Pelican Rm in Galveston

[jess mebane]

Hey, we're routing thru Galveston after the NOLA anniversary pilgrimage to see some friends for dinner Fri. pm at the The Pelican Room at Gaido's. If dear spouse is jacket required, what should I wear? And then order, of course. I know Jaymes has been there, and Bush, Sr., but it's too late to ring up ol' Bar--help a sista owt!

[fifi]

I haven't been to Gaido's Pelican Room but, at about the only two other Houston area venues that require "jacket" (Brennan's and Tony's), I have been comfortable in "business dressy". I can't imagine any more than that for Galveston. Frankly, I am surprised that there are any "jacket required" venues in Galveston.

I will be curious to see if the food at the Good Old Gaido's rates a "jacket required" rating.

[pat]

It's been a few years since I last ate to the Pelican Club, because my parents gave up their membership when they realized that they weren't using it much and probably could satisfy themselves with dining in the restaurant. So the following info may be out-of-date...I dunno.

The Club's advantages? You can make reservations rather than the first-come, first-served policy at the restaurant; it has somewhat better ambience, although no Gulf views; and the dress code for men assures that you won't be sitting next to folks who just came off the beach. I assume that was the original rationale for establishing the Club: locals could get their Gaido's fix without waiting in long lines during peak beach season AND wouldn't have to mix with the tourists, LOL.

So to answer your question about what to wear, I'd agree with fifi's "business dressy" suggestion and add "church clothes," if you know what I mean. I don't know if they'd turn you away for being too casually dressed, but the male "jacket only" policy is much easier to enforce so I guess that's why they do it.

As for the food, IIRC the menu is the same as in the restaurant, although there may be some specials that are available in the Club only. I seem to remember that they give you an amuse bouche of the sort that you'd expect at a coastal Texas seafood restaurant--crab balls or crab claws or something like that. The bar drinks are strong, and I always liked the generous portions of wine that they poured by the glass, although the prices were rather steep. My choices from the menu tended to be a few old favorites--the soups, bisques and gumbo; oysters when in season; stuffed shrimp or stuffed crab; BBQ grilled shrimp; snapper grilled or sapporito; and shrimp salad when I wanted something light.

Writing this response is making me hungry for seafood...guess that's my plan for dinner tonight. I hope you enjoy the evening, and remember that the Pelican Club isn't going to challenge the "jacket required" restaurants in Houston as far as cuisine...it's primarily there for the locals to be able to enjoy Gaido's without the inconveniences of living in a tourist town and a nice place for special celebrations when a more sedate setting is desired.

[Jaymes]

The Pelican Club was established because Galvestonians LIKE private clubs. High-tone Galvestonians hate socializing with "those people," whomever they determine "those people" to be. Who you are and who you "play with" in Galveston is pretty directly connected to which invitation-only private clubs you join. It's been a while since I lived there, so can't remember all the names, but there are private party clubs for the smart youngish set, and organizations like the Artillery (pronounced 'Ah-TILL-rih') Club for the older crowd. They host such high-tone events as debutant presentations and charity functions. The "Snow Ball" each year is a must-do if one is anyone. And of course, there's always the Junior League and the Galveston Historical Foundation. Stepping into the Pelican Club is like stepping into a time machine that whisks you back to an earlier era of graciousness, for a certain "class" of people. In Galveston, nothing matters so much as whether or not you are old-money and belong to one of several important families. If you're not, it is hoped that you are at least BOI (Born on the Island), and you'd better be light-skinned as well. If you fail in any of these categories, you are lumped in with the "those people" that must wait on line at Gaido's.

I always got the Crabmeat au Gratin. I absolutely love it. I've asked at Gaido's several times if I can order it, and was told no, although I didn't press it. The menus at both places are similar, but several high-end dishes and specials are only available at the Pelican Club. All three of my children have spent at least one summer of their lives waiting tables at Gaido's. My son said that whether or not you can get a Pelican Club signature dish often depends on the waiter at Gaido's and how busy they are. As he said, "Most of the people that are aware of the Pelican Club, especially the menu there, BELONG to the Pelican Club so it doesn't come up much."

And the dress is old-South high-tone as well. "Church clothes" describes it perfectly.

PS - Should add that it's been quite a few years since I lived there. So all of this information may be hopelessly out of date. Galveston may, indeed, have dragged itself into at least the late 20th Century Cent'rih.

Edited June 22, 2004 by Jaymes (log)

[claire797]

Jess!

How was the Pelican room? Did you bump into any of the Moody's? ;) We're doing a weekend trip to Galveston soon and it's on our list.

[jess mebane]

Jess!

How was the Pelican room?  Did you bump into any of the Moody's?

Alas, a rampant case of pink-eye struck the Mebane tribe, and we had to cut the last daytrip short, careening down I-10 towards home instead of south by the sea. See, the folks are kind enough (and crazy enough), to keep all of the grandsons for a week so each summer, so Sister and her husband and I and my spouse can get a parenting breather. That's right, sportsfans: five boys, two dogs and one Grambird on the lone prairie for seven days, with my little flyweight mom 'n dad riding herd. So, once our littlest and middlest came down with the crusties, Granny and G'daddy unfortunately had to call us home.

We hope our friends are kind enough to invite us again soon, but in the meantime I appreciate all the kind advice and tasty gossip, and as God as my witness, Ah will Au Gratin again! It's interesting the menu is the same for "club members" or whathaveyou--my best friends and I used to cut school for Galveston and regular room Gaido's and split two crabmeat au gratin among four girls. One evening years later one of the gals and I went back on some misbegotten nostalgia tour and had the usual, and the friendly waiter mentioned George Bush Sr. was dining there with friends. Lorie and I asked him subtle questions like, "If we were to get lost, where would we find this Senor Bush?" So we went thisaway and thataway, and came upon a room with one long banquet table. I'm standing on my tiptoes, craning around trying to find him, and Lorie is practically cracking my ribs with her elbow, pointing dead ahead and hissing, "He's RIGHT THERE. WAVING AT US." And he was, much to Barbara's chagrin.

edited for smiley balance

Edited June 23, 2004 by jess mebane (log)

[claire797]

Well, I heard the same story, but it took place at Luby's in Houston and it was Barbara who was waving. .

Seriously. That was a great story! Bush's aside, I think it's neat that you and your girlfriends cut school to go eat au gratin at the Pelican Club.