Scuttlebutt Caboose
Houston Press © 2005
by John Nova Lomax
Thursday, March 3, 2005

Lower Kirby denizens have no doubt seen the enormous stainless steel armadillo that has seemingly erupted out of the earth amid Jim Goode's restaurant empire. This weekend that sucker will come to life -- smoke will billow from its nostrils and its beady little eyes will burn coal-red -- and the building behind it will rumble into what promises to be a long and successful existence as the Armadillo Palace, the Goode family's first big venture into the music business.

Manager Craig Harrington took me on a tour of the Old West-themed joint and amid an army of
contractors and clouds of sawdust, you could see a real Texas-size gem emerging here. It's got that sense of bigness we Texans all once prized; it is an oversized appeal to all of our senses.

There will be plenty to taste: The kitchen will offer an all-star lineup of Goode Company specialties -- everything from steak to venison chili to empanadas to the delectable seafood campechana -- and the bar will be well-stocked with Texas brews and western-themed cocktails. (My favorite: the Gunslinger -- Southern Comfort, Bacardi 151, cranberry juice and a dash of Seven-Up.)

There will be lots to look at: All four walls in the main room will be positively encrusted with first-rate Texana and western artifacts -- old revolvers and rifles, saddles, Victorian portraits and yellowing newspapers, such as the one Harrington showed me: a framed copy of the New York Tribune bearing the news of Custer's Last Stand.

And it will be a feast for the ears: Harrington and Davin James will book top-shelf Texas bands every weekend. Jesse Dayton will play the opener on March 5; other March bookings include James, Clay Farmer, Owen Temple, 1100 Springs and Scott Walker, with the likes of Shake Russell, Max Stalling, Hayes Carll, John Evans and Tommy Alverson later this spring.

As Houston gets more and more international and cosmopolitan, it's all too easy to forget we are, in fact, still in Texas. As Goode likes to say, we should all give some serious thought to thanking our lucky stars for that, and the Armadillo Palace will make it all the easier.

Citysearch Editorial Review
CitySearch.com © 2005
By Joshua Hinsdale

Restauranteur Jim Goode's latest venture should be a hit with its Texas saloon atmosphere and Old West museum decor.

The Buzz
On the site of the closed-down BBQ Hall of Fame gift shop, the Armadillo Palace is hard to miss, with a 20-foot-long armadillo statue out front. This sixth restaurant in the Goode family will feature live music, pool tables, domino tables and a healthy serving of Texas hospitality.

The Early Menu
Promising ice-cold beer, chicken-fried steak, roast beef sandwiches, Texas-sized burgers and venison chili, the Armadillo Palace will appeal to those in search of a traditional Texas meal, served up in a dining room that looks as much like a museum of Texana as it does a saloon.

Food, artifacts with flavor of Old West
Goode's Armadillo Palace to take its place in panorama of Texas lore
By DAVID KAPLAN
Copyright 2005 Houston Chronicle

Jim Goode's soon-to-open Armadillo Palace resembles a museum of the West. It displays rifles under glass, Navajo blankets, a silver saddle from the 1948 Rose Bowl Parade and boots once owned by local TV personality Utah Carl.

A longhorn head hangs on the wall.

"Fell off a bar and killed a piano player in Waco in 1932 or 1933," said Don Jones, Goode's personal assistant.

It's well-attached this time, Jones promised.

Restaurateur Goode has mostly had the golden touch since opening his first restaurant in 1977. Each of his five eateries do huge business, but his 10-year-old Texas-themed gift shop, Barbeque Hall of Flame, flamed out.

Either March 3 or March 10 — depending on when it's ready — he'll unveil the Armadillo Palace at the former home of the Hall of Flame on Kirby near U.S. 59.

The Palace is a saloon featuring live Texas music and a Texas lunch menu of chicken-fried steak, hot roast beef sandwiches, venison chili and more.

Getting the right look has been key to Goode's winning formula. He has a background in commercial art. "We try to make everything interesting," Goode said. All of his interiors play on the same theme. Whether he is serving barbecue, tacos, or seafood, "Texas has always been what we're about."

"Jim doesn't do anything fancy," observed Michael Shine, owner of Texas Food Group, a restaurant and culinary consulting firm.

An emotional connection

"What he does is great food with a special atmosphere that allows you to emotionally connect with his food."

Artifacts in the Armadillo Palace and Goode Co. eateries are "not something you find in a garage," he said. To find such items, Shine said, "you have to live it. That's their passion."

Goode and Jones have traveled America in search of Old West antiques for over 20 years.

The Palace will offer live country, blues or rockabilly on Thursdays, Fridays and Saturdays, along with pool, shuffleboard and dominoes.

Texas rocker to open

Texas rocker Jesse Dayton is the scheduled debut act on March 6. If the Palace isn't ready, he'll sing across the road at Goode Co. Barbeque.

Goode has five restaurants: two barbecue, two seafood and one taqueria. Some entrepreneurs are reluctant to admit when their business fails, but not Goode. "The store was really a pain," he said, referring to the Hall of Flame. "We weren't making any money on teddy bears ..."

He also worried about customers walking off with things.

Last fall he said to his son and partner Levi Goode, "I think we ought to shut this place down and open a beer place."

Mail-order in back Goode Co. will continue a mail-order business in the back of the Palace, selling pecan pie, barbecue sauce, cooking utensils and other Texas-themed products from its Hall of Flame catalog.

Selling things like barbecue sauces and gifts in a retail space is difficult, Shine said: "You don't get enough return business to make it work, unless you can develop a large distribution network."

Selling beer and chili may be easier for Goode.

The Palace's main outdoor attraction is a 14-foot tall, 22-foot wide concrete and mortar armadillo.

Goode and son Levi came upon it in Wyoming in front of a restaurant.

It took a week of nagging the owners to convince them to sell it, said Tom Dayton, Goode Co.'s director of operations. To transport the armadillo, Dayton recalled, they had to get wide-load permits in every state from Wyoming to Texas.