Chris & Sam’s Bar & Grill

Finding a good place to eat when you’re traveling isn’t always an easy prospect. While staying at The Villages in Flint, we happened to find his place on Unilocal and decided to come check it out. Oh. My. Goodness! Everyone in our party raved over the food, but here is my personal take on my own order…
The French Onion Soup was just a little too peppery for my taste, but very rich and tasty. My entrée consisted of their boudin stuffed pork tenderloin with vegetable medley and macaroni & cheese. The meat was perfectly cooked and the boudin was to die for. The macaroni & cheese was light and just the right amount of cheese. The vegetable medley was very interesting as well, albeit a little bit spicy for my tender tongue. Our last stop on this culinary expedition was a luscious tiramisu that none of us wanted to share. Not diet friendly, but not too heavy or overpoweringly sweet.
All in all, we were extremely happy with the service and food. This is definitely going to be on our list of must-​eat-​at-​again restaurants.

Love this place, 4 times in 1 week… Great food and service and great people eat here.

Great food and atmosphere with a unique menu. They also have regular menu items as well. I had the shrimp and grits along with the Lebanese salad. You won’t be disappointed!

Unique menu and always delicious. Atmosphere is casual. Drinks are great as well.

The staff could use some lessons in manners. I never saw the waiters wash her hands and she took my fork I was eating with and it took 5 min to get another one. The food took along time ti coke out. Not impressed.

Outstanding food across the board! We had the Sam’s burger, the gumbo, mac&cheese, rosemary potatoes, tabbouleh, and cabbage salad. Every dish was unique and delicious. Previous post about the burger being different is true, but if you even slightly enjoy Mediterranean food, this is your burger! The gumbo had 5 huge boiled shrimp served on the side of the bowl and I would rate it right up there with any gumbo I’ve had in New Orleans… and I’ve had quite a few! And the Mac & Cheese? You have to try this… it is off-​the-​chain, gourmet M&C! Hands down best I’ve ever eaten! We will be back to this little gem!

RC Cola was a nice suprise. I did not care for the Sam’s Burger. It was explained thoroughly so I knew what I was getting. It just wasn’t very good in my opinion. A mix of beef and lamb on pita bread with feta cheese and some green stuff. The meat was dry, and could have been made the night before and reheated. Wife had the Reuben, which she really enjoyed. Macaroni and cheese was tasty but nothing special really. It was not baked at all, just soft Macaroni with a runny sauce. Waitress was nice. We were the only customers there at 11:45 on a Wednesday. I’m sticking to Lola’s Handcrafted Sandwiches. Chris and Sams is ok overall, but not 40 dollars good for 2 people for lunch. It was $ 33.45 and I tipped $ 7.00. Overall I would consider this place pretentious for no justifiable reason.

I love this place! I was in Tyler for work this week. I spent a lot of time on Unilocal determining which places to visit and I was very happy with Chris & Sam’s. During my visit I met the owner and we discussed a lot of different things. I would love for them to have more IPA selections, but the beer they had was enough to satisfy my craving. I enjoyed the place so much I went back later in the week.
I had the pulled pork lettuce wraps and, as someone else noted, they were great! I had the Boudin stuffed pork filet, which is wrapped in bacon… Did I mention BACON?! This was delicious! When I first set my eyes on it, I was concerned that it would be tough as it had a dark outer appearance. I then found out that the chef finishes the dish in his smoker. It was very very good. The grilled summer squash vegetables also great, as were the Lebanese green beans. I was so happy!
My second night there I tried their steak. The bartender Matt was very descriptive about the dishes and help sell the 14oz Ribeye. I was very happy that they don’t cut ALL the fat off the steak. The smoker finishes the steak off too, and the flavor was great!
As someone else noted, the mac & cheese is not especially cheesy. I asked them to give me a little side of bacon and was back in hog heaven.
The bartender Channey was a riot! I love chatting with locals when I travel and she pointed me in the right direction. I had the best time.
If/​When I return to Tyler, Chris & Sam’s may be my first stop.

If you are looking for something out-​of-​the-​ordinary this is your place. When you get tired of chain restaurants and want to enjoy a locally-​owned place with great food then go to Chris and Sam’s. We love the bruschetta, steaks and a glass of wine. Everyone that works there is kind and very efficient.

A last minute decision to dine out turned out great. Stopped in at 6:30 on Saturday evening and were seated promptly. The food arrived quickly and was exceptional. Whether the Orange roughy sandwich or the stuffed pork tenderloin, both were delicious and well presented. We will definitely make this a frequent choice for dinner and lunch.

Great little spot, tucked away behind FRESH. The pastrami there was really, really good. I believe they doing it in house, and it is awesome. The burger, also, has a bit of a Mediterranean twist on it. I have heard a couple people complain about that, but I loved it. If you are looking for What-​a-​burger — and as a Texas boy, I am NOT knocking What-​a-​burger — than go there. If you want quality food made by locals, go here. Great spot for lunch. Haven’t been in for dinner yet.
Tip: It is not right off the main road, so it is a little out of sight — out of mind. Definitely make an effort to remember this little spot though.
Go Local!

I so wanted to love this place. Outstanding service and a upscale venue but the food just didn’t hit the spot for us. However, there were a few high points and I’ve noted them in the review.
First, the wine list is really over priced by the glass for the level of wines they are serving. $ 10 per glass should have been $ 6.
Lettuce wraps appetizer was great. Flavorful pulled pork with roasted red and yellow peppers, wonderfully fresh, lightly dressed cabbage slaw and a Lebanese sauce to die for.
Tomato Basil Soup — Just so-​so
Gumbo — BORING
House Salad — Just a salad
Boudain Stuffed Pork Fillet: Outstanding. Flavorful, tender, and moist. The best entrée in the house.
Shrimp and grits: Shrimp was BORING. No seasoning — no «snap». Grits were interesting — done in a grilled-​polenta style. Very tasty but the dish lacked cohesiveness. House made sausage that goes with it: BORING and dry.
Ruben Sandwich: Not good. Corned beef is dry and tasteless. Marble rye bread was dry as well.
Corned Beef Sandwich (see Ruben sandwich above). However, the Naan bread was really good on it’s own.
Macaroni and Cheese side: «Where’s the cheese?»
Slaw as a side: Not as good as when served with the Lettuce Wraps appetizer.
Lebanese Green Beans: Totally under cooked and flavorless.
They do take reservations, but we didn’t need one and on a Saturday night during the dinner hour. Quite a disappointment.

Wow! What a hidden gem this is in The Crossing shopping center just south of Fresh. The food is exceptional, the atmosphere is country chic, and the servers/​bartenders are the best in town! Some of my menu favorites are the smoked turkey and pesto sandwich, the Sam’s Burger and the smoked chicken salad. For dinner, the shrimp and grits with sausage. I haven’t had the smoked steaks yet, but I hear they are awesome.

I regularly come into tyler to visit family, and this is one of my new favorite places to eat. Both times I’ve gone the service has been great, the place looks very clean and inviting.
The menu isn’t huge, but it is very diverse and a little unique. I have enjoyed everything I have eaten there so far, but I especially liked the sausage, lettuce wraps, and (surprisingly) their side veggies.
I will definitely come back next time I’m in town

The food is incredible! The ambiance is inviting. service was pleasant and efficient. The cocktail menu is imaginative and my drink was perfect. But the food! Did I mention incredible? Seriously flavorful, and impressively delicious. It was hours ago that we ate… and every now and then you can still hear someone in the house announce «Man! That lunch was good.» Can’t wait to go back!

Tried it for the first time last night and was really impressed. You’ve got to try their tomato basil soup and their Lebanese salad, both fresh and delicious. Shrimp and grits were great and filet was also tasty. Small (maybe 15 tables) local restaurant with fun Texas atmosphere.

Brand new. Still working out the kinks. Both wife and I had lunch combos. I had half turkey sandwich with tomato basil soup. Very tasty. Fresh bread. Sandwich nice and hot. Great soup. Wife had half chicken salad sandwich with Caesar salad. One reason this is only three stars is that waiter informed my wife they were out of wheat bread so she had chicken salad with no bread. They were also not set up yet to accept Amex.
Wait staff was very friendly and food was served quickly. I’m sure we will give them another shot to improve their star rating.