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Breakfast at Pelican Grill.: Syd Kearney : 29-95
There’s no doubt that the weakened economy has been tough on mom-and-pop restaurants.
Erin Hilgedick has thousands of pieces of evidence: all requests for a visit from celebrity chef Robert Irvine and his Restaurant Impossible team.
Hilgedick is a longtime associate producer for the Food Network reality show, which is making its first visits to Texas this month. On Tuesday, Jan. 10, Restaurant Impossible arrives to makeover Pelican Grill in Seabrook and then its on to Mama Lee’s, a soul food kitchen, in San Antonio.
ccc: Syd Kearney : 29-95
For the uninitiated, Restaurant Impossible takes a failing restaurant and in two days -- and with just a $10,000 budget -- remakes the dining room, reorganizes the kitchen, refreshes the menu and re-energizes the staff and management.
In the middle of the whirlwind is Irvine, who has more than 25 years in the food industry. The native of England is known to Food Network for his bulging biceps, his no-nonsense work ethic and his resourcefulness as demonstrated in the long-running series, Dinner Impossible.
Does it work?
Chef Robert Irvine
Hildgedick says the Restaurant Impossible has been “very successful,” adding that the program’s has rescued 30 failing restaurants in its three seasons and only two have since closed.
The producer says “unfortunately, many restaurants they look at don’t have the ability or motivation to change.”
In the Pelican Grill owners John & Laura Walker, the producers saw a drive to make changes. (The owners and staff of Pelican Grill were contractually barred from doing interviews for this story.)
The restaurant is taking reservations for its grand re-opening Wednesday, Jan. 11, when the big reveal will be filmed. The producer says that the restaurant will do three seatings that night and all will be filmed. Call 281-326-6149.
The Restaurant Impossible episode featuring Pelican Grill will air in March on the Food Network.
The restaurant is located at 3142 Nasa Parkway in Seabrook. It’s regular hours are 6 a.m.-4 p.m.
I've eaten in this place several times. I found that it saved a lot of agravation to just ask the server to surprise me. I never got what I ordered anyhow. Generally the food would show up sometime before the expiration date. This dump doesn't need a savior it needs an executioner.
WE HAVE FOUND THE CONTRARY, GOOD FOOD, LOTS OF IT AND A VERY REASONABLE PRICE.SERVICE WAS COMPARABLE TO OTHER RESTAURANTS.
Try brushing your teeth before dining out
trying to call the place to get seats for wednesday evening but no one answering. is this to happen today 1/4 or 1/11?
thanks
The grand re-opening is Jan. 11.
Last time my family and I went it took 1hr to get our order , we got alot of I'm sorrys but no one stepped up to try and help us .... we havent been back
the economy has nothing to do with this restaurant failing , poor service and inability to get the orders right does
I love Restaurant Impossible! It's like Extreme Home Makeover, but for restaurants. Both the interior and menu are upgraded.
The food is gross and the clientele consists of just a bunch of crusty old seadogs who have to shout at each other in order to be heard at all. If their reboot drives that group away and begins to attract a younger customer base, and if the food really improves, then I'd consider returning. What I really wish is that Classic would serve breakfast on weekdays, or at least weekdays during holiday weeks.
You're complaining about crusty old sea dogs?? But wish the classic served breakfast weekdays? Hahaha that's rich! Seeing as how the classic is THE place where the "crusty old sea dogs" go! All jesting aside, the classic does have an awesome breakfast...and lunch...and dinner. I could go for some sea hogs right now as a matter of fact :)
Live in nearby community but have never eaten there. Frequently patronize restaurants in this area and willing to give the new and improve version a chance but with hours restricted to 6 AM to 4 PM, it seems unlikely.
Food is good and reasonable. Service is comparable. Place is clean and cozy.
Food very good and reasonable. Have eaten there a few times and found it to be a nice place to take a family
Eaten here many times. Always found the food good and at a good price. Only been here at lunchtime. Never had serving problems.
sounds like Kitchen Nightmares to me.
It's like KN but Irvine does it with just $10k and 2 days.
The other difference being Gordon Ramsay is a multi-Michelin star chef with many successful restaurants to his name, while Robert Irvine is... Robert Irvine.
I have always enjoyed Robert Irvine's shows. With all of these bad comments, I hope that this place is redeemed. It deserves a chance and at least they're doing something. That's more than can be said about a lot of places.
My husband and I tried to eat there a few times over the past three years. I live almost within walking distance and a good eatery is never remiss. Unfortunately, between the food and the service, we finally just gave up on the place totally. I am looking forward to the revamp and will give it another shot.
We go this restaurant on a regular basis for breakfast and haven't had a bad meal. They also have really good hamburgers. They have a very small kitchen, and I think they do the best they can with what they have to work with. The service needs some work, and I think the owners need to let the servers be servers and not have to deliver their food for them. I think a remake will make it a much better restaurant.Good Luck!
One of my favorite guilty pleasures in my town is this low-key joint. Never had bad service and never had bad food -- but it is what it is. I hope they manage to hold on to the small-town charm of the place.
I went to the Pelican Grill one time and will never return - I don't care what they do to it. I was served a cold hamburger and then the server insisted that the hamburger was in fine condition and that I was being "a bit picky don't you think?" Maybe I would have been in a little better mood had I been served my food 45 minutes earlier (over an hour total wait for my food).
This little place is great. We eat there often, good food, clean, reasonable. Great burgers and breakfast. Agree the decor was a bit lacking but I figured that was keeping the prices down.
I'm sorry but who ever say this place sucks and food not good then go somewhere. Else
I had the best grilled chicken burger and fries it was Amazing.
.love love love ...
Ah...the Pelican Grill. I'm stunned that Chef Robert and team
even considered this. The restaurant is extremely poor in all areas.
My wife and i have eaten there many times, always hoping for improvement. Service is beyond slow. We've even left after waiting twenty minutes just to get a menu! It would be great if they actually improve as we really like to keep our business local.
It's nice to see something like this happening close to home! I agree that the Pelican sucks...bad! The service is almost non-existent due to the wierdos they have working there. The food is Denny's quality at best and ALWAYS takes way longer than it should - regardless of the size of the kitchen, the place is never ''slammed'' so it's not like a line cook shouldn't be able to handle it. The Classic is always my first choice, but for weekdays when you want breakfast and can't bring yourself to go to Waffle House, or weekends when the line is out the door at Classic...it would be nice if this was a viable option to dine at. Can't wait to see the episode!!
PG is awesome. We have had many meals there as a family and they have knocked it out of the park everytime. The French toast is spot on and the burgers and onion rings have always been perfect. Who gets on the internet to bash something anyway? People that are already mad at the world and all of us in it? Smile once in a while and maybe you will get better service. To those that left negative comments, please don't waste everyone's time and return. It is hard enough for the loyal customers to get a table due to the popularity of the joint.
Rock on Pelican Grill!!!!!!!!
Wth??? Hard to get a table? Are you serious?! Hahaa the place isn't bad... I mean it's better than waffle house but i have never seen it packed... And I live at the apartments practically next door. This thread is hilarious I swear.....
I have eaten at Pelican Grill about 5 times over the last 2 years. I have only eaten breakfast, and most of the time it has been very busy. Great price and great breakfast food. The staff is very friendly. There have been a couple of times when I thought it took too long but it's a local hole in the wall so I didnt mind. I like old dives like this, and I am not an old crusty seadog. Can't wait to see the makeover and will for sure check it out once it's complete. I hope they make it, I had no idea they were struggling.
It sure is nice to have some places that serve well priced american breakfast.
I go to the Pelican Grill regularly. Everyone is very friendly and the service I have had was excellent! Their breakfast is excellent...the morning orange juice comes in a frozen mug...I love the hearty wheat berry bread... fresh blueberry pancakes....and some of those crusty old sea dogs are some of the wealthiest men (and women) in the area...not to mention the regulars that own a few of the million dollar penthouses in the Endeavour highrise down NASA Parkway couple of miles...nice owners and employees!!!
We go to Pelican Grill for breakfast a lot and have never had the problems I'm reading here. The waitresses have always been nice and we've even gotten to know some of them. The menu is pretty varied for a little diner and we've always had good meals.
I eat breakfast there at least 2 times a week, sometimes 3. Service is always good, the food is always good. Great pancakes. They never open for dinner, which is strange. I just hope this 'makeover' doesn't raise prices too much nor change the 'feel' of the place. P:erhaps Irvine and his crew will install a countertop with about 5 stools ( where that wall with the TV is). That would be a great addition, and my regular seat for sure. DO IT ROBERT!
Everyone deserves a second chance, especially when they are reaching out for help. When you are teachable, good things can happen.
My father and I dined at PG this afternoon for lunch. The new decor isn't anything special, but $10,000 can only go so far. We both ordered off the "Robert Irvine inspired" menu. My father ordered the Redfish sandwich and I ordered the fish and chips. We got our order in about 20 minutes, not too terrible. However we both literally had to spit the fish out. It was clearly previously frozen, slimy, and rancid tasting. I couldn't believe it. There is no way Chef Irvine would have condoned or even thought about serving that. I wouldn't feed that fish to my dogs. Awful, just awful. A real disappointment.
Pelican Grill was boarded up with plywood last night and CLOSED was spraypainted on it. Too bad, I had hoped they would make it.
I found out that a car (Maribelles Drunkard) jumped the curb and took out the glass and aluminum framwork. Hopefully they will be open again. They are a super nice family, and I've personally never had a bad meal there. Breakfast was always good. I haven't been there since the RI team gave it a makover though.
I love the small town feel of this place. I've been before and after the renovation. Food is always good, served with a hometown feel. They support our local youth and our community. Love this place! Fried pickles are awesome!
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