Sunday, December 28, 2008

Dosey Doe - Woodlands, TX

We came across the Dosey Doe by accident, desiring to see the legendary Joe Ely in concert. It turns out that the Dosey Doe is also a fine eating establishment in addition to a neat place to see a concert and get a fine cup of coffee. A visit from Chicken Fried Friends for the distinctly non-CFS holiday of Thanksgiving prompted us to visit the Dosey Doe and see Texas Trubador Shake Russell.

The Dosey Doe is a unique place and very neat. It is actually a transplanted barn – from their website:

Our Dining/Live Music Hall is a 150 year old barn from Kentucky. Hand Hewn (cut by axe instead of saw). It is made entirely of 300 year old growth Oak and Birch. The process of taking the barn down, re-raising it, and finishing it out took two and one half years.

Unique to say the least. The Dosey Doe is dotted inside with dozens of tin metal signs from the petroleum industry’s past and the food/road culture (including sodas made with bark and herbs).

The CFS: Overall, it was very good. The steak was well flattened, chewy and flavorful. It was moist, but not too moist, but this unfortunately added to the soggy factor.

Breading: Southern style. Really southern fried chicken style. The breading was thin like you’d find on fried chicken. Although the gravy was thin (see below), the thin breading got a bit soggy because it was so thin.

Gravy: Classic and excellent. Like a traditional gravy should be, white gravy had strong notes of both white and black pepper. It was very thin but it was only modestly applied. Perhaps there wasn’t enough, but the quality certainly made up for the quality.


Knife: A sizable steak knife was provided but probably not needed! The steak was thin, the breading was thin and the gravy was thin.

Sides: No options – it came with mashed potatoes and “summer vegetables” (which were green beans, zucchini and pearl onions). The mashed potatoes were very good – garlicy and smooth. The veg were also very nice, especially the pearl onions which were a nice touch. I didn’t particularly like that it was served underneath the CFS (see picture) because this caused the potatoes and veg to blend together and make the bottom of the CFS mushy. (also try the Bourbon Pecan Pie – it was fantastic).

Cost: $16.00. So, a bit higher than average but the quality of the food and the experience was worth the price.

Service: Not great. The tables on the main floor are long and all connected together (think Cambridge eating club style). This appears to create a bit of havoc with the wait staff (and apparently the kitchen – our appetizer came out after our main course and a food runner tried to give us a meal that wasn’t ours). But, after dinner was sorted out, our waiter was constantly on the spot with additional whiskey and Coke orders.

Music Selection: Nothing during dinner, but Shake Russell was the live entertainment.

Figuring out whether or not people would go to the Dosey Doe for great music or great food would be folly – both are great and it is always a fun time. They’ve got a great formula and I hope it stays that way.

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