BY MIKE PUCKETT

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Genesis Steakhouse & Wine Bar, the first Kosher steakhouse in Houston, is located in West Houston on Bissonnet St. just outside the 610 West Loop. Because the restaurant is Kosher, only animals deemed “Clean and Fit” are used in preparing their meat dishes.  No doubt, this is why the meat is of such high quality.

I had driven by the Genesis Steakhouse & Wine Bar many times and had always wanted to stop in and check the place out. Well, after a number of people told me how good the food was there, I decided to grab a couple of friends and give it a try. Ohhhhh, I’m so glad I did!

When you walk in, you completely understand that you are about to enjoy a fine dining experience.  They have really outdone themselves with the chic and trendy décor.  I noticed a couple of rooms that would be perfect for large groups.  If the food is as delightful to the palate as this gorgeous restaurant is to the eye, then we have ourselves a home run!

A brightly decorated tree stands tall in the middle of the very large dining room.  The tree, along with the lights hanging down from the ceiling, provides a wonderful outdoor feel – like dining under the stars. Our visit was in the early evening so it wasn’t dark outside – but I can only imagine what this place must look like at night!

Genesis Steakhouse & Wine Bar offers a full bar and many wonderful wine options – as you can probably guess from its name. We stuck with craft beer in celebration of Craft Beer Friday…Karbach Rodeo Clown Double IPAs were on our agenda.

Well, we decided to start the night off right with a few apps. We ordered the Beer Batter Onion Tower, the Stuffed Avocado, the In-House Smoked Salmon and the Smoked Short Rib Tacos to give us a general idea of what Genesis had to offer.

The Beer Batter Onion Tower was very good. Crisp and tasty onion rings lightly battered, deep-fried and piled high on the plate. A great start, but there was more to come!

The Stuffed Avocado was wonderful – a perfectly ripe avocado half stuffed with Cajun Chicken, peppers, onions and drizzled with White Wine Sauce. Absolutely unbelievable, it was so good!

I’m a big fan of smoked salmon, so I had to try the In-House Smoked Salmon.  This delicious dish consists of a Garlic Crostini topped with smoked salmon, hard-boiled egg, red onions, and a trickle of Chef’s Dressing.  This dish was absolutely phenomenal – you must try it!

For our final entrée, we savored the Smoked Short Rib Tacos: tasty shredded prime beef tacos served with Guacamole and a flavorful Soy Dressing. This dish was nothing short of excellent – out-of-this-world good!

And those were just the apps!  I couldn’t wait to dig into the entrées! If they turned out to be as good as the apps, I was gonna have a hard time walking out of here!

Now for the entrées! First, we sampled the The Bruce, a half-pound burger topped with crispy pastrami, a fried egg and onion strings and served with lettuce, tomato and a pickle. It also comes with a side of Onion Rings.  This massive mountain of meat was incredible. Soooo good!

Lately I’ve become a huge fan of Chilean Sea Bass, and the fish here at Genesis Steakhouse & Wine Bar did not disappoint!  The sea bass is breaded with your choice of a Pecan, Pistachio, or Almond Crust, then grilled and served on a bed of sautéed spinach. I had the almond crust and it was amazing!  The fish and the spinach meshed perfectly together. Definitely a winner!

We also tried the Lamb Chops with Rosemary Reduction & Grilled Asparagus. The lamb chops were amazing – tender, melt-in-your-mouth goodness. They were drizzled with Rosemary Reduction which added just the right zing. The asparagus was divine – young, tender shoots grilled to perfection.

I was very impressed with the Cowboy, a 24-oz. Prime Black Angus Bone-in Rib-eye. It was prepared medium rare, just the way I like it and the fork-smashed potatoes, dinner rolls and pesto served with it were packed with flavor. I love steaks and this one put a huge smile on my face!

But the Herbed Marinated 14 oz. Veal Chop with Demi-Glace had to be my favorite dish of the night.  The meat was so tender it just fell off the bone, the fork-smashed potatoes were the perfect accompaniment and the demi-glace was indescribably flavorful. There’s no doubt, this is a dish that will keep me coming back again and again!

Well, what can I say? We really enjoyed ourselves here at Genesis Steakhouse & Wine Bar.  This is the perfect place to take your better half for a date night, meet up with friends for cocktails or enjoy an evening with a large group for a holiday party or private event. Needless to say, I will be back soon. I can hear the Veal Chop calling my name already!

PHOTOGRAPHY: MIKE PUCKETT