Blanco’s

Blanco’s, you shall be missed.
I always enjoyed your cheap booze, rockin’ bands, and sturdy dance floor. There was nothing better than wasting away a hot summer evening playing shuffleboard, knocking back beers, dancing to the classic-​country jukebox, and admiring the ‘décor’ of stuffed bears, beer signs, and photos from Houston’s heyday.

A Houston icon that will be missed when they close in November…
I know a metric shit ton of readers have been here at night, but most do not know that they serve a great lunch daily!!!
Try one of the Burgers!!!

My rodeo committee was hosting their happy hour here and I didn’t know what to expect. It’s a total dive, but I wanted to be social so we were going to have dinner and drinks here. Dinner was great actually. Very basic burger but so freaking tasty!
And then drinks were dirt cheap. It’s a no frills type of joint. I heard they have live music and line dancing on certain nights?

Holy Mother!!!
I don’t know if I was just really hungry but I think I had one of the best burgers of my life here.

Great prices for the area, good burgers and lunch specials.

My fiancée and I moved into the neighborhood a couple of months ago and finally made it out to this joint. Her and I are all about dancing, so when we discovered there’s a two step floor just down the street, we had to go!
We went on a Wednesday night last week. No cover, live band, fair-​priced drinks; already enough for a good review from me! There was a mixture of young professionals, hipsters, old married couples, old single folks, and just about everyone you could imagine. This makes for a great atmosphere, be it for drinking or dancing or playing pool/​shuffleboard.
The band that night was Country Jim, I believe. The dudes are talented and funny, and will keep your boots scootin’ all night long. There were only a couple staff working it seemed, but they kept everyone’s orders filled and seemed to be pretty chill.
All in all, a good place for anyone looking for a live country band that allows you to also strike up a convo (not BLASTING their speakers like some other venues). The food looked pretty delish and affordable, but we just came from dinner so I can’t attest to its quality at the moment. We’re really glad River Oaks has SOME place of Texan culture after all!

My first real experience in all of Houston came at Blanco’s.
I came right off the plane and told my more than willing cab driver to haul ass and get me to Blanco’s for some good quality fun
I Had an awesome time dancing the two step to the legendary Dale Watson, (How is his tour bus as big as a Megabus.?)
Buckets of beer are 10 bucks during happy hour. Everyone of the staff and even the bar patrons are super friendly.
Overall, I’ll always remember Blanco’s as my first bar in Houston, and I think that is actually a good thing, because I had such a great time at a local dive bar

I’ve been frequenting Blanco’s for rodeo committee after parties for 10 years now. It’s a good olé honky tonk with live music, pool, and shuffleboard. Don’t expect anything fancy — buckets of domestic beer and jack and water are among the favorites of the regulars.
The bartenders are always super friendly and no matter the amount of committee members they always stay on top of their game and keep us all happy.
Be sure not to leave any valuable in your car, as we’ve had a few break ins. Since these break ins they sometimes have an employee guarding the lot, but I’d rather play it safe.

Been going there since I was under age, before computers!(back in the Dark ages !)
Great Texas music– cheap beer packed and FUN– large deck out back if ya wanna talk. Food is good at lunch. what could be better than to have a GOOD Country bar in the middle of River Oaks? Still go and hear great music and dance. FUn for young twenties and old folks as well. The very best night of the year is:
the Wednesday night before Thanksgiving.

I’m not much of a two-​stepper nowadays, but once in a while I get dragged out here for an evening of fun. This is a typical country bar and it is just what you’d expect – tiny bathrooms, shuffleboard, a dance floor, and cheap beer.
What I think I love about this place is the odd location. It is in the middle of a business-​y area of town where you’d never expect a honky-​tonk bar. Half the time I miss it, because it doesn’t occur to me that a bar would be here. But that cute little house with the long porch in the front is definitely a good place to stop by for an evening out.
I’ve heard that the food is phenomenal during the day, but my only experience with it was when they catered a wedding reception there. It was decent (fajitas and all the fixin’s), though I’m guessing that their regular meals are better by leaps and bounds.
The service is always friendly in that southern way that you would expect. The back patio always has a bunch of people milling around if you want a break from all the dancing. There are pool tables on the side as well for a quick pick up game.

While most people go here for the great atmosphere, the country music, the long neck beer and the two-​stepping, I go here more often for lunch each Friday for the grilled chicken sandwich. While I love shooting pool and listening to music and drinking cold beers and people watching at this dive, I seem to frequent the place during daylight hours more often than not.
Service can be a little slow when the kitchen gets backed up with orders, but this is how things work at Blanco’s. Don’t let it distress you.
They honestly have good food here. Try it some time. Enjoy the people watching too. Not your typical River Oaks kinda place.

I’m not a country girl by any means – besides being Asian, ha! – but my friend had been telling me about shuffleboard, so she dragged me here though she knew this would not be my scene. It’s small and divey but not sketchy, with live music and one shuffleboard set up. If this were my sort of thing, I’d dig it.
Oh, so while we were playing shuffleboard, this guy started playing with us, and invited us to Wild West. I got double the country I was expecting.

On the north side of W. Alabama between Buffalo Spdwy and Edloe lies a desolate stretch of otherwise valuable River Oaks real estate, save a holdover from Houston’s wildcatter heyday of the 80’s. An expansive gravel parking lot and an old wooden house where people unabashedly wear their pearl snaps and cowboy hats — hardly seems like a place you’d find ITL near Highland Village in 2010.
At the door you’ll pay a cover that varies with the band, and walk into Blanco’s — an old school honky tonk that makes no apologies. The place is fairly small, and often packed to the rafters. There is space for a few pool tables and shuffleboard to your left, the bar to your right, and straight ahead, the dance floor. You might have to fight the crowd for drinks as patrons vie for space among the people sitting on barstools, but the harried bartenders are quick, as long as you know what you want when you get up there. Order a bucket to save you some time. When the likes of Gary P. Nunn or Dale Watson are the night’s entertainment, you’ll get a lively crowd two-​stepping and waltzing just past the band that’s practically on the dance floor with you. You don’t have to be a pro either, but it helps to have some skill at navigating the other boots on the floor.
A small porch on the front and a patio on the side allow for smokers or just a breath of fresh air, and the old signage and neon lights on the inside complete the sawdust feel of one of Houston’s honky tonk jewels.

It’s a country bar… in the middle of River Oaks… and hipsters go there for 40’s night. (Yes, I said 40’s night. As in the big, cheap-​ass bottles 40’s, not the vintage vixen kind.) That description should at least give you some semblance of how eclectic this honkytonk bar is. Though I was somehow hoping a version of the «both kinds: country and western!» bar in the Blues Brothers was hiding out in ITL Houston, Blanco’s is okay in its own right. It’s got a jukebox, Western paraphenalia and neon lights up on the walls, and a stage for occasional live music. Parking is a breeze thanks to their decidedly-​not-​River-​Oaks loose shell gravel parking lot. The bartenders are friendly, the drinks are moderately priced, and there’s a small patio outside for the smoking of belligerent cigarettes.
Other than that, I, er, don’t remember all too much about Blanco’s, which should give you an idea of how much I liked this place.

Birthday Party (on a Monday) 2009.
Places, everybody, places. Cue lights. Cue jukebox*. Cue kitten paws. ACTION!!!
Birthday Girl (liberal use of the word «Girl») pulls into the gigantic graveled parking lot adjacent to Blanco’s, wondering just how many kitten paws dragged in the fog. Remembering all lessons learned from B-​Horror movies, she hopes it bodes well for the evening. After glancing at the Methodist monolith’s pool facility next door, sees a future fellow reveler getting out of HER car. Both head into River Oak’s country bar Mecca, Blanco’s.
«Had you envisioned the entire party two-​stepping?»
Birthday Girl, one of just under thirty revelers, turns to the deserted comfortably-​sized dance floor, looks at the stage, and wonders why Dale Watson played there the Friday BEFORE her birthday. She also notices how comfortably her group of party-​goers has spread out. Enough room to swing a cat.
«Is that a haystack over there?»
The group of people taking an intermission on the outside deck turn to the adjacent field. No one’s eyes adjust to the fog. Birthday Girl tries not to fall through the overly-​saturated wooden planks of the deck and looks over at the tented portion of the deck where air is most likely warm and less foggy.
«Willie, Waylon, and Me»
Cue record.
‘They say Texas music’s in the make
And we’ve been making music that is free
Doin’ one-​night stands
Playin’ with our bands
Willie, Wayon, and Me’
Birthday Girl hears her favorite Coe song cued up again, and again thinks of Blanco’s policy of promoting Texas country bands. She also wonders what the bar is like during the rodeo, wonders if she’ll need to buy a pair of boots, notices her large party’s noise and size has driven out a horrid little office party nearby, notices the table full of Late Nite pie, and begins to rue her belly full of cheap Vine-​Gar wine. She gets up mid-​conversation and finds pepperoni. While Monday is an all-​day happy hour, the kitchen also closes at 3 PM.
«The bathroom is hiding.»
When Sagittarian19-​B (Birthday Girl knows two Sagittarian19s, both of which were at Blanco’s that night) said she had to follow someone to the hidden bathroom door, Birthday Girl looked around at all of the walls. If the bar was slightly smaller and there was little to no dance floor, Blanco’s would qualify as a dive bar. It had a dive bar’s worth of memorabilia and ephemera on the walls. There is a stuffed bison next to the shuffle board. (No, that is not undercover spy talk.) There is also a jukebox that gives you four plays for a dollar. Makes you feel a bit like J. D. Rockefeller… without the rock.
*As the conversations are rather unimportant, I have replaced them with silent-​film styled placards written with a Sharpie on the great country and western paper decorations provided by Olivia, and jukebox music such as: David Allen Coe, Patsy Cline, Dale Watson, and Dwight Yoakam. Had I been at Kay’s, I could happily sub those with the wonderous glories known as 70s country. As it was my birthday, I ignored names such as Brad Paisley and Leann Rimes.

Well, I was drunk the day my mom got outta the prison.
And I went to pick her up in the fog.
But, before I could get to the station in my economy friendly 4D car
She got runned over by a damned old train.
So I’ll hang around as long as you will let me
*let me, let me, let me, let me*
Ok, none of this really happened, but Blanco’s makes me feel like it could be a daily occurrence in my life. It’s not the dingiest country bar I’ve ever stepped into (not by a long shot), but definitely has all the right ingredients with out the grimey feel. The best part is the location. This place sits between River Oaks and Highland village and somehow manages to fit in with its surroundings.
They earn an extra stars for their huge dirt parking lot, shuffle board, creaky wood floors, and good tunes playing on the jukebox (old country… you know, the good stuff). I haven’t been on a weekend yet– but I will be back with an update.

This is my favorite place in Houston to see a show — a great, old honky tonk that features good music from Dale Watson to James Hand. The food is also really quite good. A friend of mine dreams about the chicken fried steak. The drinks are reasonably priced. The staff are friendly, helpful, and on the ball. There’s no such thing as a bad time at Blanco’s.
Do know that there may be a cover charge that runs from $ 10 to $ 12, depending on the band. Some nights there’s not a cover at all. In either case, it’s a fair price to listen to some good music and take a spin on the dance floor.

Blanco’s is The River Oaks Honky Tonk.
Put your cowboy boots on and get ready to two-​step. The crowd is as diverse as it gets… young couples in their twenties, groups of thirty somethings, a few married couples dancing to every song and those older men hanging around asking any girl not already preoccupied to dance. Longnecks run around $ 3.00, the dance floor is crowded but fun, and the live music is hard to beat.
There is a $ 10 cover charge. The bands on Friday nights start at 9pm. Get in there before 8:30 if you want a chance to get a table. If the band is good, the tables are reserved by lunch that day. Parking is all around the blue little shack in the grass field.

So four of us walk into Blanco’s this afternoon for one reason: Thursday Pork Chops. A colleague of ours told us that it was THE best pork chop in town and we had to try it out. They love it so much they have gone every single Thursday for years. Seriously. So of course we went. It was VERY interesting.
First of all the bar/​restaurant on the outside is a bit «crackhouse» looking, but the inside is super cute and cozy. They have a stage in the middle of the bar with a huge dance floor. The tables are to the right and left. The bar is in the back and a juke box and shuffleboard reside on the left hand side of the bar (just to paint a picture).
By first glance we were in dive bar heaven. The nice lady waitress came over and we ordered a jalapeño sausage and a SADDLE DOG (Sausage wrapped in cheese and a tortilla deep fried and then served with honey mustard– are you kidding me? Why have I never heard of this place?). Both were juicy and wonderful– the perfect bar food. Three of us ordered the pork chops (of course) and Bill ordered the chicken fried steak.
We were all grins until something weird happened. This seriously odd male waiter took over and started screaming out cuss words and called my mom a bitch (jokingly, which we laughed at) and asked me if I wanted to see his small d*ck (I laughed at this in a terrified way) and then pulled out a small plastic, well, penis. WHAT?!
After the shock of the wait staff we received our food. Let me just preface this by saying that the chicken fried steak looked and tasted wonderful. The gravy was flavorful and thick, and the chicken was cooked to perfection. The pork chops however, were a MESS. Disgusting, about ¹⁄₁₆ inch thick, frisbee– like and old. GROSS. The mashed potatoes next to it were tasteless but the canned green beans were ok. Seriously. Seriously. This place is good for the wieners (NOT the waiter’s) and the chicken fried steak. At least on a Thursday afternoon. I’m about to call my colleague and give him some shit for making me eat empty calories. I luckily saved myself and went to Crave for dessert. Whew.

Came here for a associate’s Wedding, it was a very friendly and fun atmosphere. The event was catered so I am not sure how the food is, but they have a full bar and seems ripe for live music. They have a dance floor, and some shuffle board thingy too the side.
The parking lot and venue is not the best looking place, but its homey and very country within the loop. It is solid for any one that loves the country scene, if you have a pair of boots, hop on in.