I'm spending Tuesday in Galveston. I've read all the other Galveston threads already but would like to ask,

Do y'all recommend going to Moody Gardens or just spending the day around town walking the seawall and the strand, visiting Ashton Villa and Bishop's Palace?

I also need a lunch and dinner place to eat. I think from the other threads I am going to give Leon's BBQ a try for lunch. What about supper? Is Rudy and Paco's worth the money?

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These greens are so fast I have to hold my putter over the ball and hit it with the shadow. ~Sam Snead

Personally, I would hit The Spot for lunch rather than Leon's and then Rudy and Paco's for dinner. The Aquarium at Moody Gardens is a great way to spend an hour or two. You can buy tickets to individual attractions or an all-day pass that gets you into everything. I'd stick with the Aquarium. Spend a couple of hours in the Strand/Pier 21 area rather than the Bishops Palace (which is nice) or Ashton Villa (a waste of time).

will you be alone, with a wife/girlfriend, or with a family? kids?

is it an entire day or are you going back that night?

Just me and my girlfriend. We are going to be staying the night Monday in Clear Lake with a buddy and then waking up and heading to Galveston for the day. Probably stay in Galveston until dark or dark thirty

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These greens are so fast I have to hold my putter over the ball and hit it with the shadow. ~Sam Snead

cool...

unless you or your girlfriend just really wants to go, i'd skip the historic home tours.

you could easily spend all day at moody gardens if you wanted to. here's a list of what they have and prices. day passes are $50, but if you're going to do several different things, it winds up being a good deal

http://moodygardens.com/plan_your_visit/

if you don't want to spend all day there, the aquarium is the best attraction right now.

It is a toss up in regards to your two options. Moody Gardens is great, but you really won't learn much about Galveston. You can check out the attractions then cool off at the lagoon or Schlitterbahn. If the weather is bad then it's a no brainer.

However, the strand, seawall, and historical attractions will give you more of a feel for Galveston. There is also an offshore oil rig museum and railroad museum worth checking into.

If you are around town for lunch the spot is good if you want a burger. There is also Olympia Grill on the water near the strand. They have great greek food and an awesome deck. The greek salad with seared tuna would be my call for lunch. Right next door is Willie G's. They have a great deck and good seafood too. Yaga's Cafe on the strand is another recommendation for lunch.

Paco's is worth the money. He does a really good steak. He is from Nicaragua so his menu has a south american flare. Split two dishes with the wife. Get a filet and whatever else sounds interesting. You can't go wrong.

I also recommend Shearn's on the 9th floor of Moody Garden's hotel. Another great filet and bernaise. Only the freshest seafood available. Hands down the best view of sunset on the island.



[This message has been edited by FairwayAg (edited 5/27/2010 3:11p).]

i hate to always be the one touting it, but since you brought it up, shearn's is incredible.

they have a pan-seared red snapper with lump crapmeat topping that is phenominal.

before your meal, the lobster bisque is pretty awesome too.

i think it's probably a little more expensive than rudy and paco's and you honestly can't go wrong with either. you could just plan your day and eat at whichever one is closer to where you are around dinner time.

i'm not sure it's necessary, but just to be safe, make a reservation at whichever spot you pick.

Shearn's lobster bisque. Divine.

[This message has been edited by FairwayAg (edited 5/27/2010 3:27p).]

I have to agree with everything everyone on here has said so far.

I've eaten at Paco's once and Shearn's once. Both were phenomenal. Paco's was a bit more crowded, but that would seriously be my only complaint. Plus, I live next door to Paco... he's a really great guy. Enjoy your visit.

Kind of funny, I ended up going to Shearn's last night. I went a la carte. Started off with the warm goat cheese salad. Pretty damned good I tell ya. Then I had the french onion soup. For my main course I had the lobster ravioli appetizer. Delicious.

my wife loves the goat cheese salad.

since we were talking about gumbo on another thread, if you haven't already, you should try the shrimp gumbo. it's pretty tasty as well.

damn, now i may have to go soon...

I've decided to give Rudy and Paco's a try for dinner. For lunch I've got a short list of places that I would like to try (Leon's, The Spot, Mosquito, Sunflower, Sonny's) and I'll just hit up whichever is closest to me at the time

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These greens are so fast I have to hold my putter over the ball and hit it with the shadow. ~Sam Snead

That's a great list. Sunflower and Mosquito are like two blocks from each other... I prefer sunflower to mosquito, I think I'm in the minority though.

If you head to Sonny's just keep in mind that it looks like a questionable place from the outside. It is a very family friendly bar/restaurant that doesn't tolerate profanity or any other "bad" behavior.

We just got back from Galveston and had dinner at Rudy & Paco's. I had the snapper served with rasberry chipolte sauce - one of the best meals I've ever had. It is expensive, but worth it - we consider it a treat.

We love Leon's and picked up take out for lunch there one day - took it back to the hotel and ate on the deck. The Spot is really good, too - casual and a good ocean view. We've gone to Galveston for vacation for years, and this trip was the first time we've gone there, but a few of our favorites are not there anymore.

Also, for something to do to kill an hour and learn some about galveston, there is a Baywatch Harbor Tour. $10 per person, 45 minute tour that leaves on the hour from a dock behind Willie G's. The tour guide give some information about the businesses and museums on the harbor, and we saw dolphins out in the harbor. The college kids with us seemed to enjoy it, especially the girls.