The Red Lion gets some nationwide television time

The Fish & Chips at The Red Lion; peas ain't mushy, though

Nearly a couple of weeks ago, I received an e-mail from the publicist for The Red Lion that it will be featured on Food Network's "Diners, Drive-ins and Dives" that is hosted by Guy Fieri.  The show is slated to air sometime in the fall.  It seems that Kenneally's across the street, with its dumpier demeanor along with excellent pizzas, freshly made potato chips and burgers might be a better candidate as a "dive", but I like when any worthwhile Houston restaurant gets some national attention.  And, The Red Lion does a good job with their food.

Fieri selected Chicken Tikka Masala, Tandoori Chicken Quesadillas and Shepherds Pie for the show.  Those Indian-style quesadillas are one of my favorite dishes there, along with the mini-cheeseburgers and fish and chips.  Overall, the food is quite good there, and something unique in an attractive and inviting British pub setting for Houston, English-inflected Indian food along with good pub grub, both traditional and locally attune.  The food there is immeasurably better than the half-dozen or so meals I've had in pubs in the British Isles and Ireland.  That might not be saying much.  But, it's good enough to have thrived in the Houston market since 2004.  Plus, The Red Lion has an excellent range of whiskies and they pour a very good pint, albeit possibly the most expensive one in town.  Even if the setting is faux-pub, it's comfortable and approachable, and, importantly this time of year, very well air-conditioned.

A later missive I received announced that the taping will be this Thursday, June 25.  The set will be closed for taping in case you were hoping to drop by for some possible camera time.  A time for the taping was not given, but I would assume that the place would be open by the evening.

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I have to admit, I'm not much of a fan of Guy Fieri.  Obnoxious Italian-Americans....  That Fieri beat out one of my sister-in-law Chandra's cooking school students in that Season Two of "The  Next Food Network Star" in 2006 might also have something to do with it.  She taught Nathan Lyon at the Los Angeles branch of Le Cordon Bleu a few years ago.  Lyon seemed like the best cook on the show, but his personality was not nearly as ebulliant as Fieri's.  He did manage to host a show on Discovery Health channel, though, "A Lyon in the Kitchen".  Incidentally, he prepared for the taping of it by spending almost a week with my sister-in-law in their kitchen in Fort Worth, where she and my brother now live. 

And, that is my tenuous connection to Guy Fieri's show, along with the fact that I have eaten at The Red Lion about a half-dozen times, drank there many more, and profiled it in the latest editon of Houston Dining on the Cheap.

Chicken Tikka Masala - $16 ($9 at lunch)
Tandoori Chicken Quesadillas - $13
Shepherds Pie - $15