Arts & Entertainment
 

Galleria guests get to shop, eat well

Retro atmosphere provides quiet oasis escape from hectic shopping outside

Feeding frenzy

Bjorn Gudmundsson

Daily Grill in the Galleria, with its dark wood paneling and dimly lit cigar-friendly bar, looks like the kind of place Chicago mobsters would have met to discuss their latest hit over pork chops and applesauce, or like the set of a movie from Hollywood's film noir period. Evocative of the gentlemen's clubs of the 1940s, this California-based chain offers hotel guests, tourists and shoppers large portions of comfort food without having to leave the mall.

The extensive menu is based around home-style American classics, so expect modern renditions of blue-plate favorites. Breakfast, which is served from 6:30 to 11 a.m. seven days a week, offers a choice of either a buffet or a la carte options. Catering mostly to guests of the hotel, breakfast includes such fare as Belgian waffles ($7.95) and a three-egg omelette with any two items ($8.95).

"We want to offer something different," Marty Oeser, general manager and UH Hilton College alumnus, said. "Most places offer more complicated food. Ours is simple home cooking and we think that's the way people want it."

At lunchtime, sandwiches and huge bowls of salad offer sustenance to famished shoppers. Nostalgic offerings like the BLT, with half a pound of bacon, and the toasted tuna melt with sharp cheddar cheese ($9.50) have mall rats and hotel guests alike leaving on full stomachs.

At dinner, the lights are dimmed even more, and the menu shifts gears somewhat.

"Dinner is very much a steak affair," Jo Coutts, bar manager, said.

Indeed, the steaks are the main attraction, especially the aged New York strip ($21.95), or the weekend special, a 14-ounce prime rib with creamy horseradish sauce ($20.95). However, lighter dishes shine as well. 

Entree salads such as the charbroiled chicken Caesar salad ($13.95) make a hearty and healthy dinner, as does the angel hair pasta pomodoro ($10.95). 

Resist the temptation to order a dessert for each person at the table. Massive desserts like big carrot cake, which lives up to its name, or the fresh fruit cobbler ($5.95 each), are more than enough to share.

The fully stocked bar is one of the best places in the Galleria for a good, stiff drink, with over a dozen specialty martinis (some with silly names like Menage a Trois) and a full selection of beer and wine. Separated from the main dining areas by glass panels, the bar area is remarkably noise-free. The only sounds are hushed conversations and Frank Sinatra's voice in the background. Sitting at the bar or in one of the dark leather banquettes, the refined atmosphere makes it easy to forget that you're in a mall.

Since the Daily Grill is owned by the Westin Galleria Hotel, guests of the hotel make up a large percentage of the clientele. Besides groups of convention-goers and well-heeled tourists, other patrons come mostly from the mall, tired of the food court offerings. One perk for Galleria patrons is the complimentary valet parking through the hotel.

Daily Grill, with its clubby atmosphere and renditions of home cooked favorites, is quickly becoming one of the Galleria's most popular restaurants. One look at its attractive dining room and enormous, varied menu will explain why.

Daily Grill

The Galleria

The verdict: Classic style offers relief from retail weariness.
 

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