradish sauce that complemented the beef quite well, or a creamy peppercorn bourbon sauce that was different yet savoury.   The lambsickles were the big hit of the bunch though--several trays of them came out to the crowd and they all came back empty every single time.  We also had little samples of Key Lime Pie and cheescake that were delicious, and sweet, but not too sweet.

KHOU-11's Katherine Whaley
and Friend!  :) 

Overall this was a nice little event--not too overblown, not understated either.  I ran into a number of fellow bloggers, a few reps from PR firms, folks tied to the Landry's family and Katherine Whaley, AM Traffic Reporter from KHOU-11 (a news Tweep of mine) along with a friend of hers who is a bride to be (Congrats, by the way!).  I want to thank the nice folks with Morton's Downtown Houston and the Landry's Family of companies for having me out for this little get together.  I will definitely come back for a well prepared steak, and some lamsbsickles real soon!

And remember to Eat Happy, Y'all!!!
早安,你们!!!