While down in Laredo, I was taken aback! I thought my eyes were playing tricks on me when I saw the…read moresign. I have not seen a Kettle in decades.
While growing up in Conroe as a young lad, a Kettle was located in town near the interstate. It was never really a culinary delight, but it was 24 hours, and catered to the drunken crowd at 2 A.M. After many years, it closed, and I've never seen one since.
Curious to see if the Kettle was still the same, my friend and I decided to give this one a whirl. To be fair, my expectations were low, and the bar was set very low upon walking in. I have always thought of Kettle to be a red headed step child to Shoney's.
Upon pulling in the parking lot, it was not very busy. The exterior was pretty run down, and the building looks like it could use a facelift and a new coat of paint.
Upon walking in we were greeted and sat down in good time. The inside looked like an old antiquated diner, as expected, but was surprisingly clean.
Upon walking to our table, we passed by a dog approximately the size of a Labrador, sitting by a table. No biggie, maybe it is a service dog. Upon closer look, the dog was not a service dog, and was a pet of a homely looking fella in a booth.
Before all of the dog lovers get on my case about being mean to dogs, I am a dog lover myself, and have two dogs of my own. Also, my comment regarding the homely fella is not meant to be offensive, as I am not better than anyone.
That being said, the dog was not a service dog, and was very attentively waiting to be fed by its owner. The dog also had no vest, or items that usually mark a service dog. It was at this point I was tempted to leave, as this is disgusting, and highly unsanitary.
While the establishment should have a no dog policy (service dogs excluded), I decided to give this place a chance.
The waitress took our drink orders, brought our drinks, and took our order. The menus look old, and the food in the pictures do not look very appealing. My friend ordered the #41 and I ordered a three egg omelet. We waited for our food, and our drink glasses stayed at acceptable levels. So far, so good.
Food came out in average time. My omelet was very good. The hash browns left a little to be desired, but still not bad. My friend ate his food and did not have any complaints.
The service sort of trailed off after we got our food. We asked for our check, but the waitress never came back. After we waited long enough, we just decided to go up to the front and wait for our check. When we did that, our waitress reappeared quickly, and cashed us out.
Overall, I would say the experience was just meh. My low expectations did not disappoint me at all. The food was surprisingly good, and better than the one in Conroe I was accustomed to. The experience with the dog just ruined it for me. This could have easily been a three or four star visit, Fido ruined that.
Do I recommend this place? I would say maybe. Depending on what you are looking for, and if you have an open mind, I would say sure, why not. If you are looking for a more modern and upscale place, pass on by. I would have to say this is probably my first review where I have been so indecisive on recommending a place to eat or not.
Enjoy.
