Add Some Surf to Your Turf at Kirby’s Steakhouse
Whether you’re sitting across from a business connection or a first date, ordering seafood can feel intimidating. Even if you know you like salmon, should you order it on a cedar plank? Will pieces of the crab legs shoot across the table at your fellow diners? Are the seafood options ethically sourced so you won’t offend anyone at the table?
Our own Chef Clarence Alexander, from Kirby’s Steakhouse in The Woodlands, knows everything there is to know about the surf and the turf he serves. With his expert knowledge you can be sure to look like a pro when you order seafood at Kirby’s.
Ease into dinner with an appetizer
With several options on the appetizer menu – including jumbo shrimp cocktail, the chef’s seafood appetizer assortment, Oysters Ladybird, and Maryland style crab cakes – don’t hesitate to order seafood as your first course.
“The seafood tower is a great way to build some seafood to your steak dinner,” Clarence said. “It usually has Maine lobster tail, snow crab claws, jumbo shrimp, Blue Point oysters, and often smoked shrimp or mussels. If there is something special for the season it is often added to the seafood tower. Starting with the seafood tower really gets your palate primed for you to dive into dinner.”
If starting with the tower seems too intimidating, try one or two of the smaller plate options. Have shrimp two ways by ordering the jumbo shrimp cocktail and the grilled tequila shrimp. Try the Maryland style crab cake; it is topped with more lump crab meat and the classic lemon-butter sauce, also known as a beurre blanc sauce.
From light and fluffy to rich and decadent
The entrée seafood choices range from simple flavors to more deep and rich flavors. We want you to taste the freshness and enjoy it.
The Ahi tuna is clean and simplistic with just a touch of the chef’s flare in the stir-fry vegetables in a basil ponzu sauce. For another light option, choose the salmon roasted on a cedar plank. The wood creates a smokier flavor and the fish is topped with the staple beurre blanc sauce. A gulf product, the red fish is nicely grilled on a bed of French green beans sautéed with garlic. The fish is topped with colossal blue crab and lump crab, then finished with the beurre blanc.
The heaviest fish entrée is the Chilean sea bass, also known as the Patagonia Tooth Fish. The fish is pan-seared with lemon pepper. It is served over a bed of lobster risotto, which features cold water claw meat and a harissa sauce, flavored with roasted red bell peppers, curry, other spices, and basil infused oil.
If you can’t decide between seafood and steak, choose both. You can add a lobster tail, shrimp, or king crab legs to your order.
“The cold water Australian lobster tail is firm, yet tender,” Clarence said. “We like to serve it really natural with clarified butter. With the king crab legs, we even split them before we serve them. There is no reason to worry about having to crack your own crab when you come to Kirby’s.”
Making the seafood options more special
Our entire team’s focus is to make your meal memorable. Chef specials are created at each of the locations to delight diners’ regional preferences. This week you might find a Blue Marlin special in The Woodlands and a scallop special at the Southlake location.
“In The Woodlands we do a red fish with a Pontchartrain sauce – it is more spicy and has a rich deep flavor,” Clarence said. “The best thing about our seafood is that we have a great selection on the printed menu, and our chefs run great features. Our seafood connections thrive on great relationships with captains all over the world.”
If you see something on the menu – pan seared Ahi tuna for instance – and you would rather have it blackened than black sesame crusted, all you have to do is ask. If the folks in the kitchen have the ability to create a dish to sate your specific craving, they are more than willing to whip it up for you.
“Whether it is personal preference or a dietary restriction, if you let the staff know when you make a reservation, we’ll do our best to accommodate any request,” Clarence said.
When you make a reservation with us, be assured you’ll be pleased. Everyone at Kirby’s has invested their time and knowledge into creating an atmosphere where you can simply relax and enjoy your food, drinks, and company.
“No matter which of the seafood options you choose, it will be as fresh as we can get it to you,” Clarence said. “We order the fresh seafood every day and use as much wild-caught fish as we can. When we have to use farm-raised fish we make sure they come from the most humane and environmentally conscious farms as possible. It is important to all of us that we choose responsibly sourced ingredients.”
Comment and let us know what your favorite way to eat seafood when you stop in to see us. If you haven’t tried the seafood before, why not make a plan and make a reservation? We look forward to helping you make delicious seafood memories.