I’ve been to Galveston twice – once, seven years ago when RAS and I went on a Carnival cruise, and second, last year when I attended the NATJA travel writers conference. The first was a passthrough, as we flew into Houston, boarded a transfer bus to the cruise port, and then got on the ship. I didn’t see any of the city then, but things were different on the second visit. Not only did I stay at Moody Gardens, the city’s pre-eminent resort and theme park center, but I also toured some of the most important historical points of interest and dined at superb restaurants.

Galveston competes with San Antonio and maybe a few other cities in Texas as a center of heritage. I didn’t see everything I heard about, so I hoped to do that on this third trip last week. Unfortunately, I couldn’t visit those places because of our limited time. Instead, RAS and I managed to go to a few restaurants near our hotel, the San Luis Resort. One of them, the first listed, was conveniently at the hotel.

Disclosure: I didn’t visit all of these restaurants. As I previously hinted, I only stayed in the city one night, which doesn’t allow for many opportunities for dinner. All of them, except where noted, are on Seawall Boulevard, the city’s waterfront road on the Gulf of Mexico.  I went on with the recommendations of writer colleagues and friends for most of these. RAS and I managed to try two of them, one for dinner and one for breakfast.

Blake’s Bistro

Before our cruise, we stayed at the San Luis Resort, where this was one of the three onsite restaurants. The others were Grotto, an Italian eatery, and The Steakhouse. This place is arguably the busiest in the hotel, serving breakfast, lunch and dinner. We came here for breakfast, which included an extensive buffet (which RAS naturally gravitated to) with Texas favorites like biscuits and gravy, grits, chorizo and huevos rancheros. I ordered the chorizo and eggs quesadilla, which, despite its size, was somehow light in texture, full of Southwestern flavor and had plenty of cheesy goodness. It also came with pico de gallo, guacamole and salsa roja. This is a great place to visit, either at the hotel or nearby.

The Fancy

This eatery emphasizes locally sourced foods inspired by the Gulf Coast and is located inside the Hotel Lucine, where we probably would have stayed if we didn’t at the San Luis Resort. Like many restaurants in Galveston, there are many intriguing seafood choices, like the tuna crudo with green apple mignonette and tobiko caviar and maltagliati en brood with marinated blue crab and chili crisp. What I like about The Fancy is the menu is simple but enticing, with just seventeen items on the food menu. Their drink and spirits menu is far more extensive and equally tempting.

Katie’s Seafood house

I had heard nothing good about this place, which used to be a straight seafood market, before it evolved into a full-fledged restaurant. This is not technically on the seashore – instead, it’s on the side of the island facing inland and near the cruise ports. We decided to come here after a long walk where we underestimated the distance and were eager to eat something.  As it turned out, the bowl of seafood gumbo and garlic cheese bread (at least a foot long) was enough sustenance for lunch and dinner. The richness of the broth held up well against the briny fish, shrimp and crabmeat and the cocktails we enjoyed.

Gaido’s

Some of my writing colleagues came here and raved about its fantastic seafood restaurant, which is between two hotels and one of the oldest establishments in the area. I’m not the biggest fan of all seafood, especially most shellfish. But looking at Gaido’s winter menu, I would love to try any of their offerings, including shrimp and crab. The offerings are simple but enticing, and I don’t feel overwhelmed like I would at Red Lobster. If we had gone here, I would have tried something local from their daily catch menu, such as American cornmeal fried catfish or American red snapper Michael.